To have fun while working

In Thailand, the prevailing work ethic is to have fun while working which was definitely evident during elephant camp.

The mahouts are the elephants' masters. In the not-so-old days when elephants were used in the logging industry, mahout (pronounced ma-hoot) meant elephant driver. Now instead of driving the elephants, these men train them and (for the most part) just love them.

My mahout's nickname was John. He has worked with elephants since he was twenty years old, the last four years with Pratida and the first seven with her mother. All of 5'1" tall, John is thirty one years old and kind of reminded me of one of my 7th graders. He loved to laugh and to play. The mahouts in general were a playful bunch. They would sneak up on unsuspecting individuals and grab them, hide in the bushes and jump out at passerbys. While we were taking the elephants into the jungle one afternoon, one of the guys broke out a harmonica. Another one jammed along with a beat box using his water bottle on the elephant's backside. John was dancing behind me on the elephant's back. And another one whistled along. It was like a moving party.

At night we played cards with a couple of the mahouts. It was interesting playing cards with two Thai guys who speak very little English, a British boy of twelve, and a fifty year old Dutch lady. Somehow we figured out how to play and had one hell of a time. The most entertaining part was listening to John laugh. He has this crazy cackle that he employs often, which in turn made everyone else just break out laughing. All of this in a days work.