I think I was last here on the 2nd of January.

I write this on the 22nd of March, so it has for sure been a while. I had honestly forgotten that I had made this blog, or whatever this thing masquerading as a blog happens to be.

But I come bearing updates.

I’ve just come back from volunteering for four months in Sri Lanka, from the 16th of February until the 16th of March and, well… it was some kind of experience. Quite like Canada had it’s ups and downs, Sri Lanka had heavy ups and downs.

I went out there to volunteer and work with the local stray street dogs, and with the intention to hopefully provide the dogs a better life by getting them spayed and neutered, fed, and hopefully rehomed. That was what was promoted on the website. Upon arriving at my destination, which was the small coastal village of Akurala a few hours south of Colombo, I was quick to learn that this was not the case at all – there was no sterilisation project or rehoming initiative to speak of.

Which was disheartening, but not terrible, I’d thought. We still fed the Sanctuary dogs – an odd group of strays that had been thrown together and tolerated each other’s presence – and the street dogs, who were all so lovely and pleasant to interact with. They were honestly some of the sweetest dogs that I had ever come across and were so eager for attention. Some even left the food we put down for them to the other dogs in favour of being fussed over by us instead. Seeing that, experiencing that, made us volunteers feel that we were actually doing some good there, despite the lack of sterilisation or rehoming happening.

The first week passed much like this as we learned the ropes and set about learning the sanctuary dogs and street dogs by name. In the sanctuary, we had Shredder, Molly, Wildie and her pups, Chino and Latte. And Biscuit, a sweet puppy a few months old who was found on her back, on the beach, unable to use her legs. While we were there, we sometimes saw her gamble along on all four legs at times and I became hopeful that, with the right treatment, that she may regain full and effective use of all her limbs. Maybe to the extent that the paralysation had never happened.

I was hopeful of a lot of things in that first week, things that I quickly learned were fruitless. Honestly, the way this volunteering experience turned into an absolute shit show was insane, is one for the books. It’s been a week since I’ve been back and I’m still just as nonplussed and overwhelmed when I think about what happened as I was when I was out there while it was happening to me.

Hell, even arriving at the airport in Colombo and being informed that my bag with all my clothes hadn’t made it onto the plane with me and was still behind in Doha was less stressful than what I experienced in my time there. Especially in the last week. The last week was awful until I changed projects for my own good.

But I’ll get to that in another post.

That first week – even with the slow dawning of alarm that I was feeling at what was going on around me – was enjoyable, and I made so many new friends and acquaintances, which is what I think traveling is all about. Meeting people from so many different backgrounds and cultures is fascinating and so insightful and it really helps to mould you as a person. For me, it really puts into perspective my issues and worries, and lets me know about the important things in life. I still have those issues and worries, but they’re heavily subdued and balanced out by reality and the harshness of the real world, by experiences.

I think I would be in such a worse place mentally if I hadn’t undergone travel: just a few years ago I would have panic attacks about life and I would be entirely unable to calm myself down. I can already see the changes in myself made by the little bit of traveling I’ve done already now. And I hope that what I’ve got before me will also change me for the better as well.

Despite any downs that may happen with the ups.

But yes, the first week was like dipping a toe in the water and it was…okay.

Then I slipped and fell and plunged all the way down in the weeks that followed.

Much to my unhappiness, stress and disillusionment.