Rediscovering Life in the Heart of the Mountains

By Maelys - 1 week intern

I never would have imagined that just one week could shift so much inside me.

In this village nestled between the mountains, surrounded by birdsong and the heavy footsteps of elephants, I discovered a pace of life I had never known before. A pace that is calm, grounded, human. A pace that first unsettled me… and then soothed me.

I come from a world where everything is within reach. I’ve always lived in cities, in an environment where everything moves fast.

So of course, the first few days were a shock. Not because the place wasn’t beautiful it is but because I had never experienced anything like this. I had never lived without a phone signal, never slept in such deep silence, never been surrounded only by nature. That first night, I couldn’t close my eyes. Everything was new: the sounds, the silence, the landscape, the lack of connection, and even the genuine kindness of the people, something I wasn’t used to.

Every morning, we hiked into the mountains to observe the elephants, and that moment became my anchor.

Seeing these elephants in their habitat, free to move, forage, rest, or ignore our presence… it was powerful.

They’re not there to look at us. They’re not there to perform.

They’re just living.

And I was lucky enough to witness that.

I remember a specific moment when one of them lifted his head for a second, then simply went back to what he was doing, as if I were just another part of the forest.

That “indifference” touched me it meant they felt safe, that they were living their real lives here, and that we were nothing more than observers.

And then there were the Karen.

The local community was one of my most beautiful surprises.

I had never been surrounded by so much spontaneous kindness. Their gentleness is soft, natural, sincere, without ever expecting anything in return.

They welcome you as if you already belong to the village, even when, at first, you don’t really know where to stand.

Meals with my host family, the smiles, the conversations sometimes simple but always warm…

I had never experienced anything like it.

This way of opening their door, sharing what they have even when it’s not much, but with an enormous heart.

It’s something that leaves a mark.

Something that changes you.

Something that makes you humble.