Saturday, February 23, 2008

Kayaking extravaganza!

i love NZ. i love kiwi fruit. i love beaches. i love surfing. i even love the bruises i get from surfing. but i dislike, with a passion of a thousand bloody swords, kayaking. i am not good at it and it is not a flow experience for me. not fun.
so this past wed. was our last day of kayaking. we were going through grade 2 rapids. it was our assesment day.
i was not happy. infact, i was terrified. while we waited for the first group to finish the course. i was more then half tempted to jump from the ledge we were sun bathing at and accidently knock myself unconsious. because they can't possibly make me go kayaking when i'm unconsious right? well, i didnt jump or accidently get pushed. instead i faced my fear and when into the river straped to a plasic coffin. i was getting physically ill, but i did it. and it was fine! i went through the rapids (there were 4 or five in total) without killing myself or others! it was amazing. i have never been so high in anxiety and stress then in those couple of hours. i wanted to die.
but i didnt ;) i did make the instructors laugh at how many times i would flip over on my kayak though. they would help me in once i bailed out of my kayak, then as soon as nathan (instructor)would turn around i would flip again. (i didnt do it on purpose! believe me, its not fun being trapped under the water strapped to a kayak).
toward the end of the river i relaxed more. this was mostly due to the fact that our instructors nathan and curtis started a didymo fight. and i was more focused on revenge vs. staying upright.
Didymo: (noun) the most discusting slimy green/brown floaties in the water. they'd flick it with the paddle and it got everywhere. in my ears, hair, face! but dont worry. i got them back.
kayaking is over, and hey, maybe when i get stateside, i'll go kayaking again. someday. far in the future.

1 comment:

Marcindra LaPriel said...

Three cheers for Haeree!! You are SO rugged to have faced your fears. I feel like a better person because I know you. You're the best flatmate ever.