Kayaking Trip

A group of us decided to set a goal of kayaking in the broad river before our graduation ceremony in few weeks. Broad river is one of the local rivers close to our campus. The river has 70-mile navigable continuous water. The idea incubated from one of our friends who have been to the river. When the news got to me I wasn’t happy about it. I am a bad swimmer. I couldn’t figure it out of all the other activities we could do, why choose water activity? We set the date to be last Saturday. They thought these would be a fun to remember since we were all going different directions in life. The thrill of free falling from five feet waterfall was unimaginable thought. We all promised to meet in the intramural field at eleven in the morning to head down the river. The weather didn’t seem an auspicious start of a day. But that didn’t stop us. One of my friend’s girlfriend started whining right before we were about to leave the field. She is a complete extrovert girl, but her nagging gets under my skin sometimes. Propriety restricts me from hushing her. We let her boyfriend deal with her.


When we all paid our dues, a staff member gave us each a kayak and a rowing stick. What looked like a safety culture tips followed? I choose the kayak that was hard to overturn even though it was heavy. All the other friends including the two girls picked the normal Kayak. You might think I was a Cassandra who always predicted the worst to happen. All these kids grew up around swimming pools while I grew up where there was no swimming pool. Maybe this explains my attempt to ingratiate myself when they all looked at me differently. In any case I didn’t expect an overwhelming cheers or shouts from them after all they were pain in the neck kids. Maybe this will make you understand them more. This group is composed of four Indians, two Somalis and three Ethiopians. They all grew up around Somalis. They even use words like “Caasharo” when they are describing women they met the night before at a party. We all call ourselves Qaxootis. Soon I am going to learn that no one was highly skilled or had an aptitude for Kayaking accept the Somalian dude, Ebb, who grew up in Canada.


It was due to my disposition or maybe fear that made me to be one of the last people to get in the water. I was caught up in the trivial details of safety that I hardly noticed I was ahead of everyone. The river was long and dangerous for a beginner like me. It had many twist and bends. My diffident made me not to trust the edges or the center of the river. I always made circuitous turns whenever I reached a waterfall. I thought these waterfalls would be the catalyst of my boat overturning. I was ahead of the group about ten minutes when accidentally I slumped into a rock and my Kayak overturned leaving me to gasp for air as my life jacket propelled me upward. I thought I was done. I was going to die in the water. I started yelling for help, but my friends were nowhere near. Luckily my Kayak was in my hand, but I lost my rowing stick. I forced myself to reach the nearby Island, but I was out of breath. I finally made it to the top of the rock when my friends arrived. I was socked in water and may be gulped down the river water during the accident. Ebb was an expert. I come to realize this when he rescued my Kayak and stick. He was able to get my stick from downstream and bring it up where I was. He started fuming at me how he told me not to leave the group. I apologized and got on my Kayak. When we reached a big waterfall he advised me to take the right side while he himself, the expert, went through it. But unfortunately they all fall of their Kayak. This was a hilarious moment for me. I laughed at them.

My friends kept on going back to the big waterfalls. They wanted to make it through without flipping over their kayak. I was logy from too little sleep from the night before. Don’t ever go to kayaking especially if you had been up all night. The air outside was becoming quite chill .My friend’s girlfriend and I decided to leave those lucid brigands
behind. We cheered wildly and slap ourselves at the back. And paddled our way to finish the trip. We were left with about four miles then. She would be my life guide if I ever drown, or so I thought. Actually we were both not sure of what to do if we ever got stuck in a rock. This never bothered me. By now I was gaining confidence and becoming expert on my own.


Never have I ever thought not to gain confidence with a little learning skill. Half way through our paddling my friend's girlfriend kayak flipped over. I was ahead of her. I made through safely. She is screaming and hollering my name. I, being the biggest Igalshidhat (Somali figure of fear), never looked back to save the poor girl and her kayak. I was moving like an errant calve trying to figure it out how to get up there. I knew I was scared to death. I lean on a big rock watching her being helped from a distance. Some blue eyes saved her by swimming down the stream. I was embarrassed and helpless. I was afraid of going upstream. Lets just say she got few bruises, which I will be blamed, for the rest of my life. I felt like a senseless git! The Kayak did help me strengthen my flexors. Whether you start the kayaking with a state of abject decrepitude or virile state, you will eventually welter in a turbid feeling. Your tenacity will be put under a test. You will not believe this I was the second person to finish the Kayaking trip. I was proud of myself!!