Location: Bali
Today started off pretty swell, if I may say. Imagine my surprise when the fire alarm went off, promptly waking everyone up at the perfect time, doing my job for me, which was excellent as I had managed to sleep through my alarm. So while everyone else may have forsaken the chefs for their abrupt and disarming awakening, I thank them greatly as I suck at waking people up. Anyways, we were quick to set off after breakfast, prepared for our eventful day. You see, our lovely program manager Amanda Cole had secured us a white water rafting expedition down one of Bali’s rivers, and what an adventure it was. We first get to the drop-off spot, where we get our PFD’s, helmets, and paddles, you know, average gear for a rafting experience. Then, however, they lode us into the back of pickup trucks, and off we fly down the Bali roads, twisting and turning like maniacs until we get to our next stop, where we slowly walk down through rice paddies and steep stone steps, getting down to the river where the shenanigans would begin. We were used to the warm waters we dove in, so this river was shockingly cold, our toes quickly turning numb in its twisting current. We soon all loaded up into our rafts, five groups ready to take on this new freshwater challenge. Quickly, my team paddled ahead, for we had a plan. Our guide had told us there were areas in the river where swimming was allowed and that the other groups were not aware of these. We soon managed to get to one of these calm areas, and that’s when the plan set into action. We slipped from the raft, silently into the still waters, and waited for the next raft to make its way down. Like crocodiles, we then struck, launching from the water and snatching the other rafts passengers by the PFD’s and pulling them into the icy 3-foot depths. We then struck the next boat, tearing those we could away from their seats like the hooligans we were. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the next raft could arrive, so we skulked away to prepare another ambush later down the river. In between these attacks, we all paddled along, each boat splashing at each other, and while there were more stops downstream and more ambushes made, we eventually reached the halfway point. It was here where we all took a break and had fun in the shallow calm waters, some of us choosing to wrestle around, and others getting a “massage” by the waterfall nearby, pelting our backs and heads with gallons upon gallons of water. The rest of the rafting, while fun, was not nearly as conflict-filled, with the occasional splash fight between neighboring rafts and the constant sliding down rapids or getting stuck on stones filling the time. Near the end, we slid down a dam into the ending pool, where we made our final goodbye, climbing up to the pickup where we reboarded the trucks in the now pouring rain, and slowly rode back to the drop-off, where we returned our borrowed gear, had some warm drinks and got on our buses to go back to the dock. At the dock, we got our PCR tests as we prepared for our final passage to Thailand, then went back to Argo to enjoy some veggie stir fry, and have a class co-taught by Amanda Shuman and Carolyn. The rest of the day was a lax one, just kind of chilling like a sessile organism, until dinner, which managed to be an hour and a half late at 7:30, but no bother, dinner was eaten, the cake was had (shout out to Will, happy birthday) and a student-led Smash tournament in honor of our leaving guests Sid, Navarre, and Bo is held.