What's up mates? Ready for another installment of the Epic Adventures of Merideth? Well aren't you in for a treat.
Last weekend, my study abroad program (IFSA-Butler) took a group of us on an adventure weekend. So you're probably thinking, adventure, I wonder how intense it was. Well, it was crazy. I like being adventurous and exploring, but I'm not an adrenaline junkie in the least!
We did mountain biking, luging, and white water rafting. Everything was incredible, but I'm going to focus this blog post on the rafting.
Our group did level 5 rapids, which is the highest level you can commercially raft in. To make things even more nuts, the river we went down had a 23 foot waterfall we had to raft over. I may have peed my pants a little when we went over, not gonna lie. Our raft flipped over and I thought I had drowned, but turns out, life jackets work really well!
This post was not designed to brag about how awesome my weekend was. Instead, it is a gentle recommendation that when studying abroad, don't be afraid to try anything new. Chances are, you'll regret it later on. I almost chickened out and didn't raft over the waterfall. I'm so glad I stuck with it though. It was incredible. That waterfall was also the largest waterfall in New Zealand (and I'm pretty sure the world) that you can commercially raft over. While things may seem scary, probably even terrifying, just try it. I'm a pretty wimpy person, but here I am, living proof that you can raft over a 23 foot waterfall and live to tell the day.
Cheers!