New River Academy Whitewater Kayak School

Pucon, Chile

As a service project Eleanor Perry recently organized the New River Academy high school students on a trip to benefit Pucon, Chile’s all girls orphanage. Perry a Team Dagger paddler and Spanish teacher at the prestigious kayak academy chose her mentor team’s international activity to benefit the girl’s orphanage. Mentee students Michelle Yates and Sean Johnson would learn from Perry’s leadership as they planned the day of activities.

Student Report by Sean Johnson:

To kick off our week, we took off a day of kayaking to visit an all-girls orphanage in Pucon. We met about twelve orphans. They were enthusiastic and extraverted, not shy at all. When they didn’t seem interested in the Frisbee we brought, they pulled out a soccer ball and the games began.

Student Report by: Eli Spiegel

Chile 2008 Parent Trip:

Dates: 2/2 to 2/10
Costs: Suggested minimum $1,700 tax-deductible donation. Plus, individuals are expected to pay for food expenses. Huge Experiences Inc., a 501 (c ) (3) nonprofit corporation, will prepare tax deduction documents for your donation benefit.
Where do the proceeds go? Donations will go toward the school purchase and development of a Pucon, Chile whitewater base and training facility.
Deadlines: Full payment is expected by 1/4/08.
How do I sign-up? Call our office at 304-574-0403 or 304-640-1001 to reserve your space.

Teen Kayakers Discover Huge Wave on Salween River

It took the New River Academy two days on our private bus to arrive to the Salween River near the Nu Jang Valley town of Gonshang. We drove five hours roadside to the Salween peering our windows prior to arriving to our Gonshang base.

Mekong Expedition

Describing the Mekong would not be right without first detailing the drive. The drive from Lijiang first required a layover in the town of Jadien. Jadien is a town resting on the slopes of the Tibetan region of Shangri La. Much of the road was high above the Yangtze and we saw the famous “First Bend of the Yangtze.” Students would dance with Tibetans after dinner, and return to our cold mountainside hostel.

We just finished one of the most incredible drives to DeQuin. En route we crossed a 15,000-foot pass, stayed in the villages of Jadin and Dequin, stopped multiple times for photos, participated in a local dance, celebrated Eli Spiegel's brithday, and...

It is 7:00 am and I am sitting in my bunk bed typing in the dark. Morning workout begins in 30 minutes. My room consists of Kyle, Claire, Morgan, Katie, Charlotte, and Michelle. Each girl has a curtain on their bunk, and I can hear them slowly beginning to wake. Next door is the boys’ bunk room. I noticed Tino was sleeping outside on the deck.

Lijiang

As the rice paddies and terraced hills flew past the windows like images on a television screen, we made our way bumping and chugging along the tracks toward Kunming. On the train, food carts passed every fifteen minutes or so offering us treats of instant soup, crackers, and other Chinese goodies. On the wall of the foot-wide aisle Claire posted a schedule for the day. Just like every other school day, we had our six classes scheduled along with an hour of study hall after dinner. The loud classical Chinese music filled our ears as we slowed to a halt at another stop.

It has been an eventful series of planes, trains, and subway rides this past week for the New River Academy. Students and staff flew into Shanghai, China, with books, bags, and kayak gear. Upon arrival to Shanghai we were greeted by Shui-shui, our translator and guide through the metropolis twice the size of Los Angeles. We took the Mag-lev, a train that can exceed 250 mph to the metro subway. imagine a group of 20 white people in a foreign land carrying very large, bright, heavy bags in the midst of thousands. Awkward.