TEENAGE KICKS: Teen Times contributor Astrid Newman goes back to nature when she takes a job as river guide in Vermont, where being laid-back is a way of life.
Summer in Vermont started with a few nights in New York. A first for me. It really does stay awake all night. There's a fair balance of lunatics, sleazebags and regular people. You can find a Starbucks, McDonald's and bank on every street, and if you wave your arms around, a yellow cab pulls up. The streets are very clean and you know the tourists because they walk around with their heads in the air, looking up. We (I'm travelling with my boyfriend and fellow river-guide, Mike) met a cowgirl wearing nothing but a guitar, hot-pants and cowboots. People could have their pictures taken with her. Later that day we met the naked cowboy. We climbed the Empire State Building at dusk and the sky was really pink - it was quite beautiful except that I had worn a skirt and it was very windy. And that was New York.
I made a swift transition from the bustling streets of the city that never sleeps to the quiet roads of Vermont, a state in need of a caffeine rush.
But I've taken my cue from the natives and gotten in touch with my inner calm. I've stripped down to my loincloth and now fill the time hitting trees with my stick. I befriended a bear, he brought me fish and I acted as his translator at the nearest store - a million miles from here. Actually, the nearest store is a mere 20-minute walk and the nearest town is Weston, a village with about eight Christmas shops and one library.
But on a more serious note, I have discovered more than just rivers here in Vermont. Here, being laid-back is a way of life, the rhythm is slower and the people are so chilled that you sometimes wonder if they are conscious. It was difficult at first, learning to live with nothing but the woods, trees and water for company.
I think what makes kayaking so much fun is that it is a head-on challenge.
You go through every emotion - anticipation, excitement and doubt. I often find myself terrified before I break through and feel the rush of adrenaline, the sense of achievement and the pure euphoria that greets me on the other side. You can live an entire life in just 15 minutes on a river, and try as you might you can't fight it - you have to literally go with the flow.
When I took the job as a river guide at Extreme Adventures Vermont, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I haven't got a whole lot of experience in guiding and instructing, so these past few weeks have been a massive learning curve for me. I have really enjoyed it. I have realised the importance of placing kids in an environment where they are forced to fend for themselves. They don't have the security of television, PlayStation, computers and mobile phones. They must use the resources that they have to entertain themselves, their imagination and each other. The whole experience allows for growth.
The other day we took the kids on a 19-mile flat-water kayaking trip. That is a long way for a bunch of headstrong 12- to 15-year olds, but each and every one completed the run. They pulled some motivation from within themselves, and by communicating strongly with each other, encouraging each other, they exceeded their own expectations and felt that oh-so-important sense of pride and achievement at the end.
The value of time spent outdoors is constantly being underestimated. Children - and adults - need to experience an education that only nature can provide. Everyone should be given an opportunity to sit in the presence of something bigger than themselves: it is humbling and at the heart of it, there is peace and serenity. So next time you come across a river, stop, sit and watch a movement that is so fluent it appears motionless, and just be still.
