River tracing and tofu - 7/23

Today I awoke to a brilliant morning sun, casting shadows across the mountains, and cool dew floating on spiderwebs. The morning was spent walking upstream in level 1 whitewater. It began with the donning of ridiculously hot wet-suits, life jackets, and helmets. However, the wet suit became much more tolerable once I entered the chilly water; the life jacket allowed me to float with no effort; and the helmet... well, I'll talk more about that later. The chilly rapids were surprisingly strong, knocking me to my knees. Some people held hands. And of course, there was a sqealing girl. A few boys surprised me with how patient and helpful they were with girls who could not swim and were not strong enough to withstand the current. Meanwhile, others tried to swim upstream, like salmon during mating season. Our tour guides kept our spirits up and journey safe, through a combination of goofiness and wisdom earned through countless journeys of their own. Eventually, we reached a quiet area, where we could climb the cliffs and dive into the water. The rocks on the cliffs were wet and slimy, a dangerous climb; but I could not leave without trying everything. So I followed the guide, who helped our group to the top of a thirty-foot drop. A moment of fear gripped me before the jump; but there was only one way down and one way to preserve my pride; so I took the plunge and screamed. What a thrill! I had to try it again. So when I saw another group climbing the rocks, I decided to join them. But this time, I gripped a slimy rock, and slipped! It's surprising how many thoughts raced through my head as I fell twenty feet, "Oh shit!... well, that was dumb... OH, I could get really hurt... well, no, I'm wearing a helmet..." I fell head first, heard the "crack!" of a rock connecting with my head, and felt the cold splash of water. Afterwards, I wondered briefly whether I needed a doctor, but then realized I could go over the concussion algorithm myself, and decided I had a mild contusion which could be alleviated with rest and head elevation. Afterwards, I took note of battle-scars among my comrades: headaches, sunburns, bruised shins, and cuts. But we'd made it and had a good time!
During the afternoon, we visited a place where we could make tofu from volcanic water. We tasted fresh soy milk and the best tofu I've ever had in my life.
In the evening, we rode the bus to our hotel, and were regailed with yet another round of off-key shouting that some people deem "singing." My contusion-induced headache felt ten times worse as the poorly rendered songs echoed throughout the bus. Really people, louder does not equal better.