>>885547Ive worked as a raft guide on the west coast for the past 3 years.
We have an annual rafting trip client every year which is this tourism agency that does 2 week tours of the US for [wealthy] Japanese Middle School students.
Which means that the first year I got a raft full of tiny 13 year old japanese girls who spoke no English through a Class 3 section with 4 class 3+'s on it that actually have consequences. They didnt really understand my raft commands (ALLL FORWARD, GET DOWN GET DOWN) and even when they did they were too tiny to really give me any power. No matter how much pantomiming I did they didnt understad how to properly paddle (Putting all of the paddle into the water, using your body not your arms, sitting properly). I learned the Japanese words for my commands halfway through but they still paddled shitily. For most of the 3 hour trip for these people I was either pantomiming or singing "Row row row your boat" out loud to the giggles of these tiny Japanese schoolgirls.
I basically learned how to R1(Rafter 1, AKA Paddle the raft by yourself) that day. I learned how to anticipate raft drift and give my raft forward speed with no customer input. I learned how to transmit safety relevant instructions across language barriers and that smaller children are bouncy and full of impact absorbing cartilage. I learned that day as a raft guide I can create entertainment for my guests without talking to them (Instigating spalsh fights, spinning the raft, making people swim, riding the bull, etc.) . I learned that Japanese kids really love Pizza, It was a huge step in my raft guide training experience and I look forward to that trip every year now.
