大华府清华校友会

On August 30, I went whitewater rafting with my mom, dad, little brother Daniel, and several other families from the Tsinghua Alumni Association. 

I shot awake before anyone else, energy pulsing through me like an alarm clock. For a second, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling before I bolted out of bed. I brushed my teeth in record time, pulled on my clothes, and nearly tripped in my rush to get ready.

“It’s the thirtieth!” I shouted triumphantly.

Mom and Dad stirred groggily, as it was only 7 o’clock in the morning, but Daniel sat up straight, eyes wide with excitement. He knew as well as I did what day it was.

We were heading to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia for whitewater rafting. I could already picture it: the raft crashing through foamy waves, water splashing my face, the rapids roaring ahead like wild animals.

Technically, I had been here before when I was younger, but the memory was a blur. More recently, I’d rafted in Glacier National Park, so I knew today would be unforgettable. Harpers Ferry had its own challenges, its own personality. And I was ready for it.

After a blur of packing, we piled into the car. I couldn’t sit still. When we finally arrived, the staff gathered us for a safety video, showing rafters tossing into the river and teaching us how to swim with the current, how to grab a rope, and how to stay calm when the water dragged at them. My heart thudded harder.

Next came the gear. We tightened our bright red life vests, snapped helmets under our chins, and gripped paddles that felt heavier than they looked. The shuttle rumbled to life, taking us to the launch site. Around me, people shifted in their seats, some whispering, others grinning, eager for what was to come.

I took a deep breath, and my pulse quickened. This was it. The adventure was about to begin.

 

Into the River

We split into four groups: girls, boys, ladies and men. The river looked calm, almost too calm, sunlight shimmering on its glassy surface. At first, paddling seemed easy—dip, push, repeat—but doing it together? Total chaos.

“Forward two!” Our guide, Russel, called.

We splashed wildly, paddles crashing out of sync. One person leaned too far over, nearly tipping the raft, while another barely touched the water. We zigzagged like a drunk duck.

“Again—forward two!” Russel commanded.

Slightly better. Still uneven. Russel watched us sharply.

“Forward two! Back one! Forward three!”

Each command snapped us back into focus, forcing us to listen, to match each other’s rhythm. Stroke by stroke, splash by splash, we started to fall into sync. Our paddles cut through the water together, the raft moving straighter with every effort.

And then I heard it: a low roar up ahead, growing louder. The rapids were coming.

The water shifted—ripples turning to waves that tugged at the raft. We approached a swirling chute of white foam. My heart hammered.

“Forward three!” Russel shouted.

We plunged our paddles into the water. The current grabbed the raft like a giant hand and yanked us into the rapid.

The raft dipped hard, then shot upward. Water exploded over us, drenching my helmet and blinding my eyes. Laughter and panic erupted as we bounced sideways, then slammed forward again.

“Forward two!” Russel yelled.

We paddled hard, our arms strained. The raft lurched through the rapid, my stomach dropping with each slam of the waves. I grinned wildly. This was exactly what I’d come for.

Another wave smashed over us, but I held tight. Then, just as suddenly, we shot out the other side. The river calmed. The roar faded.

I leaned back, drenched and panted. That was only the first rapid.

Riding the Rush

We hit the next rapid fast. Water exploded around us. My muscles screamed, my pulse raced, and for a moment, it felt like the river was in charge.

Then we burst through it—soaked, breathless, cheering.

Suddenly—splash!

My friend Minnie lost her balance and tumbled into the river. Gasps erupted, but a nearby guide caught her vest and hauled her back into the raft. She scrambled in, coughing and soaked but smiling sheepishly.

Russel nodded, unfazed. “That’s why we wear life vests. Eyes forward—the next rapid’s coming up.”

We paddled on, still buzzing.

One by one, the rapids came. None were quite as wild as the first, but each brought its own chaos—waves slamming against us, drops that made our stomachs lurch, sideways jolts that left us gripping tight. But now, we had rhythm. Our strokes were in sync. The raft responded like it trusted us.

Commands came quickly—“Forward two! Back one! Hold!”—and we moved like a team. Rapid after rapid blurred together: crashing, recovering, laughing, paddling again.

The river kept reminding us of who was boss—but it was letting us through.

The Finish

Finally, after one last stretch of calm water, Russel steered us toward the take-out point. We slid onto shore, clambering out one by one—legs shaky, smiles wide.

Everyone was buzzing. We laughed about the biggest splashes, replaying the near-falls, and bragging about surviving the rapids.

I set my paddle down and looked back at the river. It shimmered in the afternoon sun, calm again, like it hadn’t just tried to toss us around.

But I could still feel it—the rhythm of the waves in my body, the echo of the rapids in my ears.

It had been messy, exhausting, and unforgettable. As we climbed back into the shuttle, I leaned against the seat—soaked, sore, and smiling.

I couldn’t wait for the next adventure.

Most importantly, I survived.

I Survived

The Whitewater Rafting

It all started a couple days ago when my mother informed me that I was going to go rafting! Rafting, as my mother had explained, was lying on a small boat, drifting down a calm river.

Well, that was not the case, as the exciting day ahead of me would not be calm…

Beep beep! My alarm clock yelped. It was about 7:00 in the morning, and though it was early in the morning, I was ready.

After what felt like days, my father pulled up to the parking lot of Harpers Ferry Historical National Park. Excitement surged through me. I had been to Harpers Ferry when I was younger, but I couldn’t remember much of it. During the drive, I saw beautiful landscapes, such as countryside farms, lush green grass, horses and cows, and the red barn that just perfectly made it a fairytale. We also passed by tall mountains and sprawling rivers.

After getting out of the car, my parents greeted the fellow people I would embark on my adventure with; the other Tsinghua School Alumni and their kids.

Once we had arrived at the rafting base we checked in at a cozy little lodge. The workers directed us to a patio, where we would watch a safety video explaining the rules and requirements for rafting.  And soon enough, I realized that rafting was NOT “lying on a small boat drifting down a calm river.” In fact, it was quite the opposite. The video showed an inflatable boat that was ridden by five or six people. Each person would receive a paddle to row the boat with. There would also be a captain, who would give commands for when to row and which direction to row.

We then boarded a bus that took us to the rafting location. I was excited but also a little scared because the river that had been shown in the safety video had lots of crazy rapids. Additionally, the video had mentioned what to do if you fell out of a boat, and I certainly hoped it wouldn’t be me. During the bus ride, a captain entertained us with some stories and jokes.

After some quick planning, the group was able to determine how they wanted to divide into four for rafting. Luckily, there were 5 girls at the time, Emma, Minnie, Angelina, Valentina, and me!  We were able to set up a girls boat! The other boats included a boys’ boat, moms’ boat, and dads’ boat.

The river was surprisingly calm at first. The bright August sun casted bright rays on us and I knew that I would be sure to be sunburned. All I wanted to do was to lay down on the raft and enjoy the peaceful day.

But, our first rapid was coming up and we had to be prepared…

“Forward two!” Our captain, Russel, called.

All of us rowed forward twice with our paddles, but it hadn’t been at the same time.

“Together!” Russel shouted over the loud roaring of the water. The safety video had mentioned that rowing at the same time was one of the most important aspects of rafting.

Then, our first rapid came. With a jumpscare, the boat dropped a couple of feet, plunging into the fresh Potomac waters leaving us drenched but also laughing. After a couple more rapids, we drifted back into the calm waters.

“You guys just finished the first set of rapids!” Russel said.

Soon enough, the second set of rapids were coming. Excitement surged through me. But, a sudden jolt of the boat occurred, making Minnie fall into the waters! In just a few seconds, we were able to pull her out of the water back onto the boat.

“SIX! SEVEN! SIX! SEVEN!” A loud chanting sounded from behind us. The boys were chanting the words from a popular meme while rowing quickly.

“Bruh,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

After some more rapids, it was juice break time. All of the boats pulled up to a small beach where some captains supplied us with water and lemonade. In the process of walking to the beach, my feet and sandals became entangled with mud and sand.

“Ugh,” I complained.

Once the break was over, my group hurried back to the boat, determined to beat the boys.

“Okay guys, so we have this thing where we scream as loud as we can at this rapid that’s coming up, to scare the people behind us,” Russel explained.

When we reached the rapid, I could see that it wasn’t really a rapid. It was just a tiny foot drop, really nothing. I “tried” to scream while going down the tiny drop, but it only resulted in laughing.

“Next up is one of the longest rapids in the area, it’s a mile long,” Russel said.

I could hear the loud roaring ahead. As we came closer, my heart raced. Beads of sweat rolled down my face from the ever-lasting rowing. SCREEH, a loud painful noise startled me as the boat skidded to a stop on a large rock.

“We’re stuck,” I said as Russel got out of the boat to see what had happened. I wasn’t surprised though, as many other boats had gotten stuck before too. I looked around, most of the boats were also stuck including the boys’ and the dads’ boats. After some bouncing and attempts to row, Russel was able to get us un-stuck. As I looked back, I saw that the other boats were still stuck. SCREEH, another painful noise sounded, “We’re stuck again?!?” I complained. And yes indeed, we were. In fact, we got stuck many more times.

Soon, we passed an open area where birds flew in the bright blue sky, the clear waters barely moving and the bright sun made shadows in the water. Time seemed to stop for a moment as I took it all in. There was a moment of silence. The water gently pushed us forward, urging us to continue rowing. And so we did…

“Okay guys, it’s time for our last rapid,” Russel said. “It’s one of the best ones,”

“Awww,” I said sadly. I didn’t want this experience to end so quickly!  Soon enough I could see the rapid, with the loud roar, and white waters. The drops looked so big and deep, and my heart raced even more. We plunged into the water rushing beneath us, a wave of water splashed over the side leaving all of us drenched. My arms shook as I held the paddle. There were more rapids ahead. SPLASH! We dropped into the next rapid, and I almost lost my balance. There was one last rapid ahead, the biggest one… and we completely missed it by a couple feet.

After ten minutes, the rafting experience was over. We paddled to the shore, and jumped off the boat, the waters reaching our knees.

“We beat the boys!” Emma said triumphantly.

I had so much fun, I thought as I reached for my sneakers.

But most importantly… I survived…