I had this great idea of working from my laptop and moving from country to country while enrolled in a Multimedia Production program in Alberta, Canada. After graduation, I ended up staying and teaching, so my dreams of travel hadn’t taken off quite yet.

Little did I know, whitewater rafting would be my ticket to travel the world. After training and working as a river guide for nearly 3 years I was ready to take a leap of faith. My friend from university lived in Saitama, Japan. He asked when I would visit, so I applied for a job. I had under 50 commercial trips but was hired as a whitewater raft guide at Happy Raft in Kochi, Japan.

I didn’t know anyone. Only a handful of names via email exchange. I had visited New Zealand a few months prior and, by chance, met a woman who would be working at the same company. She offered me a room so, other than a plane ticket, I was ready to head to Asia for the summer of 2018. The next thing I knew I was in a raft, familiarizing on a new river with 3 hours of sleep and 20 hours of jet lag. At least there was a bit of English thrown in around to keep me conscious.

I had been studying Japanese, the best I could solo, prior to arrival. I had memorized the two main alphabets, Hiragana and Katakana, common introductory phrases, and the most important words for guiding Japanese customers down the Yoshino River. Mae kogi (まえこぎ) = forward paddle. Shagande (しゃがんで) = get down. Rafutengu wa hajemete desu ka? (ﾗﾌﾃﾝｸﾞははじぇめてですか?) = is it your first time rafting? Suddenly being immersed into a new language became draining, difficult, and lonely. But I learned as much as my brain could retain and my notebook could hold.

My third training day was with a senior guide down the grade IV section (rivers are classified on a scale of I to V). He spoke to me in 99% Japanese, telling me what to avoid, which line to take, and the names of the rapids. This was my first time seeing this section of river and I understood 1% of what he was saying. I was doomed.

I was 4 months out of shape when it came to whitewater and even though embarrassed by my enervated skills, I was determined. The culture was so disciplined and rule-driven, I was committed to bowing and being as respectful as my Southern Alberta redneck heritage would allow. I spent every extra ounce of time and energy to join customer boats for training, kayaking, or learning the photographer routes along the river. 

Then the heat hit.

Besides torrential downpours during typhoon season, days were nearly 40°C with 90% humidity. I would be drenched in sweat by 7:00am just from driving and unloading boats at the river. Long days throughout busy season later reinforced my tenacity in the industry. Attending first aid courses and participating in river rescue courses delivered in Japanese tested my perseverance. I was occasionally privileged to have a translator but the rest of the time I struggled to put together this complex language and culture puzzle with too many missing pieces. 

By August, I was surprising guests by relaying in Japanese that I had only been learning the language for 4 months. Their shocked reactions were reassuring and flattering. I felt like I had made it. I improved my river guiding and my verbal articulation. 

Japan re-rooted my passion for the river. I felt connected, cultured, and ready to take on the next challenge life was going to present. 

Originally published by Teaching Trails. Caitlyn O is currently finishing up her schooling in education. She has both worked in different countries and remotely in Canada teaching English to students all over the world.