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05-Jan-2009
The Young Academic, by John Arthur Lomax (b. 1857, d. 1923). The Libraries
Of Interest~
"What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubt—it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else." |
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It's Not Just a Job: Twelve women float together in two rafts along a rapidly-moving river,
through breathtakingly beautiful wooded areas. The women scream with
excitement as their rafts are carried up and down by the waves, sometimes
crashing into large rocks. Every couple of hours they take a break, first to
eat lunch at a French bistro, later to soak in a hot springs, and then to
tour a goldmine or do a little mountain climbing. The group continues
their trip down the river until just before sunset, and then stops and makes
camp for the night at a state park. For the group’s leader, Andrea Rose Jones organizes and leads adventure tours for women. Her company, ReCreations, Inc., is based in Boise, Idaho, and specializes in white water river rafting trips. She plans adventures that last anywhere from one to seven days, usually down fast-moving rivers in southern Idaho like the Salmon and Payette. “These trips are all about having fun,” Jones says. “Women today are often
so busy with their careers and taking care of their homes and families that
they forget about their own needs. They become burned out, stressed and
tired. They need time now and then to get away—to unwind, let loose, laugh
and talk with other women, and to be able to just stop and think about what
their lives are really about. The rafting trips are a great way to do just
that.” Most of the women who sign up for Jones’ trips are professionals with very demanding jobs or entrepreneurs who run their own businesses. They are often under a lot of pressure at work and want a respite from their crazy schedules. For others, their jobs have become boring or routine and they want to incorporate some excitement into their lives. Either way, Jones says, “The hope is that the women will have so much fun on the rafting trips that they will fall in love with life all over again.” Jones got the idea for her company several years ago when she started
noticing the need for “girl time” in herself. “I was on a camping trip in
New Mexico with a girlfriend and suddenly I realized I didn’t have to answer
to anybody,” she recalls. “There were no bosses to answer to, no husband or
kids to worry about, and no phones, computers or fax machines. I could just
relax and enjoy the conversation with my friend.” She figured that if she About the same time, Jones was looking for a career change. To get some
advice, she went to a life coach—someone who helps people discover what they
want to do with their career and personal lives. She came away from that
meeting wanting to become a life coach herself, and spent the next year
becoming trained and certified. But not only would she help people via She’s been taking women on adventure trips for three years now. A few times
she’s also planned trips for a woman’s whole family—including male family
members, and leadership groups comprising both women and men. On most trips, somewhere between three and 12 women accompany Jones. Before Each day on the trip starts out with all the women sitting together in a
circle on the beach, where they do yoga, breathing exercises, and then have
a group “check-in” where everybody gets a few minutes to introduce
themselves and share whatever might be on their mind. Then they get in their
rafts and head down the river. When the trip is over, most of the women not only feel ejuvenated and happy, but also go away with some important life lessons. For most of women going on the trips, it is their first experience with white water river rafting. “It’s a big adventure for them, they’re really stepping out of their comfort zones and doing something totally different,” Jones says.“Afterwards they’re usually very excited about what they did and that they were able to do it and not back out.” Once the women go back home, “their new-found courage often spills over into other aspects of their lives,” Jones adds. “They’re more adventurous, less timid, not afraid to take some chances, and are more likely to persevere with difficult challenges.” For instance, they may seek a new, more challenging position at work—something they would have been unwilling to pursue in the past. Some women also find themselves reevaluating their priorities. “They may have had such a good time with all the other women on the trip, that when they get home they make more time in their schedules to be with female friends,” Jones says. In addition to the river rafting trips in Idaho, Jones is planning some daring types of “adventures” for the next year, including a 10-day trip to Glastonbury, England, in May to visit the medieval sites there; a 7-day trip to the Grand Canyon in the summer to go rafting down the Colorado River; and a 4-day trip in the fall to Hot Springs, Arkansas, to use the natural spas. It sure isn’t your typical desk job, but that’s something Jones is very grateful for. “Not only do I get to go on a lot of really fun outdoor adventures,” she says, “but I get to see the changes in the women that are on the trip with me. I get to watch them fall in love with their lives all over again and see their eyes light up with excitement, and that’s very gratifying.”
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Articles & Links It's Not Just a Job: It's a Rafting Adventure In Vino Veritas: It's a Drink to Your Health Taking Care: A Proactive Approach to Breast Cancer Prevention for High-Risk Women
"Wild rivers are earth's renegades, defying gravity, dancing to their own tunes, resisting the authority of humans, always chipping away, and eventually always winning."
Rivers know this: there is no hurry, we shall get there some day.
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