In the Beginning

Greetings! This is my third week of work at the Nantahala Outdoor Center as a raft guide. There have been mishaps and mischief aplenty, but before I start storytelling I suppose there are a few logistical issues you are dying to know about.

-No Service
AT&T is a joke here in the gorge. I get a few bars, sometimes, at the main NOC campus (Wesser) but none where I actually live. Similarly, there is no Wifi at staff housing, but I sneak online at Wesser. Thank goodness the guest Wifi isn't password-protected!

-Staff Housing
You know those tool sheds they sell at Home Depot to store your lawn tractor and garden supplies? Well, I live in one of those.With a roommate. I think it's tiny and cramped, but the other staff are jealous. My shed is huge in comparison to theirs.

-Hitchhiking
Staff housing is six miles upriver from the rafting center I work out of. Since I'm car-free, I spend a significant amount of time standing by the side of Highway 19 with my thumb up. It reminds me very much of South Africa. Last week, I rode in the back of a bakkie (pick-up). I almost thanked the guy who picked me up in Afrikaans. (Don't worry, 90% of the time I get rides with other NOC staff.)

-Work
I'm a raft guide. In that last 14 days, I've spent 13 of them in water. One day I drove a trailer packed with rafts down the narrow highway in the gorge during a rainstorm. I hit a guardrail. No one has suggested I drive since.

-Poverty Wages
Enjoy your ride, tip your guide! Tips typically double or triple the amount of money I earn on a trip. NOC pays me about $20, and guests usually (hopefully) do the same. Without tips, it would be rough going. My first paycheck was $120, my first trip to the Outfitters' Store was well more than that.

-the South
One day I told a crew from Mississippi that I was from New York. At the end of the trip, they each gave me a hug and said, "Welcome to the South." It's not so bad here. I am starting to like bluegrass. Maybe I'm suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

I've got to run, I have a trip!