Jeep-pers Creepers!

During the apple picking field trip, there was an unexpected adventure. In the morning, the school put the students on big tour buses to get to the apple orchard restaurant. To get from the restaurant to the volleyball court and then from the volleyball court to the orchard, you must ride the jeep. The jeep looks like a military jeep that can hold up to 9-10 people (includes driver, shotgun passenger, 3-4 people standing in the middle, and 3-4 people sitting in the back).

Here I am on the jeep looking forward to the ride: (How naive I was!)


This is me after the first of three jeep rides:


I came out of the jeep ride dazed. The path the jeep took was a winding, bumpy, unpaved and uneven road in the middle of the desert. Add in having to duck from the branches on the side of the path and a driver that insists on going between 30-40MPH. Also add in the fact that the jeep constantly felt like it would tip over. Lastly, depending if you were sitting or standing, there were added hazards. If you were standing, you have to brace yourself so you don't get thrown backwards or forwards and hit the metal bar in front and behind. If you are sitting, you have to brace against the bar in front so the driver doesn't suddenly brake and you bang your head against the bar. Overall, the word to describe the ride was "dangerous."

Yet, I had to constantly remind myself the ride was dangerous. I think the reason was because it felt like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. I kept catching myself thinking it was fun and wanting to throw my hands in the air, but then I had to remind myself that I have no seat belt on, there is no safety bar to catch me from being thrown out, there is no track underneath the jeep to prevent it from tipping over, and if my head hits the bar, I am probably a goner.

It was interesting to see the other international students' reaction to the jeep ride. Most of the other Americans described the ride as scary and unsafe. The Chinese teachers thought it was a little scary. The Korean students had a similar reaction to my reaction. The Pakistani students seemed to be really enjoying the ride, although they were all guys, so their reaction may be different. The African male students were hanging off the jeep, as if the ride wasn't scary enough.

Personally, I thought the jeep ride was an adventure that I hope I never have to experience again. I prefer, for the rest of my life, to only take jeep rides on the Indiana Jones ride. Ducking from fake poisonous air darts is definitely funner (and safer) than ducking from branches.