I believe the raft trip is actually affectionately known to zonies as "tubing the salt". I did it a couple of times during high school. Unless things have changed, the trip is hardly one requiring life preservers. Everyone gets an innertube to ride like a giant lounge chair as you gently glide down the river. The ride is very leisurely and a great time to sociallize or sleep as you cook. Some people really get into this and demonstrate their creativity and craftsmanship in designing floats for their boom boxes and coolers.
On another topic... my wife gave birth to a girl a few weeks ago. Wow, that was exciting! The baby had some trouble, though, and stayed in the NICU for her first two weeks. She is home now and seems to be pretty normal. I posted a picture of her and I on the class web page.
For the other parents out there: I thought taking care of an infant would be a breeze since they sleep so much (16-18 hr). I was wrong. It feels like all of my time is spent doing one of several activities: burping, feeding, changing diapers, bathing, washing/folding puked on clothes, shopping for diapers, etc... Tell me, does infancy get any easier? 😕
