Local paddler back from global kayak trip

David Meyers started kayaking the Swan River near his Bigfork home half a lifetime ago — well half of his 18 year-old life that is — and his passion for the sport recently took him on a trip to the other side of the world.

Meyers spent the second semester of his senior year of high school with the World Class Kayak Academy, which takes young paddlers to various locations out of the country to give them new kayaking and cultural experiences while completing high school classes.

"It was probably the best way I could've finished high school," Meyers said. "It was great to meet new people and do school on the road in the most amazing places I've ever been."

Meyers' trip started in Missoula and from there he drove to Los Angeles to board a plane to China. His group spent most of their time in the Yunnan province located in southern China. There they mostly paddled on the three sister rivers: Mekong, Salween and Yangtze. Meyers and the other students were exposed to new waters and new cultures.

"It really opens your eyes," Meyers said. "We were all pretty young and most of us had never been out of the country. It was a different culture, different food, different customs. It was a great experience to see how people in other countries live. It made me really glad to be an American and that I live in the U.S. I also realized a lot of things about why people view Americans the way they do and why people in other countries don't like us."

While Meyers and his fellow students were taking in new sights they were also exposing the people of Yunnan to some new things as well.

"In China no one kayaks," Meyers said. "We were like a traveling circus. A hundred or so people would gather around to watch us when we were on the river. When we walked down the streets with our boats everyone would just stop what they were doing and stare at us. A lot of people in the villages had never seen white people before. They were talking about us behind our back and pointing. That was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen."

Meyers had his share of culture shock living around the Yunnan people.

"They don't really have etiquette or rules about spitting," Meyers said about his most shocking cultural experience. "They spit everywhere all the time. It was unbelievable how many times I got spit on."

He also said that the food was a huge adjustment, and nothing like the Chinese restaurants in America.

"There isn't any sauce, I hardly ever knew what the meat was that we were eating and it was never cooked right," Meyers said. "Everyone got sick at least once."

Despite the few cultural setbacks, Meyers enjoyed China. But he was happy to return to the United States where the students were granted a week long-spring break at home prior to taking one last trip together to rivers on the west coast and Idaho. Meyers said that was when he did his favorite kayaking because the waters they encountered were more like what he was used to, and were more suited for creek boating rather than freestyle kayaking. He was also just happy to be back in familiar territory culturally.

"By the end of the trip I was ready to come back," Meyers said. "It was such a culture shock. I wanted to eat American food and drink water from the faucet and have a glass of milk. They don't really have all that in China."

Now that Meyers is back in Bigfork and done with school he is planning his next adventure.

"School isn't in my future, right now," Meyers said. "World Class gave me the traveling bug. I want to learn from experiences rather than a text book."

Currently he is working at a tree farm near Echo Lake and bussing tables at El Topo to pay for a trip at the end of the summer to Europe. Meyers' trip will start in Germany where he will visit former Bigfork High School foreign exchange student Phil Hermanni, who he played on the Vikings soccer team with last fall. Meyers will then surprise some family members who live in England before heading to Switzerland to watch his brother, Jonathan, compete in the World Kayaking Championship, which begins August 31.

"I can't believe he made the team," Meyers said of his older brother. "I knew he had it in him, but he's been trying to make the team since he was 14. It is just so awesome that he finally did."

Despite his excitement for his older brother, David has no plans of following in his footsteps and turning his hobby into a career.

"I want to do it for the rest of my life," he said of paddling. "But I don't think I want to do it professionally, but maybe. As long as I can kayak and snowboard the rest of my life, I'll be happy."

It's no doubt that kayaking is a huge part of the recent Bigfork High School graduate's life. He often paddled at the break of dawn before school, and even arrived for graduation fresh off the river.

"It's a real adrenaline rush," Meyers said of being on the river. "It's one of the most dynamic sports out there. It's always changing. You're moving and the water is moving. You have to think and react quickly."

The World Class program kept its students thinking and changing as well, which Meyers also appreciated.

"World Class is a great program," Meyers said. "It's a really good college prep, but it's also a really great life prep. You have to live with other people and learn to get along with them whether you like them or not. Everyone has to take care of their own stuff and do their part. It teaches responsibility and helps you become more mature."