1ST CHECK of ARTICLE 2: PUNTING TROUBLES by M.Jankovic

Marija, please improve the parts of text that are put in bold.

Punting Troubles

It is rather strange and funny how silly things always happen to those who try hard to avoid them. Obviously standing aside and trying to be an observer is not a good and recommendable tactic; well, at least in some situations. However, additional experience, no matter how strange it was, is always a precious one as it teaches you a valuable lesson. And, I would certainly remember the following one to the rest of my life.
It all happened in 2001, in July, during my stay in Cambridge. Even though every moment I spent there was precious, the thing that happened to me on one Wednesday affected me the most.
My friends and I went punting on the River Cam. The punting station was crowded with students from all over the world. We were all waiting for a guide who was supposed to announce the beginning of the adventure, and divide us into small groups.
Very soon I found myself in a group of five strangers, what made me feel a bit confused and uncomfortable. As these people were very kind and friendly my bad mood did not last long.
We got into the boat, but soon discovered that we were on our own, without any help of a professional rower. So here we were at the beginning of our nightmare. While other teams were sailing down the river, we were trying to move the boat from the starting position and to calm it. Not only did we worsen the situation by rotating the boat and going from one bank to another, but we became the object of ridiculing of those who were observing what was happening.
Finally, we decided not to torture ourselves anymore. We stopped, got out of the boat, sat on the grass and started joking. But not for long, as others were coming back to the start, so we had to move the boat once again. This time I took the command over a boat. Never had I felt such fear, as in that moment.
We managed somehow. Although we were only thirty meters away from the punting station we got there last. The crew was so happy to feel the ground under their feet again, and they all praised me to be an excellent captain.

You can imagine how much this adventure helped me feeling great self-confidence. It is certainly worth all those troubles.