Blue Under

Finally! I've gather my courage and enrolled myself in a open water diving course. I've been wanting to do this some time ago. I thought, what the heck. We live only once and so far I haven't really achieve a lot in my life. I need to get out of my mundane life. I need a break from work shit. I need a break from relathionship shit. I need a break from my daily schedule. I need the hidden part of me to be waken. I need to do someting random. I need to experience a different world. I need another reason to live.

With the help of some new found friends who happen to dive and play poker - yea, they taught me the art of playing poker - i got myself a divemaster, a few lesson and a diving holiday at Pulau Tioman (the open water dive certification by PADI)

For a start, I don't really know how to swim ... not if you call sucking in breath and fantically moving my limbs at different direction to stay afloat and work my way inch by inch to the other side of the pool, swimming. My first lesson was a confined water dive in a pool. It's a one to one session with Richard, the divemaster. There were so much equipment required for diving. Understanding and fixing up all the equipment is pretty easy for me. The air cylinder is freaking heavy (weighing more than me) and Richard make me carry it and walk around (!!) to familiarise with the weight.

After the hand signal lesson, we got ourselves into the pool. With the regulator, I went down to the blue... the first time I breathe under water without choking myself. I kept reminding myself to breathe thru my mouth.. in, out, in, out.. Soon after, I begin to get the hang of it.

The feeling is weird and peculiar. Everything I see is so clear, so blue...and there's some micro organism floating around. I hear nothing except for the sound of air suction and my bubble blooping released itself from the regulator....almost silent. I move in slow motion. I found peace. 
 
I began to learn some basic skill such as clearing the mask, stay under water without my regulator and mask, retrieving my regulator, buoyancy control using my breath and equicpment, swimming underwater... flipping the fin. Richard told me that one shouldn't always go up to the surface to solve the problem when encounter difficulty underwater. We have to solve it underwater.
 
 

 
I experienced a little difficulty when I do full mask clearing after staying a while without it together with the regulator. I was overwhelmed as it was my first time without mask and regulator. I tried clearing the mask but fail as water gets into my nose. I hate it so much when it happened. My breathing rhythem is inconsistent. Richard saw me struggling and signal me to surface. I refuse to go up. I told myself to be brave and solve it underwater. I signal him to stay. I have to learn to solve it underwater. I clear my mind and calm myself. I took out my regulator and mask. I repeat the whole set step by step. Succeed!
 
Richard is very proud of me. I'm his excellent student. He told me girls usually take longer time to master all the skill, easily give up and most of the time resolve in surfacing whenever they encounter difficulty underwater. Ahhh! I feel so happy! Not only that I manage to master those skills, I also manage to solve problem underwater - without knowing how to swim! Next I have to study the diving manual - 5 chapters - a lecture session and sit for a paper test. Doink~ And one more confined underwater dive.

I'm so excited about my first dive in Pulau Tioman. Three more weeks to go! ^^