PADI open water course
Learning to Dive with Dive Timor https://divetimor.com/open-water-diver-course/
I am here in Timor Leste for 10 months teaching and finally after five months I got the courage to find a place to get certified. It took me awhile to finish watching all the videos and take the tests since I could only come after school, but finally one day In January I sat by the edge of the pool with wide eyes scared and excited, trying to remember everything my instructor (Francisco) was telling me about the equipment, how to use it, the names for each.
I remember realizing that I wasn’t going to remember half of it and really hopping that I wasn’t going to seriously injure myself because I forgot something important. Yellow Octopus, weight belt, Beer, Whiskey, Rum, And, Check… (But I don’t drink ????) But he said I was ready even if I didn’t feel ready.
Learning to dive
So I got in my straight jacket (wet suit) and I followed the steps he did to prepare the equipment and put it on me. I fixed all the straps and clips and felt like I was going on an epic backpacking trip… Except I wouldn’t make it very far. It’s heavy stuff! And made the long dangerous journey from one end of the pool, down the steps around the pool and up the steps again and slowly… falling on the steps.. No just sitting down early. And there is where I first had the opportunity and amazing experience of being a fish.
Learning to Dive In Timor
Breathing underwater! while learning to dive
I didn’t enjoy it as much this first time since I was way too preoccupied in trying frantically to myself to remember everything he said and not forget important steps. Which I did when we were practicing doing an emergency exit pretending I needed help but I forgot to fill my bdc ( to fill my back pack with air and turn myself into a floating balloon) however that important park he had told me not to forget, had been forgotten so when I got to the top he quickly told me to fill it as he was holding me up ( since I’m heavier at the surface…
That’s correct right? ;P) so I put my mouth to manually blow into it and fill it up, except as I was pushing down on the button, I wasn’t releasing, so the air I was blowing in was just going back out again! So yah Almost killed my instructor… Or at least gave him more work than he needed.
But amazingly and slightly to my dismay, Francisco said I was ready for my in the ocean dive even after receiving the title of hardest person to save