Scuba!

Like most kids, at some point in my life I was convinced that I was going got become a marine biologist when I grew up. Once I realized that my grandfather was a fish expert this idea was reinforced, but developed into my declaration that I was going to be an ichthyologist. I became addicted to reruns of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and longed for the day that I could explore the oceans. By the time I was fourteen however, I realized that my real passion was in working with children, and my love of science was put on a back burner. My early love for biology came back in college, and after I finished my bachelor's in Elementary education, I decided it was time to explore my first love and go for my master's in biology, now aiming to intertwine the two interests as a high school biology teacher. My early love of aquatic systems was renewed when I realized that my finalized move to American Samoa gave me the prefect excuse I have been waiting for to get my scuba certification, albeit that I may be broking myself.

When I was telling my family about the scuba lessons that I had signed up for my brother thought that it was the coolest thing. After some wheedling we convinced my parents to pay for Ricky to get his certification along with me (lucky 16 year-old dependent...). This past Thursday was out first lesson and Ricky and I were absolutely stoked. For the first couple hours we were in the classroom learning the basic equipment and mechanics of diving, then we packed up the van and headed to the pool. First up we had some swim tests just to make sure that we were in condition to dive. I can swim just fine, but I;m not that fast, so when I swam alongside the other three in the class I felt pretty inadequate, as they were all on the local swim team. We soon moved on to the good stuff, and assembled and donned out gear. After some basic instruction on all the button and valves, we submerged. I can't explain how awesome it felt to be breathing underwater, and the feeling remained through the next hour and a half of learning and practicing some basic skills. At the end of class we had a little free time to swim around and continue to get familiar with the feel of the equipment, during which my brother and I goofed around. Ricky soon discovered that if you laugh underwater the smiling breaks the seal of your mask and causes it to flood with water. I of course, seeing his confusion and struggles, laughed so hard that I was soon experiencing the phenomena myself.

Driving home I reflected back on the lesson, and found myself thrilled not only to be experiencing scuba, but to be able to have this awesome chance to bond with my little bro, especially as I have a feeling I won't be home for a significant amount to time until he is all grown up. Cheesy perhaps, but I am very grateful that I have this time for just Ricky and myself.

While I may be now completely broke from buying my gear, I am so glad that I;m learning to dive, and can only hope that I will have many opportunities to dive in AmSam.