www.Betsy and Terry.fun

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

June 1- 5

I finally decided to try to earn my Open Water SCUBA diving
certification. It took me four solid days of reading, quizzing,
practicing in the pool,and testing in the ocean.

Thanks to my HERO's, Anabel and Julie, I finished and received
my certification on July 5. This was a huge overcoming of fear
and anxiety for me, mostly about breathing issues,and I have to
admit there is something about being unable to control the situation.......

Most people learn SCUBA in classes with at least a few students
to each instructor,as many as 5 or 6 to a class even.....
BUT not for me....I had two teachers all to myself!

This is Anabel, my dive master and instructor. Who would guess this
sweet little girl could be such a task master????? AND she looks so
serious in her diving mask! BUT she let me practice breathing as long
as I needed to, and distracted me by showing me all the great fish
under the dock so I would relax, before descending so I will forever
be grateful for her patience and determination! AND get this...
She called ME a perfectionist!....

didn't take her long to figure me out....

Now meet Julie, the sweet intern, who was coerced into helping me.
I now know what it feels like to be a Special Ed student, because
believe me, it took both of them to get me through this! I definitely
had a few learning disabilities! Julie looks like a fun fish from
Finding Nemo in her bright pink mask. Julie has positive
reinforcement down to a T. She will be a great instructor and dive
master on her own soon!

Terry was able to go on my first Open Water dive with me!
He took some pictures to prove that I really did it!

Many thanks to Anabel and Julie for helping
me identify all of the underwater sea life!