Just Breathe

I went in the deep end today- there are a lot more rules once you are past the 5 meter mark. Like, did you know that if you take a breath at depth and hold it as you ascend, the air will expand in the lower pressure and burst your lungs. One doesn't think about lung bursting as a possibility in day to day life- it's all quite exciting! My absolute favorite was when I managed to achieve neutral buoyancy, which is when you are neither floating up or sinking. Taking small breaths so your full lungs don't push you to the surface like a cork, you can just hang out in the middle of the water- very tranquil and probably the closest I'll ever get to a meditative state. You can hear yourself breathing and everything is both quieter and more amplified at the same time. It is the closest a person can get to the weightlessness of space, while still on earth. Very very cool.

I had a sore throat when I woke up this morning and was rather worried about the medical because they will not let you on the boat if your sinuses are blocked. The pressure in your eardrums doesn't equalize and you can do some serious damage in terms of embolisms and broken ear drums. The dive instructor (from Spruce Grove! How weird is that?) told us a story about his friend who ignored advice not to dive and went down- on his way back up he had a severe pain in his cheek but he kept going up and when he got back on the boat there was a large bubble of flesh in his cheek. He poked at it and it burst, taking a piece of his cheekbone with it. Now he can't dive until he gets his skull fixed with a metal plate. Did I mention I love diving?

It really isn't as dangerous as it sounds. As long as you are not impatient and not a macho idiot, everything runs very smoothly. The whole respirator apparatus makes me feel like Darth Vadar ("You don't know the power of the dark side!"- try saying that underwater). The first rule of diving is remember to breathe. The second rule of diving is remember to breathe. So if I can just remember to breathe, I will be all right. And the instructors are hot! Grrawrr!

-A.