Capitolo 2: Aqualungs

Father and daughter were as happy as a clam ◕‿◕

I am now a certified PADI Open Water Diver! Y-A-Y! * 

Before I'm exposed to this diving absurdity, I had no idea at all that diving course would only require so little time. I thought the whole diving course gonna take weeks (in my case, months), however, you could actually squeeze it into two days. 

So, what is this PADI thing then? PADI Open Water Diver course is the first step you have to take if you'd like to take a scuba diving certificate. Basically, it's the entry-level course. There's around five or so scuba diving certification; PADI and SSI to name a few (I don't know the rest). I never heard anyone got their cert from SSI, so you can just leave it out and take PADI course instead. PADI courses in Indonesia aren't hard to find nowadays. I know there are several in Grogol, Senayan, Ancol. The one that I had was at Divemasters Indonesia in Kemang, South Jakarta. Psst! From what I heard, this dive centre is the best in town!

Yep, it took months for me and my dad to master our entry-level diving skills. Not that we couldn't keep up with the lessons.. But we had to conform the diving course time with my dad's schedule. We had the course during my dad's busiest months in his office. Hence, the delayed diving course. 

The course includes five water training dives in a confined water (swimming pool) plus knowledge lessons (yes indeed, my friend, diving requires theoretical knowledge; and that includes MATHS). When you're done, you demonstrate your skills in an open water (ocean, baybeeh) under the instructor's surveillance and undergo a written theoretical exam.  Don't worry, it's rather easy. And you can actually review it with your instructor right before the exam starts. Sounds a piece of cake to you I presume ;) 

My dad and I had our exam on December 13 in Pulau Pelangi — which is located in the Thousand Islands (a group of hundred or so islands just on the north of Jakarta) — with eight other people joining us. Our motley crew includes two instructors (my dad’s friend and his son) and six beginner divers who are made up of a dad with his two teenager sons and three young adults who were roughly around my age. This relieved me, because half of the diving course I had no choice but to stick with my dad and his colleagues who were, of course, in their 50s. And I was the only girl in the group. Awk-ward. No offense, dad. 

First reaction when I got into the sea: 

EHMAGERD DEM WATER IS SALTY. AND THERES WAVE. 

OH NO PLEASE BRING. ME LAND.

I couldn’t stop moving. I was kicking so hard I stirred up the sand in the bottom (I was in the shallow water by the way) and ruined the underwater visibility. Poor Nemo couldn’t find his way home because of me ☹ I didn’t expect the ocean could be this salty. I thought I could handle it!

Finally, after some tear inducing experience (the water got into my eyes!), I was able to descend. To pass the exam, we needed to perform a set of skills under the instructor’s supervision. Skills such as: 

• Taking your regulator off underwater and putting it on again
• Mask clearing. Now, mask clearing is something I particularly like. This skill is necessary to clear your flooded mask. It’s also a good way to defog your mask underwater without having to surface
• What to do when you run out of air

Thank God, me and Dad performed well! Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see underwater. The water was murky our visibility only as far as five metres. We spotted little Nemo and a few brain corals. However, it was my first open water diving experience and I really enjoyed it! I'm looking forward for more adventure! ♥ ♥

* Please forgive my braggy self. 

** Picture taken by Om Ibenk, Mr Instructor. Editing by yours truly.