It’s been about a month since I left Iceland. I left the island not knowing what or where I would be going next. For now, I’ve decided to chill out with my family and take some time to catch up on everything I’ve been missing in the states. Besides eating In N’ Out everyday, I figured I better start diving again to work off all those burgers.
I yelped a few places around San Jose and found Any Water Sports. I went by one day just to rent some tanks. Everyone in the store was really attentive and friendly. Almost too helpful! There wasn’t a minute that went by where someone didn’t ask me if I needed something. At first, I didn’t know how to react. Then I gave in and engaged in the art of small talk. Refreshing. I know that sounds weird, but visit Iceland and try to small talk with anyone in a shop. Crickets. It doesn’t happen. I left the store feeling like they were a group of scuba nerds just hanging out. Good times.
After a few tank rentals, I spoke with the owner and expressed my interest in being a divemaster for the store. We had a really informal chat about the business and BOOM. I found a job!
My First Trial: Open Water Course
Click here to read about my first open water course experience. Horrible. I never wanted to do that again. Whoops. Big fail. So now I found a gig where I would be assisting in Open Water Courses and doing Refresh Courses. How ironic.
My new favorite scuba shop, Any Water Sports, has a partnership with San Jose State University. They do all the open water programs at the University. Great Set Up. I’m excited.
Day 1: I come early to set up gear and prep the pool area. There are total of 9 students. I meet and greet each one with a hand shake and short hello “I’m leslie…” There’s one instructor and two other divemasters. The instructor gives the orientation of each skill and then we (divemasters) take turns demonstrating. During the 10 minute water treading, the divemasters got to practice their improv comedy skills. My mind blanked, so then I started giving interesting information about the pool and the sailing program at SJSU. Mental note- remember horrible jokes for the next course.
4 hours later the day was complete and the students were ready for their afternoon knowledge reviews.
Day 2: Today was just short of 5 hours. We broke up into small groups and reviewed all the skills from the previous day. Then the instructor led the rest of the class with the remaining skills. We had one small snag with one of the students getting sick during. Yack. Ummm. Its ok, “happens all the time.” Poor guy. Empty stomach + deep breathing = Upset tummy. He yacked a couple more times. I paired up with him, and helped him with his skills. At the end of the course, I could see his improvement and comfort level increasing in the water. Yay!
Next week… Ocean Dives!
So, I’ve learned that maybe I don’t hate open water course. Maybe I just hate them when they are 12+ hours in one day. I think this 2 day setup is a bit more relaxed and my style.
