“So I can really learn SCUBA diving?”
I was at the bowling alley in Plaza Senayan and my 10th birthday party had just ended. I was getting ready to go home when my dad pulled me aside and said “Do you remember what I promised you when you were 8?”
I furrowed my eyebrows. I couldn’t remember the major events that had happened two weeks ago, much less two years ago. But then the memory came back to me like a long lost story. I was sitting down on the couch reading a book. It was a normal day for me except that my parents were getting ready for their first SCUBA diving lesson. When I had heard about it, I started whining.
“Why can’t I go?” I asked my dad.
“Because you’re not old enough.” he replied. “Law requires all SCUBA diving students to be at least 10.I promise on your 10th birthday I will set up SCUBA diving lessons for you.” The memory ended and my mind shifted to the present and I said “Yeah, I remember. What about it?”
“Well, it’s your 10th birthday, isn’t it?” Suddenly I got really excited.
“Did you call him?”
“I’ll call him now.” Him was Joi, my dad’s diving instructor. I was elated. I was going to learn SCUBA diving!
The first lessons were in Joi’s dive shop. I learnt basic hand signals to communicate with other divers underwater and I also learnt the name and function of every piece of equipment a diver needed to have. The next lessons were pool dives. We went to a huge Olympic-sized swimming pool and did practice dives. The dives were truly exhilarating, because when you’re down there, you feel fifty kilos lighter than you should be and for one blissful hour I was gliding across the pool with not a care in the world. More pool dives followed and although they were fun, I longed to venture out into the ocean and see nature’s underwater miracles.
My dream finally came true when Joi announced that we were going on an ocean dive at Kotok Island, just one of the thousands of islands that make Indonesia’s vast archipelago. The boat ride to the island took an hour, and when we arrived I was eager to get into the ocean, which from the pier looked like a calm blue sheet, stretching into the infinite horizon beyond. First I donned my wetsuit. This garment kept me warm in the sometimes cold waters of the ocean. Next I attached my air tank to my BCD or Buoyancy Control Device. I then attached air hoses, air pressure gauges and compasses to the top of my air tank. These were critical pieces of equipment, since they told me how much air was in my tank, where I was and they allowed me to breathe underwater. The last things I put on were my dive boots, fins and mask which helped me to swim and look at underwater life. I waddled to the edge of the pier and looked down. My dad, my friend Adri and Joi were behind me. I stepped off and plunged into the ocean. I panicked at first, but then I relaxed. I started to swim to the buoy that marked our descending point. Three splashes behind me told me that the others were in. I reached the buoy and waited for the others to catch up. When they arrived, I started descending using a rope attached to the buoy. When the rope ended, I let go and swam around the reef. Hundreds of fish swarmed around me. They came in different colors and varieties. It was fascinating to watch them. I lay down on the sand and stared eye-to-eye with a huge fish. After more exploring, I relaxed and leaned on the ropes. Joi motioned for the others to come to him. He was holding a starfish which was pentagon shaped and was the color of roof tiles. This is perhaps a game of catch that I will never forget. We threw the starfish to one another, until the air in our tanks was low. We ascended to the surface and I looked around and instantly knew that that there were more dives to come.And when they came, I would be ready.
I was at the bowling alley in Plaza Senayan and my 10th birthday party had just ended. I was getting ready to go home when my dad pulled me aside and said “Do you remember what I promised you when you were 8?”
I furrowed my eyebrows. I couldn’t remember the major events that had happened two weeks ago, much less two years ago. But then the memory came back to me like a long lost story. I was sitting down on the couch reading a book. It was a normal day for me except that my parents were getting ready for their first SCUBA diving lesson. When I had heard about it, I started whining.
“Why can’t I go?” I asked my dad.
“Because you’re not old enough.” he replied. “Law requires all SCUBA diving students to be at least 10.I promise on your 10th birthday I will set up SCUBA diving lessons for you.” The memory ended and my mind shifted to the present and I said “Yeah, I remember. What about it?”
“Well, it’s your 10th birthday, isn’t it?” Suddenly I got really excited.
“Did you call him?”
“I’ll call him now.” Him was Joi, my dad’s diving instructor. I was elated. I was going to learn SCUBA diving!
The first lessons were in Joi’s dive shop. I learnt basic hand signals to communicate with other divers underwater and I also learnt the name and function of every piece of equipment a diver needed to have. The next lessons were pool dives. We went to a huge Olympic-sized swimming pool and did practice dives. The dives were truly exhilarating, because when you’re down there, you feel fifty kilos lighter than you should be and for one blissful hour I was gliding across the pool with not a care in the world. More pool dives followed and although they were fun, I longed to venture out into the ocean and see nature’s underwater miracles.
My dream finally came true when Joi announced that we were going on an ocean dive at Kotok Island, just one of the thousands of islands that make Indonesia’s vast archipelago. The boat ride to the island took an hour, and when we arrived I was eager to get into the ocean, which from the pier looked like a calm blue sheet, stretching into the infinite horizon beyond. First I donned my wetsuit. This garment kept me warm in the sometimes cold waters of the ocean. Next I attached my air tank to my BCD or Buoyancy Control Device. I then attached air hoses, air pressure gauges and compasses to the top of my air tank. These were critical pieces of equipment, since they told me how much air was in my tank, where I was and they allowed me to breathe underwater. The last things I put on were my dive boots, fins and mask which helped me to swim and look at underwater life. I waddled to the edge of the pier and looked down. My dad, my friend Adri and Joi were behind me. I stepped off and plunged into the ocean. I panicked at first, but then I relaxed. I started to swim to the buoy that marked our descending point. Three splashes behind me told me that the others were in. I reached the buoy and waited for the others to catch up. When they arrived, I started descending using a rope attached to the buoy. When the rope ended, I let go and swam around the reef. Hundreds of fish swarmed around me. They came in different colors and varieties. It was fascinating to watch them. I lay down on the sand and stared eye-to-eye with a huge fish. After more exploring, I relaxed and leaned on the ropes. Joi motioned for the others to come to him. He was holding a starfish which was pentagon shaped and was the color of roof tiles. This is perhaps a game of catch that I will never forget. We threw the starfish to one another, until the air in our tanks was low. We ascended to the surface and I looked around and instantly knew that that there were more dives to come.And when they came, I would be ready.
1 comment:
Like I said on all the edits, nice work on the finished product. The three pics add a lot to the look and feel of the story. It would even be better if you could place the graphics in the story where they would make the most sense, rather than just plopping them on the top of the writing. Any chance of making the changes?
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