Scuba certification, AFL game, final exam, whales... Oh my!

The days after vacationing in Bali have been a mixture of running around trying to get things done and enjoying the last few days in Sydney. I was greeted by a gorgeous Sydney sunrise when I stepped off the plane on Friday (June 27th). Though I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Bali, it was good to be back.  

After having so much fun diving in Bali, I decided I should get certified as an Open Water Diver (an entry-level certification for scuba diving). I did some research, had a medical evaluation at a hospital in Bali on my last day there, and signed up for a course at the Manly Dive Center for the following weekend. 

The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) course consists of three main phases: 

- Knowledge development to understand basic principles of scuba diving 
- Confined water dives to learn basic scuba skills 
- Open water dives to use the skills you learned and explore the fantastic oceans 

The first portion of the course (knowledge development) is online through an interactive eLearning program. You have to complete this prior to doing your confined and open water dives, so I spent the whole day in the library doing this when I got home on Friday. The eLearning training through PADI was relatively easy; it just took a while to get through it. There were 6 modules, all of which were "taught" by a person with a different English accent. American, Australian, Irish, and British... You never knew who you were going to get for the next module! After completing and passing the eLearning, I was all set for the next portions of the course: confined dives and open water dives. 

I headed to Manly early on Saturday morning, and met my instructor for the next two days, Andy, and another guy getting certified, Chris. I was somewhat nervous, so I was very happy that it was just Chris and I taking the course. 

The confined water dive consisted of learning and practicing skills needed to scuba dive. We also learned how to put together all the gear, and set it up appropriately. The skills we had to learn, were things I had done previously. We had to take out our regulator, adjust our buoyancy, show that we understood the hand language lingo, and lots of other things. We also did my favourite skill: clearing the mask after a partial and full flood (i.e. filling it with water). The whole take-off-your-mask-like-it's-no-big-deal was the one thing that I had been dreading the whole time. And for good reason; it was absolutely terrifying. In my defence, I had a bit of difficulty doing this because of my cleft palate. Luckily, with a few minor adjustments I was able to do it (I still need heaps of more practice though...). 

After demonstrating ample confined dive skills, it was time to use these skills in the real open water. We headed to Fairlight Beach, which was about a 10 minute drive from the Manly Dive Center headquarters. It was a beautiful day for a dive. The sun was shining, and the water looked very inviting. It could have been a tad bit warmer in the air though, I must admit. Brrr.

Before getting our scuba gear together and going into the water, we had to demonstrate that we could swim 200 meters/656 feet. This is to ensure that if an emergency arose, you would be able to swim for a bit. We completed 8 laps in the small tidal swimming pool right next to the beach. To say that the water was a bit chilly would be an understatement... But Chris and I both got through it! 

It is always important to dive with a buddy; it is so much safer being in the water with another person. Not only is it nice to share the experience with another person, it is also vital to have another person there in case of an emergency or unforeseen event. My buddy, Chris, and I performed the buddy check prior to going into the water. We remembered what to do with this helpful sentence: Beautiful Women Rarely Are Free. 

B - BCD (check that the BCD inflates and deflates properly) 
W - Weights (show buddy where you have weights) 
R - Releases (show buddy how he/she can release you out of your gear if need be) 
A - Air (check that primary regulator and secondary regulator work properly) 
F - Fins and final check (a final look over to make sure everything looks in order)

Our first dive at Fairlight went well. The visibility was pretty good (about 7 meters), and we saw a lot of interesting things in the water, like colorful fish, starfish, sea urchins, and small sharks. 

In the evening on Saturday I went to my first (and likely last) Australian Football League game. The Sydney Swans played the Western Sydney Giants. We were a fairly large group of people: Isabelle, Anne, Charlie (Anne's boyfriend), Jack (Charlie's little brother), Anita, Tord (Anita's husband), and Simon (Tord's best friend who was visiting from Norway). After the first day of diving, I was a bit tired, but very excited to finally see an AFL game. AFL is played on a round field, which I thought was very interesting. The players could both throw and kick the ball, and have to get it through the big goal poles. Though I understood very little of the game and wasn't quite able to follow, there were several factors that contributed to it still being a very enjoyable evening: 

- Heaps of gorgeous men running around on a big field in short shorts and tank tops
- Hanging out with good friends 
- Ice cold beer 

On Sunday we did several more open water dives in the chilly, chilly water at Fairlight Beach. Though our instructor, Andy, had given us both an extra thermal layer to wear under our wetsuits, it was still pretty cold being in the water and getting out. Andy also lent hats, which were much appreciated between dives. We bundled up with blankets, towels, and clothes, and drank warm beverages in an attempt to stay warm. 

After completing the three more dives on Sunday, and proving that we were capable of doing the skills to an acceptable level, we were certified. Though we were only in the water for 30 minutes each dive, going in and out of the water and getting all the gear together, was very tiring (actually squeezing into a skin tight wetsuit was probably the most tiring aspect of the day). I was exhausted by the time we were done diving. I was ready for a very long and very warm shower. 

Yesterday (June 30th) Isabelle, Anne, Anita, and I had our last final exam in Health Psychology. Hurray, we are done with all academic work while at Macquarie! Immediately after the exam Anne and I went and sold/gave away our textbooks. Not bringing those heavy things back to Norway... 

We celebrated our freedom by heading to the city. I have been looking for the perfect souvenir to bring home with me from Australia. I wanted something that I would either use or love to look at. After much searching, I finally found the perfect souvenir on Etsy.com; it was a spectacular circular panorama picture of Sydney. Anne, Isabelle, and I met with the Sydney-based photographer, Hamish Ta-mé, at his studio in Surry Hills after our exam. I'm happy to say that I finally have a lovely souvenir in my possession. I can't wait to have it framed and hang it in the living room in Drammen! 

CircPan of Sydney by Hamish Ta-mé

Hamish has termed the circular panoramas "CircPan", and I absolutely love this intricate technique. By placing 24 cameras on a specially designed tripod and using a self-designed computer program, he is able to capture gorgeous 360 degree views. He has taken lots of pictures in different places in New South Wales. If you'd like to check out his other work, visit www.bwstreetphotography.spiffystores.com or find him on Facebook. He is so talented, and such a nice guy!  

Anne also fell in love with the pictures, and ended up getting a print as well. She opted for a colorful CircPan of Coogee Beach. After we had great souvenirs in our possession, we headed to a café to have some much needed food and beverages. While I've been in Australia, I've gotten hooked on ciders. The Australian/New Zealand ciders are so much better than the ciders I've had other places; they're less sweet and more dry. I tried a new one yesterday, and it was delicious! It was a very enjoyable afternoon in the city. 

I started the packing process last night. Packing is probably one of my least favorite activities in the world, so when Isabelle and Devan asked me to join in on their roommate-outing to Max Brenner, I gladly accepted the invitation. 

Isabelle, Ruby, Taylor, me, Rhiannon, and Devan.

Rhiannon got me a very sweet gift: a soft kangaroo with an Australian flag. I couldn't have been happier to receive such a sweet, unexpected gift. Isabelle named the koala she got Ranlee (because she kept calling Rhiannon this the first week here) and I named my kangaroo Messina (because I LOVE the gelato from Messina). 

Today (July 1st) has also been an eventful day. Caitlin and I bundled up with all the warm clothes we could find (and some pretty nifty snowboard gloves from Woolworth's), and headed to Cockle Bay Wharf to go on a whale watching tour. The company we went with promised dolphins, whales, and pelicans. Unfortunately, we didn't see any pelicans! All the majestic whales and playful dolphins made up for that though. We had a good time, and were nice and toasty! 

After the whale watching cruise, Caitlin and I met up with Anne, Isabelle, and Caitlin's mom who is visiting from the States. We had a yummy lunch at the Opera Bar before Isabelle, Anne, and I took the ferry to Manly to do some window shopping. The views from the ferry were absolutely spectacular today. The weather was simply perfect.

Love, 
Suzy