I woke up at 7:30 today. It was the first day of scuba diving lessons. The meeting time was 8:00, so I made an effort to get up. I took water and a towel and headed to the diving school.
The instructor was Calvin, a German.
When I arrived Simon was already there and I said 'Good morning.' I felt a little anxious, wondering if we'd be doing the lesson with five people including the Australian instructor from yesterday. I thought a five-person lesson might be pretty tough, and I couldn't understand her pronunciation at all.
But it turned out the instructor was someone different: Calvin, a German. He looked genuinely kind and thoughtful.
I was really happy to hear he'd be our instructor for Simon and me. His pronunciation was completely understandable, and since he's German English isn't his primary language. He was really kind and approachable. We shook hands, introduced ourselves, and the lesson began.
Physics, physiology, and emergency procedures
At first we had lectures on physics and physiology. Thanks to Calvin teaching the two of us carefully, I was able to absorb the physics material quickly even though I'm not good at it.
We learned about nitrogen and oxygen concentrations underwater, how gases compress, and about the NDL (no-decompression limit). The underwater environment is more dangerous than I thought — pressure affects the body, and you may need to take in a lot more oxygen because of it. Really fascinating.
While we were in the middle of the lesson, the owner came in and told us, "Leave the school immediately! There's going to be an inspection."
Anyway, after a lot of commotion we hurriedly prepared and continued the lesson at a nearby bar. I thought it was a really interesting experience. It seemed it was Calvin's first time too, and I listened to the lesson thinking how interesting it all was. We finished the physiology and physics lessons, answered the quiz, and were done!
Lunch with Simon
For lunch, I said to Simon, 'Hey, maybe we can eat lunch together.' He responded, 'Of course, yeah,' so we went to a nearby café. I ordered a burger, and he ordered a burger too.
We talked a lot there. Simon studied physiotherapy at university and now works at a sports center treating sports injuries and muscle damage — sort of like a doctor. Southeast Asia was his first time; he started in Thailand and planned to go on to Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. After that he'd go to China and maybe Japan — he wasn't sure, but said he'd like to if he can.
Simon is really cool; I think he has a strong sense of self and that makes him attractive. He's calm on his own and doesn't hang around unnecessarily. Those qualities are truly admirable. His face looks a bit scary so I was a little nervous, but I was able to talk to him normally.
I thought it's important to talk to each other as equals and with mutual respect. You must never judge people by their appearance. I realized that people who seem scary can actually be kind. He really is a 'man's man' and doesn't look easy to get close to, but when I invited him to eat, we had a really good conversation and it was a lot of fun. Moments like that actually happen.
Four hours of pool training
Lunch flew by, so we decided to return to the school. Calvin had already prepared everything, and from the afternoon we did pool training. We actually got into the pool to learn the basics. I think the pool training lasted about four hours?
We were taught how to set up the tank, the names, uses, and functions of the equipment, how to swim and surface in an emergency, how to use the BCD, how to clear water if your mask comes off, and how to equalize your ears. We learned everything like that.
It was so, so much fun. Just from the pool training I felt I was really learning new things, and I remembered how enjoyable it is to learn something you don't know.
The pool training ended successfully. The final exercises were fairly difficult, but we completed them. In particular, taking off and putting on my mask underwater and then clearing the water was really tough. Because I have long hair, that alone made it much harder. But it was truly fun.
In the golden years of life at 25
Being able to do things I couldn't do before — there's nothing more joyful than this moment.
I'm 25 now, and in this golden age of 25 I can travel around the world. I feel like there may never be a happier time than this. So I live every day to the fullest — you can't control other people, but you can control yourself.
That's why I want to enjoy life to the fullest. There are plenty of hardships, and loneliness in particular is very strong. But because this trip is a journey for myself, it makes me stronger against loneliness and teaches me how to take care of myself and how to live alone.
It's also a trip that teaches those things. So I try to learn as much as possible every day, and I'm truly full of gratitude. Many Japanese people work in Japan and only go abroad occasionally. Compared to that kind of life, I can travel overseas for a year. Just that alone is a really special and unforgettable experience, I think.
I will definitely acquire skills, improve, and become able to be independent. I can definitely do it. If others can do it, so can I.
Tomorrow: the ocean
After the pool training we were told we'd actually go to the sea tomorrow, meeting at 9:30. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow too! These bootcamp-like skill-learning experiences are really fun. I always want to improve and keep improving. It's not easy — but precisely because it's not easy, it's interesting, right? It's a test of how much I can do.
Simon and I left the school and at a fork in the road we said, 'See you tomorrow,' and waved goodbye. For dinner I ordered green curry and coconut milk at a nearby restaurant. The coconut milk is incredibly delicious, but it's very high in calories, which is a problem (laughs).
I worked at night. Then a little cat sat next to my desk and fell asleep partway through. I thought, 'It really likes me.' That alone made me happy.
But when it comes to dealing with people, strange feelings arise and I can't act naturally, so I want to somehow fix that.
