Travel Notes: PG Island in the Philippines, get your OW diving certificate

Why take a diving certificate? The sea is so beautiful, I want to see it. Well, let’s start with a few photos of the underwater world taken by fellow travellers:

 

What I learned the most from this trip was what 33 said: Sports is something that should not end once it has started. I have been running at least once a week for the past six months (the National Day 8+2 days holiday was discontinued). I originally thought that running once a week would be pretty good. However, 33 said, "Once a week can only maintain the status quo, and it must be in good physical condition. If you are weak, you need to exercise at least three times a week." Well, indeed, I insist on exercising every day. During the time when I ran three times a week, I was in good physical condition, and I didn’t need to take a nap and was not tired.

 

Then, there is another big gain, which is what 44 said, "A good developer must be able to discuss their goals with products and operations from a business perspective. We are a team. The development and improvement of the entire product The process requires us to put ourselves in each other’s shoes and respect each other.”

 

Above are the extras from this trip. Let’s get to the point.

 

One month before coming to the Philippines, I got the textbooks and read them carefully, and finally passed the written examination with an excellent score of 90+ points. A song comes to mind - "We Are Singing Children" by the ballad band, and we are still serious children. Okay, here we go:

After meeting the coach, the coach first gave us the most important theoretical review and explanation. The coach repeatedly emphasized that she is fierce (haha, if you are fierce, you definitely don’t have to keep emphasizing it. Obviously she is afraid of exposing her gentle side. Well, another song comes to mind, "Love is like the Tide" by Xinzhe Zhang: Your tenderness is like water) , the coach repeatedly emphasized that "Diving is something with a very low error tolerance ". Well, when I was reading the book, I saw various possible injuries and various possible deaths. Therefore, we study very seriously.

 

The entire underwater exercise, including one in still water (swimming pool) and four times on the bottom of the sea, was as timid as walking on thin ice. 33 also finally overcame the psychological barrier of taking off the mask for fear of choking in water. With the help of coaches, 33, and 44, I went from panicking at the beginning, tossing and turning on the water surface, and not being able to swim in the water, to later being able to lie down easily on the water surface and control swimming in the water more freely.

Generally speaking, the entire mental journey:

1. Underwater practice: Panic. Kneeling in the water, looking around at a loss. Having mastered the basic skills but not yet familiar with them, can successfully balance ear pressure.

2. First Fun Dive: Struggling . Very nervous, often touching the bottom of the sea and coral.

3. Second Fun Dive: stumbling . I almost touched the bottom of the sea many times and touched the coral several times. In fact, every contact disturbs or harms underwater life. I don't want this to happen and I want to continue to improve my diving skills. This time, I learned to put water in the mask to keep my vision clear.

4. The third Fun Dive: did not float or sink . The body basically does not touch the seabed or corals. However, buoyancy control is still very unstable. It almost floated back to the surface several times. This time, I gradually realized the practice of slow breathing and learned to deflate effectively. Also, weighting is important. This time the weight was too light, so I couldn’t stop during the final safety stop and went straight to the surface.

5. The fourth Fun Dive: follows from left to right. This dive was just me and a dive guide. Along the way, you can stay with your dive guide, and at the same time, you can control your buoyancy more freely. Before, I basically only relied on breathing + BCD buoyancy equipment to control buoyancy in the water. This time, I learned to control my position in the water through my waist + breathing, and my flexibility in the water was greatly improved.

 

Thank you to the beautiful coach and the best female coach in PG Island, Alizee. Thanks to 33 and 44 for their help and guidance along the way. Today, we graduated!