Self-contained, Underwater...

Same random internet cafe as last time, 8:45pm, Koh Tao

Learning to scuba. As my British friends would say 'it's quite nice actually'. I was sure that I would like it, but wasn't sure that it would be just as much fun as I've found it to be. I'm in a class of two - one girl, early 20s from London area. The instructor is 24 from Germany, and has racked up almost 500 dives on this island alone. Needless to say she has a great tan.

My days have been spent in the dive shop (called the Cartoon Club, for some reason that's totally normal here)...working on lessons, hanging out with the local legends, working on getting rid of some pretty stupid tan lines that I've picked up along the way. Oh yes - we also spent about 6 hours a day on the water, in the water, on the boat on the water, talking about the water, thinking about the water, getting water out of our ears....you get the point. I'm loving learning this new hobby! Today we took two dives - one in a place called Mango Bay and the other one in a place that I can't remember. Saw lots of cool fish...none of which I know the names of, but I think I saw Nemo a time or two and maybe even some of his buddies.

The only problem with SCUBA is that you can't have any drinks within several hours of diving, and you have to be very careful what you eat, that you're hydrated, and that you pay close attention to the places in your body that can trap air. Never thought the filling in my tooth could stress me out so much! Also - I can't tell you how good a cold beer or 3 sounds after a long day in the sun...but alas, I'll have to put it off until I'm not diving the next day!

Today we dove to about 13 meters...(man the US needs to work on getting with meters, Celsius, kilometers, kilos, etc...I have a hell of a time translating!). I haven't had any panics yet, and our instructor is great so I've felt very safe the whole time. The only worry that I have is that...if something does go wrong when I'm at my maximum depth (18 meters)...I can't just pop up to the surface. I mean, I could - but I like being able to walk, move my arms, and generally being alive. But - that's a risk you run I suppose! Definitely worth the fun at this point.

I love this little island...the bungalow I'm staying in leaves a bit to be desired, but the island - top notch. My friend from Canada has a pet momma lizard living above her, sitting on 5-6 lizard eggs. Luckily she chose just left of the bed to lay her eggs so that Bailee doesn't have to worry about the repurcussions of having an animal above her for hours at a time (think about it...).

My friendly roommates are cockroaches and rats. I keep telling myself that the rats can't get into my mosquito netting (even though there's a nice sized chew hole near my head). The cockroaches at this point, although incredibly dirty, aren't any big deal...but rats I've never much cared for. I keep flashing back to a made for tv movie that involved a 12 year old girl waking up with rats in her bed. Other than the rats (basically the size of cats, fyi) and the cockroaches, I've only a few milipedes, some geckos, and the crazy birds that come in and out of the ceiling. But I've been away in the day, so the birds aren't any impact either.

I've just had a very filling Mexican meal (restaurant called El Gringo - perfect!) and I think it's about time to hit the sack. I'm not sure yet how long I'm going to stay here...if I could move all of you guys over here with me, it might just be forever! Just about half of my trip left and I'm sure many more adventures. It's great to spend a month not knowing who/what is around the next corner! Tata for now.

Cheers-
Genevieve