Underworld World, Day 3

If this trip would have one common theme, it would revolve around the idea of stepping up my confidence and conquering some of the fears and/or reservations I have had in my life....

I've never been good with heights, so I tried rock climbing. I am now digging it completely and don't seem to have any beef in dealing with the heights as I scale a rock tower. Similarly, although I can swim and have even worked as a lifeguard, I'd never dreamed I would have the guts to go down deep into the ocean and breathe by way of steel cylinder and narrow tube.

Well, today was a big day. My dive group went down for two dives of 12 meters today, spending much of the time under water performing skill assessments and drills. We did manage some swim time, but the current we were dealing with around the deep-water coral was, apparently, some of the worst Kho Tao has had in some time. Why not start with the toughest conditions, right? The day was great, and, although the visibility wasn't the best, we did manage to have enough to keep our eyes wandering around the sea floor.

Tomorrow will be the fun day, however. We'll finish our techniques/drills in the morning, and we will finish in the afternoon with some exploratory diving 18 meters deep in the Bay of Thailand. Can't wait!

On a completely, unrelated note....I can't seem to ever get away from the state of Iowa! In 2004, when I studied in Ireland, I can recall watching the CNN World network as they covered the Iowa Caucuses. Well, four and a half years later, as I track yet another election, Iowa comes into the picture again. I was in my room during my lunch break today from our class and decided to catch up on some news. I flipped on the CNN World network, yet again, and amid all the serious election coverage, they paused to touch on a more humerous subject. Apparently there are these two children, a 4-yr old and a 2-yr old, who have been discussing politics and the elections over their morning cereal/yogurt for the past few weeks. One supported Obama and the other McCain, and the camera footage captured them debating and conversing about their candidates. And, of course, where were the two kids from? Iowa, of course. The exact city in the Hawkeye State wasn't mentioned, however. But, I must admit, it was quite strange to be sitting in my hotel room on a small island off the coast of Thailand and seeing news footage from a Des Moines television station.

It's a small world....