The Job and Crew

‘Scuba Diving: noun. the sport or pastime of swimming underwater using scuba gear.’
That’s it! That is all the dictionary has to say on it. That does not nearly describe what the last couple of days have been for me. I started my internship with Ocean Explorers Dive Center on Friday. 06:50 found me making my way from my house over to the dive shop (just across the bridge and down the beach). I met Jeff and Luciana, a couple originally from Brazil who have lived and worked on the island for over ten years. The first day was mostly just a trial day; they see how I dive, I see how things run. They have a small dive boat that takes a maximum of nine divers at a time. That first dive Jeff led the way and I stayed near the back mostly just watching and enjoying being back in the water. When we surfaced Jeff’s first question was “why were you at the back?” “I thought that’s the way things go…instructor leads, dive master takes up the rear.” “Not on this boat!” The way they have it set up is that as long as the divers stay within visible range of us they can go where they please. If Jeff is with one couple he wants me right up at the front showing everyone else the underwater world I am learning to be a part of.

The next day I started logging hours and have become a member of the crew. It was exciting to hear Jeff up at the front of the boat as all the customers got settled introducing himself, “Good morning everyone. My name is Jeff and this morning we also have Astrid and Cayley on board with us.” =)

The company is small and all the more wonderful. They pride themselves on basing the dive on each diver’s skill and interests. Luciana runs the office part of things and works in the shop. Jeff is the instructor and also captains the boat. They live just down the road from me and have been very kind in helping me set up my life here. Astrid, an instructor, is a German lady who “quit the real world to find something better”. She is in her forties and her husband and her are living on a 39ft ship anchored in the bay and unfortunately she will be leaving in mid-June because it is now hurricane season here. Lazlo is (the other dive master) in his late twenties/early thirties and, as Luciana describes him, a single mother. He has a sixteen-month-old daughter who he loves more then anything. He works only weekdays because of those are the days that he can put his daughter in a day care center. And that’s the team! Only five of us and I feel really comfortable with them all, especially Astrid who I am so sad has to leave.

I can’t wait for the days to come!