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Friday, June 11, 2010

So you want to be a scuba diving instructor? Part 1

There I was sitting at the desk on my IE, the PADI Standards and Procedures exam opened in front of me and a row of fruit and herbs in front of me.
I was stuck on question 32, trying to work out how a peach related to the Open Water course.
Now before you start looking for the soft fruit section in the Instructor Manual, this turned out to be a dream. Or was it a nightmare?
So you can guess the pressure I had put myself under to qualify as a PADI instructor.

I had not really wanted to be an instructor. I was happy when I qualified as a Divemaster. The position seemed to fit perfectly. I was good at the logistics, the running around behind the scenes, the friendly sergeant type who students could go to for advice and help.

And then came a dive in Egypt. Within our group were two youngsters. One seemed to have a problem getting down and the guide seemed to signal to him to surface on his own and find the boat. As I was diving in a team of three (my wife and another English guest) I decided to step in. They could buddy each other and I could help the youngster. In the end the dive passed off without incident but it got me thinking about my diving future. At the same time while on holiday my boss 'kindly' called to say my job was at risk. Again, my future came to the fore.

So I got back and signed up for my AI with Aquasport.

Now my knowledge, dive skills and presentation style were really put to the test. I didn't see the pool as a problem, but the classroom was another story.

More later.

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