Rarotonga Market & Scuba Diving

I decided that renting a bike would ensure I could travel around with a bit more ease, and a lot less time spent in the process, so on Saturday morning I walked down the road to a bike rental shop.  Since I wanted a basket I had to get a "beach cruiser" which, sadly, only had 3 gears.  Oh well, the leisurely pace was fine.  About thirty minutes later I had arrived at the Punanga Nui Market (the reason I had left Aitutaki on Friday).  After locating a small palm tree and chaining up my bike I was free to wander around.  Cook Islanders are very skilled craftsmen; carvings, paintings, hand-woven baskets and hats, beautiful jewelry from their special black pearls - everything was so tempting.  A delicious, fresh-made fruit smoothie kept me cool while I browsed the stalls.  I nearly bought a few paintings, there were so many beautiful ones, but in the end I just couldn't bring myself to buy any of the items.  I certainly don't need more stuff, and my suitcase was already pretty full.

When I had mentioned to Carlo that I was hoping to go to the Saturday market, he advised that at 10am there is usually a performance at the main stage.  He was absolutely correct, and it was put on by Highland Paradise!  The same MC and a lot of the same drummers.  This time the dancers were all the little kids (tamaiti), and they certainly were cute!!  

They were still learning their choreography, but they use the show as a fundraiser.  They take the kids to do shows around the world promoting Cook Island culture.  I also managed to catch a video of him explaining the complexity of the drumming to which they are dancing.

I had booked an afternoon scuba diving trip with Dive Rarotonga, which was a 2 minute walk from my flat, so after a quick bite to eat I headed back there.  Although I'm open-water certified, I haven't been diving in a couple years and wasn't sure I would feel comfortable doing a regular dive.  The introductory dive ended up being an excellent choice as I was definitely a bit rusty.  The instructor Paul was fantastic and since the Italian-Polish couple, while not certified, had been diving a few times we sped through "introductory" portion.  While gearing up for the skills test in the pool Paul asked me if I was actually American.  He told me he was surprised when he saw my address listed on my form as the US, as my accent didn't sound American to him.  I told him I had been living in New Zealand for the last 6 months, but he said that wasn't quite it.  He pointedly asked if I had been spending a lot of time around people from the Northern UK.  Shocked by such a specific question, I laughed and said, "Yes.  I was house sitting for a couple from Wales and Scotland and their friends were from Wales and England!"  I couldn't believe he could tell, I really didn't think I had picked up much of an accent.  As for the diving, Paul told us that on the morning dive they could hear the whales talking to each other, so we were excited for that possibility.

The clarify of the water was astounding.  I'm guessing the visibility was at least 12 meters, but it was possibly more.  We saw several unusual fish and lots of coral.  There were a few creatures that when Paul got near them and snapped his fingers they either disappeared inside a hole or changed colors!  I had forgotten to put my camera on underwater mode before we started our descent and once we'd reach our depth the pressure was too much and I couldn't use the buttons to switch modes.  Oh well, I was able to edit some of them.  In the end we never did hear any whales, but we got to see a turtle!!

All in all, it was a great afternoon under the sea.

After a shower I took a walk down to Black Rock Beach and then enjoyed a spectacular sunset.  As the song says, "Life was good today!"

A Birthday Down Under

For my 24th birthday I headed to Panama with my sister to learn how to surf, for my 25th birthday I bought a ticket to Australia for a one-year working-holiday, and for my 26th birthday I went scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef!  Maybe I should head to Switzerland next year and learn how to ski or something...

It was a really nice birthday, and I can't thank everyone enough for making it special.  Louis had bought me a cheesecake and we celebrated at 12:05am and he even got me some small gifts.

Raspberry Cheesecake - we had trouble keeping
the candles lit because it was so windy....

 My phone's vibrations woke me up at 6:30am with a birthday text from someone I don't know.  I still don't know who sent the text, it was an Australian number and was signed "Best Wishes, Nana", but I don't know anyone named Nana.  I eventually rolled out of bed, I had to teach at Nova so I couldn't sleep in anyway.  My awesome cousin included several birthday cards in her package of "25 Days of Christmas Greetings" so I had plenty of cards to open.  My mom sent a box full of cookies and things a few weeks ago, so I was able to enjoy some of the Nutella (yes, it is a minor miracle that I still have some left). After teaching Chiho in the morning I headed to the library to catch up on emails and blogging.   Alicia called me on my way home from the library and said she wanted to take me out to dinner, so we got to catch up over some delicious Korean food.  Agatha was in Sydney and she didn't want to eat dinner alone, so it worked out perfectly. She had to go home earlier than anticipated, but that was fine, I just headed to volleyball!!  When I checked my phone on the way home from volleyball Emma had texted telling me to stop by on my way home.  She not only had a card for me, she had made me tiramisu!!!

 Other than the birthday cards I received, the events (and gifts) of the day were a surprise, and pleasant ones at that. God has definitely blessed me with some really awesome friends here in Australia.

Yesterday (Friday), I did a famil tour with Quicksilver to the Agincourt Reef (a ribbon reef that runs parallel to the Continental Shelf).  This one was a real famil tour, in the sense that we had two of the sales reps with us all day showing us around and explaining things.  The cruise actually departed from Port Douglas so I drove up with Nat, the Quicksilver agent, and it's such a lovely drive up there.  There were 6 of us total, 4 agents and 2 sales reps and we all got along great and had an awesome day.  It was a lot of fun and I got to finally go scuba diving (third time's the charm, right?)!!!  My ears are still popping a bit today, but I managed to make it the whole way down and it was such a relief to finally be able to cross that off my list.  It was really cool, and a nice birthday gift (even though they didn't know it).   On the semi-sub tour we got to see a reef shark, so now I just need to see a sea turtle!  Well, I just got a text asking me to work tonight, so it looks like it will be a busy weekend!!

Under the Sea

Another beautiful day out on the Great Barrier Reef yesterday!  All the companies take their customers to different part of the reef, and I’d say this part of the reef was much better than my last trip.  This company (Reef Magic Cruises) has a “pontoon” (named Marine World) anchored out there, so the boat docks alongside Marine World and gives everyone more space to move around while we’re out all day.  So instead of scuba diving and snorkeling off the side of the boat everyone goes out from Marine World.  Another cool thing about this trip was that there is a glass bottom boat and a semi-sub and you can take trips on them throughout the day.  I attempted an introductory dive again and the dive instructor Jim was fantastic, such a nice guy.  There were only about 10 of us doing the dive and I was in the first group of 4, so as soon as we docked at Marine World I put on my stinger suit (it’s jelly fish season here in Cairns right now and since the suit covers you from head to toe it also protected me from sunburn which I appreciated) and headed to the dive platform.  Jim asked me while we were getting all our scuba gear on what had happened last time I’d tried diving.  I told him about my ears and he said we’d give it a shot.  I made it a lot deeper this time, but I was a bit gun-shy I guess about saying my ears had equalized.  As you make your way down (holding on to a rope) you equalize your ears as you go.  He kept giving me the “ok” sign to see how I was doing.  I wasn’t really feeling my ears pop like they usually do on an airplane, so I kept giving him the “sorta ok” sign.  In hindsight, since they weren’t killing me like they had been the time before I should have just kept saying “ok” as I worked my way down and once I got to a point where they actually hurt and I couldn’t get them to stop then tell him it wasn’t working.  Since I still hadn’t given him the “ok” and there was apparently quite a ways left to go he took me back up, telling me it wouldn’t be fair to everyone else to get further down and then have to bring me back up (you only get so much time in the water and I was slowing them down), which I totally understood.  He told me I might have thin eustachian tubes and that I should try the helmet diving instead and see how that goes.  I don’t know if that’s standard procedure or if that was just because I was there on a famil request (you wear a wristband so all the crew basically knows) and they wanted to make a good impression.   Kelly, the girl up top who helps you in and out of your scuba gear, told me she had trouble as well at first and it took her a week in the pool just trying and trying to finally be able to do it – so on the bright side, there might still be hope.  Anyway, I got out of the water and heard the announcement that the semi-sub was leaving soon so I decided I might as well hop on that before heading out to snorkel.  It was pretty cool, I was of course the only person on the boat that wasn’t dry.  Quite a few people come out on the reef and never actually get in the water, so the boat trips are a great way to still see the reef.  When we got back it was nearly time for lunch and the lunch they provided was amazing.   I couldn’t believe the variety of foods they had: vegetarian lasagna, pasta salad, potato salad, Caesar salad, two kinds of curry, a variety of fruits, a meat tray, bread and rolls, plus sushi and shrimp!!

I tried the “helmet diving” right after lunch.  I couldn’t believe how heavy the helmets were, thankfully they were a bit lighter once fully submerged, but I’ve got bony shoulders and they’re a bit sore to the touch today from where the helmet was sitting.  Since I didn’t have to worry about getting my ears to pop and trying not to hold my breath (that’s a huge no-no in scuba diving) with the helmet on I was able to get them to pop and had a good time.

 With the helmet diving you basically walk (maybe 15 feet) along this submerged walkway about 3 or 4 feet underwater, and stand there while Jim feeds the fish.  I even got to pet the huge Maori Wrasse that hangs out at Marine World as well.  The helmet dive is a great option for those with ear problems (you’re not as deep as when scuba diving), glasses, or those that just don’t want to get their hair wet.  After all that I got to do lots of snorkeling and since I’d figured out my camera settings, I got much better photos this time around.  I just love being in the water and snorkeling is so incredibly relaxing.  You can’t hear anything and there weren’t actually that many other snorkelers so you weren’t running into people all the time either, it was great.

 God is truly a master artist, because the colors and patterns on the fish I saw were astounding, the most beautiful shades and that’s only their looks; not to mention the complexity of the coral and how they reproduce and the fact that fish breathe underwater, I mean, let’s be honest – that’s pretty cool….

On the cruise back to the port I ended up sitting inside and chatted with this lovely, older Aussie couple, Allan and Pat.  They were so incredibly sweet and I just loved how they joked and teased one another.  For some reason he reminded me a bit of a since-departed friend of mine, Mr. Baker.  I had wanted to go up top and watch the scenery once the boat was under way, but I decided to just run up and take a few photos and then come back and chat with them.  They were on their own and had told me earlier, when I’d asked if I could sit at the booth with them for the head count, that no one had sat there all day so I was free to sit down.  All in all it was an extremely enjoyable trip, made all the sweeter by the fact that it only cost me $25.  And that my friends is the perk of selling tours.

Reef Experience

It never crossed my mind.  I had thought that there was a chance I wouldn’t enjoy scuba diving, but that didn’t seem likely.  Not being able to scuba dive wasn’t even on my radar.

I got up and caught my bus to the marina, we boarded the boat – couldn’t even find a place to sit or put my stuff.  I filled out my paperwork, telling them I wanted to try the Introductory Dive, and turned it in to the crew.   As we were leaving the marina they had everyone head downstairs for the safety briefing, crew introduction, etc..  Once we were nearer the reef they had those of us doing the Introductory Dive gather for some, well, introduction to diving.  They first sorted everyone into groups, with about 4 people per group and 20 groups total.  Then the instructor started explaining all the equipment, how it would work and the 3 rules of scuba diving (breathe, stay near your instructor, and, well, I can’t remember the third one).  From his explanation I got the feeling that the breathing part would be the hardest – it’s not very natural to only breath through your mouth.  Other than breathing through your mouth you had to be able to equalize your ears – get them to “pop” like when you’re flying and the pressure builds up during takeoff or landing.  Got through all the instructions, didn’t seem like it should be a big deal.  I was group number 8, so I put on my wetsuit and snorkel gear and headed into the water to snorkel while waiting for my group to be called.  I don’t remember snorkeling being so difficult, but I definitely had to really work at breathing because I kept getting water in my snorkel – still not sure why that was.  The reef was beautiful though and I was able to see tons of fish and plenty of beautiful coral too.

I got back to the boat for my turn and headed to the platform.  They strapped me into my BC (scuba vest) with the tank and regulator and all that jazz and sat waiting for the instructor to resurface.  They had us plop into the water (plop is truly the right verb, getting into the water in scuba gear is not graceful) and try breathing.  After the struggle with my snorkel and having to work so hard at breathing, using the regulator was a breeze (I’m not sure if that counts as a pun or not…).  We crawled down the ladder until we were totally submersed and then had to demonstrate the 2 necessary skills to continue.  We had to be able to clear water from our mask and water from our regulator (in case it fell out and we had to put it back in).  Those two skills were also quite easy.  Then he had us try to equalize our ears.  I don’t usually have too much trouble with this while flying, but when flying I’m not also concentrating on keeping water out of my mask and also trying to remember to breathe.  He didn’t really give much advice during his talk on how to make this happen, tricks of the trade or something.  I thought I’d got it done, but as soon as we started descending further down they started hurting.  I couldn’t get them to “pop” right away and didn’t feel like I was allowed to hang around trying to get it to happen.  So I went back up and they pulled me out.  Just like that it was over.  I should have probably been more assertive and asked if I could keep trying to get them to pop, but there were so many other groups still to go, that I didn’t feel like I really had that option.  So, although it pains me to say, scuba diving was a big, fat, failure.  I might try again at some point, and maybe even while I’m here in Cairns, but this time I’d probably pick a boat with less people so I could have a bit more time.
We had some lunch and headed to another spot on the reef.  This was supposed to be a good spot to see turtles, but I never saw any and I don’t think anyone else on the boat did either.  I saw a Maori wrasse (at least I think that’s what it was called) – it was a huge fish and they’re supposed to be rather friendly.  The fish are so brightly colored, as is the coral, but although my camera works underwater, the photos mostly turned out in shades of blue.  I’ll have to see if I can edit them with a red filter and try to get more color to come out.  Anyway, when I got back last night I emailed Peter and told him that maybe being a Dive Master Intern just wasn’t in the cards for me.  I really would like to work on a boat though, I love being on the water, so maybe I’ll just keep emailing dive companies to see if they need kitchen crew or something.  I guess the scuba diving was just such a letdown because I’d felt like the Dive Master was my back-up plan; waiting in the background, so if I didn’t find a job I could always do that.  Now I’m back to the drawing board and hoping something comes through soon.

God's Timing is Always Perfect

God sure knows how to brighten a girls day!  I've been really praying in the last few weeks that I'd learn to trust God, and just leave things in his hands, especially in regards to a job.  The sermon yesterday at church was about Time and before the service started there was a beautiful slide up on the screen that simply said "God's timing is always perfect."  That's what I keep trying to remind myself when I get discouraged about not getting a job - that God's got it under control.  So it was a nice reminder before the service ever started.  I really enjoyed my time at church, the song time was comfortable and I'm starting to feel like I belong.  Maybe describing the music portion of a service as "comfortable" sounds strange to you, but when an entire congregation is singing songs you don't know you feel a bit out of place, but I knew a few of the songs this morning; and since I love to sing it's nice to be able to just sing.  The worship team was to teach a new song, but the drummer hadn't been able to make it, so Peter decided he'd just have the congregation clap the beat for the song in hopes it would help us get the rhythm.  It turned out to be a rather amusing exercise as half of us were clapping one beat and the other half another beat, on purpose mind you.  But, rhythm just isn't some people's forte.  Either way, it had everyone laughing.  As it says in Psalm 100, "make a joyful noise unto the Lord" and I'm sure He loves to hear His children laughing.  Judi (she had me over for lunch last week) sat with me during the service and I was able to chat with her afterwards.  I also met Allan & Betty Duncan, this sweet couple who just celebrated their 65th anniversary.  He told me that they're best friends and do everything together.  He and I talked for quite awhile, and then Maureen (the Canadian woman I met at the church work day) came over and said that if I'm still around once they get their kitchen finished she'd like to have me over for dinner.  So it was a lovely morning.

I spent most of Sunday afternoon online reading articles and travel blogs, researching things to do in Cairns, job searching, that sort of thing.  Carol Laird (we met in Juarez, Mexico years ago) and some of her family are in Australia right now and had just done a tour of the Great Barrier Reef so I'd asked her on Facebook what her recommendations were of the group they'd gone with.  She'd gone with Reef Experience and would highly recommend them.  She also mentioned that they hire workers and several of the staff were from the USA.  So on a whim I decided I'd just email them and another diving/snorkeling tour group just to see if they'd need any help.  Since I was on the diving topic I started checking out the types of scuba diving certifications thinking maybe I'd do that while there.  Anyway, I'd stumbled upon this blog while contemplating my move to Australia and stumbled upon it again yesterday.  She had a whole series of posts on Becoming a Dive Master. For whatever reason I ended up reading the whole series, even though a Dive Master is way above what I was contemplating doing.  I promise I'm leading up to something with this story.  So, a few weeks ago my parents had asked me what type of job I'd like so they could be specific when praying for a job for me.  I told them I didn't really know, I was open to a lot of things, but told them a job on the water would be pretty cool.  Then this morning when I checked my email I got this reply from the manager at Seastar Cruises:

Thank you for your application.  The only position we have available is a Dive Master traineeship.  As this is short term training work the pay is very modest. Also we require you to stay for a minimum of 6 months.  But you do get to do a lot of diving on the Great Barrier Reef and you are a fully qualified PADI dive master on completion, which enables you to work anywhere in the world as a dive master.  If this interests you please advise.

Seriously?  God is pretty awesome sometimes.  I'm not saying I'm taking the job, I still know next to nothing about it, and have never even been scuba diving before, but what an opportunity!  Since I'd read all the blog posts yesterday I actually had a clue as to what the man was talking about, and so many people had been praying that I'd find a job before I left Gawler.  Even if I don't take the job or actually get offered the job, it's such an encouragement to see how God can do so much more than we ask or imagine (Isaiah 64:4).  I would have been happy serving lunch on the boats while they're on tours, but never imagined this!

Then to top it all off, I'd managed to fix my webcam/skype issue Sunday night and so I was able to skype (and actually see) several people from my home church (and my Gram) when talking with my family this morning.  For the last 3 months I've only been able to talk with my family, we haven't been able to see each other. God's timing is perfect, I fixed it right before my parents surprised me by taking their laptop to church so I could talk to some dear friends during our weekly skype call.  So, with this good news comes the possibility of more decisions, which I'm still not a fan of, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.  For now I'm just thankful for what He's showing me about His perfect timing.