Scuba and Swimming

Last weekend I went scuba diving for the first time. It was really strange at first to go under water and not hold my breath. But once you get used to it, scuba diving is amazing! We were mostly practicing different skills but at the end of our dive we got to explore a little and saw some coral and fish. We only went down 20 feet though; going down to 60 is going to be a lot different. Amber and Ap are taking the classes with me along with some volunteers that are here through World Teach. I have another dive this weekend, and 2 more next weekend… then I will be certified! This week was the same as most in training. We went to an elementary school and observed an 8th grade English class. Next week I have to teach 2 lessons in the class. I am very nervous. I still don’t know what I am doing a lesson on and the more I look at lesson ideas the more I realize I do not know about English grammar. (As you may have realized from reading my blog) I probably should have brushed up on my own English skills before I came to teach it. Amber will be teaching with me (and she has teaching experience) so that is helping calm my nerves a little bit. I will let you know how it goes! Yesterday we had a nice day off of regular training and went to a nearby island for a picnic. We also learned how to weave baskets and start a fire. The fire starting involved a lighter and a sytrofoam ramen bowl so clearly, western influences have reached the islands. We asked our language teachers to show us how to light a fire with just 2 sticks but their reply was, “When are you ever going to be on an island without a lighter?” Very true, except possibly for those going to the outer islands. We also had a lot of time to swim around the island. There was a sandy beach which was very nice as all of the swimming spots on Pohnpei involve walking on some pretty sharp coral. After all, I joined the Peace Corps for luxury, not scraping my feet up. I have not been very good at taking pictures lately but I am receiving an underwater casing for my camera this week from my sister so I will take more then!