Exams

Well, I have more things I can check off on the list of assignments to do before I receive my divemaster card. Yesterday, the class took turns playing divemaster for a group of certified divers (played by our class, of course), a situation one would encounter if leading Discover Local Diving (DLD). DLD is often offered by dive shops as a way for divers to get a feel for diving in a new environment while receiving some direction from the divemaster. The divemaster's role in this is essentially that of tour guide. As part of this, we each practiced delivering a dive site briefing. I must say, some people in my class had very interesting factoids to share about our dive site. For instance, the dive site, Mike's Point*, was so named because Michael Jackson used to go diving there and the site, formerly known as Black Coral Wall, has experienced severe coral bleaching. Or did you know that Monkey Bay got its name because it was the location where sea monkey's were first discovered by Jacques Cousteau's younger brother, Linus Cousteau? 

We also took our first divemaster exam. You'll be glad to hear I passed with little difficulty. We have been promised, however, that the second exam (to be taken in a few weeks) is much more challenging. 

In other news, I'm starting research in the next couple days! Stay tuned for the adventures of a research intern!

*Yes, both Mike's Point and Monkey Bay are fictional dive sites. Black Coral Wall, however, is quite a nice dive spot where I have already been twice.