The student was a German girl at her early twenties with a piercing on her left nose. She could speak English, but sometimes needed a little time to clear her thoughts before speaking. I briefly explained what skills she needed to perform. The first skill, also the most essential one, was mask clearing. She had done the skill in pool training, but she was a little worried. So was I worried whether she would panic in the water. I did not want to screw up for my very first certified student. I had reviewed my cue cards and rehearsed the skills in my head so many times before the dive.
We descent to a sandy bottom at 12 meter deep and got ready for practicing skills. To perform mask clearing, the German girl had to intentionally let water flood into her mask, until the water was above nose but below eyes. That could be the scary part for some people because the water would flood their noses. The German girl let a little water into her mask, but so little that just touched her nose and was insufficient for practicing the skill. I pointed my mask to signal her that she needed more water in the mask. She hesitated for a few seconds, but let more water into her mask.
I kept watching her in the eyes, in case she showed any signs of panic, I could instantly reach and assist her. She pressed the upper frame of her mask, tilted her head back, and blew air through her nose to push the water out of her mask. She did every steps right, but only one third of the water was drained. I hold my breath for a second. That was another critical moment that some people might panic because they could not see themselves and thought the skill had not worked at all. The German girl paused a second as well. The second was like an hour long to me. I couldn’t speak in the water but hoping she would repeat the skill again to clear the remaining water.
Thanked God that she did not hesitate too long and repeated the skill again and again until all water was cleared. I literally mean ’Thank God.' I hold my hands and prayed while I kneed on the sandy bottom. I didn’t mean to be so exaggerated. It was off plan. I was just too glad that she completed the skill. She burst into laughter when she saw me praying. The laughter probably also eased her nerves a little bit and made the following skill easier.
As the following dives continued, the German girl gained more confidence in the water. So did I gain more confidence in myself. I was also a student, worried too much, lack of confidence before the dive. All I needed is to believe in myself a little bit more. Yes, I can do it.
