We did two dives today- both over an hour long!! According to the dive charts, we should all have the Bends right now- but we used computers and apparently they give you some more time underwater!?!? Not sure how the computers work- but I’m feeling ok right now at least.
We went diving at a place called Bare Island at La Perouse today. Part of Mission Impossible was filmed on Bare Island, but I don’t remember the movie well enough to recognize it. Here’s a picture in case any of you guys do!
The dives were fun, but it was so SO hot outside and we had another very long walk to get to the water (from the vans). The wetsuits we wear are so thick and the gear is so heavy, so we were all dripping sweat by the time we got to the water. The first dive was mainly a skills dive- We had to share air, go up and down a bunch of times and switch our weight belts. We also had to take off our masks at the bottom, drop them in the sand and then find them, put them back on and clear them. We also had to work on diving with a buddy. Janice was my diving buddy and she had a few buoyancy issues (as in she kept floating to the surface). So, I would look at something for a second, turn around and she’d be gone! The first time it happened I was so worried because the visibility wasn’t very good and I hadn’t realized she had just floated to the surface. Eeeek. I lost my buddy! but Brent- don’t worry- I think I’m a good dive buddy otherwise :) he he he.
The second dive was more exciting. We swam around the whole island and got to see all kinds of neat stuff on the reef. The most exciting things we saw were a giant cuttle fish, a stingray and some black reef leather jackets (which I really liked cause it looks like they have googley eyes!) Here are a few pictures of a cuttle fish and a stingray.
I think Mom would like this sport cause you can keep LISTS of all the animals and plants you see underwater. It’s like birdwatching, I guess, but much more exciting. He he he.On a side note, I really think that Janice could give Georgia a run for her money on her vehicle-induced narcolepsy. I can’t get over those two! Sorry for this picture Jorgey! I had to!! (I will get one of Janice soon too!)
The end of my week wasn’t very exciting- just lots of class and PBLs. Our patient of the week has a urinary tract infection and is pregnant so it’s pretty interesting. We are learning a lot of basic stuff about pregnancy and what can go wrong, etc… and about UTIs- which are very common in women (apparently account for about 10% of the visits to see a GP). This next picture probably seems random, but it was in lecture we had on communicable diseases. It is a flow chart on how SARS spread from the hotel in Hong Kong to the rest of the world. I hope it comes up big enough so you can see it!
On Thursday afternoon, my friend Josh and I went looking for a pig’s heart since we wanted to work on our anatomy- but all the butchers were sold out of them! Apparently people buy hearts for their dogs to eat!?! We did find out that they only cost 40 cents here though- good news for when we make it to the butcher in the morning!On Thursday evening Janice and I went over to Josh’s apartment for a BBQ. Josh told us that he lived in an apartment, but really it was an off-campus rez and it was FULL of a whole bunch of very drunk 1st year undergrads (no offence, Jules ;). It wasn’t exactly my idea of a fabulous time. We stayed long enough to have some sausages and pasta salad, to find out why Josh never shows up to class and for me to meet another person named Joss. (Except he was a really chubby, drunk guy wearing a tight pink shirt and his real name was actually Joss, not Jocelin.) We left a few minutes after meeting him.
Friday we had 7 hours of straight lectures in a boiling hot lecture theatre, so we were all pretty wiped after it was over. Sabiha and I went out for dinner to a ‘bring your own wine’ Italian restaurant called ‘Twelve’. Sabiha doesn’t drink and I was feeling drunk after one small glass of red wine, so needless to say it wasn’t a very crazy night. I miss L’academie.
Tomorrow is our last day of diving before our test on Tuesday (when we will be certified open water divers). The weather is supposed to be pretty bad tomorrow, so we might just be diving in the Sydney Harbour. Our instructors didn’t sound too keen on the idea, but I’m kind of looking forward to it - cause they said there is a shipwreck that we’re going to get to see!
Oh- also, a friend of mine in Med 1 (from the UK) is starting an underwater hockey club. His girlfriend is on the Australian national team for underwater hockey and she is going to come and teach us to play. I think I’m going to join cause it sounds pretty fun! I’ve got the swimming experience and the hockey genes, so it can’t be that bad! He he he. It’s also been pretty easy to recruit other Canadians to come and play since everyone is missing hockey so much. I guess they’ll take whatever they can get! :)
At this time next week, Brent and I will be in Fiji. I can’t wait!
Miss you guys!
No comments:
Post a Comment