Under da Sea

I'm in the internet cafe finishing up my homework before we head to India first thing in the morning and I just re-read my last blog. Uhhhh...sorry for the lack of proofreading and spell check, it's much better now.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty sunburned and waterlogged but also quite proud. I am officially certified as an Open Water scuba diver. It was a 4 day course culminating in 4 dives over the last 2 days. I absolutely love it. I've always loved the ocean, but seeing it from the fishes perspective makes it all that much cooler. It's a whole different world down there, like swimming in a giant aquarium. I saw grouper that were bigger than me, and some barracuda. But my favorite were the little "Nemo" fish. You think they are so cute and friendly...but watch out! You get near the nest that the mom is floating over and the dad will come charging out and swim directly into your mask. He'll keep banging until you are outside of their safety radius. I saw one today and he was ready to take down my instructor (who is a HUGE, rough, rugged German man).

Tiff didn't make it through the course. The breathing underwater thing was giving her some claustrophobia issues...I'm confident that she will finish, but it'll have to be really slowly. She snorkeled a lot, and getting used to breathing for extended periods of time without coming up is making her more and more comfortable.

Our flight doesn't leave tomorrow till 2:30AM. It's going to be a long day of travel with the heaviest books ever (anyone familiar with the DSM-IV? Think encyclopedia x 2 with a diagnosos for any mental disorder imaginable. Yeah, I'm lugging that beast around). I've got a terrible cold and I stepped on some kind of barnacle thing that punctured my heel--looks like someone hole punched it, but the skin is still in place, hanging in a perfect circle. On the same foot my second-to-baby toenail is going to fall off soon, from the mountain climbing (no laughing, Bret). Right now it's like wiggling a loose tooth--not quite ready yet. I wonder if there is a toenail fairy that'll come and leave $5,000 under my pillow? To add to my attractiveness, I ran into a rusty lock on a bathroom door so my right shoulder has had a gash in it for a while...but its healing. I guess I'm a bit of a klutz, or accident prone. I'm trying to be tough... but I needed to whine for a sec.

Not sure if I am mentally prepared for India yet. I have no idea what to expect. We were originally supposed to go to Rishikesh but instead we are headed to Dharamsala because an Indian friend of Tiff's said it'll be much cooler, less crowded and overall more enjoyable. Each time I go to a new place it's like I haven't given it much thought because I've been trying to stay in the present culture as long as I can and enjoy it.

So on that note, I'm outta this computer lab and off to my final dinner in Thailand. I think I might have mentioned it before--this place is magical.