Knowledge and demos

Today, Day 3, was the first full day of the IDC for me.

I continue to have trouble sleeping, so I was up before 6. Headed in to the Mango Inn on my bike, and it was early enough that I didn't encounter any traffic.

Andy, head instructor, gave me my official preassessment scores (I already knew them, as I'd asked Vanessa, the other lead instructor) and told me they were all good, nothing to work on.

We then did sessions with Andy on how the Knowledge Development and Confined Water teaching sessions are designed.

They had a buffet lunch at the Mango Inn that was passable. Salad, Mac and Cheese, and beans. Weird pudding for dessert. Tip only, and I gave 100 limpuras, which was more than it felt like it was worth, but half of what they normally charge for it. A shame, as their normal lunch is cheaper and better (see egg salad sandwich from the other day).

Went back to the classroom for the 2nd half of the day, which was Vanessa going through PADI specialty classes, and marketing info.

Finished up around 3:30, and we were supposed to focus on our Knowledge Development and Confined Water presentations for tomorrow. Honestly, took me 10 minutes to do both, so I then did all the reading for the day as well. Finished before 4, and rode my bike home.

Honestly, half the class seems really overwhelmed and stressed out, but I can't figure out why. I was expecting this to be MUCH harder than it has been. I thought we'd have to do full lesson plans; we don't, all we have to do are recaps of a single question each. 5 minute presentations. Absurdly easy. Same for the confined water skills. I figured we'd have to conduct a session. Nope, you guessed it, just one skill.

Dropped off my heavy backpack, and headed back out a little later the to the restaurant at the Jade Seahorse. Ran into Lorne, from the IDC, and his gf Tracy, who are Canadian, and really nice. Had dinner with them there. It was pretty pricey for the island; I had a tea, veggie kofta, and a pupusa and it was almost $20. That said, probably worth it just for the amazing place. It's like willy wonka and doctor seuss had a baby who designed a fun house. Really incredible. The food was also amazing. I'll be back, even if just for the pupusa! The chef came out too, and really takes pride in her food. They're a veg restaurant, so of course I love them. Plus, I still have a bunch of leftover food from it too (got it home without incident on my bike!) so I guess it wasn't too expensive considering.

I've decided to get a ladybug tattoo while I'm here to surprise Diane. We talked about getting matching ones years ago, and she ended up getting one, and I still haven't. It'll be a great memory for me too. Wish she came.

My bike ride home from dinner was fantastic. It was pitch dark, and there aren't a ton of street lights here. It's crowded on the main street, but once you cross the bridge, the road turns to dirt and is super quiet. Just me, the bike, the wind, the trees, and the full moon.

I'm happy here.

Tomorrow is another full day. We start by breaking into groups of 4 people, and giving each other our presentations. Then, my half of the class goes to the classroom for a morning of sessions. After lunch, we'll go to the pool and do our confined water presentations. Should be good fun.