A week has passed since my plane landed at Phuket Airport. It feels like much longer. And this week is definitely themed ‘Everything comes differently...’
At home
As I write this, I am sitting in the foyer of the hotel where I am staying. I have a beautiful, newly renovated room just two doors down, but the Wi-Fi isn't working yet. I also don't have a table or chairs in my room yet. Everything will be sorted out, but until then I have to make do with the foyer.
Incidentally, foyer here means ‘front room of the hotel without a wall to the outside’. I enjoy the fan behind me at around 30 degrees. It's really pleasant that there's no air conditioning blowing here. I'm slowly getting used to the heat and find the often extreme cold in shops awful.
The hotel owners are an Englishman and his Thai wife, who have lived in Europe for many, many years. That's really easy, because she's Thai and can explain everything that comes up, but at the same time she's totally European and speaks excellent English.
I love my room very much, even though it is really simple. Bed, bathroom, air conditioning, refrigerator, wardrobe and (soon) armchair and chairs. There is also a small balcony, which I use exclusively for hanging up my laundry. It is too hot to sit outside anyway. If I want to, I prefer to sit on the beach or in a café. At the moment, I'm the only person living in the house, so it's perfectly quiet in the evenings too.
Food
Whether you know me personally or have only read my blog posts, you probably know that for me, TRAVEL = FOOD. The best thing about travelling is always the food. So you probably expect that I have already eaten my way through the entire street food selection.
The opposite is true. I have so little time (see diving)! I come home in the evening, grab something quick to eat somewhere, and that's it. Two days ago, I also had traveller's diarrhoea for one night, so I'm being a bit more careful and boring with my food at the moment. And then there's the fact that it's so hot – I just don't have any appetite. So I sometimes ‘force’ myself to eat dinner so that I have enough energy for diving the next day (honestly, this has NEVER happened to me before). The really good thing about it: hopefully my comfort cushions will soon disappear.
That aside, there's no question about it: the food is simply amazing! 🙂 Last week, I treated myself to a Thai hot pot. It was really good, spicy Thai soup with herbs, vegetables and meat. The meat is cut into very thin slices and briefly dipped into the hot soup with chopsticks. It's more like a fondue, where you eat the soup straight away.
Soon, however, I will also publish an ongoing post featuring Thai food. I am already busy photographing everything I eat, but it is taking a little longer than expected. See above...
The same goes for fruit. At some point, I want to try my first durian (stinky fruit). I don't think it will be that bad. Apparently, it smells like sweaty feet but tastes good. We'll see. But I'm careful with fruit because too much fruit is really bad for your digestion (fructose alert), and I spend most days on board a ship or even in a wetsuit. NOT fun with diarrhoea!
Diving
OMG.
My idea of my life here before I arrived: 3 to 4 days of classes per week, with time in between to chill out, eat and maybe learn a language.
Reality: No time for anything.
Thursday and Friday were very relaxing. We spent Thursday at the beautiful Kamala Beach and Friday together on the dive boat doing fun diving with All4Diving, my diving school.
The Divemaster course started on Saturday, and I was really looking forward to it. My idea of the day: introduction, a little theory, that's it.
Reality: 2.5 hours of introduction and initial theory, half an hour break (which I didn't have because I was helping my DM colleague who doesn't speak English very well), physical assessment (400 m swim, 15 minutes of treading water), then into the diving gear and two full hours of practising diving skills in the pool. Food? None. I didn't have breakfast, didn't have time for lunch, and didn't get anything to eat until 8 p.m. I was EXHAUSTED.
Sunday: 7:00 a.m. meeting point for departure to the diving boat. Return: 8:30 p.m. Monday the same. I had been sleeping poorly since my arrival, I was physically exhausted, and by Monday I was at the end of my rope. That was probably the reason for my long and unpleasant night with traveller's diarrhoea. So on Tuesday I called in sick. It really didn't make any sense. But it meant I could sleep in for the first time that day, and I desperately needed it.
What's more, the more days I spend on the diving course, the more my self-confidence dwindles. Every day I discover something new that I CAN'T do! I live in a constant state of nervousness. That sounds silly, but I really mean it. All the instructors say that it will all come in time, that I have enough time, and that everything will be fine – but I don't feel that way right now. Even though my brain tells me that they are probably right, after all, I'm not the first divemaster they've trained. Let's hope so, my dears.
Accordingly, my mood fluctuates throughout the day. For a few hours, I think, ‘I'll never manage this, I'll never be good enough, it's all pointless, this was a terrible idea!’ And then in the evening, I'm like, ‘Hey, this is SO awesome, everything's cool, everything will be fine, I can do this!’
The fact that my instructor Steve says about me, ‘This is Martina, she's gonna be my IDC superstar,’ is flattering, but it puts even more pressure on me, AAAAAAAH!
(IDC: Instructor Development Course)
Lern to chill!
My motto for next week.
I just have to let things happen. Mistakes can happen during the course, and that's okay. Maybe I should start meditating, and I mean that (half) seriously. I realise that I'm still at European levels of excitement, and apparently for no reason at all.
Come what may! Sit down and relax.
