I want to hold your hand!

I know that I have promised other spring break stories but quite frankly, that was a long time ago so I’m just going to abbreviate those stories and include some fun pictures!

As you know by my last posts, I was in a class to get scuba certified. After many classroom sessions and reading a few chapters, we finally headed to the sea to practice some of our new skills. Earlier that day, we had learned all the hand signals so we could communicate underwater. As we practiced our new skills, we also practiced our hand skills. This included things like ‘watch me’, ‘let’s go up’, and ‘I’m having problems with _______’. After we learned how to clear our masks and stay at a neutral buoyancy, we headed out for our first exploratory dive. We were a group of six and we all had a partner. As we were swimming away, our dive instructor (Vera) turned around and gave us the signal to hold hands with our partner. My friend Randi was my buddy and we happily found each other’s hand and continued swimming. We saw all sorts of incredible things and beautiful fish. Vera continued to lead the group and every time she turned around to check on us, she would remind us to hold hands. By the time our dive was over and we safely back on the boat with our BCD’s and flippers in their respective places, Vera turned to Randi and I with a smirk on her face. She said, “Did you think that every time I turned around I was telling you to hold hands?” Because both of us are competitive students, we shook our heads enthusiastically. She laughed and said, “That is just the resting position of my hands. I wasn’t telling you guys to hold hands but it sure was funny!”

Needless to say, we got quite a kick out of it and we have continued to joke about, ‘I want to hold your hand….underwater!’

The next adventure was the trip home with Dad and Kitty.
I’m not going to say much about it because I don’t want to stir up unpleasant emotions with Mark Cromwell. All I will say is that I made it back from Beijing China quicker than I made it back to Guatemala from Honduras. I know, I know, this doesn’t make much sense but it was quite a trip. If you are interested, let me know but whatever you do, don’t ask my dad about it! He will surely get angered and start raving about the Roatan airport officials or the Adrenalina tours bus drivers!

With all of that, things in Guatemala are going quite well. I have officially told the school that I won’t be returning next year and it went well. I am planning on attempting to travel and do some volunteer work. I have recently gotten in contact with an organization that places camp professionals in international camps. I think that this would be a very good opportunity for me as it would combine the best of both worlds for me: camping and travel. I will keep you all updated on where that leads but I am going to try to keep my mind and focus here in Xela until I return to the states in June. If you have any contacts over seas or if any of you have done any mission work or volunteer work, please let me know! I would love to hear about things that you would recommend for me!

Until then, I will continue to enjoy my time here and try to stay dry as rainy season is creeping in a little early this year!


Playlist:
Southbound 35 by Pat Green
Vegas by Sara Bareilles
Swallowed in the Sea by Coldplay
Time of your Life by Green Day
Bullet and a Target by Citizen Cope
Breathe by Anna Nalick
Will He Be Waiting For Me? by Sarah Harmer
What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flats
I’m Your Man by Michael Buble’
I ain’t in Checotah Anymore by Carrie Underwood