Irina and Thijs came to Cozumel for 2 days to visit me, get a sense of the local scene and take a Discover Scuba Diving class. They are a fascinating couple: she is an extravagant artist – theater costume designer, and he is an earnest rocket scientist (well, he is in biophysics I think, but it's all the same to me). She is Russian, he is Dutch. She is talkative, he is quiet. She always finds something to complain about, he is the easiest going person on this planet. You couldn't find two other people who would seem so different in every possible respect, yet there must be something major that connects them, because the relationship works and has proven to be a model of stability. But as much as I'm tempted to start analyzing the intricacies of romantic relationships, I'm not feeling 100% up to it right now, and everybody would probably agree it requires full commitment to the subject.
The evening of their arrival we tried the diving equipment on, and Irina set out on working herself up.
"There's no way I'll be able to do it. It's just too much for me. Masha, what are you going to do if I cannot do it? But it's good for you – you'll get to experience what it feels like to teach a really difficult student. Have you had anybody that difficult before? – I kept silent because I knew she wouldn't really stop for my answer, and indeed she continued in her usual exalted manner. – We tried it once in a pool and I was absolutely unable to descend. It was just too overwhelming."
"But darling, - Thijs intervened. – You did descend in the pool, remember?"
"No, I absolutely didn't. I was too scared to stay down and I immediately went up for the surface. Well, Masha, you'll just need to learn for the future, to know how to deal with people like that…"
I let the exchange wither on its own, without any interruption, and in a little bit we set the time for our class the next day. I drove them back to their hotel – a charming B&B called Tamarindo. It's funny how you can tell right away that the place is owned by a woman – every little detail is carefully thought through and taken care of, from the color of the coffee mugs to the cut of the grass in the courtyard. They say the breakfast is very good too, so it looks like a good recommendation for lodging.
Well, she was difficult. She has very sensitive ears, and it took me hours to teach her how to descend properly, with frequent equalizing and without any finning. She is a perfect diver though, and once we managed to get down to the bottom of the ocean, she was suddenly all calm, moving gently, breathing slowly, aware and observing with fascination every little change in her physical and emotional state.
Thijs was good. He didn't have any problems and visibly enjoyed every second of it.
They were both ecstatic when we popped up at VillaBlanca. "You did it! You made me go down! You had faith in me! You are the best teacher in the world!" – Irina didn't even try to catch her breath after surfacing. I truly dearly love her!J "You did it, darling!" – Thijs echoed. "You totally did it. Both of you! And you were both absolutely amazing! I'm very very proud of you!" – I inserted my positive reinforcement bit, required by PADI standards and totally due in this case.
I was really proud of them. And I was happy, because although it was a bit challenging this time, but I truly enjoyed every second of it, which means I'd chosen my current vocation well.
No comments:
Post a Comment