As my PADI instructor course and internship at Two Fish Divers in Bunaken comes to a close, I can’t help but look over this past month and realize how much I’ve learned and experienced in such a short period of time. In a lot of ways, it feels like it’s been so much longer than a month. But of course in other ways it feels like it’s been only a couple days.
After completing the IDC and passing the Instructor Exam, I remained at Two Fish to complete an internship and learn the ins and outs of teaching that can only come from watching the experienced. I was lucky and got to team teach with both of Bunaken’s full-time instructors and learn from their personal styles. First, I taught a Rescue Diver course with Yvonne and learned how to mildly torment my students. Rescue Divers need to be prepared to handle all sorts of problems in the water, and help both themselves and others. So, we threw every conceivable problem at our student to make sure he will be as prepared as possible on future dives. He now knows what to do when someone deliberately ‘falls’ off the boat and stops breathing. Or when someone panics and still manages to rip off both his mask and regulator. This student, now a Divemaster trainee in Bunaken, is now well prepared to handle the worst that two terrible divers can throw at him. It was a blast.
Next, I teamed up with Dion to teach a Scuba Diver course. Whereas in Rescue I learned to be harder and more demanding, with this course I learned patience to help new divers discover skills I no longer think about when I perform them. For both courses, I got to see how different people structure their full sessions with knowledge reviews, pool, and open water sessions. I learned where to best position myself to help students the most, and to help people discover more about the underwater world. I had support and backup overcoming logistical and unforeseen obstacles that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. Now, I feel much better prepared to tackle the world of PADI Instruction wherever in the world I end up!
I’m sad to leave the people, the reefs, and definitely the food, but I am now well qualified to find my own niche in this industry. So, thank you Two Fish Divers and everyone involved for helping me along the way. I’m sure I’ll be coming to you for more help soon.
