Seeing as how I turn the big 5-0 this year, I decided I needed to set myself a challenge – learn something new, do something I’ve been too timid to do before. Since I’ve always been fascinated by television programs about underwater sights, and live in a part of the world where such things can literally be right outside your door, I decided to learn how to scuba dive.

This decision was not without a lot of trepidation. After all, strapping a big heavy tank to your back, adding another 20 pounds of lead weights around your waist, and then jumping in the water just seems so wrong. The list of things that could go haywire seemed endless.

But that was the whole idea. Challenge my fears, free myself of those ideas that keep me from experiencing everything that life has to offer. So, having decided what to do, I had to find somebody to teach me. Fortunately, scuba diving is one of the most highly organized sports in the world, with a global system of teaching people to dive, known as PADI. All I had to do was find a certified PADI instructor, and there are literally thousands of them in Thailand alone. This decision for me was easier than it might seem. I’d already heard many good things about Adam Preston, of Rainbow Scuba in Samui, so I contacted him and we arranged some dates that worked for both of us.

Now, when you try to imagine what a scuba instructor is like, whatever comes to mind is probably the exact opposite of Adam. He’s a soft-spoken Brit who came to Thailand about six years ago and hasn’t left. Adam is very patient and doesn’t mind repeating himself as much as necessary – which actually seems to be a fundamental part of PADI instruction.

For those that haven’t been through it, the PADI course is a small scale multi-media extravaganza that combines self-study, video reviews and classroom instruction to learn the basics – although for this course, the classroom is a swimming pool. You get familiar with all the equipment and fundamentals involve in scuba in the relatively safe and controlled confines of a hotel pool.

So, when I landed in Samui last night, Adam graciously picked me up from the airport, and handed me a book. "Read at least the first section before I pick you up tomorrow." He told me.

So, I did my homework and Adam picked me up this morning for the start of “class”. Actually, since it was just me, we went to Adam’s house to watch the DVD’s, which basically cover the same ground as the book, to help re-enforce the concepts. Like the book, there’s a “test” after each section. Both the book and the videos are done with a touch of humor, that makes it easy to get through. The book also has numerous little “pop quizzes” sprinkled through it, to help you check if you’ve gotten the main points. The books are meant to be written in, a point which Adam made to me several times, since many of his customers aren’t used to marking up books.

Once the videos were out of the way, we moved to a nearby resort where I got my first taste of diving with the equipment. Strangely, things I thought would give me trouble, like getting used to the mask and clearing it, proved to be relatively simple. The hard part, for me, was getting the hang of neutral buoyancy. Adam compares learning scuba to learning to drive. When you first start out, there are so many things you’re trying to remember, it seems impossible that anyone manages it, but pretty soon a lot of actions become second nature.

After a couple hours in the pool, I’ve learned everything I’m supposed to learn, so we knock off for the day and tomorrow it’s off to Koh Tao to do the real thing.

To find out how I did in the real open water dives, read part two.

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