Chris

I lived/worked in Russia for four and a half years, and learning to speak Russian made it a much more enjoyable experience. I think it would be incredibly hard to do if you don’t have it around you all the time, but it’s certainly not a requirement. By the time I left I could speak well enough that people didn’t immediately know that I was an American. I can’t say that I’m fluent, unfortunately, and after 3 years removed from speaking it daily I’ve gotten pretty rusty. Learning any foreign language is a constant effort, so you’re always progressing when it isn’t your native tongue. But when you start thinking in another language, that’s when you know you’re getting somewhere.

I did my first two night dives about two weeks ago, and they were awesome! I’d always thought that it would be a little freaky not being able to see beyond the limit of your light, but it wasn’t. Even diving a site that you’ve been to before during the day is like diving it for the first time.

Now that I’m living in an area where I can dive whenever I want to, I’m not going to wait 14 years to progress to the next level. I’d love to make a living diving someday, so I’m going to keep progressing as aggressively as I can. My goal right now is to get as many dives as I can under my belt, and complete Rescue Diver by May 2008.