Divemaster Diaries, Day 1
August 25, 2017: Canggu, Bali, Indonesia

Listening to: Black Coast — Feel Something
It’s 9 a.m. and I’m sitting outside my hostel dorm room facing Echo Beach. After a jet-lagged 10-hour slumber, I peeled myself out of bed at 7 a.m. and started walking — a familiar loop around Canggu and along the black-sand beach, watching dawn patrol surfers bobbing in the waves.
It’s familiar because I was here three months ago. I spent almost five months traveling around Southeast Asia and Australia, documenting my travels through photos, but never words. My travel journal sat in my backpack, but its pages remained empty. Partly because I was determined to live that experience for myself and only myself, I shared only images of the beautiful scenes outside. Partly because I was wandering in uncertainty, wrestling with the future, trying to make every moment last longer. Trying (often failing) to be in my body instead of always in my head. I didn’t want to waste a second of it. And frankly, when I did try to write, I didn’t have anything coherent to say. Everything happening inside of me felt impossible to put into words.
This time, I’m going to write. Every day. I’m here for a purpose and I want to remember the experience, and share it with anyone who’s interested. On slow days, maybe I’ll even share some flashbacks from those first five months.
So what am I doing here in Indonesia for 38 days? If the title didn’t tip you off, I am here to complete my PADI Divemaster course, the first level of professional scuba diving. I will be living on the small island of Nusa Lembongan, about an hour east of Bali by boat. The course starts September 1st, so I have about a week to see some sights around Bali that I missed when I was here in May, and sort out accommodation for the month I’ll be on Lembongan.
I’m excited, a little anxious, but mostly I’m just so happy to be back in this place. In a strange way, arriving at sunset yesterday after a 24-hour journey from San Francisco, it felt like coming home.
“Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.” — Maya Angelou

