Feliz Dia di Boneiru! & SCUBA Diving

This morning we had our first quizzes of the semester, then went SCUBA diving. We did buoyancy skills while playing a few games and learned a few different kicks (frog kick, helicopter, & swimming backwards).

• Game 1 was laying out a transect and we had to swim with a cup that had air trapped in it to fill up a float line while picking up a spoon with our mouth halfway down the transect. We could only rise or lower ourselves adjusting our breathing. It took a little while to get the hang of it, but after you did it was smooth sailing. 
• Game 2 we played ultimate torpedo aka ultimate frisbee underwater. You can get disoriented while playing and keeping track of your teammates is a bit tricky; however, after a few minutes we all got the hang of it and the game was on.

This morning was a BLAST! We also have the afternoon off until seven when we go on our night dive. 

Today is Bonaire Day (Flag Day) and we went to Rincon this afternoon to check out the festivities. They had a bunch of food and souvenir vendors. We talked with one of the vendors and she even let us walk around her house. The house has been in her family for 80 years and was a simple house. While walking around town, I have seen cars with the driver on both the left and right side of the vehicle. Driving is similar to the US where we drive on the right side of the road.

Tonight, we went on a night dive for 45 minutes. Got to see bioluminescence by turning off our lights and moving our hands or body around. Saw some big groupers, a rock fish (I believe), goldentail eels, spotted eels, balloonfish, a porcupinefish, French angelfish, and many more. Starting the night dive I was a little nervous but after a few minutes the dive became quite peaceful. Again, like any other dive you are in your own little world but at night it goes to another level because of visibility. Your buddy has to stay closer so you don't get separated. Though you are closer together you can hardly tell because you are exploring the coral reef by the beam of your light and seeing different things.