Tears, mental breakdowns, and panic attacks

After another long week of class that included HOMEWORK (I graduated college for a reason...) we had our next weekend trip to Sihanoukville! THIS PLACE WAS SO COOL AND RELAXING (except for Chelsea... but we will get to that later) AND AMAZING AND I WANT TO LIVE HERE.

So serene and peaceful and NO ONE IS HERE AND I DON'T KNOW WHY BECAUSE IT IS PARADISE WHY AM I YELLING

^Chelsea still doesn't like coconuts, she just *does it for the pictures*

^my favorite husband and wife ever <3

After a peaceful morning of lounging in hammocks and drinking fresh coconuts, we had to complete four dives to finish our SCUBA certification. Most people would naturally be excited for this considering they are paying...to get certified...to ultimately be able to go scuba diving. Now everyone knows my friend Chelsea (the one who almost didn't come on this trip because she was afraid of seeing a snake...not even being bitten by one, simply seeing one. Legend has it she almost left California after seeing a garden snake. A garden snake.) Chelsea was NOT excited to go scuba diving, even though she was paying to do exactly that. 

Earlier in the week we had practiced swimming with all the gear on in the pool.

Real questions that were asked by Chelsea included, but not limited to:

Chelsea: What if I can't breathe?

Me: That's what the oxygen tank is for

Chelsea: But what if it doesn't work

Me: Then you come to the surface

Chelsea: Aren't you not supposed to hold your breath when you are coming back up to the surface, what if I get air bubbles in my blood and die

Me: You're in a five foot deep swimming pool...

Chelsea: But what if I can't breathe will I die?

Me: *slowly sinks underwater*

Thankfully our diving instructor, who is also the director of Language Corps (we love you Rick <3) was more patient than I was. Actual tears were shed in this pool.

Fast forward to Sihanoukville. It was emotionally exhausting even convincing Chelsea to get on the boat to take us to the dive spot.

"What if the boat capsizes"

"I can't swim"

"Are there sharks"

"Am I going to die"

"How do you breathe again"

This boat ride was at least a half hour...

After finally making it to the dive spot, with either ocean water or tears covering Chelsea's face (you can probably guess which one!) we had arrived. 

For our first dive we had to be able to fill our mask halfway with water and be able to get the water out, take our mask completely off and put it back on while getting all the water out, and buddy breathe all the way to the surface. Guess who my buddy was?!

Taking off the mask definitely was my biggest fear. The first time we did it in the pool, I couldn't get all the water out and ended up breathing in the water and choking. Thankfully we were in a pool so I just stood up and coughed my lungs out, but it reminded me of the time I almost drowned when I was about four years old in my dad's friend's pool (obviously this has scarred me for life, but my dad gave me an orange Fanta afterwards and I got over it. My dad also thinks I didn't actually "almost drown", but I was four years old. I remember.)

 Once everyone was in the water, Rick took us down pair by pair. Chelsea wanted to breathe air above water for as long as possible, so we were last to go.

After a few more tears, some hyperventilating, and Chelsea witnessing that everyone came out alive and well, it was finally our turn *cue dramatic music*

^Chelsea may or may not have said this

Once we got to the bottom (after Chelsea tried going back to the top at least five times and me holding onto her ankles and forcing her down calmly waiting by her side to make sure she was alright like a good diving buddy) we went through the test. First I filled my mask halfway with water and got it out, and then it was Chelsea's turn. I think she let in a few drops of water and didn't bother getting them out. Then I took my mask completely off, freaked the eff out with flashbacks of me "not really drowning", then put it back on and got the water out. In those thirty seconds I had a glimpse into the life of Chelsea Farrall and I hated every second of it. Next came time for Chelsea to take her mask off.

After trying to calm her down through gestures that kind of just looked like this:

Rick signaled us to buddy breathe and go up, after we realized Chelsea's mask was filling up not with water, but rather tears (I am as always making this more dramatic than it was...or am I)

Buddy breathing, as you can guess from the name, involves passing the respirator back and forth after each person takes two breaths, while the other person slowly breathes out. Buddy breathing for Chelsea and Laura meant me taking two breaths, passing the respirator to Chels, and her refusing to give it back to me. I think I tried to get it back at one point but she slapped my hand away (I'm fuzzy on the details, I may have blacked out from lack of oxygen................)

We made it to the surface with me gasping for air and Chelsea crying out of either happiness or fear, I'm not sure. 

We boated back to the beach where we had a few hours of being on land and breathing air until our next dive.

After relaxing ("I didn't die but what if the next time I do I swear my oxygen wasn't coming out I don't think I'm breathing right help") we were ready for our next dive! This time we had to use our compass and navigate seven minutes one way, and seven minutes back. Easy enough for most people. Not for tweedle dee and tweedle dum.

Every Spongebob GIF seems relevant to my life.

We had to decide who would use the compass and who would time us. Chelsea felt the need to only focus on her breathing or else she would die, so I ended up doing both.

We were cruising along just fine until Chelsea's ears started hurting really badly, so we went to the surface so she could pop them. I could still make out the facial expressions of Rick on the boat, that's how "far" we had swam floated along. 

He was slowly shaking his head. After a few more tears ("they just hurt so bad is my eardrum going to explode") we went back down. Another three minutes went by and I can feel myself slowly floating to the surface against my will, and lo and behold we are above water again. I couldn't figure out how to sink myself, so we just casually swam back to the boat "using the compass". Fa la la la la la la la la.

It was a long day of diving that called for libations.

^Chels drowning her anxiety in beer

This girl LOVED playing with my hair. And by playing with it I mean pulling out every strand of hair I had on my head in an attempt to braid it. When I finally thought she was done she looked at it, shook her head, and started over. I blame her for my premature balding.

The next morning, after riding to the beach on Rick's motorcycle (sorry Mom), we had our last two dives and then we would be SCUBA certified!

^are my roots grown out or is it *~ombre~*

Our first dive was just Rick taking us around to explore some coral! So much fun even though I had a death grip on me the whole time from my diving buddy.

^will I ever not have a wedgie? #yearofthebutt

Our last and final dive we were free to explore wherever we wanted for around 30 minutes!! This was actually so fun- Chelsea even remembered how to breathe!!! At one point we got a little too close to the coral and I looked up to see Chelsea on her back flailing around kicking everything in sight, but we survived.

Once we navigated our way back to the boat using our compass floated to the surface and swam towards the boat, Chelsea had one final task to do. Take her mask completely off and put it back on again while getting the water out.

More tears, more snot, and one more panic attack later, SHE DID IT!!!! 

Could not be more relieved to be breathing air.

We got back to the beach, took the written portion of the test that we definitely knew all the answers to and in no way cheated, and are officially SCUBA certified!!!!! YAY!

Chels are you so excited to use your scuba certification?!

Unfortunately we had to say bye to Sihanoukville and Cambodia, but our next adventure awaits in THAILAND!!!!