Diving

Bjorn and I dove together today for the first time. Bjorn ran out of air.

Really. Apparently he looked down at his gauge to find it pushing (literally) empty. Thankfully, he was already ascending (about five feet from the surface, though underwater distances are much greater where scuba diving is concerned - five feet is almost another atmosphere of pressure) and well beyond the point of having to choose between surface air and the bends or drowning. Or I suppose I could have given him some air. The two most notable sights were a truly enormous lobster about forty feet from the surface, and a barracuda that was over two feet long.

I discovered today a peculiar trait about my Spanish-speaking abilities. They rise to the task of utter fluency when I'm talking to an attractive member of the opposite sex, in this case a gorgeous Chilean girl. It was great...no halting, no stops, and I didn't have an idea where the words or conjugations were coming from. It's too bad I don't have that skill in other important moments, like when I'm trying to explain to an official that he owes me a good deal of money ("Can I stamp your passport for you?").

I think the Chilean girl will be the focus of most of my language practice the next few days.