One, two, three, take a deep breath, fill your lungs and submerge. I start swimming into the deep blue, I try to keep my mind focussed, every couple of meters I equalize as I start going deeper and deeper. I hear whale songs rumbling in my chest and for one moment I forget where I am and I feel calm. When I hit the depth buoy I turn around and start my ascent. My body wants to take a breath, but I have learned how I can control it and know I still have oxygen in my body. I am closer to the surface and when I reach it, I open my mouth and take three breaths. I signal OK to my buddy and can´t stop smiling. The feeling you get while freediving is unique. The things your body can do for you are amazing.

I spent two weeks in Oahu with former scholars, Stacey Tighe and Katie Laing. Hawai´i is such a beautiful place with lots of history and culture. It had always been a dream of mine to visit this land and I had the privilege to explore it while learning, training and trying new things. One of the amazing experiences I had was getting certified as a freediver with instructor Elle Marlow and Molchanovs Freediving. Four years ago I tried freediving for the first time, but I had a minor accident and got a barotrauma. Since that day, I have not tried it again, and I have always wanted to give freediving another chance. With Elle, I felt confident enough to try it again, and starting with the basics, I learned how to be safe underwater. I had such fun taking the course and had the wonderful company of Larkin Garden (National Parks Service intern) who flew to Oahu from Kaluapapa. We had pool and theory sessions and some ocean practices too, which we did on board Katie’s catamaran!  In our sessions, we saw humpback whales and turtles, and Katie taught me the basics of sailing. It was so much fun and after practicing, I reached 15 meters underwater and got my freediving certification.

After learning how to dive holding my breath, it was also nice to scuba dive with amazing buoyancy control using only my breath! I had the opportunity to try AVELO, which is a new scuba system with a lighter air tank and better buoyancy control. I had heard about AVELO before, but did not know how it worked, and I was very curious to try this new diving technology. With Oahu Travel Divers I had the chance, not only to try it, but I got certified as an AVELO diver. I learned how the gear works and what the fundamentals of its function are. Trying it for the first time felt so different from traditional scuba diving– I felt super light and the buoyancy control is incredible! Instead of adding air to a BCD, you are adding water to a bladder inside the tank! It was very easy to learn and I felt very comfortable with the system. In my dives with AVELO I explored the Hawaiian reefs and met friendly turtles and colorful fish. Even though AVELO is only available in certain dive shops in the world, it is spreading, and hopefully more and more people get to try it. It is fascinating how scuba technology is advancing!

In my time in Oahu I visited a very special place, He´eia fishpond, which is an ancient, traditional Hawaiian walled coastal pond. It was built 600 to 800 years ago, and it is one of the few traditional fish ponds remaining in Hawaii. The pond creates an estuary for raising native fish without needing artificial feed and it is a traditional aquaculture technique. The pond is run by the community and receives volunteers for maintenance help. In my time there, I helped remove invasive weeds and jellyfish. I learned that as islands, in Hawaii, there are many invasive species that threaten the native fauna and flora. The most surprising for me was mangroves! It is interesting that in so many places in the world, people are trying to protect mangroves, but here, mangroves are considered invasive species and they are trying to get rid of them. This helped me to reflect on different perspectives and situations and how there are greys and not only black or white. It was very fun to walk in the pond with nets, capturing the jellyfish. I felt like SpongeBob catching jellies- haha. It was very beautiful to learn how the community cares about preserving this place and their traditions and how volunteers come every week to help preserve this place full of history.

I was amazed by all the beauty and culture Oahu has. I want to come back and visit the other Hawaiian islands to keep learning more!

Thank you so much to the Aloha Hub, for welcoming me for two weeks. Thank you so much, Stacey Tighe, for welcoming me in your home and taking care of all the organization and scheduling. Thanks to Katie Laing for organizing the freediving course with Elle Marlow, letting us use your amazing catamaran, teaching me the basics of sailing and welcoming me in your home. Thanks, Shaun Wolfe, for the surf lessons and taking me hiking and prawning in streams. Thanks, Michael, for welcoming me in the Hawai´I Institue of Marine Biology and giving me an awesome tour! Thank you, Jessica, for sharing your story with me and the fun chats!

Thank you, Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society for giving me this dream opportunity. Thank you to all my sponsors: Aqualung, Drysuits Unlimited International (DUI), Fourth Element, and Backscatter for giving me the gear and tools necessary for my year.