Awesome Clara! You are going to have so much fun! My husband and I got certified in Hawaii our first year of marriage (14 years ago) and we really got into it. I mean, REALLY into it...we were taking 1-2 dive trips a year, going on liveaboard boats, got our Rescue Diver and Master Scuba Diver certifications, etc. We even went to the Galapagos Islands and dove with whale sharks and hammerhead sharks...amazing. Then we got back and I got pregnant with DD, so now we don't dive very often anymore since the kids and it's mostly just a dive or two in Hawaii once a year or every other year. That said, we did take one dive trip two years ago to the Caribbean and DH is going diving in Australia on his own right now. But hopefully once the kids are bigger, we can get them certified and they can come along! (Both DD and DS1 are in swimming lessons and are good swimmers already at 5 and 3).
Even with all that experience, I do remember being nervous at first and feeling a little panicky my first ocean dive...it was a beach entry so I was a little winded from lugging the heavy equipment and swimming out a ways before we dropped, so when I first went under I felt like I couldn't breathe. I was breathing too fast and my lungs were full of air, so I was really buoyant and couldn't descend and the instructor was dragging me by the fin to get me to sink. So I couldn't breathe and I was being dragged under! Not a good start! I finally calmed down and slowed my breathing and everything was fine after that. But I totally sympathize with your fears and it is normal to be nervous at first. What helps is to remember to 1) relax, take your time and slow down 2) really make an effort to take slow, long breaths in and out and 3) don't try to paddle with your arms or fin around too much. Try as much as you can to swim horizontally with your arms folded,
instead of vertically with your fins constantly treading water--that
wastes a lot of air. And as you get more experienced you learn how to use your lung capacity to control your buoyancy. The more you act like a jellyfish (drift along slowly with the currents), the less air you will use and the more relaxed you will be underwater.
The pool sessions will be good to get you used to the equipment. See if you can do your first open water dives off a boat instead of from shore--less work pre-dive so you won't be so tired out before the dive. Also, contacts are OK but you may want to look into getting a prescription mask--that's where they put new lenses or stick on lenses into your mask. That's what we do, so there is no worry of losing a contact lens underwater (esp since some of the exercises involve filling and clearing your mask underwater). Also helpful are hair bands to put your hair back if it's long and a neoprene mask strap to cover the rubber strap so it doesn't pull on your hair. Don't try too hard to clear your ears when you descend--I blew too hard once and developed some hearing damage. If you can't clear, just stop and ascend a little bit until you can clear easily. And make sure you learn how to set up and check your own equipment--it's often easier to let SO do all the work but then you don't know how to tell if there's a problem. And finally, don't be afraid to call a dive. DH and I always tell each other we can abort at any time for any reason if one of us doesn't feel right before or during a dive. If you feel pressured to dive or to complete a course then you might be tempted to ignore problems or warning signs and that's when an accident is more likely to happen. That said, it is a lot of fun and prepare to be amazed underwater! There's really nothing like diving! Oh...and sharks...they won't eat you (the ones you typically see are little reef sharks or nurse sharks), they're actually really cool to see them!
We haven't been to Oahu in a long time, but some of the fun things I remember there are:
Matsumoto Shave Ice on the North Shore
Snorkeling Hanauma Bay
Hiking Diamond Head
Kayaking Lanikai Beach
Pali lookout
Pearl Harbor
Polynesian Cultural Center
I'm so jealous! Have fun and have a shave ice for me!
