Stacking Skills: SCUBA Diving and Language Learning in Thailand

We grow fastest at the edge of comfort, where something new meets something known. I'm writing this from Koh Tao, Thailand, where I'm pushing my edge by narrating my SCUBA Open Water certification in German. It's strange, but it's working.

The Diving Experience

I thought SCUBA itself was going to be a big challenge. And it was. The first dive in open water, I had three uncontrolled ascents (big oops). I wasn't in touch with my body, the equipment, and the environment around me. The second, third, and fourth dives were much smoother, and I felt increasingly more in control.

While under the water, I saw some epic stuff: angelfish, worms, the top of a wreck, a turtle. It was an incredible experience — one of the most fun and challenging things I've ever done.

Throughout the three-day course, new information, skills, and challenges were introduced. I found that getting comfortable in one skill created space to learn and practice new ones. Throughout the entire training, I felt my skills and confidence expanding; I was growing.

Stacking Experiences

After our final dive, my dive buddy and I were ecstatic — proud of what we had accomplished. Back at my brother's retreat center, I started dreaming about all the places I could use my new skills. Then this thought hit me: I've only been on four dives — what if I forget everything before the next one?

Still feeling proud, I started thinking about other skills I've built, and how I've kept them sharp. One of the strongest for me is language learning. German is my strongest, so I thought about reinforcing SCUBA through German.

Here's what I did:

• Wrote a prompt and asked ChatGPT to generate beginner-friendly diving terms in German and English
• Created a new Anki deck for diving terms
• Started practicing those terms
• Described the dive steps in German, out loud, imagining I was underwater again

Simply put, I'm stacking my SCUBA experience with my German experience to deepen both.

What's next?

Equalizing my ears better, improving buoyancy, getting my own dive computer to analyze my dives.

And maybe narrating my Advanced course in German too.

Have you ever tried combining two or more skills at once? I'd love to hear about it.