Shark Attack

last year, august 8th to be exact, i did an amazing, out-of-character thing.

i swam with sharks. about 30 of them

willingly.

and yes, that is a three-zero, thirty.

shayne invited me to go on an adventure with his family while we were in hawaii for karen's wedding.


sisters. we are so obviously related...


and i am always up for an adventure, so i said yes.

i woke up super, super early and mom drove me to the docks in haleiwa and we found the "shark attack" sign. it was comforting. mom kissed me goodbye after shayne and his crew arrived and left me for the fish. literally.

iilona and i planned to go in together so we could scream, hold hands, and cling to each other for dear life while surrounded by blood-thirsty sharks and protected by a few measley pieces of welded metal.

this plan changed quickly.

captain advised shayne to take in another adult because two little girls would be difficult to handle as the water grew more and more choppy (weather wasn't the greatest on this wondrous morning). so, iilona and shayne were to enter the cage with the two girls and i was to go with two other crazy strangers.
joyous moment of realization right there.

the first couple to go out didn't last very long. the girl had a fit within minutes and it took a long time to calm her down after we brought her back aboard. i was up next, and i did not want to be anything like the crying, hyperventilating girl, mainly because i didn't want to wimp-out in front of my brother, sister-in-law (who said she would only go if i did), and especially my nieces.

i freaked myself out that the sharks would bite my toes as i climbed down the side of the cage, so i quickly flung myself into the safety of the cage. i refused to look under the water until we were "safely" released from the boat (much less rough water) because the sight of all the dorsel fins above the water was enough to send me into a panic. as the water settled slightly, i took a deep breath and pushed myself under the water. i screamed. needless to say, i came up for air pretty fast and choked on the water i had inhaled. i was literally surrounded by sharks, peaceful looking sharks. while i loved looking at them as they swam gracefully (do sharks swim gracefully?) it was still an experience that kept my heartbeat racing. i loved looking at our feet because we were all kicking like mad as if we were swimming away from the sharks, even though we knew we were safe in the cage.

i guess you never lose
the "flight or fight" instinct.

soon enough, my turn was up and i handed my goggles off to iilona, who decided to follow through with it all because i did (which is the main reason i refused to let myself hyperventilate. talk about control!). so, i watched as my family also surrounded themselves with sharks and i held on to my cute little nephew (i also couldn't have been shown up by my nieces!!) while his parents and sisters enjoyed the sharks. it was really cool to see all the dorsel fins surrounding the boat too, slightly less unnerving than when you are in the cage.

it was quite the experience, one that most people should do,
just like skydiving.
Remember this?

remind me to get the video of my experience from shayne for your's and my viewing pleasure.
i bet i am quite entertaining.