Vaccination, Swimming and Sledging in one day

 

I have to make a confession.

I'm not a very brave person.
  I like my peace and quiet, I can live without challenges.

Unfortunately for me today's life is full of challenges. We sometimes create them ourselves.
  I remember vividly one of my first Science Lessons back in UK just when I started Secondary School. (Dear Miss D, I loved your science lessons and I miss them terribly. I keep asking my parents to bring me back to UK so I can attend your science lessons again)

Anyway. Miss D brought a real heart and some real lungs (from a sheep, or goat) and we were going to do dissection.
  I only watched this for a minute or so before everything went black and I fainted.
  This is not a very cool thing to do in a new school, I can tell you that.

The eye witnesses, like the whole class, were still teasing me about this nine months later. They only stopped because I moved away from the UK.

Today was the day of my vaccination, and I suddenly thought of this first science lesson.
  I was getting all the signs: butterflies in my tummy; the room was too hot; I was waiting too long; I was imagining the longest needle in the universe; I was thinking about what it is in this vaccine and what it is going to do (once injected) in my body.

The worst part was to meet the nurse. There were two nurses, one European and one African. They did not speak any English, but there was a translator.
  I was thinking how lovely it would be if I could run away, but I've done that already last year.
  The thing is, after you run away, you've got to come back.
  Overall, I think the waiting and imagining things is worse than the actual vaccination.

Despite becoming a hero the day didn't stop there. We had swimming lessons after.
  Swimming is usually a pleasant past time, but today was a weird day.
  The teacher decided he was going to make us jump from the tallest platform he can find.

To jump 5 metres doesn't sound like a lot, but try to climb up 5 metres above the swimming pool, and then look down. You will know what I mean. (Have you seen the Mr Bean goes Swimming movie?)
  It was a bit like that.
  You climb up gathering your courage, your body screams GO DOWN RIGHT NOW.
  You keep climbing, it's an easy part.

When you are up, you try not to look what's underneath you. But the rule of the thumb is, you shouldn't miss the pool when you jump.
  The thing is, the pool looks very small from that height.
  Don't forget that if the platform is 5 metres, you are looking down from 6.5 metres. Ehh?

You have to hurry otherwise people will start guessing that you are actually...scared.

Fiasco in front of the whole class (again) is out of the question. You jump.

Of course you forget to breath out of your nose when you hit the water, and while you are three metres underwater you try to make your brain work and tell you what you are supposed to do with the air in your lungs.
  I was reading somewhere:

When deep divers swim up, they need to slowly breath out, otherwise their lungs could explode. When you swim up, the pressure gradually gets lower making your lungs expand.

I don't get this. When you dive, it makes your lungs smaller, and when you resurface, it makes them normal size again, no? Why would they explode?

I can tell you my brain doesn't work very well 3 metres underwater. Thankfully nature took care of everything, and spat me back out.

I don't think I would do this kind of adventure again any time soon. Maybe on a bet.

I checked the plaster on my vaccination wound, still holding.

The best part of the day was the afternoon after school. We decided to drive to the Jura Alps and check out the snow with my new sledge!
  The snow and the mountains were simply magnificent, and they were worth waiting for.