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Seaside adventure in sunny Hainan

By Geoff Lemon

　　Wing and Sun have just returned from their Mid-Autumn Festival break.

　　Wing: Hey, Sun! How are you? How was your holiday?

　　Sun: Oh — hi there Wing. I had a fantastic break. You’ll never guess where I went!

　　Wing: Oh? Didn’t you go home to see your folks?

　　Sun: Well, I saw my folks alright, but I didn’t go home to meet them. We decided we all needed a break — so we met each other in Hainan.

　　Wing: Hmm...you are looking a bit browner. What was it like?

　　Sun: Unbelievable! Have you been?

　　Wing: No. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the place, but I’ve never actually been there. Is there much to do?

　　Sun: Oh, you know. It’s a holiday destination, so it’s all about “touristy” things. There is plenty to do, but if you lived there all the time, it might seem a little dull — unless you like to get into the great outdoors all the time.

　　Wing: How did you spend your time? It looks like you must have installed yourself on the beach.

　　Sun: Uh...close! Not on the beach actually — just off it.

　　Wing: What do you mean?

　　Sun: I took up SCUBA diving!

　　Wing: You did what?

　　Sun: You know...SCUBA!

　　Wing: I have no idea what you mean by this...SCUBA.

　　Sun: You know.... its an acronym.

　　Wing: A what?

　　Sun: An acronym! Like NASA or Radar. It’s not a natural word. The word is formed by the letters it stands for.

　　Wing: Oh, yeah! That’s right. So what does S.C.U.B.A stand for?

　　Sun: Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

　　Wing: “Appa” what?

　　Sun: Apparatus. You know like “device” or “system.”

　　Wing: Gee. That sounds really technical.

　　Sun: Oh, it’s not so difficult to learn. I really recommend it. You have no idea how beautiful the diving is off Hainan.

　　Wing: What’s so special about it?

　　Sun: Well, the water is crystal-clear and quite warm this time of the year. Better in summer of course. But you should see all the coral and beautiful fishes. It’s like a whole new world down there.

　　Wing: I don’t know. It sounds kind of scary.

　　Sun: We only dived 30 or 40 feet down. You can see the sea-floor from the surface. And you never dive alone. We were in groups of with a couple of instructors.

　　Wing: How did you ever decide to do that?

　　Sun: Well, my Mum and Dad booked us into a nice hotel and scuba diving was one of the activities recommended to us. As a matter of fact the scuba classes are conducted in the hotel swimming pool. We were watching a party of tourists learning how to use the equipment — and they all seemed to be having a great time. Then we met the instructor and he was very reassuring5.

　　Wing: Weren’t your parents concerned?

　　Sun: Are you kidding? They are quite adventurous too. So we ALL took the course. I think maybe it’s the best thing that we’ve all done together.

　　Wing: Well, what have you got to say about Hainan then?

　　Sun: Hainan is going to be my next holiday destination. It’s a beautiful place and so calm and relaxing. Hey, why don’t you come down there with me on the next holiday?

　　Wing: Thanks for the invitation, my friend. I just might take you up on that!