Were you afraid of Jaws?

Ateneo Grade School Pool

Every Atenean knows that grade 2 marks the year one learns how to swim. As a prep student, I feared grade 2 for this very reason. My idea of swimming was holding on to the gutter and going sideways. Death by drowning was just not going to be an option for me. But I would rather drown than to be caught naked inside the changing rooms by your entire class - which almost always caused quite a stir. 

Back then, it took more technique to change into your speedo's than to learn how to swim.

After herding us through the shower areas, we would sit on the side of the pool and wait for the instructor to force us to get in the water. And for the duration of the class, we would practice breathing under water, kicking in place and floating. I learned how to let go of the gutter with one hand after a few lessons, and soon after, let go of the gutter all together. Whew!

My lola (grandmother) used to take me to her favorite spot in Pansol as a young child to enjoy the hot springs. She would hold on to me tight as she dunked me underwater for what seemed like an eternity. Like a sissy, I would cry and plead for her to stop submerging me. She would just laugh.  I was just as content to just sit on the edge of the pool and watch all the old people bathe themselves in their t-shirts and shorts.

My mom and stepdad used to take my younger sister and I to the Army-Navy Club along Roxas Blvd. in Manila. I don't know how Haj learned how to swim before her older brother, but she did. And she reminded me everyday of her superiority over me, until one day, I figured it out. Shortly after, she was taunting me to jump the high diving board at the club. After much teasing, I took my first plunge.

By grade 3, swimming was second nature to me. Sundays were always spent with the cousins at the Valencia family pool in Dasmarinas Village in Makati. It was always the boys versus the girls. Cousins Rhett and Dennis Eala and I would race against the girls team composed of Gigi Eala, the Ferro sisters (Rhea, Donna and Gina) and the Castanos sisters (Triccie and Katrina).

Rhett was a very good swimmer, but in the end, he'd prefer to look good in his St. Michael's trunks than to win the races. Dennis always gave it his all, but was too young to match up with the older girls. The Ferro girls never backed down on a challenge, especially Donna, who was the most competitive of the girls.  Races would lead to other pool competitions such as who can dive from the highest spot on the man made waterfall to touching the drain first to marco polo. All the pool games came to an abrupt halt after "Jaws" came out in the movie theaters. Ironically, the Dasma pool had a big shark painted on the bottom of the pool. We were never bothered by the shark design before, but after "Jaws," the thought of the painted shark coming to life became closer to reality.

My first dive off the high diving board at the Army-Navy Club