Julie - Ju Ju. 32. French.
How did you end up living on Gili air?
I was working in Australia and looking for a new place to work. A friend of mine was working on Gili air and she said it was amazing, so I decided to come to the island and have a look. I loved it and decided I wanted to stay so I started looking for a job here.
What made you stay?
I found a job at Blue Marine Dive. The reason I choose Blue Marine was because they have so much to offer; yoga, SUP, freediving and it had a great atmosphere. I love yoga and its great that I can practice yoga at the start of my day before going diving. Gili air has such a fun and relaxing atmosphere, it's very peaceful yet there's still a lot to do.
When did you first start diving?
I was swimming a lot in a club when I was younger and there was a suba diving club that trained in the same pool. I was intrigued so I had a few try's in the pool. I did a DSD when I first went to Australia and I loved it! A friend of mine opened a shop in Madagascar so I went there did all my courses from Open Water to Divemaster in 4 months. After that I knew I wanted to continue to Instructor.
How long have you been an instructor for?
2 years.
What made you want to teach others how to dive?
I want people to understand the beauty of the ocean and how important it is to protect. To want to protect the ocean you need to know and love it. That's some extra that I add to my courses when in teaching my students. Nobody knows what's going on under that blue ocean out there and it's so important to show them this.
What has been your most memorable experience underwater?
Recently when we saw a baby whale shark at one of our dive sites. I was taking a few students on their first dive to a site where you really don't expect to see a whale shark. That's what made it so amazing, nobody expected to see it.
How many dives have you done?
450
Where in the world have you dived?
Madagascar, Australia and Indonesia - Bali and Gili
Have you taught in those countries too?
Not it Madagascar, I was a Divemaster at that time.
What's your favourite dive site around the gills From a fun diving point of view I'd say Sunset because it's big, beautiful and we often get sharks.
Do you have an underwater fun fact?
Octopus are so clever, the only thing that stops them taking over the world is that the mother dies when she gives birth. The baby octopus has to learn everything when they are born as their mother isn't there to pass knowledge.
What's next?
Spending another amazing year on Gili air, diving and teaching everyday and then I'd love to change careers and work towards become a yoga instructor.