Skydiving in Spain!

My new Facebook profile photo~ haha! Thanks so much Marcelo & Christine for convincing me to take the jump!!

Two weeks before the end of Term 1, Marcelo Schneider created an event on Facebook for skydiving. Apparently, he and his wife are both avid skydivers... and they thought it would be a good way to relieve post-exam stress by jumping off a plane! I was really hesitant to do it...as I get immense butterflies in my stomach on roller coasters and other physics-infused attractions. My last stint at the reverse bungee GMAX at Clarke Quay was hard to stomach. But then again... I knew I would not have this opportunity knocking on my door often. And, since this MBA program was all about transformation / getting out of my comfort zone, what the heck. And so I signed up!

Eager? Anxious? It was everyone's first time!

Call time was at 1pm in front of the IE Library (where Global Village was held). I was supposed to come in 10 minutes early but I forgot my camera battery back home. Fortunately, I still made it in time. I saw Elliot in the scene first... followed by Tiago, then Jan, Prasad... and so on.

We ended up waiting for an hour for Marcelo, Christine and Morten - our designated drivers for the day! They rented cars from Respiro, a car-sharing service in Madrid (very similar to Zipcars~ a case study we discussed for our Entrepreneurial Management class). Waiting was fun... as we all exchanged thoughts on what we thought was gonna happen... obviously there was no single expert in the group. We were all doing this jump for the first time!

Here comes the cavalry!

For every car that passed through, we were thinking it was them! Hehe, we joked that they may have run out of cars to borrow.. and so they would've had to resort to renting any of the Jaguars, BMWs and other luxury cars that passed through that road!

Anyway, Marcelo, Morten and Christine finally came and soon we were packing ourselves into the cars~ eager for the adventure that lay ahead! Woohoo! I joined car #1~ which included Morten, Majo, Lisa, and KS!

That was a mega-large cardboard silhouette of a bull along the outskirts of Madrid. I am truly in Spain!

Marcelo poses for the camera (or rather gestures we should photograph him) as our vehicle overtakes theirs!

The venue was a 40-minute drive out of Madrid... towards the direction of Toledo, actually. The car ride felt a lot like a road trip actually... with music pulsating inside the car and funny discussions going on inside! It's been a while since I've been inside a car (I mean, except taxis of course) and it's good to listen to music your friends enjoy as you travel to a destination!

We're getting near! Majo *high-fives* the air!

Before I knew it, we were there. While there wasn't exactly that sign that indicated such, you would know by the planes hovering through your head and.... well, the parachutes in the sky!

It was exciting! But of course, at this stage the reality of the matter had still not set in... I was still enjoying the collective enthusiasm that people have as they reach their destination (as with all road trips)! We entered through a dusty road covered by trees. At the end of the road was the airport!

Drop zone! Actually, at first... I thought it was some golf putting greens... and since I had never sky-dived before, I didn't know what that green patch was really meant for. Haha... in the next hour I would soon KNOW! lol

After parking our cars, we went through a path outlined by a wire fence and a pavement. Beyond the fence was an open field... with a distinctively green patch. On top of that patch, there were people with parachutes. In my mind, I thought they were receiving their training on how to pack their parachutes there. Haha... and so I thought!

Somebody stepped on some paint!

The concrete pavement we walked on had these blue & red footsteps~ which was meant to (I suppose) guide people to where the skydive center was. My eyes were still fixated with what the people were doing with their parachutes and so I ended up at the end of the group.

It was pretty sunny that day (like the sun was directly above your head)~ but it wasn't as hot as what I was normally exposed to back in Singapore or the Philippines. It squinted quite a bit while walking... but in the near distance I could see structures made from recycled steel containers painted in grey... as well as blue & red (ah! The skydive center's company colors)! The place had this reddish cafeteria area... the administrative office, the hangar and of course a runway for all its planes. There were a bunch of people there... and they all looked like seasoned skydivers (they had this look like "yeah, I just jumped off a plane"). Of course, they also had these skydiving t-shirts on! Que cool!

Touch down... and people are told by Christine & Marcelo to wait a couple of minutes as they talk with management~ 

Marcelo and Christine got everyone settled in and spoke to the staff at the vicinity. We are asked to chill first while they talked to them. Minutes later, they came back with stacks of paper (which were liability-indemnity forms... in case things go wrong) and someone from the skydive center to explain the costs of getting photos or a video of your skydive. I was personally entertained listening to the guy... because he was very convincing in explaining to us that it's better to get a video (you would actually have a better reference point as you fall from the sky via the video). In the end, all of us decided to get both photos & the DVD... and Hannah magically secures a bargain for a 15 euro discount (nice one)!

The skydive center would then process all these documents into their systems... and we had free time once more. Below are some photos of us... well, waiting! :p

What?! Really? Well, places like this are all about safety-first! So it only makes sense to ensure we don't drink & d(r)ive! 

"Now sign here" (The exact same words Johnny Blaze was told before becoming the Ghost Rider)~

The boss explaining why you should get a video! And Zsofia... concentrating....

Me realizing at this point what I got myself into!

Danella, you need to pay royalties for that shot (just as I did for Ostap's)~ time to talk to my manager! lol

Very cool wall art for the recycled steel containers that now serve as office spaces!

Super Jan~ this guy partied at Gabana til 7am and manages to make it hangover-free today (or so I think)

Angels that fell from heaven? Well, not yet. Zsofia, Hanna, Danella, Majo & Lisa smile for the camera!

At this point, Marcelo tells us that the management office has finally finished coding in our forms and that it's now time to pay the balance of the deposit! The entire fee for the skydive was 210 euros~ not bad considering the experience you'd get out of it. There were essentially 2 lines~ one for cash payment and another for credit cards. I was short by 70 bucks (didn't bring enough cash for the extra services) but luckily Elliot covered me for the moment. Soon, we'd wait again... but people were slowly getting called out for the first jump!

Look at how bored & uninterested people here look when parting away from their money... 

...and how pumped up and happy they are minutes after! Time to go skydiving~yeah!!! Simply hilarious!

Marcelo C focuses on.... no, not that! The instructor said to tilt your head and hold on to the harness (really)!

Tiago and his enormous.... muscles! Obvious, isn't it?

Marcelo (Canales), Tiago, Christine and Marcelo (Schneider) were the first group of people to jump together. In my mind, I thought everyone was required to put on a jump suit for the dive... but apparently not. In Tiago's case, he was just given the harness to wear.

The staff actually strap you on extremely tightly~ so tight that it's virtually impossible to walk straight. What was funny about these harnesses though was that... somehow... a big bulge would emerge from all the straps wrapping around your body. It was funny as hell~ and Tiago was pretty embarrassed too!

I told myself... I'm totally getting a jumpsuit (and as per the main photo above... apparently I didn't get one). You can just imagine (or rather, don't~) how embarrassed I felt too later on.

Minutes later, these 4 would board a mini plane and disappear into the air!

Soon, it was my turn to get strapped! My tandem partner was Steve (He's the guy who was actually checking his iPad on that photo of Marcelo C above staring at the photo). Steve was really bad-ass: Bald head, goatee, big muscular build (Wait! Sounds like Stone Cold Steve Austin)~ but wait, he also had tons of tattoos too! He didn't ask me if I wanted a jumpsuit... he just gave me the harness to put on. Of course obedient me timidly complied~ lol. He would later instruct me to tilt my head, hold the harness, etc. just as Marcelo & Tiago were instructed.

For this trip, I was sharing this experience with Basil from Saudi Arabia and Prasad from India! We waited for another 15 minutes before we were called in... here we gooooo!

My ride a.k.a. the plane I'll be pushed from at 13,000 ft!

Steve dragging my ass down to the runway... making sure I don't escape lol

There were 10 of us packed into that small plane! 3 of us, our 3 tandem partners and the 3 photographers who were capturing our descent to earth (and of course the pilot)! I honestly didn't expect it to be that crowded inside... but we fit. All of us! Prasad and I were seated by the bench while Basil was seated right by the door. From the looks of it, he was gonna be jumping first!

As we lifted off the runway and were soon flying in the air, I could feel every gust of wind that went by the plane (hello~ it was a micro-mini plane). As I've taken many flights before, I was used to seeing the view from above. No big deal.

And it just keeps getting higher... and higher... and higher!

Well, that was until they decided to open the door half-way! I was like... WTF! The plane was small... and now you had this feeling that you'd fall any minute (and yes, the plane took these drops every now and then). Of course, when I thought that we were already too high... I was advised that we're just at 3,280 feet (and we were jumping at 12,000 feet). What?!

Every now and then I would look around people's faces to gain some confidence. The 6 other people with me on the plane were seasoned skydivers and they looked totally zen. That helped. But then... whenever I looked at Prasad, he would be taking deep breaths. Great~ now I feel doomed!

Interestingly, every time we reached a new altitude, a siren would wail out. Shoot shoot shoot... we were getting closer to 12,000 feet! And soon... the inevitable came.

Suddenly, the pilot shut off the engine. A guy opens the door... and Basil was being prepped for his jump (well, prepped wasn't the word.. He really didn't have a choice... his tandem partner was essentially moving him towards the door~ in pretty much the same fashion I will also be moved). Seconds later, this was what I saw:

They literally dropped out of the plane like a discarded rag doll! And in a split second... they were out of sight!

I was next. I was freaking out a bit. But my biggest worry was not exactly the free fall... I was more worried about breathing. Quick flashback why:

Me last November... on my birthday (Thanks Sohyun~ *high five*)!

I've actually tried indoor skydiving before. Sentosa had this million-dollar wind tunnel~ which technically simulated free fall from skydiving. It was an awesome birthday gift from my fiancee! The main problem I had there was that there was so much air it was difficult to breathe. Like really!

On my first try inside the tunnel, I panicked because I couldn't breathe (5 seconds in I couldn't take it). And so I asked to be taken out right away. But of course, it was because I was nervous and tense that I forgot to breathe properly. So true enough, later I managed to complete a couple more minutes inside the tunnel and stabilize myself in mid-air.

So going back~ I was worried about the amount of air outside. But I was telling myself that Marcelo advised me that wind tunnels, for some reason, have a lot more air than usual (because, well, it is contained in a finite space). And so, by the time I was out the door of the plane, I felt an immense surge of air! Shoot~ this was it... and it was hard to breathe once again! But... as with all things, I was telling myself to relax and consciously concentrate on my breathing. Of course, by the time I completed figuring this out in my head~ my tandem partner Steve pushed us out of the plane already!! So much for mental preparation!!

"By the way Steve, I think we should........... Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!"

*At this point I realized it was pointless to freak out... I had no choice but keep falling*

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It was hilarious! Honestly, I fell so fast I actually didn't feel like I was falling. Like... in no time, I was suddenly experiencing wind resistance just like I did in the wind tunnel (As it turns out, we were falling 1000 feet for every 5 seconds. And, since I was also heavier than the typical skydiver~ our fall was actually very very very accelerated)!

Shortly after, the photographer appeared. Honestly it was quite a consoling feeling to know that you're not diving to earth alone~ that there were actually 2 people with you as you descended. Because she had the camera strapped to her helmet, I was really conscious about how I look. So naturally I smiled as much as I can! But of course, with the amount of wind resistance going through, my face was all distorted! It was damn funny! 

Interestingly enough, what the boss said at the skydive center was true. It was good that we actually had another person with us... as they really served a point of reference that we were indeed falling. Despite falling at 200 ft per second, you really wouldn't notice it (the ground is soooooo far away that you can't notice that you're actually falling). So there were times we were below her... or above... or within the same level.

Check out the distortion on my face! That's how fast we were going!!!!

It was quite tough to maneuver around during free fall... so the best actions I could do in mid-air was to pretend I was swimming or just give some thumbs up signs! And... just like that, it was already time to deploy our parachute!

In an instant, Paula~ my photographer disappeared below us. By the time my parachute by fully deployed, I was just floating around, with my legs just dangling below.

During this extended period of time, I was appreciating the view I had. Nobody ever told me about the great views you'll experience while on parachute~ and I really felt I got a bonus out of this experience. It was really really really cool. During the descent, I had a good chat with Steve about his experience doing these kind of things.

King's Landing (Game of Thrones)~ lol... totally the opposite actually!

Landing was a funny experience. On our way down, Steve was telling me because I was a bit heavier than the typical skydiver, we were gonna land VERY FAST. He advised me to raise my legs as high as I can when we're about to reach land. That way, we'll have a smoother landing as we hit the greens (aaaaah~ so that's what it was for)!

SPLAT! It was ALMOST a smooth landing!!! Hahahaha

As it turns out, we were descending so fast that we missed the target by around 6 inches. As a result, I landed butt-first on the dirt~ and we later slid through the green zone. It was a semi-rough landing... but not as bad as I expected. We created like a mini dirt storm during our entrance back to earth. Honestly speaking, I did taste some dirt on my way down! It was hilarious!!!

We look so funny here! It's as if  we were scientists that had test tubes explode on our faces!

It was an awesome adrenalin rush after... and more importantly, I guess a sense of achievement. That I've finally done this! Skydiving~ check!

By the time I returned to base camp, a few other people were still waiting for their turns. While others, were waiting for their photos & videos of their jump. 

Marcelo chats with Majo & Danela by the pool (not in the photo lol)~

The group originally planned to go swimming after skydiving. There was actually a swimming pool / community complex right beside the skydiving center. Of course, since I already saw the pool from the air, I didn't need to ask directions on how to get there. In many ways, I felt like I had a real-life version of Google Maps in my brain!

Marcelo, Tiago, Majo and Danela already had a head-start at the pool area. I changed to shorts and sandals and laid out a towel to lie down on (no swimming for me). Soon, others would follow and we hung around for a while to just chill... and share stories about our recent adventure in the air!

These two ladies take a dip in the pool!

KS is like... "Dude...."

People watching videos taken from Marcelo & Christine's GOPRO cameras! It contained really really funny footage!!!  

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It was a fantastic experience! If given a chance I wouldn't mind doing it again actually... and personally, I think roller coasters are scarier (like seriously?). The drive home was relaxed... and by the time we reached Madrid we were all exhausted. Some people decided to go out... but for me, I was done for the day.

I appreciated being able to do something like this in life (just like being in the ring with a bull or dancing on-stage). And perhaps it's because we have such diverse people in this MBA program that I'm able to experience such things. I've enjoyed the friendships I've had today and I'll definitely look back at these memories with a smile on my face. When I got home, I shared a photo of my jump with my Mom. She must've thought I was crazy.... but hopefully after she reads the rest of this blog and what I've come to appreciate in the process about myself and in others around me, hopefully she'll reconsider haha.

Anyway, an awesome conclusion to Term 1. I look forward to what the future brings.... and of course, seeing what the compiled videos of everyone looks like!!!