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He was afraid of the water, but he submerged
From what he remembers, G. Jatužytė (41) always wanted to travel, see the world, experience new impressions. However, this was not easy, since the family’s economic opportunities did not allow it and, moreover, it was only possible to dream of free movement without borders, since Lithuania was not yet a member of the European Union.
However, as soon as the opportunity arose, the young woman, who had just finished her studies in phototechnology at a higher school in Lithuania, packed her backpack and went to work in Ireland so that she could travel.
“Like all first wave emigrants, I initially worked as a waitress. However, my goal was to learn English as best and as quickly as possible. Therefore, I really distanced myself from Lithuanians, Russian-speaking, I tried to choose friends from other countries to communicate in English as much as possible. When he spoke this language without problems, he changed jobs very quickly. I became a sales representative for a company that sells organic food, traveled around Ireland and looked for new clients. In fact, this work was very good. My husband still laughs that he doesn’t understand how I did such a good job and became a diving instructor, “smiled G. Jatužytė.
photo from personal album / Giedrė Jatužytė
The girl spent the money she earned in Ireland on travel, her great passion. He toured almost all of Europe and visited exotic countries. And one winter he visited Tenerife.
“I came and saw that it was warm and beautiful. It turned out that then, and maybe 2002, I moved to Tenerife for five months. I went to the beach every day and kept seeing people in all those diving suits flying underwater I also had to sneak in, “laughed the blog. Euroblogas.lt interlocutor.
I was never a good swimmer or a great water lover.
However, he admitted that daring to dive was not easy because he had always had both respect and fear for the ocean and water.
“I have never been a good swimmer or a great water lover. But I went to the dive center and said I wanted to keep my licenses and dive. Then I kept the first license, but I didn’t really think of any instructor qualification, “said G. Jatužytė.
All the more so as it was necessary to return to Lithuania, as there was the opportunity to complete homologation studies and obtain a non-university higher education. At the same time, the educational system was being reformed, higher education institutions were converted into universities, and a higher education diploma could be obtained after completing compensatory studies.
“Then all my friends urged me to come back to finish my studies. He said if he didn’t do it now, he would never get that role. I finished my studies, but now I only apply them when I use the GoPro camera to film and photograph underwater and offer memories to my clients ”, said the interlocutor.
Male roots – in Lithuania
After his studies, he worked in Ireland for a few more years and traveled until circumstances arose for him to return to Tenerife. “Then I had already realized that I needed to change my profession, to do something so interesting. However, I really did not think that I would become a diving instructor so soon, and more we will have our own business”, G. Jatužytė explained the details of its history.
Love became the engine of life change. She met her future husband when she visited Tenerife for the first time.
photo from personal album / G. Jatužytė met her husband Enrique underwater and they both still teach other people to dive.
“He was the one who immersed me for the first time, he was my first instructor. And when I came to Tenerife for the second time, it somehow turned out that we became a couple. I already had a job offer to go to Mexico to work as a diving instructor. That is why they also told me that I have to keep all the necessary licenses for half a year to be able to teach others to dive, because otherwise we will not find work in Mexico. So now it can be said that my first decision to dive has given life to a person, a business partner and a business. Only it all came gradually, ”said the now experienced dive instructor.
G. Jatužytė’s husband is not Lithuanian. She was born in Uruguay, but she also has Lithuanian roots, as her grandmother is from Kybartai, who emigrated to America after the First World War.
“It was a lot of fun when, at the beginning of our relationship, he gave me postcards written in Lithuanian, Latvian, Polish and Russian. He asked me to translate because he himself did not understand anything. The man is very interested in his roots, he is really convinced that they are in Lithuania, but we still have not found time to go through the archives to find out the details of his entire family history, “said the interlocutor.
He didn’t want to work in the diver factory.
G. Jatužytė has been calling Tenerife home for several years, because she and her husband finally settled there after working in Mexico and Central America.
“We were able to work and live a lot, but we chose Tenerife, because this island belongs to Spain, so it is not difficult to return to Lithuania to visit relatives, which is very important to me,” emphasized the interlocutor.
However, both with her husband in Tenerife worked for some time as dive instructors at the same dive center. At that time, G. Jatužytė created his own website, which was more aimed at Lithuanians so that they could find a dive instructor who spoke their mother tongue.
I was the one who never thought of diving. If someone in my youth had told me that I would work as a dive instructor, I would have laughed out loud.
“That page was slowly evolving, the number of clients was growing until my husband and I finally decided to separate from everyone and start our own diving business. The job of a diving instructor is definitely not easy, it is physically difficult, so it has to become your hobby. And when you work for others, you can burn out very quickly. So we decided to start our own dive business. Even more so since we had a daughter, so having our own business was more convenient to combine it with new responsibilities, parents, ”said G. Jatužytė.
Giedrė and Enrique started their diving business in 2007. And although it was not widely publicized because, as Giedrė herself admitted, communication is certainly not her strength, the number of clients has been growing.
“People were getting word of mouth about us, so we were happy to see more and more customers. On the other hand, perhaps it is also determined by our attitude. I always say that almost anyone can dive underwater if their health allows it. I was the one who never thought of diving. If someone in my youth had told me that I would work as a dive instructor, I would have laughed out loud. I was the person who was probably the most scared. And for me, that dive was a great desire to overcome all barriers. Ever since I got over this, I have always had a desire to help others overcome their fears as well. I have always liked Tenerife because the conditions for diving here are very favorable. Although I often hear that there is nothing to see here, all my most beautiful underwater photos are taken on the beach of Tenerife, at a depth of 2-3 meters. When I worked in the Caribbean, there are real dive factories and I can’t pay much personal attention to people who are diving for the first time. Therefore, I decided already then that I would work personally, in the way that seems most appropriate to me, ”said G. Jatužytė.
photo from personal album / Giedrė Jatužytė
The main customers are now Lithuanians
Her and her husband’s business had gained momentum, but was forced to stop when the whole world closed last spring due to a pandemic. The interviewee admitted that the situation was so bad that the man was forced to find another job completely unrelated to diving in order for the family to survive.
“We were completely closed for three months last spring, we couldn’t leave the house. It was so painful that 100 meters from the beach, it is empty, there are only seagulls, and we have to sit in an apartment. All of Tenerife is inhabited by the tourism, so it seemed like a ghost town because there were no people ”, the blog Euroblogas.lt G. Jatužytė speaks.
He did not hide the fact that the support of the Spanish authorities for the closed business was not enough either. “I work independently, in Lithuania the analog would be an individual activity certificate. Even though I was unable to work, I had to pay a social tax of about 350 euros per month, and the state aid was about 400 euros. However, the most important thing was that it was possible to start working after a while, because we do not need benefits, but opportunities to earn money ”, said the interlocutor.
Under normal circumstances, if it weren’t for the pandemic, it would now have its own working year, as many Scandinavians arrived in Tenerife at that time and the British flooded during the Easter holidays.
“Currently, the vast majority of customers are actually Lithuanian. If not, you probably wouldn’t have a job. It seems that only Lithuanians are coming to the island this winter. But I have heard from them that they feel better, freer, simpler here than in Lithuania. I know of a case where the family spent several months here, then flew back to Lithuania and came back a week later, because here it is really freer. Plus, people can now work remotely, so it doesn’t matter where you are in the world. All the people in my profession joke that Giedrė is the only one who now works in Tenerife. But this is only because we have a lot of Lithuanians. Without them, I think, and I’d be sitting without a job. It is a pity that Lithuania is a small country, so not many Lithuanians can get close to it, ”said G. Jatužytė.
He said that even with customers, it is very difficult for companies to survive right now. “Many dive centers have already closed because they can no longer survive. Currently, three or four dive businesses are based on a room to survive and see what happens next. In addition, there are restrictions on the number of people who can get on board at the same time. Therefore, it would be possible to find more clients, but I would not be able to work with them physically ”, mentioned the diving instructor to the difficulties.
He stressed that there are fewer restrictions in Tenerife than in Lithuania, but the consequences of the pandemic are felt more here, because the island lives only from tourism, and now it is dead.
“In fact, I don’t even watch the news anymore, I’m no longer in the news, because it is no longer possible to capture it, one week some restrictions are lifted, the following week it is renewed again. This is how we live. Hoping that the world will open again as soon as possible ”, G. Jatužytė tried not to lose optimism.
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