Well, it's half right.
The other half I mean is Ama divers are not always diving and it is not the only source of our income. We have a lot of other jobs to make money.
It depends on where you live actually, but in my town, Ama divers can go diving less than 100 days a year. It's because of weather (esp. Typhoon in summer) and some annual events or festivals on some specific dates, we cannot go diving.
In our neighborhood island Toshijika, I heard people can do Ama diving only in summer.
So, if your income is only from Ama diving, it is somewhat risky and very unstable.
As far as I know, some of Ama divers in my town work at Oyster farms in winter, some work at nearby hotels or ryokans sometimes, some are helping their husband's job regularly.
As for me, I am an fisherman's wife.
I need to support my husband's work as well as my work of Ama.
In winter, fishermen in Ijika (my town) are in the busiest time of the year.
So, I have to choose whether I help fisherman's work or go Ama diving.
My husband is a very understanding person.
He always says to me, "You can choose whichever you want to.".
But now I feel more comfortable if I help my husband's job at the harbor.
I was pushing myself to go diving last year since I was not very good at it. I wanted to be confident in the water, and I wanted to prove myself as a good wife of him and a perfect person to be in this fishing village.
But my husband's master, a fisherman, told me not to hurry.
He told me that I have plenty of time to improve my diving skills. "You are young, and Ama divers can dive until 80 years old or more. Take it easy.", he said.
Thanks to him, I could've loosen up and become not to pressure myself.
Now, I can go Ama diving when I want to and I really can enjoy it.
Ama divers have many options, and we can decide what we want to and how much money we want to earn.
I think this is one of the great advantages of Ama and its lifestyle.
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