One of my final days in Barbados, we went to the north east coast of the Island. There were giant cliffs everywhere. I got to sit on the edge and look down to see the waves crashing on the rocks! It was incredible, I’ve never seen anything like it before.

Czech Republic! Beautiful, and cold!!

From the moment I stepped off the bus that took me to Brandon’s Beach, I was surrounded in an atmosphere of lively music. As I walked toward the event, the music got louder and I saw the beautiful faces of Barbados, young and old, all smiling at me. Sometimes, I would get a strange glance as if I was out of place in this Caribbean music festival. However, the glances did not make me feel like a stranger. I rather found myself feeling welcomed and obtained an overwhelming identity of belonging. People at this event were united by their love for music, and I was lucky enough to be a part of this experience.

                As I stepped off the stairs that led to the beach I felt the warm sand under my feet. Immediately, I got the urge to dance (it is impossible not to dance to the music in Barbados) and started moving toward the front. On my way, I saw a bar operating under a tent and decided to grab a Banks. I caught the attention of a young man with a cane seated in front of the bar. He called out to me and said I would get faster service from the corner, so I made my way toward him and introduced myself. His name was Jerry Nurse and he was enjoying the event with his cousin, whom I met for a moment. Jerry was extremely kind; he bought me a Banks as well as two more for Kirsten and Dennis, and then offered to show me around the Island sometime. After some serious dancing and singing, I found myself exhausted and starved so I went to a food booth. I am accustomed to rude service in the US, and just ordering what I want, paying, and then leaving, but here I interacted with several gentlemen, just to order a “Ham Cutter”. I had never heard of it before so I decided to try it. The man who prepared my Ham Cutter was very, very, nice. I asked him to make it just the way he likes it, which put a smile on his face and as he handed me my delicious Ham Cutter, he said, “Come back and tell me how you like it.” After my first bite I knew I would be going back to tell him that I loved it.

                The major difference I noticed about the Barbadians at the festival is that age does not mean anything on this island. I saw children of all ages and the elderly, all having the same amount of fun. In the US, an event such as Pan-Pun-De-Sand would constitute of only college-aged people, and surely attract a lot of police attention. One thing that surprised me during this event was a sudden set of popular contemporary hits from the US played by the band called “Mosaic”. I have been aware that it is common to listen to current hits from the US on this island, but I was shocked to hear US music integrated with Caribbean cultural music. I sang the words to these songs at the top of my lungs, along with the other Barbadians and of course, danced (although at this point, it was more “wining” than dancing). I was a little disappointed at first because I noticed a lot of Barbadian culture is very similar to the culture in the US, but as I experienced it and learned more about it, I realized that it was very different. For example, the Pan version of Usher’s “DJ Got Us Falling in Love” was unpleasantly surprising at first, but I realized that just because it is the same tune does not make it anything close to music in the US. On the contrary, I realized that what I was hearing at that moment was nothing like the Usher song. The Barbadians took it and made it something completely of their own.

I kissed the Sphinx in Egypt!

I also went inside the biggest pyramid. You have to climb a lot, bent over because your crawl space inside the pyramid is about 3 ft high, until you get to the chamber in the center of the pyramid. The chamber is empty except for one granite tub where the coffin was. Photos are not allowed, men at the door search you before you enter.