Submitted by Ashlee Autore on the 2018 winter session program in Barbados sponsored by the Department of Geography…
Before leaving for the airport, I knew I had overpacked. Having never studied abroad or visited Barbados before, I wasn’t entirely sure what I would need. Just a few days in and I still don’t really know. While flying here, I was trying to envision how my life would be different from what I’m used to, but nothing compares to actually being there and seeing it for yourself. By just looking out the window as the plane was landing, I could spot some cultural differences in Barbados as compared to what we know in the United States: Areas are very urban, houses are extremely colorful and everyone will talk to you.
Once we landed, there were two things that struck me right away: the first was that the driver’s side of their cars is on the right, and the second was that cars drive on the left side of the road. The roads don’t have any dividing lines along with a lack of street signs. I may have seen a total of two speed limit signs on our drive from the airport to the resort where we are staying. The majority of signs are our equivalent of yield signs, but they say “give way”, and are around roundabouts. Aside from that, only the city center has traffic lights. There isn’t even a need for any dividing lines or more street signs – drivers, so far, are responsible and fair. The drivers stop for pedestrians trying to cross the road without hassle, drivers give friendly honks to each other and there’s no tailing. Even in parking lots, there’s no fighting for spots. It’ll definitely take some getting used to in order to learn to trust the cars and not be afraid of getting run over.
I’ve also learned the locals here are almost always willing to talk. On what was an hour-long bus ride, I was given the opportunity to talk to a local, who was born and raised in Barbados and knows the ins and outs. He stressed that prices and expensiveness are not all that important, but rather, the quality of what you were paying for. He told me that businesses such as hotels will have a skill section of interviews, during which you have to prove you can uphold the business’s quality of customer service. If you fail, there is no training, you just won’t get employed.
