Submitted by Michael Rimbey on the 2024 Winter HDFS program in Barbados …
In my final week in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to, we finished up our placements in the Primary schools and took a few more trips as a group to fully maximize our time in Barbados. In the last two days of placements, I led many more classes as a teacher and also spent more time with the rest of the students during recess after lunch. This was one of my favorite parts of the day because it allowed me to see all of the students and connect with them, doing things that different people enjoyed and wanted me to do with them. Some of these things included throwing American football, kicking around a soccer ball, playing netball, hide and seek, and running races against other students. This truly made me feel like a kid again, and it took me back to when I was younger playing games in Elementary school. I used my experiences in Elementary school to also teach the kids some games we used to play back then in class. It was very hard to say goodbye to the teachers and students I have worked with throughout January, and they thanked us by giving each of us a gift bag from the school which included a polo shirt, mug, and a pen. I had never thought I would meet these people just a few short months ago, but I am so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone and did because I will remember them for the rest of my life. Some of the last trips that we took as a group included a catamaran tour around the South side of the island and also an inflatable waterpark day in Saint James. Both of these trips brought us even closer together as a group and gave us even more memories that we can take back home with us to the United States. Now that I have had the opportunity to reflect on this experience, I am so incredibly grateful for the time I have had and meeting new people from both UD and the island of Barbados. The community in Saint James, where we stayed, has been extremely welcoming and I am leaving the island feeling as though it is my home away from home. I feel I have grown both personally and professionally from this winter study abroad trip and I am leaving telling myself that I will most definitely be back one day. I want to thank everyone that has helped me in this journey abroad and will be officially saying farewell to this study abroad trip of 2024. It is not a goodbye, but a see you later. (Submitted February 2, 2024)