A Near Death Experience










Words could not describe the excitement and feeling of nervousness I had for my travels to Barbados. I’d never been out of the Unites States before, so I did not have the slightest clue about what the majestic place would be like. I was traveling with a program called Study Abroad in school for a solid four weeks during January. The group I was traveling with included complete strangers, but figured that I could possibly survive with them since I’m not experienced in wandering completely alone in a foreign country.
Barbados is a tiny island located in the Caribbean Sea, a place where there would be no pirates to kidnap me. I thought of its land having a wild jungle and uncivilized citizens, but who knows. I hoped to meet various people with individual personalities and learn their culture, since I was getting bored of my own. I just needed to escape America for a while and experience places where I wouldn’t see a McDonald’s restaurant around every corner. My parents agreed to let me go thankfully, but were also vaguely suspicious of my travels and my reasons for applying. Three days before I left for the airport, I packed my whole room to feed my exasperation of wanting to leave my ordinary home. I packed all sorts of colorful summertime clothes to blend in with their environment. I already felt like I was there with all the multi-colored garments in my hands.


It was finally the time of the departure and I was escorted to my seat in the plane. After many hours of tiring travel, I peeked out of the window on my right side. Being cautious with the sleeping passenger next to me, I slant my head to get a better view. There is water below us and the color almost seemed unreal. I suddenly see greens everywhere covering the vast land with the shadow of the plane touching them. Bright sandy beaches were surrounding the green inland and leading straight into the ocean. The plane then started descending slowly. I couldn’t contain the excitement which then resulted in a squeal that popped the air bubbles in my ears and woke up the passenger next to me. The plane finally landed and everyone was bustling to retrieve their luggage. I was one of the first out of the giant vehicle since I fought through the crowd to smell the Barbados air. My taxi ride to the hotel was indeed the most exciting thing yet to happen in Barbados, I couldn’t believe the different things I was viewing. The sky was painted with an unbelieveable blue and through the horizon was a vast ocean with a bright sun shining overhead. The climate bestowed a perfect tan and the trees swayed in the cool refreshing breeze. The towns had houses and little shops stacked upon one another and were swarmed with people. Many markets contained a wide variety of foods and crafts. All the sightings were too much to bear so I wanted to spring out of the taxi and swim into the swarm. At the hotel I unpacked my belongings and looked out of the window of my room. A feeling of inconvenience entered my mind. It was not a suitable hotel and was in fact a little sleazy for my taste. There were many cracks in the walls and the room wasn’t properly cleaned. A smoky scent encircled around the room that forced a couple of coughs. Suspicion inside of me rose from the loud and vulgar arguments outside the room. Outside of the hotel there were the same types of commotions and swarms of people. I wanted to join them because I felt alone and uneasy in the room. I thought I would feel more comfortable with people around me, but as I said before that is not always the case.
At the peak of 5:30pm I packed my bag, my camera and some money and bolted out of the hotel door. I dove into the streets and for once I felt a feeling of uncertainty. I had forgotten that roughly 97% of the Barbados people were of African decent and I was just a white typical American girl. I did not desire the many stares and gossiping that were directed towards me. As I walked down a block or two, I saw many faces turn and glance quickly. I didn’t like all this attention, and as I walked deeper and I realized that I had walked about half a mile into a dark and gloomy place.


I didn’t notice that the sun was already setting. Being in a maze of buildings prevented me from recognizing the time. The darker it was the more shivers ran through the body and the more worries circled in my mind. I started walking in all sorts of directions and to my bad luck I had forgotten the location of the hotel. I walked endlessly trying to find the way back. My footsteps were so loud that they could be heard from all corners. All seemed so quiet until I realized I was not alone.
About five feet away from me there were a group of men sitting, drinking and laughing hysterically. I tried to cross the road to avoid them but it was too late, I would have caused even more interest. As I quickly walked by one man poked me in the back and said “Pretty face” in a low voice. I was terrified and the echoes of his voice drove me to walk twice as fast. I glared behind me finding them lurking slowly behind. I panicked. I had to do something fast but not stupid. Luckily I saw what believed to be a taxi and it was heading my direction. I approached it and told him my hotel. I paid the cab quickly, took my seat and slammed the door. I could still see the men outside the window. They then started yelling “Come back beautiful,” but I was in the safe cab, safe from them, and safe from the dark alleys.
Halfway through the trip I realized that the driver was driving with one hand. He then drove to the side of the road and stopped. I could now see his intention. His hand held a lighter and in the other a cigarette, but it was a special cigarette. The cigarette had marijuana. The cab driver was about to smoke marijuana. My heart began racing and sweat trickled down my face. I tried to avoid eye contact with him but I was frozen. He looked back and smiled. I could see the rot on his teeth. About two minutes later he continued driving. I didn’t care about the delay, I just wanted to get out of there. Finally at the entrance of the hotel I paid the driver frantically and slammed the door without thanking the driver. Being terrified as I was I didn’t care how crazy I looked running toward the hotel, I just wanted to get to safety.
Back in the hotel I replayed that thought over and over and by far it was the scariest moment of my life and a near death experience. Knowing that I had a whole other four weeks there I didn’t know what other dangerous things I would encounter. All I knew is that I would never walk alone in a foreign country and that I would never ride a cab again.