Touchdown!

As we began our final descent towards the island, all that was visible beneath us was more of the serene blue rippled-glass of the ocean. Where was the island?! The nice Bajan lady sitting next to me began chatting to me about her garden and the wonderful climate on Barbados, which helped to distract me from my anxiety temporarily. Soon enough, however, I was pasted to the window once more... but this time I was rewarded for my efforts. A few strains of the most beautiful turquoise asserted themselves against the deeper cerulean of the ocean -- a hint of shallower water -- and suddenly the azure-rimmed shoreline of the island was in view!!

I was struck instantly by how, well, small it seemed, especially compared to my own island. Long Island is nearly 120 miles long, about 1400 square miles, and home to more than 7.5 million people. Barbados, by contrast, is home to only about 275,000 locals, and is just 165 square miles in total land area. (To be fair, Long Island is the largest island in the continental US -- and, I found out in researching this, the most densely populated island in all of the US, including Hawaii).


Anyway, we disembarked from the plane and breezed through customs -- it was nothing like any other international customs I've been through (though admittedly my experience is not too broad compared with some). I quickly located my driver -- a friendly guy named Orlando -- and he regaled me with stories as we drove (down the left side of the road!) to the guest house. Actually, chatting with Orlando reminded me a lot of talking to taxi drivers in Beijing -- not because of any similarities in the topic of our conversation, but in terms of the ratio of words I understood to words I did not. The Bajan accent is a kind of blend of a Caribbean dialect with some strong British and Irish hints thrown in, especially in rounding out the ends of words. This is no doubt an artifact of the island's interesting colonial history, but didn't make for particularly great conversation, especially at first, as I eventually was reduced to smiling and nodding and making noncommittal, friendly noises in response to his indecipherable chit-chat. After a while I began to pick up a bit more of what he was saying, but not much.


We stopped to pick up some groceries, then drove down a twisting gravel road to reach the guesthouse where I am staying. It's certainly not the lap of luxury most people probably imagine for accommodations in Barbados, but the place was immaculately clean and smelled of fresh laundry all over the house when I arrived. Janice showed me to my room, which is on the second floor, with a balcony (!), two rooms (!), two beds (!), and, most crucial of all, AIR CONDITIONING. The very blurry photo above is meant to show the very tropical print of the fabric on the chairs in the "sitting room" where there is a TV, refrigerator, and small table.


In this picture you can see the bedroom behind me, with the beautiful Bajan sunlight streaming in behind me. As you have probably guessed by the fact that you are reading this now, my biggest and happiest surprise was finding that the house has wireless internet, with a better connection than the one I have back at my apartment in DC!

The view from one window (out towards the sea)

The view from another window (down to the street)

I've got some unpacking to do before dinner, and then I'll need to review a bit for the first day of the conference. I'll update tomorrow with details from Day One!