Visit to the U.S. Embassy

My entire day today revolved around going to the U.S. Embassy for a couple briefings that all Fulbright students are required to attend once they arrive in-country.  My appointment was for 1:30 so I left my apartment at 12:30 in order to give myself some buffer room in the likely case I got lost.  It was a good thing I left early because, even though I didn't get lost, it took a full hour to get to the Embassy from my apartment.  This is in spite of the fact that the two destinations are separated by less than 10 miles! It is becoming painfully clear to me that getting around Barbados is harder than its diminutive area would suggest.  Thus, it took from 12:30-4:30 for my entire Embassy experience to be over, of which two full hours was purely traveling.

Thankfully my time at the Embassy was very rewarding.  I was surprised at my cliched reaction, but seeing the Stars and Stripes flying from the flagpole and seeing the portraits of Obama, Biden, and Hillary in the entrace hall was very comforting even though I've only be in Barbados for five days.  Furthermore, the general architecture and layout of the Embassy was like a security blanket of Americana.  There's nothing like a good ol' traditional American office layout and furnishings to make an expat feel at home.  For two full hours I forgot I was in Barbados because my mind had been transplanted to "Anywhere, America."  It's nice to know that amidst all this unfamiliar terrain and culture, there is an oasis of America squirreled just an hour away from me. 

So thats pretty much that.  I've been trying to get home before the sun sets so I didn't go out again after getting home at 4:30.  I immediately took a cold shower, which is quickly becoming my favorite part of the day.  Right now I just finished dinner (chicken, broccoli, and rice) and am listening to a major storm pass by not too far off the West Coast.  Every now and then a flash of lightening bursts out from the blackness, but it is not enough to illuminate the entire sky from my perspective because of all the ambient light around me.  Too bad the storm isn't hitting the island - I would really welcome the cooldown a good rainstorm provides.

Tomorrow I have nothing planned until 7pm when I am meeting up for dinner with some new acquaintances.  This will be my first time traveling through Barbados at night and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous.  We're meeting on the South Coast, so I'm thinking I'll go explore that area during the daytime so that I'm close by at night.  We shall see though.  Stay tuned!

Oh, one last thing - I forgot to take my camera with me today which explains why I have no photos of my travels and the Embassy.  I'm going to try getting used to taking it with me so that I can give you guys some visuals of what I am talking about.

UPDATE: The above photo is of me and the charge d'affaires shaking hands in front of the flags of all the Caribbean nations the Embassy is responsible for.  The photo comes from one of the Embassy's media relations officers and was used in a mini-profiling of me on the Embassy's Facebook page.