My First Transformative Adventure: Teaching English in Barbados
We all have to start somewhere. Travel experiences don’t just occur without us experiencing them. - Expat Eann
Embrace the Unexpected! #
It seems like yesterday. I was working at a waterpark design firm, designing those colorful curving tunnel slides and wave pools, and just feeling generally unhappy. I knew I wanted something different as I was just so fed up with my day to day life, but I didn’t know what it was. Even designing the biggest tornado style water slide in the world gave me no satisfaction. 
This tornado water slide should have been my greatest accomplishment and brought me endless joy, but I felt nothing. Numb. Even when I used the slide myself, on a weekend getaway with friends, I still felt numb. Joyless.
But it was at that waterpark where my biggest slide was installed that I met solo female traveler and feminist revolutionary Cheryl Strayed. She was giving a seminar on gender equality in waterparks. I listened and I was enthralled by her words. We spoke after her seminar, and she invited me to her cabin in the Pacific Northwest.
I recall the moment with her clearly; it was dusk and we were staring into the mighty branches of a redwood tree. She was married at the time but we made love anyway. Cheryl is an adventurous girl! But it was also at that moment that I knew - I had to become a traveler. After the sex, Cheryl told me the best and cheapest way to immerse yourself in cultures abroad is to teach English classes. She called it ESL, English as a Second Language. Yes! I recall shouting. I can and will do that!
And so I volunteered to teach English on the Caribbean island nation of Barbados. I applied online through the government website, and received a reply within just a few days. My application had been approved! It seemed like destiny! In the blinding rush of excitement, I packed up some clothes, had my in ground pool winterized early, and booked a private jet charter to Barbados!
When I arrived, I made my way to the St. Peter’s Bay Resort (It’s not just a resort, it’s a state of mind! Shoot me an e-mail to hear about great deals at St. Peter’s Bay Resort!). I was amazed by the luxury and excellent concierge service as well as the enormous, glistening pool. It made me forget about my own inground pool. But I could not enjoy these excellent amenities for long, I had work to do! 
My room at St. Peter’s Bay Resort. This is truly a place where luxury surrounds you. It’s a place where the sea meets the shore and where your dreams are realized. This is where memories are born and nurtured. This is Saint Peter’s Bay.
Sometimes Things Can Get Really Unexpected #
I hired a private car to take me to St. Judes secondary school, on the outskirts of Bridgetown. The tropical vegetation on the roadsides was so thick, I recall being scared by all the huge leaves. I mean, I had only seen palm trees on television and at the mall!
I met the principle of the school in the atrium, a Dr. Yearwood. He was a tall and proud man of African descent (or I should say Afro-Caribbean, thanks Ashley for catching this!). He shook my hand and gave me a wide, vibrant smile. I recall thinking that his English was great for someone from Barbados.
Dr. Yearwood handed me a sheet of the required curriculum. My eyes widened with anxious horror as I looked it over. Tennessee Williams? The Catcher in The Rye? THE GREAT GATSBY? It turns out I signed up to teach High School English and not English as a Second Language (ESL)! I excused myself and ran to the teachers lounge in a panic.
Extremely distraught in the teachers lounge. The extreme humidity in Barbados fogged up my flip phone camera. Yes, it was that long ago, we were all still using flip phones!
I looked up Barbados on the computer in the teachers lounge. Official language - English. It was a silly mistake looking back on it, but at the time I didn’t know what to do. I sucked it up and decided to go back in there to teach the first day of class: An Introduction to Western Literature. I read The Old Man and the Sea when I was 14, so I thought, maybe I could really do this.
I started telling the kids about The Old Man and The Sea, about how the old fisherman character was down on his luck, and they just seemed confused. I started to panic and ran off into the teachers lounge again. 
I grabbed a beer from the teachers lounge refrigerator and started drinking to stop the panic.
After panicking and drinking some other teacher’s beer in the teachers’ lounge, I snuck out of the school and went back to St. Peter’s Bay resort to bask in perfect luxury. When you book your stay at St. Peter’s Bay resort, make sure you check out their scuba diving lessons. Book lessons early to get a 10% discount!
I went back the next day. I didn’t even make it into the classroom. I actually felt a little embarrassed, so I ran to the teachers lounge again. I was much more angry than anxious this time, so I tore apart a house plant.
Once again I captured the situation in the teachers lounge on my ancient and humidity damaged flip phone.
As I looked upon the ravaged house plant, I experienced my first cultural transformation. I realized that my assumptions about other cultures aren’t always true. Just because the word Barbados sounds Spanish does not mean the people there speak Spanish.