Taste of Ms. Alexander

Chapter 1 - The Homecoming

Amanda Alexander
Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados
Saturday | 3:55 pm

A rush of exhilaration surged through my veins as my eyes remained fixed on the aircraft window. Four years. That's how long it had been since I last set foot on home soil, and now, with every mile closer, the excitement that coursed through me was almost unbearable. Those years at the University of the Eastern Caribbean, Cave Hill Campus (UEC), were anything but easy. Leaving home might've sounded exciting at first, but nothing could have prepared me for the loneliness that came with starting over in a place that truly wasn't mine.

The transition from St. Vincent and the Grenadines to Barbados hit me harder than I ever expected. For the first three weeks, I was bound to my dorm room, sulking like a baby. Every day after classes, I'd lock myself in, only stepping out for food or lectures. The term homesick could not even begin to describe what I felt.  It was as if I had been torn away from everything familiar that I knew. Some nights, the silence in my dorm room felt louder than the traffic outside, and no matter how hard I tried, Barbados never truly felt like home. It really wasn't until my mother convinced me to get out and socialize that I started warming up to the culture and people. Barbados was no Vincy, but I found ways to make it feel like home. It became a Band-Aid over the ache, a temporary fix to keep me moving forward.

The sole reason for my time in Barbados was to earn my bachelor's degree in accounting. That mission was accomplished, but not without sacrifice. My mother and aunt carried the weight of my tuition, along with the small savings I had managed from odd jobs back home. I just couldn't help but think how much easier things could have been if I had been more proactive in meeting the deadline for the government's scholarship. That money could have eased the burden.

Still, despite the financial strain, I pushed through. Two months before graduation, I started sending out job applications. Some were within my field, while others weren't. I just needed something to keep the cash flowing. After all, that student debt wasn't going to pay itself and the last time I checked, I had a balance of just under $5,000 EC hanging over my head.

Among the responses I received, one stood out. The St. Vincent Institute of Arts, Science and Technology (SVIAST). To be honest, I had applied to so many places that I couldn't even remember which position I had targeted. I thought it was for a secretary role as it was the only listed vacancy at the time, but life had other plans.

Before heading to UEC, I had completed the two-year secondary program at the National Institute for Teacher Education (NITE). That path had led me to the Saunders Hill Secondary School (SHSS), where I was assigned to teach Form 2 students. Teaching was never my passion, but I saw it as an opportunity to make something of myself. Let's be real, job options are limited when you don't have connections to people in high paying positions. Especially in a place like this, if you don't know someone, your chances of even landing an interview are slim to none.

My time at Saunders Hill Secondary School was truly an eye opener when it came to dealing with different personalities, especially in a school environment with both male and female students. It tested my patience, stretched my resilience, and ultimately, shaped me in ways I never anticipated. I quickly learned that standing at the front of a classroom with a textbook in hand wasn't enough. Traditional methods? They were deemed as boring. My students needed engagement and something that made them actually want to learn.

Therefore, I adapted. I infused lessons with trending music and movies, while slipping in educational twists that kept them hooked. The results spoke for themselves. Every single one of my students passed Principles of Business with an A+. That was the core subject I taught at the time, and seeing their success made everything worth it. The pride in their eyes, and the way they boasted about my class to other teachers, that was everything. Teaching may have not been my first choice but seeing them succeed made every challenge and every long night, worth it.