What a Trip!

Palm trees, sand, salty sea air, and Bob Marley. I remember my first “real” beach experience like it was yesterday. Okay, when I say “first beach experience…” I don’t mean that I had never been before this time, but that it was my first time without “parental guidance”. It was a beautiful summer day in June, June 17th to be exact, we had just arrived in Montego Bay. I stepped off of the plane into a new and different world, all kinds of people from all around the world were at the airport. Oh, I forgot to mention that it was also my first time flying.
I know that this story sounds happy go lucky so far, but that’s just the calm before the storm. As we make our way through customs we hit a bit of a snag. We hear one of the customs officers call out the name of my friend. I couldn’t have imagined why. So he steps forward and next thing I knew we were all “stepping” forward, right into a detaining room. But to make a not so long story that much shorter, we were held for three hours before the officers discovered that in this crazy world there were two people with the same name. The real guy decided he could bring his stash with him on his vacation. We were relieved to say the least.
As we made our way through the crowded terminal I heard a familiar voice among the exotic and foreign sounds of Sangster International Airport. It was Bob Marley. I know you’re probably thinking “Big deal, you’re in Jamaica. Of course you’re going to hear Bob Marley”. But for me it was special, taking into consideration the event that had come before.
Standing there in front of the exit I was a little scared, it was after all my first time that far away from home alone and now being my first time held on suspicion of being in possession of an illegal substance, but as I listened to “singin don’t worry, about a thing” I knew that it was going to be a great week. “Cause every little thing gonna be alright.” I hoped.