Walking off the Monarch of the Seas Royal Caribbean ship I was ready for shopping and a day of exploring. The lavishness of the cruise was getting to me and making me feel important compared to everyone else with my new bronze complexion from lounging around on royal Caribbean’s private island of Coco Cay. When we reached Nassau, I walked past the port and was about to cross the border it was a stark realization, the Bahamas wasn’t what I originally thought it was.
While I was approaching the crossing into Nassau from the ports my family was bombarded with street venders. Anything they could offer from a taxi ride to a tour guide, all in an effort to support their families. It really troubled me, and I began thinking how I could possibly help all of them? It made me feel spoiled and regretful for even being able to afford the cruise. Being in such a poverty stricken area and seeing these people trying to make a living off selling souvenirs made me look at my life in a different way.
The people of Nassau made the best they could with what they had, and the majority of Americans can still find something to complain about, even on a good day. As Americans we also take many things for granted, for example, stop lights- in the Bahamas they had police officers directing traffic with no assigned speed limit. When taking a taxi over to Atlantis, we were even asked to pay our own toll because the driver didn’t want it to cut into his earnings.
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