2015 FSYF High School Essay Contest

Sponsored by McGroth Real Estate Services

2015 Topic: "Describe a scene from a current or prior overseas Post that taught you something
important about yourself and that place. What was familiar to you as an American Foreign
Service youth and what was different?"

1s ptace: Ari Albalak, "Barbados

More Than Paradise"

First ploce in the high school category wos oworded to L7 yeor old Ari
Atbolak for his essay, "Borbodos - More Than Paradise." Ari is the
son

of

Ron ond Rachel Albalak, who ore currently posted

to

Bridgetown. ln his essoy, Ari explores his identity ond religious

freedom as an Americon and Jewish Foreign Service youth. Living
in Barbados he stotes, "l om allowed to hove this duol identity as
a Jew ond on Americon. Religiously I am Jewish while being
stounchly patriotic to my country, the United Stotes; the U.S.
Constitution ensures that I con be both." ln his free time Ari enjoys
ploying the piano, bollroom dancing, ond body boarding.

Barbados r

have,;::*T;ffiffi:, :::H :J#::lll:,.,.ing,he

remainder of my childhood.

All

that people say about Barbados is tme

- it is a gem;

a 166

square-mile island paradise. The West Coast, where I live, is flanked by the white sand beaches
and calm waters of the Caribbean Sea. A thirty minute drive to the East takes you to the rugged
and treacherous waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It's there that my school sits on a
a picturesque bay. That

hill overlooking

view inspires daydreaming. When I look out at the deep blue Atlantic, I

think of all the countries that share it. It is a reminder that I am no longer where I used to live.

I'm on this one-of-a-kind island that for now has replaced America

as my

home. In

a way,

it has

molded who I am.

My family has been lucky enough to call America home for three generations. We are
and feel American. But we are in addition to that Jewish. Being Jewish is a part of my heritage
and it is wonderful to have others nearby who share that heritage. ln the United States there are
Jewish communities which are unrivaled in their size and prosperity. Moving to Barbados, we

did not expect there to be any Jewish community. But we thought that we should find out.

2015 FSYF High School Essay Contest

Sponsored by McGroth Real Estate Services

There are approximately seventy Jews residing in Barbados. After four years we've
gotten to know almost all of them. Some are business owners, some work for NGOs and

international organizations, and a family or two are the children of Jews whose parents fled
Europe during World War II. My family stands out as the only diplomats.

Contrary to what one might think, there have been Jews in Barbados longer than there
have been in the United States. The oldest synagogue in the Western hemisphere sits on a quaint
street in the island's capital. This is, by far, the most amazingthing I have leamed about
Barbados.

On the grounds ofthe synagogue there are mahogany trees and pebble paths that
meander through tombstones of the Jewish cemetery. In the winter months, when the heat is
more bearable thanks to a pleasant breeze, the synagogue is used for Friday night services. Its
antiquated charm, with its high arched windows, grand European chandeliers and a style

reminiscent of colonial Spanish architecture, creates an atmosphere that reminds us of its unique
place in history.

Today we chant the same verses that the first Jewish settlers in Barbados chanted when
they were here. And we end the services with the traditional hymn, "Adon Olam,"

commemorating God's sovereignty over the universe, just as they had done before us. Nothing
much has changed, and that is what makes it special.

It is at these services that I most feel a sense of belonging. Whereas being both American
and Jewish constitutes my identity, they are two separate parts of who I am. What I cannot

forget, and, in fact, take great pride in is that

history

as was certainly not the case in most

- I am allowed to have this dual identity,

of human

as a Jew and an American. Religiously, I am

Jewish while being staunchly patriotic to my country, the United States; the US Constitution
insures that I can be both.

2015 FSYF High School Essay Contest

Sponsored by McGroth Reol Estate Services

Where I was bom and where I lived before Barbados

Atlanta, Georgia

there was a

large Jewish community, even by American standards. What's more, I lived in the heart of the

Orthodox Jewish community. In that environment I didn't think much about my Jewishness.

Only when I moved to Barbados did I realize how small, how insignificant we are on the global
stage. And that is what encouraged me to learn more about what it means to be Jewish.

How and why did the Jews come to live in Barbados in the first place was my first
question. They were exiles of the Portuguese lnquisition who had fled to Brazil. When the
Portuguese conquered Brazil and reinstated the Inquisition, they fled again, this time to places

like, and including, Barbados. This sort of thing evokes thoughts of the principal reasons for
Jewish migration over the course of history. It was rarely voluntary. Then I think about my

current situation; how fortunate I am. We are a Jewish family living abroad as US diplomats
proud representatives of America.
So when

I look out at that wide expanse of ocean from my tiny classroom, I reflect on

these things. Most of all I think of how thankful I am, not only for the experience of

abroad, but for what it has done to strengthen my identity.

living