Thank you both for the welcome! I have to say, I did happen to pick a good meeting -- the second meeting I attended was a different experience, and, although it was not negative, I felt less comfortable with the group of people who attended there (great folks, but they seemed to have less in common with me overall).
I'm going to keep checking out different meetings to see what works. I am blessed with the luxury of having a number of options for now... I am visiting the States for a few months. When I go back to my island home, there are only two groups, and it is such a small community, it's really barely enough for there to be one group. As a friend of mine puts it, "There's only one A down here" (meaning there is really no anonymity).
I guess I also wanted to "test drive" both the fellowship and the program before committing to both in the intimacy of my hometown -- this way, if I fail or decide against continuing my recovery journey via AA, it's not like the whole island will know! I realize, of course, that this is just another aspect of a fear I need to face in my life anyway...