Daily life in PR

Bonding with the Sixth Graders

Recently I went on my first GPS field trip. We took a three hour bus trip through the curvy mountatins in an outdated school bus to see the largest radio telescope in the world in Arecibo. Despite the the sixth grade dance party with Jonas brother and Daddy Yankee music on the bus we finally made it. The museum had many hands on informative stations for the kids and it was interesting to find out how scientist travel from all over the world to Arecibo to use the telescope to learn more about our universe and beyond. The best part was actually spending time with the kids, the long day was worth it. Aren't they cute?!

Unfortunately, Puerto Rico has many homeless wandering dogs that just break my heart. There happened to be one who comes around my house, that I really want to take in (can you guess why?). I named him Omar because he came around right after the hurricane Omar that was suppose to hit us. I can't believe this little guy survived the rains, he's a tough cookie.

Trick or Treat!

We dressed up as Puerto Rican boxers for halloween and then went out for the night. I was "Juanma Lopez" and Andrea was "Ivan Calderon". I think that the Puerto Ricans were pretty impressed with our research we did for our costumes.

Elections

I'm sure things got pretty crazy at home around the election time, but I have never seen politics the way I have seen them here. Each of the parties caravans around town in a parade of cars with loudspeakers blaring music, hanging out of the car swinging their flags and beers. They come at all hours of the day and night. They will hold up traffic for hours, but the Puerto Ricans don't seem to mind. So the night before the elections we decided to find oursevles a parade. There are two main parties here that our color associated so we wore blue shirts and brought red ones so when we found a parade we could jump in. We ended up finding the Popular Party(red) so we put on our red shirts and started honking the horn and shouting. The parade actually ended up in the plaza at their rally. Look in the picture you can see that even the family dog goes. To the right is a picture of one of my students supporting the popular party.

Mom Weekend!!

Columbus Day weekend Mom and Connie (family friend) came to visit. It was a great opportunity to show off some off some of our favorite places and explore new ones. They finally made it to Guayama with half of my printed directions and the lack of street signs in PR (for some reason Connie thought it was wierd that we don't know our address). We welcomed them with some pina coladas then went out for a drive and dinner.

Then on Friday they came to school to see my classroom and meet my coworkers and students. My students were really excited to meet them and everyone was surprised about how young mom is. They went to relax at the beach while I was teaching. That night we headed to Ponce for a concert. It was the traditional African music. The women have really powerful voices and if only I could learn to move my body to the sound of the congas. It was a great taste of culture.

The next day we headed to the rainforest despite the dark looming clouds. We decided to go because we were going to a rainforest anyhow. We hiked through the rainforest with some showers (all the more adventurous). We stopped to get even more wet in the waterfall, which was flowing more powerfully than the first time I had been. We figured that we were already soaked from the rain that a picture opt in the waterfall wouldn't hurt. How exhilerating! Then after leaving the rainforest we went up to the Bioluminescent Bay in Fajardo for a kayaking trip to see the plankton light up in the water beneath the night sky. We kayaked through mangroves with just the moonlight peaking through the branches to guide us through the calm waters. We arrived to a lagoon where our guide taught us all about the plankton that live in the waters that light up when activated by movement. We jumped in and our bodies where followed by trails of light. I can't even explain how it felt to be swimming in the oean under the moonlight and having your movements trailed by light. The feeling was euphric, completely unexplainable.

The next day we headed to a beach for some relaxation, to only be followed by a 3 hour car ride(that sould have been half that) due to construction and political parades. When we got home we forgot about the ride with pizza, drinks, and games. It was fun!

On Monday we went to old San Juan. We ate and had margaritas at a great Mexican restuarant (oh how I miss Mexican food, Puerto Rican food is definetly the down fall of the island). We walked around Old San Juan. Of course before they left we visited Condom World because they're like the Golden Arches, you see them on every steet corner.

All in all it was a fabulous weekend, full of laughs and adventures. I hope they enjoyed their getaway as much as I enjoyed the visit.

Music, Island, and RUM!

Since the last entry I went to Salinas (a neighboring town) Patron Saint Festival. It was like the Taste of CL but instead of a Jimmy Buffet or Beatle cover band there was a reggaton group. It was like MTV invaded the family festival.

Then another night we went to a Reggae musical festival in Luquillo. At the fest there were local reggae bands and traditional Puerto Rican Plena. The men played the congas and the women danced in the traditional long white dresses. The rhythms were contaigous and the dancing was fascinating.

Then we need a little getaway so we left the island to go to another island, Gilligan's Island. We took a short boat ride over to the small little island to swim, snorkel, and relax. The water was clear blue and calm.

This past weekend we went to San Juan to visit the Bacardi factory. We took the ferry from Old San Juan to the other side of the bay. Then we followed the calls of "bacardi, bacardi" to what I think was a taxi service. In the factory we learned the history of Bacardi rum, and more importantly enjoyed the free samples. We decided to stay the night and check out the Puerto Rican nightlife. The streets of the quiant, spanish colonial town turn into an all night party scene as the nightclubs open their doors. So we put on our dancing (and drinking) shoes and joined the fun! Luckily, all we had to wake up to the next day was a nap on Condado Beach.

Las Cavernas y el Bosque

Last weekend we ventured into the caves of Puerto Rico. We arrived at the gas station where the path begins and we were met by our tour guide, a dog. It was cute she followed us all the way through the caves and assured us back to safety. We made it through the darkness, dampness, and flying bats to an incredible view in the Caverna Ventana, or Window Cave, to see a breathtaking view of a valley.

EL Yunque

This past weekend we explored the Yunque Rainforest. There are numerous trails that lead you throughout the rainforest. We chose the trail that leads to the La Mina waterfall. It was quite a refreshing resting spot, in the chilling rainforest water. I look forward to returning with anyone who visits.

Jumping right in!

I finally arrived to Guayama two weeks ago. I jumped right in to my new life. The day after I arrived I had one day to put together a classroom, with no supplies, to welcome my new students the next day. It was a crazy first day of meeting my 120 students, but somehow I survived. Despite my exhaustion we made it to the beach for an after school swim and I ended up falling asleep in the car while I was trying to wait out an afternoon shower. Then when the rain stopped the warm sand proved to be a more comfortable napping spot. I began to believe that I will be enjoying my new adventure. I can get use to trips to the beach after a long day of teaching.

Since those first days, two busy weeks have passed. Busy between school, trips to the beach, and getting to know my new friends and the island. My first weekend we headed up to Luquillo, a beach on the northeast coast. The drive was incredible. We curved around the mountains along the coastline. The beach was a great swimming beach so we unload the cooler and jumped right in!

Then this past weekend we went to Old San Juan. It is the historic part of San Juan (500 years of history). We walked along the walls that were built hundreds of years ago to protect the city from the pirates. Within the old city walls lies a charming city of brightly colored Spanish colonial buildings, now filled with restuarants and shops.

As far as school goes it will be a great learning experience. I teach language arts to 5th and 6th graders. I really like the age group and I am excited to get into some writing projects with them. I believe that they have been acustom to traditional teaching styles so I am excited to give them some freedom and an opportunity to be creative with their writing, while at the same time trying to explain what a predicate is. Most of the kids are motivated to learn and succeed in school so hopefully we will have a successful school year.

After school "meeting"

Puerto Rico is an interesting mix of a hispanic caribean culture with American influence. When I am in the Walmart parking lot there are tailgaters observing the shoppers. Outside the Walgreens I can shop at the fruit and vegetable stand. As we drive to the beach and see roadside stands cooking roasted chicken and selling Medalla beers for a dollar, I know that I am not in the US.

Through all the excitment I think of all of you at home and can't wait to share some of these experiences with you. Mi casa es su casa!