1 year!!!

One year in Puerto Rico has come and gone and I can hardly believe it. It feels like just yesterday that I was packing up, saying my goodbyes, and beginning a new adventure. The year went by quickly, as it was filled with many unforgetable adventures.

Towards the end of the year we were lucky enough to see a leatherback turtle lay her eggs on the beach. Leatherback turtles are endangered animals so it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. It was like animal planet live. Leatherback turtles are the biggest turtles on Earth. They can be from 4 to 8 feet big and I would say that she was about 5 ft. She looked like she was having such a hard time going back to the ocean that we wanted to give her a little push in, but we let nature take it's course.
Then during a boat trip to the islands in Salinas we were also lucky to see dolphins. As we were cruising through the ocean I saw a dolphin fin pop through the water so I started screaming "Dolphin! Dolphin!" so they slowed down the boat and drove up next to them. There were probably about eight of them and they put on quite a show for us. I wanted to jump right in and swim with them. They were so graceful and beautiful.

One of the end of the year activities was a field trip to Old San Juan. We went to see the Bodies exhibit, took a walk to burger king, and viewed the photo exhibit along the "Paseo de princessa". I think the kids most enjoyed shopping at the gift shop, going to burger king, and buying slushies. They were too cute, as I was walking with my homeroom kids to Burger King, they were prentending that I was their mom and they were all my kids. They thought that the people who saw us would really think that. Imagine the little american mom with 16 Puerto Rican kids...I think I'll stick to being their teacher.

I also had to say goodbye to my sixth graders as they will be moving up to 7th grade, in the high school. They are no longer the big ones on campus. We enjoyed our last days together and I think that we were all ready for summer vaction to begin.

The teachers celebrated the last day with students with a champagne toast in the teachers' lounge. Then the last day of work was celebrated with a fiesta at Lourdes' (a teacher friend) beach house in Arroyo. We ate food, played bags and talked about our summer plans.

Then of course Andrea, Mariella, and I had to celebrate the end of the year with one last night in our townie bar, Souls, to see their boyfriends' band play, Primeria Lujeria.




My last few weeks were dedicated to studying to prepare for my exams. But I did manage to have some fun activities. I went on another boat trip with my friend Mabel and her family. It was great spending the whole day in the ocean with good company. Her family was so welcoming and funny. The kids were really cute too; they were looking for ocean wildlife. They found a giant starfish that one of the kids almost stuck to me as he jumped on me so I could save him from a little snail without a shell. It was also great Spanish practice, since I with all Puerto Ricans I hardly spoke any English all day. Then to top off a great day we ate some fresh fish at the El Dorado restuarant on the ocean in Salinas.

I couldn't have asked for a better experience in PR. I have made new friends and seen unbelievable places. I can only hope that next year will be as great.

Here are some pics from my favorite memories and places:

My favorite view from the high way from SJ. I remember seeing this as I was first arriving to Guayama and thinking "Wow, I live here!" I still remember that moment /feeling everytime I see it.

Lizards in my house

Luquillo Beach

California Beach in Maunabo

At our first Guayma baseball game watching Manny Bones, the Guamani PE teacher. Go Brujos!

La caverna ventana/ "Window cave"Some teachers at Jobos Beach

Crash boat beach.

La Bella Vista restaurant. Bella vista means beautiful view. I'd say it's fitting.

Drinking pina coladas at Coco's.

Camping in Culebra

La festival de Calle San Sebastion en Viejo San Juan

The Light House Beach

Hanging out at Souls.

Exploring "El Yunque" rainforest.

Old San Juan

The lizzard that hangs out by the Mudd's house. I especially love it when I have to wait for him to cross the street.

Eating pinchos with "special sauce".

Boating at the islands in Salinas.

The rickshaw ride at Las Justas the college game day festival, in Ponce.

I guess I can't forget my classroom at Guamani School...

"Spring" in PR

bEEr oLYmPicS

Spring has been filled with some exciting activities. We hosted the Beer Olympics at our house. We built a bags set, made some beer bongs, set up flippy cup and beer pong and showed the Puerto Ricans what the Americans learn in college. We had a DJ, so they showed us how they like to karaoke and we even made medals for the winners. Despite the rain we hosted a succesful "olympics".
Caja de Muerto

We found a new beach/island... Caja de Muerto. It is a naturally protected uninhabitated island off the coast of Ponce. The pristine waters make for a day of heaven on Earth. We took in the sun and did some snorkeling. I saw the biggest starfish I had ever seen; it was incredible.

Game Day

Game Day is a big deal in Puerto Rico, so all the teachers and kids met up in a neighborhood court. The PE teachers planned a morning of games. The kids show up and spray their hair colors for team unity(they even sprayed mine!), and they compete against the other classes. My team was the 6B bulls. They played the typical tug o war, spoon race, and jump rope racing, but they also played this game called "el comelon" or a big eater. They had a relay race to eat bananas and chug pop as fast as they could. It was incredible to hear all the students yelling CHUG! CHUG!, it brought me back to the "Beer Olympics"! Anyhow, it was the most I had ever seen my class work as a team and a great chance to bond.

FINALLY my family ARRIVES!

On April 9th I picked my family up at the airport. I think we were all crying, well at least my mom and me, as I first saw them. Oh how my babies have grown! That night the boys finally got to see my house and new town. On Friday I took them to Caja de Muerto, since it is so amazing. Where we spent the day catching up on lost time and getting burnt!! Danny never took of the snorkel and Joey actually happily spent the day without electronics or sports.




The next day we headed to "el Yunque" to hike through the rainforest. We hiked to the "la Mina" waterfall and if you cn believe it Danny was the only one brave enough to enter the frigid waters.

After the rainforest, we made our way to the Hyatt Mar del Hacienda in Dorado. They were incredible beach front vacation condos. We spent the rest of our time together relaxing in the sun, playing in the pool, riding the ocean waves, and playing Sorry at night on our balcony. It was one of our best vacations yet!

We did have one more outing to Mar Chiquita. The way that the rocks form around the coast it forms like a little lake off the ocean. We went to check out the beach. Danny did some more snorkeling and we hung out in the sun enjoying the view.


Thanks for coming. It meant a lot to me. I will never forget the time we spent together and I can't think of a better way to spend my spring break. I LOVE YOU!

Las amigas

The same afternoon that I unwillingly dropped my family off at the airport I picked up Julie, Erin, and Stephanie to show around for the second half of my spring break.. We started off their trip with a night out in Old San Juan and I don't think we stopped except to sleep a few hours each night until the night before I had to drop them off at the hotel. That night we tried some typical Puerto Rican food at Raices. Then we head to the Old Harbor Brewery for a beer and then bar hopped along the streets of Old San Juan. I let them out of my sight for 3 minutes and Erin ends up making out with a parrot! If you look close you can see his tongue!

We went on the rainforest adventure. We hiked up the mountain through the forest only to rappel down an 80 ft waterfall and then zipline our way back. Even though this was my second time to go on the rainforest adventure, it was still as incredible as the first time. The feeling of walking down a waterfall is just unexplainable. But I did have time to pose for the camera while on the waterfall.








The next day I took them on a tour of my favorite drive around the coast heading east. We stopped at some chinchorros (little restaurants) with amazing views and at a few of my favorite beaches. We spent the day resting our muscles from our rainforest adventure in the hot Puerto Rican sun.

Of course we had to spend a day at Caja de Muerto. We packed up the cooler, made a large pitcher of sangria and took the ferry to one of my favorite islands. We arrived to the island and cheersed our sangrias to 10:23 on a gorgeous Sunday without a care in the world spent on a spectacular island.

I can't even explain how good it felt to see my favorite ladies. It was so much fun to show them around my favorite parts of the island, and it was even more fun to see how much they loved and appreciated everything. Thank you for all that you did for my birthday. You are too generous! I can only hope that they will make it back to my isla del encanto again. I love you girls!!!