¡Me estoy enamorando de Puerto Rico!

Oh my it's been a while!  I really have to get better about these blog postings!  Get ready for another long entry...but it'll be a good one :)

So much has happened in eight short days!  Last week, after a beautiful day at la playa en Isla verde (the beach at Isla Verde), I spent MLK day preparing for my first week of teaching.  My roommate Ashley and I headed to Escuela Elemental de UPR (that's the name of our school) to help our teacher clean and set up her room for the new semester.  This semester, our teacher wanted the kids to focus on telling their story and as always, learning from the life experiences and the stories of others.  To promote this idea, Ashley and I designed a lovely bulletin board. :)

(The quote at the top says, "Este año nuevo, dejanos leer tu historia" which means, this new year, let us read your story.  Each of the books surrounding the big book have the kid's names on them)

After preparing, our teacher treated us AGAIN to a Mexican meal at a little restaurant right down the corner from our dorm.  I'm not sure if it was the food or nerves, but right after that, the butterflies started fluttering in my stomach.  

The next day Ashley and I woke up at the crack of dawn to head for the school.  The school is located about ten minutes away from where we live so every morning we get to enjoy a nice little walk through UPR's campus.  

When we arrived at the school, I instantly went into teacher mode, and the feeling was incredible!  So many smiling faces greeted me and any anxiety I had instantly disappeared.  I knew at that moment, this is what I was meant to do!

Tuesday we spent the day observing and planning for Wednesday.  OUR FIRST DAY OF TEACHING! Ashley and I spent most of Tuesday evening working relentlessly on our lesson and to make a long story short, we rocked it!  Speaking completely in Spanish in front of a class of sixth graders...who speak better Spanish than you...for an hour...is pretty intimidating, but seeing the kids engaged in our lesson's activities and watching their faces light up as we complimented them on their good work was well worth it!

The rest of the week we spent observing, grading, and getting used to the school.  We also got to know our class pretty well.  So far, I'd say the most difficult challenge is learning the kid's names.  It's one thing to try to memorize familiar sounding names, but ones that you can barely pronounce is a tremendous obstacle.  I'm persevering and falling in love with my students...and Puerto Rico :)

Finally the weekend arrived.  :)  Friday night, Ashley and I went out with one of our friends we met in Old San Juan for sushi in Bayamón (a city in Puerto Rico).  Our friend was quite the gentleman.  Not only did he pay for both of our dinners, but he bought us each a rose as well! (I gave mine to Dora.) Ashley and I felt pretty special!

On Saturday, Ashley and I laid out by the pool.  Actually....we kinda laid on the steps by the pool because the pool was closed.  We still managed to get sun and avoid being reprimanded by the staff at UPR.  Our only obstacle was the rain.  You see, it rains every day here...but only for ten minutes TOPS.  Well....Ashley and got rained on for a little bit while we laid out.  So, like two silly girls we were laying in our bathing suits with our umbrellas until the rain stopped.  What made it funnier was the my umbrella inverted twice in five minutes.  I was definitely pullin' a Mary Poppins!

Later that night, we did laundry for the first time.  One dollar for a wash and one dollar for a dry.  IN QUARTERS ONLY.  Now normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but the change machine in the laundry room wasn't working, the security guard in our dorm didn't have any change, and Ashley and I only had nickles, pennies and dimes.  After buying some snacks and scrounging around, we managed to find enough money for three loads of laundry.  We also got to goof off between loads :)

(my nickname for her is Flakita which means skinny girl!  I'd say it's appropriate since she can fit in the dryer)

After laundry and much needed showers, we met up with our new friends Melissa, Abby (student teachers from Boston) and Caleb (an international student) for more sushi in Río Piedras (my little city in Puerto Rico).  I guess you could say the sushi in Puerto Rico is pretty good seeing as we had in twice in a row!

When we finished stuffing our faces, the five of us headed to Vidy's, a little restaurant and bar in Rio Piedras for dancing and karaoke.  Yep that's right.  I sang both Spanish and English karaoke.  The song we chose to sing in Spanish was called "Preciosa" which is Puerto Rico's national anthem...or something like that.  Basically, if you were to sing it pretty much anywhere in PR, everyone would start singing with you and they would know every word.  After Ashley and I finished singing, all the Puertoriqueños were cheering and applauding us!  Some even asked us if we were from Puerto Rico!  It was so cool!  

(From left to right: Caleb, Ashley, Melissa,  Abby)

I love the new friends!

Singing "Preciosa"

So proud of ourselves!

Feeling like superstars, Ashley and I then decided to sing Madonna's "Material Girl" with one of the girls we met there.  I felt more comfortable singing that song, and based on the response from the audience, I'd say it was another crowd pleaser.

So that finally brings us to today!  After a good night's rest, Ashley, Abby, Melissa and I ran on the track.  Three miles in Puerto Rican sun is INTENSE! I gotta train for that 10k though!  Then we headed to la playa for Sunday Funday!  Our guagua (the bus) experience was much better this week than last week and we made it to the beach in less than an hour!  

Chicas bonitas

After tomando el sol en la playa (sunbathing on the beach), we went to Metropol (a Puerto Rican / Cuban restaurant).  I don't think I've ever eaten so much food!  

My meal was called La Fiesta Cubana :)

So, with our tummies full of good food, we went back to campus to get ready for another wonderful week en la isla del encanto! 

Next week I'll try to be more consistent in updating my blog!  Thanks for reading and God bless!

Isla del encanto

¡Buenas tardes!

Wow!  It's been a while! I have a lot to update you on so get comfy and get ready to do some serious reading.  The past three days have been jam packed with tons of Puerto Rican awesomeness!

Let's start with Wednesday.  On Wednesday my roommate Ashley and I met our teacher.  Fabulous doesn't begin describe her!  She greeted us with a beso (kiss) on the cheek (common in Puerto Rican culutre) and began expressing her excitement and plans for our time spent student teaching en la isla.

After telling us a little bit about herself and after telling her a little bit about ourselves, our teacher invited us to one of the Puerto Rican holidays and celebrations, El festival de la calle de San Sebastían  that takes place every year in Viejo San Juan (Old San Juan). We were thrilled!  Ashley and I spent the rest of the day exploring our campus and anxiously anticipating Thursday night's festivities.

On Thursday, Ashley and I woke up and worked out.  As I mentioned in the last blog, I'm training to run a 10K here in PR so of course, some running is a must.  While exploring, we found the track (below) and decided to run a little mile just to see how we adjust to the heat.  I guess you could say I "adjusted," but I've got a lot more of long distance running to do in 80 degree weather before I feel comfortable!

 That afternoon, after a lot of hydration and cool down walks, we decided to catch some rays.  Little did we know we were about to be schooled in some of UPR's social etiquette.

Ashley and I headed outside to the lawn outside of our dorms with our lunches, beach towels and tanning oil, ready to soak up the sun.  In the midst of our sunbathing however, we were interrupted by one of UPR's staff and we were kindly informed that tanning on the lawn was not appropriate.  My travel buddy Dora the explorer on the other hand, can lay out wherever she pleases.

So, a little peeved and hardly tan, Ashley and I headed back up to our dorm to start getting ready for el festival.  Around 8:00, our teacher came and picked us up from our dorms to head towards Old San Juan.  She had told us that the festival was loco, but I was completely unprepared for the amount of people and craziness that ensued.

My teacher, Ashley and I piled onto the train that would take us to our bus stop in Sagrado corazón.  From there, along with 230842348203948 other people, we waited in line for una guagua (the term Puerto Ricans use for bus).  Finally, we got on the bus and began our adventure to Viejo San Juan.

                                    (the lovely woman behind me is my wonderful mentor teacher!)

During our bus ride there, people were screaming, shouting, singing and dancing...and we weren't even at the festival yet!  The fun filled atmosphere however was contagious and I couldn't help but smile and laugh the whole way there.

 After a jerky bus ride and fast paced action, we made it to San Juan.  From the moment we stepped off the bus, the noise decibels only continued to increase...as did the number of people.  Through cobble stone paved roads and winding hills, we arrived at my teachers adorable home in the heart of the city.

My teacher's house is like something out of a Spanish movie.  Everything is out in the open, including the bathroom (see pic. below) and each room is connected by a small patio.  I've never seen anything like it!  The one word that came to my mind was hermosa (beautiful).

 (Ashley on the second floor, overlooking the patio)

 (door to my teacher's house)

 (right inside the main door to the entrance hallway)

 (strikin a pose on my teacher's courtyard patio)

(told you everything was out in the open...including the toilets!)

After getting settled in, my teacher began cooking a fantastic Puerto Rican meal for us!  Ashley and I were so excited because up until this point, we had only eaten American food...and we were starving! 

While, cooking, (which involved all three of us...ok I peeled potatoes but I still helped!) our teacher began telling us more about herself and Puerto Rico.  Spanish words were flying left and right since my teacher can barely speak any English.  It was AWESOME!  For one of the first times in my Spanish speaking career, I was actually maintaining a fluent conversation with a native speaker for more than thirty minutes...and she was actually UNDERSTANDING me!

Over dinner, which consisted of grilled chicken with sauteed veggies like onions and peppers, and rosemary seasoned papas (potatoes), we talked about everything under the Puerto Rican sun from politics, to religion, to educational philosophies, to our favorite books, to love and romance.  It was truly incredible to have met someone so willing to not only open up her home, and her heart as well.  I think those are the kinds of dinners everyone should have every night!

Around 11:30 pm, with our tummies full, we headed to the festival.  Like I've said many times in this post, I've never seen anything like it!  I guess if you want something to compare it to, you could use Mardi Gras as a tool for comparison.  There was salsa dancing, music, drinking, laughing, eating, and sooooo much celebrating.  I felt like everyone in Puerto Rico and then some had come to party!

 

If you want a feel for the music, press play on the videos below

The next day, (Friday), after being completely wiped out from the night before, we got up and got ready to explore Old San Juan.   The first place we adventured to was an old fort in Old San Juan called El Morro.  It was gorgeous.  The historical landmark was truly captivating.  If you don't believe me, check out the pictures below.

The next four stops were shopping at the homemade craft center in the festival, followed by the botanical gardens at El Museo Blanco, El Parque de las Palomas, and a HUGE lunch at Vaca Brava.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

After close to six hours of straight walking, that brings us up to date!  Today, after running two miles, Ashley and I decided to take on the bus system and venture out to the beach! Our friend at the train station, Javier told us to take bus 40 to Isla verde (the beach we went to).  We were successful :) Again, I'll let the pictures tell the story!

Phew! Well that about summarizes the past three days!  Told ya it was jam packed! And I can't wait for more jam packed days of an amazing Puerto Rican experience!  :)

Thanks for taking the time to read!  Love you all!

<3 Jenn