Pre PR

Before coming to the island, I wasn’t sure how I felt about coming to an area that had just experienced two earthquakes and were still experiencing smaller ones. Part of me was like well an earthquake will be a new experience and the other part of me was like that’s dangerous. But I was confident that if the trip was running I would be going so I pushed all my worries behind me and let my parents know that I would be going regardless of what was going on and ensured them that we would be staying away from that area. I even stopped telling/reminding people I would be traveling to PR to avoid “that conversation”. 

Aside from the earthquakes, I was really excited about coming to PR. I was really excited about the cuisine and have been satisfied thus far. I like to learn the different ways to prepare different foods and I really enjoy fresh food that hasn’t travelled miles and miles to get to my plate. Even when you get produce in a farmers market compared to a grocery store the taste is different. I also really enjoy the fruits that you can only find fresh in the tropics: coconut, tamarind, sugar cane, cocoa, etc. 

Other cultural aspects that I was really excited to learn about was the art. My interested was sparked during our trip to Philly. I also was interested in learning more about the government and their thoughts on how the island should be producing energy. On our first day, I learned a lot about the structure of the government. Sam talked a little about the government parties in the van and that information was very interesting. After tying some of what Sam said to what Nani was also talking about with the law that prevents direct trade to and from the island, I do believe that the island could thrive if it were independent from the US. Fear and comfort keeps us from taking those risks. 

I am excited to learn more about all of these topics throughout the trip.