New Canaan Country School Puerto Rico 2019

July 13, 2019​

We arrived in San Juan today! We were all really hot, but super excited to explore Puerto Rico, a place that isn’t a familiar place to a lot of us. On our way to Casa Coral, our home for the next week, we had a minor mechanical issue with the bus. Some locals came out of their homes and watched our massive bus that was stuck on the curb. We got our luggage and walked to the home. We were greeted by locals who were so friendly and said hola to us. We saw some cats too!! Once we got to Casa Coral we all got 10 times more excited. We were all in awe of how pretty the home is. We sat outside and looked at the ocean from the hammocks. We played cards and relaxed after our super good dinner! Spaghetti and meat sauce, amazing garlic bread, and even dessert! We ended the day feeling excited for the few days ahead of us in Puerto Rico!

-Dylan S.

June 14, 2019
Today is Friday. We went to old San Juan. Reed woke up and saw Noah’s beautiful face. Jack woke up and had eggs and potatoes. Some people had bagels and cranberry juice. We walked over and saw el autobús de escuela. QUE COOL! Y BUEN PROVECHO. We took an hour bus ride to old San Juan. Reed and jack played ISPY and 2 person telephone and they got the word right! When we got there, we met Alvin and he was both born and raised in Puerto Rico. Que COOL! We saw the second smallest colonial residence in the world. Después de visitar la casa, caminamos a la calle de paraguas. Tomamos muchas fotos! We walked up the hill and went to Doña Felisa’s house and toured the property and learned about her. She started the Head Start program in Puerto Rico, along with being a very successful political leader on the island. We went to the fort and saw amazing beach views. For lunch we stopped at El Jibarito, a restaurant in Old San Juan. Many of us had rice, beans, plátanos, pollo, y carne encebollado. Que cool! Nosotros fuimos de compras y Alex compró una artesania. Lindsay bought preserved butterflies and she had to sign a waiver. Niko compró la bandera de Puerto Rico. Compramos churros con nutella. When we got on the bus, Reed and Jack had a staring contest and a laughing contest. We made a lot of bracelets with string that Dylan brought. Ellie took three naps throughout the day. When we got back to Casa Coral we walked to the beach right as it started to pour. But we waited until the rain passed before we sprinted into the waves. After an hour or so swimming we came back for showers and hung out on the hammocks. Tony’s dinner was, again, excellent!! After dinner we watched the Anthony Bourdain episode on Puerto Rico! Food, facts, and culture! Que cool!
-Reed P., Jack D., Daniela S.

June 15, 2019
Today we went to Villa del Rio. We met angel, William and Maria. William and Angel told us their sorry about their experience with the hurricane. We split into two groups, one which built & assembled rebars, the other dug holes around the house. Nosotros trabajamos por cuatro horas. Maria cocino comida por almuerzo. Que rico! Durante el almuerzo, empezó a llover a cántaros   We worked for another hour and then went home. Vamos a la playa. We had dinner and then sang to Lindsay for her birthday with a cake! We had some free time and then did a reflection about our day.
– Dylan , Kyle and Ellie

June 16, 2019

Today was a chill day. We had a great day with large smiles on our faces #fun #lit. Some of the highlights included listening to music while bonding, catching fish and listening to music. We went to the beach after a chill French toast breakfast. After the beach we went to a cool rainforest and swam some more. We sang songs on the bus all the way home from the rain forest. When we got back we swam, relaxed, reflected and ate pizza for dinner!

– Andrew, Alex and Logan

June 17, 2019
This morning we woke up at 6:30 and are a breakfast of eggs, bacon and hash browns. We then departed for a 90 minute drive to Maria and Angel’s house. William was there as well as a new guy, Javier. Javier was a character. He was super funny. We learned to mix cement; it was very hard word. It was also super hot! We formed an assembly line to fill the holes we dug the other day. We worked as a team and were very efficient   Then we ate a late lunch and went back to Casa Coral. We got to leave the service work earlier because we were so productive. When we got back, we went to the tienda and got some snacks. Then we swam in the river. The boys played “500”. Everyone showered, we ate dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green peas. Thanks Tony! After dinner we had free time…Mason caught a fish in the river with his fishing pole! We ended the night by watching the full moon over the ocean, talking by the hammocks and with a reflection about our day.

– Today’s captains: Mason, Noah and Caroline

June 18, 2019
Today we woke up bright and early at 6:30. Many of us, due to the AC and the continuous screaming while singing, have a sore throat. We loaded onto the party guagua missing our virtuous lacrosse star, Ellie H, who had to tragically depart due to the Under Armour All-American Junior Tryouts ( Que Cool! ). We were sad to see her go but we know she will succeed. When we arrived at the worksite, we were put to work. We mixed cement, made a roof, and ate chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. At 1:30 we said our goodbyes and left the worksite one last time. When we returned, many of us swam in the river next to Casa Coral. We spent an hour in the water, then returned home to take showers. Some of us, Niko in particular, took long naps. Right before dinner, Maria, Angel, William, Louis, and Camilla, the family from the worksite, treked up to Casa Coral to exchange gifts and eat dinner. Many of us some about how meaningful and unforgettable this trip has been. For dinner, we had beef stir-fry, mashed potatoes, and green beans. After dinner, Yara our salsa instructor came and taught us how to dance salsa. Some of us thrived, others did not. For the rest of the night we listened to music and star gazed. Buen provecho!
-Ella Z, Niko C, Anthony C, Gwen T