Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief, Session 1 2023
June 19, 2023
Welcome to the first full day of our service trip! We started off the day with french toast sticks, mini pancakes, and sausages at 7:00 AM. After breakfast, we took a few minutes to pack our backpacks, then headed off to Old San Juan via bus at 8:00. It was a 45 minute bus ride, filled with lots of Bad Bunny and other Puerto Rican music. When we arrived, we were greeted with a heat warning sign. It was really hot and humid, but we persevered, with a few breaks in the shade. Alvin, our tour guide, led us around the city, educating us about its history and cool facts. The sights we saw included monuments, the smallest colonial apartment in the Western Hemisphere, and an old fort that has been around for hundreds of years. The first fountain we saw was the Raíces Fountain, which represented the 500 year anniversary of the discovery of the New World and the roots of Puerto Rico, built in 1992. We then proceeded to tour a raised land surrounded by a wall 3 miles wide around. It was fascinating to also see the Governor’s Mansion. We then toured the Cathedral which held the remains of Juan Ponce de Leon, and took some photos. After that, we explored El Morro until 10:45. There were iguanas everywhere and, surprisingly, they ran very fast! At this point, we were getting hot and hungry, so we walked to get lunch where they served us traditional Puerto Rican food – lots of chicken and rice! We walked through the city on narrow, old cobblestone streets. The stones were color-changing because of all of the years they’ve been around. After lunch, we went to get souvenirs and popsicles around local Puerto Rican shops. As soon as we got our popsicles, it started to pour, so we waited under a cover until it lightened up. We hopped back on the bus at 2:00, and on the bus ride home, almost everyone took a nap. When we got back, we took one hour before we went to the beach to cool off and go for a swim. For dinner, we had chicken, potatoes, salad, and leftover rice. We finished up the day by having a trip meeting and talking about the schedule for tomorrow’s first day of work. Good night!
By Liam, Grace, Evan, Navya, Abby
June 20, 2023
We started the day with a breakfast consisting of sausage, tortillas española , and waffles. At around 9 am, we headed to our worksite in Vio del Rio. At this specific worksite we are building an accessible room for Etmil, a disabled young boy. There we drilled planks to the walls, shoveled stones, and built stone stairs. After our morning work, we went to the organizer, Maria’s, house where we had a traditional Puerto Rican lunch of chicken, rice, and salad. Once lunch was finished, we went back to the worksite. Some finished our previous work while others walked around the neighborhood and picked up trash. We then headed back to the Big Yellow House and spent the afternoon hanging out at the local beach. We swam in the ocean and played football as well. Then we headed back to the house and played volleyball and cards. We also found an iguana, who we named Salsa Verde. He eventually befriended everyone in the group and was a new addition to our pets. Our other house pet is a friendly cat named Gato. Once everyone had gotten time to go outside and chill after our hard work, we sat down for a delicious dinner of chicken, potatoes, and salad, with a homemade fruit smoothie for dessert. Following dinner we watched an inspirational documentary about the effects of hurricanes in Puerto Rico and had a meaningful discussion after, connecting back to the work we are doing here and why we are doing it. Buenas Noches!
By Ellie, Mattie, Sam, Jordan, and Amira
Wednesday June 21st, 2023
Reese, Sienna, Scarlett, Zach, Casey
June 21, 2023
Today began with a breakfast of mini pancakes, sausage, egg quiche and an assortment of fruit. Shortly after breakfast, we split into two different groups. One group went to the worksite from the day before, the second group went to a site deeper into the jungle. At Edmil’s home, groups continued to build the molds for concrete that we will pour later in the week. Building the molds included cutting rebar and nailing plywood. At the second worksite we were introduced to a new family, where we worked on finishing the extension of a home for an ill woman and her husband. Specifically, we worked on prying wooden molds off of completely dried cement. Once the molds had been pulled off we had to even out the gravel around the foundation of the extension. As lunch came around, both groups met at Maria’s home for a home cooked meal of chicken wings, rice, and salad. After lunch, groups reorganized and returned to Edmil’s house to complete the molds. The other group remained at Maria’s and helped clean up around the home and pick up trash in the local neighborhood. After about an hour, both groups reconnected at Edmil’s and then returned to the Big Yellow House. The majority of the group headed to the beach for a mid-afternoon swim. After the beach, everyone came back and cleaned up for a delicious dinner and our first salsa class! At first, the class was nerve racking, but shortly into it everyone eased into the dance, with the excellent instruction of our teacher, Yara. Everyone had a blast and continued dancing after Yara left. Many elected to end the night a bit early in order to get up early for the next exciting day ahead in the rainforest.
Buenas Noches!
Reese, Sienna, Scarlett, Zach, Casey
June 22, 2023
This morning we woke up earlier than the other days, at 6:45 AM because we had a long drive ahead of us. We had french toast sticks for breakfast along with sausage and eggs. Then we headed to a new work site, in the rainforest, where we met our leader 3T (pronounced three-tee). There we were also introduced to the helper, Alfredo. We spent the day planting vetiver to prevent future landslides, which commonly happens in Puerto Rico due to the hurricanes that happen regularly. At about 1:30 PM we concluded our work with the vetiver, and went to eat lunch at 3T’s house. There she prepared a big meal with spaghetti, meatballs, vegetarian meatballs, and coleslaw. There was also a refreshment of fresh guava juice! We then drove home, where everyone took naps. Most of us at 4:45 PM went to cool down at the beach and we stayed there for quite some time. After we got back, we all took showers, played volleyball, hung out, and got ready for karaoke and talent show night! For dinner we had pasta with a choice of marinara or alfredo. We ended the night with boisterous karaoke where Jorge, Lindsay, and Lauren all showed off their talents along with the majority of us supporting and cheering on our friends. Ending with a nice rendition of Despacito where everyone joined in a conga line, we had an awesome time. Buenas Noches!
Libby, Evie, Anna, Deborah, Helen
June 23, 2023
This morning, we woke up at 8:00 to pancakes, eggs, sausage, and yogurt. Today was our last day of service and we left for the worksite at 9. The bus drive was only about 25 minutes, and we started working at about 9:45 – with a long day ahead of us. For our last day of service, we spent 6 hours working with cement. There were tons of different jobs for people to do, such as cement passing, pouring cement, shoveling rocks and sand to make the cement, and working on the roof of the house. To say the least, it was extremely exhausting and very involved! We stopped for lunch at about 1:00, where we headed out to Maria’s (thanks Maria!). For lunch, we ate pasta and chicken/meatballs with a choice of alfredo or red sauce. It was so good! After lunch at Maria’s, we got back to work with the cement. We worked until 4:30. It was a long day, but so worth it!! We were all drenched in cement by the time the day was over. Once everyone was cleaned up, we earned beautiful bracelets for our hard work. When we got back to the Big Yellow House, we immediately went to the beach. Some people stayed there until 8! We got to see the beautiful sunset and ate a delicious dinner of burgers and fries. Then, we talked about our plans for tomorrow and hung out until bedtime! Hasta manana!
Libby, Deborah, Navya, Abby
