Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Session 5
July 31, 2024
We started our day bright and early with a delectable breakfast at 7am. We had a selection between sausages, fruit, and French toast. From there we got onto the bus and travelled for an hour to Old San Juan. When we got there we met with the tour guide and he started giving us umbrellas in case it got too sunny or even started to rain. After receiving the umbrellas he guided us down the path and told us about the history of Puerto Rico’s founding and the one who led the journey, Juan Ponce De León. Afterwards, he showed us the highest point of the fortress and explained that the reason it was built was because of England trying to invade Old San Juan, which was considered to be a rich port. After that we went to a church which was viewed as one of the oldest churches in the western hemisphere. After visiting a couple of churches and monuments he told us that the road we were actually walking on is the oldest road in the Old San Juan. It was made out of limestone just like almost everything else was built in the city. For lunch, we went to Rest. El Jibarito and had traditional Puerto Rican food. We then walked around a little bit more and visited a couple of very colorful stores which gave us the option to buy local souvenirs. After our shopping time we finished our tour at an ice cream shop. It started pouring right after but it didn’t interrupt enjoying our ice cream moment while waiting out the rain. After spending the day learning about the wonderful country of Puerto Rico, we came back to the Big Yellow House and prepared to go to the beach. We spent about an hour there swimming and playing soccer/football. The rain was recurring all day and made us to go back to our lodging early out of safety. We got ready for dinner, ate all together, and then played a series of Olympics themed competitive games in different teams. We named the teams: New York, CC, Cabig and Spectors. There was trivia, board games, field games, etc. Definitely a fun ending for an amazing first day!
By Dani, Victor, Gianni
August 1, 2024
Throughout the day we experienced many trials and tribulations; whether they were physical challenges or learning new information. And at the end of the day, everything came together to understand the pride and hard work that needs to be put in in order for this country to recover and rebuild.
In the beginning of the day, we all traveled to a local residence to meet the community partners. We began by getting to know each other and getting to know the service project that we were about to embark on. After the quick introduction to our construction foreman Angel, we quickly got to work. We started by hauling concrete bricks from the top of the hill all the way to the bottom. As we progressed through our work we discovered many attributes, such as teamwork. We worked together in an assembly line in order to make our work flow more efficient. When looking back at our work, we notice how much of an impact that assembly line was making. That impact was in the form of the friendships that were made. After all the blood, sweat and tears, we were finally done, and it was all thanks to the work that the team put in together and the communication we had as a group.
In the afternoon we watched the documentary involving the contemporary history of Puerto Rico. During the documentary, we learned about how even though Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, the nation is still going through disasters. One example is that Puerto Rico is currently 72 million dollars in debt. Another example is how the due to the debt and the nation being destroyed by hurricanes, the people have been left in a terrible situation. But even so, the government doesn’t care, and many schools and jobs have been shut down.
At the end of day, we all sat down and ate as a team, then discussed what we had learned and got ready to know what was ahead of us for tomorrow. Overall, today was a very harding working and heavy learning day. But in the end, we grew stronger as a team, which allowed bonds to be formed.
By: Campbell, Gabby, and Lucas
August, 2 2024
This morning, at The Big Yellow House in Global Works, we woke up to a delicious breakfast consisting of frittata, potatoes, yogurt, and french toast sticks. During breakfast, we were introduced to a game where everybody is given a person to get using the words: “Buen provecho” and the last person standing by the end of the week wins. After our morning discussion, we got into the vans at around 9:00 to head to the construction site in the community. We were split into 3 teams, one team working on moving rocks and debris around the house, another taking down the wood planks supporting the house, and the last removing supports from the ceiling and outer areas. Towards the end of the work day, we turned up some American music: Bad Bunny, Shakira, etc… and had a quick dance party during our water break. After we were finished removing all the wood and poles from the house, we stopped for another great lunch of chicken and rice at Maria’s house. Then we got back to the Big Yellow House at around 3:00 and after a short break, some headed to the beach for a nice, cool swim, and some others stayed behind and showered. Once back from the beach, everybody had the chance to wash their dirty work clothes if needed, and make phone calls home. Dinner arrived at 6:30, for another fantastic meal of chicken and mofongo, a local dish made of plantains. We chilled and talked amongst each other for a while until our evening activity, which was a fun salsa lesson. We learned new moves and the best dancers were brought out in everyone. Finally, we finished off with some yummy cake dessert and headed to our rooms to get ready for sleep.
By Addie, Liz, Juliana & Graham
August 3, 2024
Bright and early at the crack of dawn we set on a 2 hour car ride across the island, although it as full of scenic views, we were fast asleep. We headed out to the forest conservation center where we split up into small groups to experience the different aspects of life in the rainforest, and how to truly take care of the nature we once took for granted. Some tasks included, but were not limited to, learning the cultural significance to weaving and creating beauty that is both sustainable and ethically sourced. We learned to curate the perfect area for a plant’s habitat.
We also learned about a plant’s life cycle and how everything grows back and some things have to go. It’s more than just learning the mechanics of caring for plants but also internalizing the importance of it. Some groups were able to contribute to the overall cohesiveness of the ecosystem of the forest by utilizing compost. Once the cooling mist turned into a heavy downpour above us, we connected with the director of the conservation center, 3T. She told us her heartfelt story in regards to her passions when leading this program. Throughout hundreds of acres of land she works to protect many endangered species of plants, including mahogany wood.
The conservation center doubles as a home for nomadic artists who know how to make versatile and sustainable art with nature. For example one artist created mahogany carvings of Taino gods, which signify things such as fertility, health, and quite literally frogs. Over the course of the day, we used a multitude of furniture including the dining table, and seats, also made out of mahogany wood thanks to one of the amazing artists. One volunteer we met had discovered the conservation center as a teenager and is currently studying for his PhD. His love for nature and protecting it has manifested itself into a career that inspires all of us. Lastly, another artist that we encountered taught us to create cabuyas, rope made out of different plant fiber, as well as the significance of teamwork. For our final project we created a giant cabuya that will be part of the artists exhibition. Once back at the Big Yellow House we finally got some beach time full of sun while some people tanned, others played sports, boogied on the shore or just swam in the ocean. After beach time we had dinner, reflected on our service projects and finished off the day with a fun karaoke session.
By Fredlove, Katherine & Tony
Aug 4, 2024
Today was the last day working with the community members so we wanted to make the most of it as possible. We started the day by getting ready and dressed in our construction clothes. Then, we went downstairs to eat our scrumptious breakfast of sausage, eggs, and pancakes 🥞. Once finished with breakfast, we began our morning meeting and discussed our plans for the day. It was announced the our materials were not fully ready and construction was delayed. In order to pass time we played card games and taught each other new ones. Upon arrival at the site we were greeted with rain and a change of plans. The unexpected rain prevented us from doing any work with cement. Instead we spent our time dismantling wood panels off the walls and celling, organizing them into their own respective piles. As we took down pieces of wood, a group was designated to take out all nails from the wood. This ensured that when the wood was reused, they wouldn’t accidentally grab a nail. After many hours of rigorous hands-on work we stopped for a group snack break and of course we had to dance as well 😜. As we wrapped things up we said one last goodbye to our project and headed to Maria’s who has been cooking for us during the trip. She made us rice, chicken, and a side of salad. After lunch we headed back to the Big Yellow House, put on our swim suits and headed to the beach. At the beach we swam in the ocean and soaked in the beautiful view. Back at the house we cleaned and prepared dinner for the community members who were involved in the project. Dinner was pasta with meatballs and a selection of sauces with a side of salad. After dinner we had moment for everyone to give their thanks and prayers for all the hard work that was put in by the community. We had the opportunity to ask our own questions about past and future projects and what we can do to continue helping after our trip. This was a special bonding moment for all of us. We finished the night with dancing salsa that we had learned and reflecting on the memories we had made. As a gift we were given special bracelets with the Puerto Rican flag, symbolizing the work that we did and also as a tool to spread awareness around our communities at home.
By Izzy, Kai, and Zach
Aug 5, 2024
Today was an extremely fun laidback relaxing day. We started the day off with waking up to the sounds of beautiful rooster crows in the early morning of Puerto Rico. We did our early morning duties so that we could be ready to start the long drive ahead of us at 8:00 a.m in the morning. We packed all our belongings the day before so we would be fully set this morning. We all headed down and feasted on our delectable breakfast choices as our sweet helpers packed our belongings into the two big vans. After we had devoured our delicious and nutritious breakfast we headed into the big vans and comfortably drove a good hour or two to the beautiful Las Pailas river that was filled with beauty everywhere you looked, it was truly a privilege to view the beauties of that river, get to indulge our bodies into the chilly water and observe the view and the other people in the river enjoying their time in this wonderful island.
After we had our time in Las Pailas we hopped back into the vans for a short drive to the restaurant and had our delicious lunch. Once done with lunch we walked around and shopped for a bit buying souvenirs for us and our beloved families. Some of us got delicious virgin piña coladas whilst the other half sipped on sour jolly rancher slushies. After that we walked on over to the beach and swam in the warm water enjoying the view and reminiscing on the memories we made here. Some of us made new friends as we were in the water learning new things and having fun conversations. After our time was over at the beach we headed right back into the vans once again this time to settle in our new place to stay, which was a beautiful hostel. It was a very neat and gorgeous house that included lots of nice rooms for us to sleep in for the night. We ate some yummy pizza and participated in some more activities. Later we will head on over to our bioluminescent bay tour which is very exciting to enjoy our last moments in Puerto Rico.
During this time, our counselors had us make letters to our future self. Which results in us figuring out what we are going to tell ourselves in the coming years. As when these letters come back, it will refresh our minds on what adventure we experienced during this trip. Afterwards, we did a group activity of anonymous gratifications. It was something that was both unexpected and somewhat of a relief. For example, there are some things that even if we think we know something about someone or what we did, we never truly notice how people view us and whether or not we made an impact on someone, small or large. After this point, we would begin to spend some time together and create a bond that would be something we can’t forget about. We are so thankful for this opportunity and to be able to go home with these memories locked in us forever.
By Najae, Ben, Emmanuelle, Ellie
