Rocking that *International* Paradise

Well, after a whole TWO days of school last week (3 cancelled days due to Hurricane Irene uncertainty), we were all stressed to the max and in need of a relaxing day at the   beach.   ;)   Luckily, we had reservations for the ferry to Caja de Muertos all booked in advance. Caja is a small island and nature preserve just off the cost of Ponce, about an hour’s drive away.   The name of the island can be translated to “Coffin Island.”   The “official” reason for this name is that the island is said to look like someone laying down when seen from far away.   The legend behind the name is that a pirate married a woman and took her pirating with him, but she died on the first raid.   Heartbroken, the pirate but her in a glass coffin and buried her in a cave on a deserted island.   Each month, he is said to have come back to the island to visit her grave and leave half of his treasure in the cave.   However, the pirate was killed eventually, an...

As many of you may know, Hurricane Irene passed over Puerto Rico last night.  I just wanted to let everyone know that we are 100% fine here. School was cancelled for today in case the town/school lost power/water, which turned out to be a non-issue; our power didn't go out for even a minute.  We did have moderate rain and some wind last night, which has continued on and off today, but on my run this morning I didn't see any signs of wind damage at all. In fact, last night around 2am, as the radar showed a big swirling mass of red over all of Puerto Rico, including Guayama, the other American teachers and I were standing in the back yard, looking up at the sky and asking each other, "Is it even raining?  What's going on here?" So.  We're all well and good.  No worries.  :)

It begins with a drive.  Five girls and beach supplies packed tightly into Kia, fighting nausea and exhaustion as the car winds through the mountains and countryside of Puerto Rico.  It ends with a beach. Half the fun of our day at Luquillo beach, near Fajardo on the northeast coast of the island, was the spectacular view of the mountains and the sea that we drank in for two hours before arriving.  The road we took follows the coastline and winds up the cliffs to several small towns before joining with main highway and views of El Yunque (the rainforest) off in the distance. Okay, maybe not half the fun. Luquillo is gorgeous.  Hermosa is the word I would use in Spanish.  The beach stretches for ages with clear blue-green water on all sides.  The water was the perfect temperature to relax and cool off, and where we were, the waves didn’t break until the shoreline, making it perfect to bob and float.  The coral at Luquillo comes almost right up to ...

Week two of school finished up today.   The past few weeks have definitely had their ups and downs…but on a whole, I’m loving it. Some Ups: -My homeroom is an amazing group of 8 th graders.   I’ve already got a great rapport with them, and when I have them for English, it’s my easiest and favorite class of the day. -Our new class friend, Peter.   (Made for me out of paper by one of my 8 th graders.   He now watches over every class and entertains the students).   -Seeing my students outside of class and getting smiles and high-fives all the time. -Getting into the routine and swing of things so that I don’t feel like I have endless work ahead of me each and every weeknight. -Parents night for 7 th grade this past week went well, and I think (I hope!) I made a good impression on all of the parents there. -Spending time with friends on weekends (and sometimes weeknights)—enjoying our own happy hour, “Mexican miercoles,” grilling out, and a trip to the beach o...

I survived!!   Day 1 of school is officially over.   Really, I think the day went pretty well.   As soon as my 8 th grade homeroom came in in the morning, I relaxed and realized that these are just kids…just normal 8 th graders like the ones I’ve been interacting with for the past 6 months.   And being up in front of the classroom just felt natural.   Phew!   Want to see my classroom?   It’s still pretty bare.   But I’m going to have those 8 th graders make some posters in the next few weeks that will fill my walls with a little more pizzazz when they’re done with them.   My desk and the front corner of the room The back corner of the room. My desk would be to the right of this picture. Standing  behind my desk Standing in front of the textbooks.  Desk is to the left. Today was tiring (I think that’s just a thing with the first day of school).   I did a LOT of talking, because we had a shorte...

Last week was, if not one of the most stressful weeks of my life, then certainly the most stressful week I can remember in a long time.   I spent much of the week at school completely overwhelmed by the tasks ahead of me—setting up my room, planning a syllabus for the year, deciding on classroom routines and procedures, planning lessons for the first days of school, becoming familiar with the school website and school policies…and the list goes on.   By Friday afternoon, I felt completely disheartened and worn out.   Friday evening, a few of us when to a Thai/Indian/Sushi restaurant in Coamo (about 30 minutes from Guayama) called Bangkok & Bombay.   I had only had Thai food once or twice before, and Indian food never, so I was excited to try it.   The ambiance of the restaurant was great, and at 8pm a belly dancer began gliding amongst the tables performing and entertaining.   Attempting to read a Thai/Indian menu in Spanish was interesting, given my u...

Today (Tuesday) signaled our first official day of work.   We were to start yesterday, but due to unfinished repairs in the school, only the foreign teachers came in, and only for 2 hours to fill out insurance paperwork and get our checking accounts opened.   Today was yet another modified day, however, because Tropical Storm Emily has been hovering off the southeast coast of Puerto Rico.   The sun was shining and no rain threatened at 8am, so all of the teachers gathered, and we were told that at 1pm, the decision whether to stay or leave was our call to make.   We could work in our rooms, or we could go home, for those teachers who live farther away or in the mountains.   The morning was filled with meetings.   First a meeting led by Mr. Delgado, the school’s director, to talk about the school’s policies.   Then the middle/high school teachers had a meeting with Ms. Cruz, our principal.   We had a break for lunch, followed by another middle/hi...

Our house is great—big and airy, with bright colors on the walls, and more furnished than we expected it to be.  And for the first few days, it seemed like we didn’t really have a bug problem.  Down the street, Kelsey and Danielle complained of a serious ant issue.  The left cereal rolled down in their cabinets before they knew just how bad the ants were, and they ended up with cereal very rich in protein.  Ew.  Rachel, who taught here last year and knew the girl who lived in our house before we did, told me that we had the ants too.  She told me they were in the doors and shelves of the back 2 bedrooms—because they like wet wood.  And any wood in Puerto Rico eventually becomes wet.  Still, I didn’t see it.  I bought some Raid and when I saw a few on my dining room table one morning, I sprayed liberally.  But the bottle instructed me to spray ant trails, and I didn’t see any.  Jenni’s arrival last night seemed to bring the bugs ou...

Sunday, I went with Eddie to pick up my roommate, Jenni, from the airport.   We took off with plenty of time to spare, and Eddie took us the scenic route, through the mountains.   Along the way, he pointed out various sights.   We passed through Guavate, a town known for lech ó n, which is pork that’s been slow-roasted over a spit.   The town was already beginning to fill with Sunday crowds as we drove through.   He pointed out a picnic and hiking area near Guavate which is a shady spot to pass the day, half an hour from Guayama.   We drove past one of the largest lakes in Puerto Rico, with water the color of caramel from all the rain.   We stopped at the dam at the end of the lake and took a few pictures.   Even when we didn’t stop, the mountains took my breath away.   I really can’t put into words the beauty of the jungle-covered peaks.   We reached San Juan about 40 minutes before Jenni’s flight arrived, and Eddie decided to take me ...

We meant to get an early start to get to the beach on Saturday morning, but sleeping in won out, and we got a mid-afternoon start.   We followed Zach to a beach Eddie had showed him in Maunabo, about 20 miles away from Guayama.   The ride took us briefly up some cliffs and awarded us with great views of the coast.   After small detour through the town of Maunabo due to a concert played from a school bus in the middle of the street, we found the beach and were not disappointed.   We had the sand all to ourselves.   The waves were great for wave-jumping, but not big enough for surfing, though Zach made a valiant attempt.   We passed a peaceful afternoon drinking in the serenity of the place. Maunabo On our way back to Guayama, we decided to stop at a street stand for pinchos (kabobs with no vegetables, served with a slice of French bread, usually).   Sadly, the first stand we stopped at only had one ready and told us it’d be another 15 minutes...

7/27/11 I was fine until we got to security.   All through the drive to Minneapolis, all through the night in which I tossed and turned and didn’t sleep much, I was excited more than anything.   All the anxiety and fear I’d felt in the preceding weeks was strangely pushed to a deep corner, and I didn’t feel it at all.   I was fine, until we got to security, and it was time for goodbyes.   I looked at Liz, and her eyes were already spilling over with tears.   I gave her a long hug, then turned to Mom, who had also started crying.   I didn’t know I had so many tears in my eyes at that moment.   When I entered security, the TSA agent asked where I was headed, and why.   When I told him I was moving for two years, he asked, “Is that why you’re sad?”   He didn't just ask,  “is that why you’re crying?” No.   “Is that why you’re sad?”   Yes, I guess it is.   And now I’m crying again.   Thank you, friendly TSA agent. ...

First things first:   I’m here, I’m safe, and I’m LOVING Puerto Rico.   A week without internet access has been driving me insane, and I’ve got so much to share on here!   For now, here’s the bare bones account of what I’ve been doing up until now, and I’ll post more about each thing in the next few days. Day Zero (Wednesday): Flight arrived in San Juan at 3:40pm.   Eddie Gonzalez (the high school principal’s assistant) picked me up and gave me a tour of Old San Juan and took me for food.   Picked up Chamron, another US teacher, at 7:40, then came back to Guayama.   Chamron stayed at my place, because my roommate wasn’t here yet, and because there was no power yet at his apartment.   The 3 other new teachers who are already here all came over to my house and we hung out for an hour or so, and then bed. Day 1: I spent the morning unpacking, then went to the beach with the girls, Chamron, Rachel (an American teacher who was here last year), and Rachel...