Final Presentation!

Puerto Rico Day 6

Today was the last official full day in Puerto Rico. We took a nice easy day because at this point we are all very exhausted from all the busy days. El Morro was the first place that we visited today. This is the oldest fortress in Puerto Rico. This history behind this building is really truly amazing and the view is beautiful. To learn more about El Morro, click on the following site: http://www.nps.gov/archive/saju/morro.html

The picture above has a lion head in the middle of the entrance to El Morro. Listen to the video below for the history of the lion head.

We ended in early afternoon at a museum, which included folk art from the Americas. We were able to see different instruments, costumes, clothes and much more that represented the cultures. I really enjoyed looking at the eccentric costumes used for different celebrations.

Puerto Rico Day 5

Today was the most applicable day to education that we have had the whole trip. We spent time at the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Old San Juan. We were able to speak with teachers about the students and their structure of their day and classroom. As a group of teachers, we were able to make comparisions of our experiences and share educational ideas with each other. I really valued this time.

After spending time at the school. We were able to enter a community called La Perla. This community is a poverty striken area. It is forbidden to enter without the community leader. We learned about the background of how the community had been started and where it stands now in the new government. About half of the children in the community attend Abraham Lincoln Public School.

To end our day, we had a history of education. The most amazing thing that I had learned what the change of the dominant language in Puerto Rico over the years. There were times where English was more prevelant than Spanish and vice versa. Then we had our last language class, where we talked about gestures and body language of Puerto Ricans. This was a request from our class, so we can now differentiate between what is polite and rude. We have found that in different cultures that there are a few things that are communicated differently. But overall, we have found that the gestures and body language tend to be common among cultures.

Puerto Rico Day 4

After a busy day yesterday, I was ready for a slower paced day. Today, we spent time in the morning learning more about the Spanish language. Following that lesson, we had a professor discuss music in Puerto Rico. The primary focus of the lesson was about Salsa dancing. He answered questions about how and when Salsa dancing became prevalent in Puerto Rico. This interested me because I get the feeling that the Puerto Rican culture is influenced by music. The way that Salsa dancing is spoken about is deep and meaningful. Below is a video of me trying to learn how to Salsa dance.



Next, we were able to have our lunch and work on our blog for a while. We then headed off to Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. We were able to see some art work created by Puerto Rican artists. I am not one to easily interpret art, so I wanted to find a way to relate or use this art in the classroom. Stacey and I walked around together and we came to a painting that interested us. The painting was by Angel Botello Barros and was named Flora de Puerto Rico. Below is the painting that brought inspiration to me and my classroom. My thoughts were to incorporate the art teacher at the school I work at to teach the students about the artist and Puerto Rican art. Then I would relate the concept of the painting below to Pennsylvania. The painting below shows Puerto Rico, all of the designs around the edges of the painting relate to the natural resources that are found in Puerto Rico. I would like to have my students create the same concept about Pennsylvania.

Artist: Angel Botello Barros

Name: Flora de Puerto Rico (1946)

Taken from: http://www.farpr.org/flora-puerto-rico

After the museum, a few of us walked to a local Italian restaurant. We had all been craving some fruits and vegetables because they are not a part of the daily meals in Puerto Rico. We enjoyed are meal and took a walk back to the university through San Juan. After freshening up, we went out to practice our Salsa dancing at a local establishment.

Puerto Rico Day 3

Today was a fantastic day. I had been looking forward to today since the day that I had found out about the trip. We ventured out to the rain forest, El Yunque, it wasn't quite what I had thought. I was really expecting to see birds and amphibians, but they were too far out of site. As you can see the trees were very high up. If you listen to the video below, you can hear the sound of the Puerto Rican Tree Frog (Coqui) in the background.



This next video is of a tree snail found in the rain forest. If you listen closely there is a description about this snail.



After we enjoyed the rain forest, we went to a small stop to enjoy ethnic Puerto Rican food. As you can see in the pictures below, a lot of the food is fried. Inside the fried batter is usually either beef, chicken, shrimp, and crab. There is also your fried plantains with every meal.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach. During the duration of this time, we had three rain showers pass through. It rains for a very short amount of time, but can come down very heavy. At the beach, it seemed as though people came in groups and enjoyed listening to music and eating the food from the local strip of places to eat.

After enjoying our day at the rain forest and beach, a group of us took time to shop in Old San Juan and enjoy a nice dinner at Tijuana (a Mexican restaurant). We spent time reflecting on our trip so far and how it will apply to our classroom. We all spent time talking about the type of school that we work at and the amount of Hispanic influence. The majority of us have found that the Hispanic culture is not as prevalent yet in our schools. Although, our schools are currently taking a proactive approach on diversity training.

Puerto Rico Days 1 and 2

I am finally here! The flight was very long, but well worth the trouble. Today was my first official full day in Puerto Rico. We are staying at the University of Sacred Heart in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We started out day out with a Spanish class. There was no way of easing into this one, the whole class was in full Spanish, but we all managed. This really gave me the perspective of what students who do not speak English in the states feel when they come into a completely English class. The feeling is frustrating and also very overwhelming, to the point of feeling failure. We then had a professor discuss the history and culture of Puerto Rico.

From there, we had our lunch at the university cafeteria. I was told that the common meal in Puerto Rico is plantains, rice, beans, and chicken. I had this for my first lunch, well without the beans and thoroughly enjoyed my meal.

Next, we headed into Old San Juan. The buildings were amazing, I really enjoyed looking at the buildings that were being renovated. I really feel that this will be wonderful for Old San Juan because people will be able to enjoy the authenticity of the city. This really shows the pride that Puerto Ricans take in their history.

We ended our day with a real Cuban/Puerto Rican dinner. Tonight was an early night in because tomorrow we are off to the RAIN FOREST!!