On Sunday, the day after arriving in Puerto Rico, my group toured the city of Old San Juan, visiting significant historical sites such as churches and Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a fortress at the entrance to the Bay of San Juan. After lunch, I was able to explore the city, where I visited many local shops and interacted with the locals. This experience was meaningful to me as it gave me a brief glimpse into Puerto Rican culture, just by walking through the streets and interacting with the locals.
The next day, my group had our first visit to LabCom and Caras Con Causa, where we toured the buildings and had a meeting with Michael, the founder and CEO of Caras. Leaving the meeting with Michael left a lasting impression on me, as it motivated me to work harder. Michael struck me as the type of person who stands up to any type of injustice, using every resource he has to achieve his goals. What surprised me the most during the meeting were the stories I heard, as Caras is restricted from using certain words. This experience was significant as it made me better understand the seriousness of the challenges they faced, and how resourceful Michael was in navigating the various challenges that were placed on him.
Tuesday, my group worked on reforestation for the first half of the day by removing invasive plant species and clearing space for future projects. In the afternoon, we worked with Yahir, a worker at Caras, to mix topsoil with compost in order to create a healthy soil mix for the growth of native plant life to Puerto Rico. This experience made me realize the many ongoing projects that Caras is involved in, which are necessary to support the local communities in Puerto Rico.
On Wednesday, LabCom experienced an unexpected power outage, which made it challenging to follow the planned itinerary. Instead of having a full work day at LabCom, my group was able to quickly adapt to the situation and pivot to another activity. We continued to help Yahir organize and move dirt, then later in the day, moved inside to learn about the processes Caras utilizes to monitor water quality (halfway through this, the power came back on!). At the end of the day, we visited Gandul, an old part of San Juan where most buildings were covered in graffiti. In my opinion, the highlight of the day was when Adriana, our guide and another worker at Caras, was explaining the stories and significance behind the murals, which made me better understand the deep history that Puerto Rico holds. This day also helped me better realize how adaptable my group was, seeing how we were all able to make the most of what we had on short notice.
On Thursday, my group visited El Yunque National Park and Carolina Public Beach in Cangrejo Arriba. Similar to Sunday, my group was given time to explore and immerse ourselves in Puerto Rican culture. The interactions I had this day were meaningful because they gave me an even better understanding of Puerto Rico’s culture.
Friday was the last full day my group had in Puerto Rico. Originally, our group was planned to do community service for a local resident with schizophrenia. However, because the resident did not get enough rest the night before, we had to change plans and work on another project in a different community. Instead, we helped repaint a house with vibrant colors. The end result turned out great, and the homeowner seemed very happy with the work we did. Witnessing the impact of this small action left me feeling very satisfied with everything we had done throughout the week. I also felt proud and lucky to be part of the group I was with during my time in Puerto Rico.
Looking back on these experiences, I learned a lot about Puerto Rican culture how to become more adaptable, and decisive in both controlled and unpredictable situations. One cultural expectation I had before the trip was adjusting to the time difference between Puerto Rico and Pittsburgh. The one-hour shift forward confused me on the first day, but I quickly adjusted accordingly. On a personal level, I had expected to enjoy the different foods and meet new people in Puerto Rico, both of which ended up being highlights of my trip. One expectation that was met was how flexible and accepting my group members were. The day we found out that the power at Caras had been cut off disrupted our plans for the day. However, my group quickly pivoted to another activity, making the most out of an unfortunate situation.
On the other hand, one expectation that wasn’t met was feeling too uncomfortable in Puerto Rico. Since this was my first time traveling outside the U.S., I thought I would feel out of place for a couple of days. However, I was surprised by how natural the transition felt, mainly thanks to the group of people I was surrounded by. One challenge that came up on the first night of the trip involved my roommates and me quickly adopting an accommodating mindset. On night we arrived in Puerto Rico, we did not communicate much about the things that made us feel uncomfortable. That night, the temperature in our room was set around 60 degrees, which made sleeping incredibly difficult for everyone. However, since each of us assumed someone else preferred the colder temperature, no one spoke up. As a result, everyone had a hard time getting any rest and was tired the next day. The next morning, we finally talked about the temperature of the room and realized no one enjoyed the cold temperatures in our room. Thanks to that situation, we checked in with each other more often, discussing anything that made us uncomfortable and possible ways to resolve the issue. This challenge and resolution helped us learn to communicate better and efficiently address any issues that arose during the remainder of the trip.
The reading that stood out to me the most during my time in Puerto Rico was Ethic in Project Management by Craig Brown. The idea of staying ethical while working for a client was constantly on my mind throughout the trip. This was especially important because our itinerary was constantly shifting due to unforeseen circumstances. Regardless of the situation, I believe that my group remained ethical while working with Caras, ensuring we upheld our responsibilities and acted with integrity with every action we took.
Overall, I had a great time in Puerto Rico! I am very grateful to have the opportunity to experience this with the group that I went with. I ate lots of great food, experienced a variety of new things, and met many new wonderful people!
