Sunday, May 31, 2009
Dolphins
So today I went boating with some friends and we were just riding around in the ocean and my roommate Mandi yells, "Dolphin!" We could see the fin so we turned around and got closer to it. There was probably like 8 of them together. They got right next to the boat. I was like freaking out looking for my camera. I jumped up front, almost fell in, but I got my pics and I got a cool video, but I don't know if it will upload on here. We will see. So cool though. I always hear about people seeing them, and now I finally did. Now all I want to see is a manatee! I guess I can't be greedy!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
End of my first year!
Charco Azul in Patillas
Pretty flowers in PR
Bamboo trees. I love these trees; they look so awesome!
Hibiscus flower. My favorite!
Mar Chaquita Beach in Manati
Really cool place. The rocks close in the beach which forms a small pool.
Me climbing around the rocks at Mar Chaquita.
At the Villa Montona Resort in Isabela.
Pictures of the resort. This was were the resturant/bar/pool was. I loved the white linen curtains hanging everywhere.
Milo Torres at Costa Bar on Jobos Beach in Isabela. He sings reggae music. It was really good.
Me and Yoel in Isabela
This is a picture of the inside of Porta Coeli. The oldest church in the USA.
Porta Coeli Church in San German
It is hard to believe that at this time last year I was getting prepared to move to PR. Now I am done with my very first year of full-time teaching and am getting ready to go home for the summer. It is going to be so fun to see everyone again. In just two weeks my brother is getting married as well. I know the wedding is going to be a blast!
School has been so boring! Our students were done on the 13th and we have to stay until the 29th. For what? I do not know…We have to be at school from 8-3 and they have given us nothing to do. It took me about two days to get my room cleaned up, and now I have been bored out of my mind. Everyone is trying to keep busy by watching movies, playing games, and playing on the computer. The days still go by so slow. I swear I am more tired from sitting here all day than I was when I was teaching. I would much rather be doing something than this. Oh well!
This past weekend I took a mini vacation with a friend. We left on Friday and went to the Villa Montana Resort in Isabela. It is located on a three mile private beach on the NW side of the island. It was beautiful. It was so relaxing. It was great hanging out in the pool and enjoying the resort. The resort was fun, but a little expensive for a poor teacher like me. There was a restaurant there overlooking the ocean with awesome food. I loved the way the place was decorated. They had huge wooden chairs and couches with oversized pillows and white lined curtains hanging up all around to enclose it. It was definitely a relaxing place to go. The only thing that stunk was the weather. Friday and Saturday were both rainy days. We still managed to have a great time though. Saturday night we went to Costa bar on Playa Jobos. There ended up being a band of Milo Torres playing. My friend Yoel is a huge fan so we really enjoyed that.
Sunday started off being good weather so we got to enjoy the pool for a while until it began raining. We left the resort and headed to Crashboat Beach Aguadilla. The weather there was sunny. I was excited because I need to get a great tan before I return to Chicago. I feel like I lose my color so quickly! After Crashboat we headed back East towards San Juan, which was about two hours away. We stopped in Manati at a beach I had seen in these pictures taken from above the earth in Old San Juan. The beach is called Mar Chaquita, which means little sea. It is a really cool place to see. There are these huge rocks that enclose a small part of the beach, which created a small swimming hole. Cool place to see. After that we continued to SJ. We stayed the night there. I found this guesthouse in Ocean Park right on the ocean. It was the Tres Palmas Inn. It was the cheapest place I could find, but I was glad I found it. There was a pool and two Jacuzzis. We went out to eat and planned on going out, but I was exhausted so we ended up going back to the hotel and sat in the Jacuzzi until 2 a.m. It was such a beautiful night and not to warm out so the Jacuzzi felt great! Monday was rainy so we left SJ and headed back towards Guayama. We stopped in the mountains to eat Puerto Rican food in Guavate, known for the lechon (pig). This place has the best food! After that we went to a place in Patillas called Charo Azul. I have been here before, but it was raining. It was bright and sunny so we decided to go. There is a small trail that leads to a pond, which people swim in. The water is really blue from the sulfur I believe and really cold. It is fun swimming there and you can dive off of small cliffs. The plants and trees are pretty too. Had a great time there then we finally made it back to Guayama after a quick stop at another beach. Very long weekend, but relaxing and awesome to see some beautiful places. I know I am going to miss this place after being away for two months.
Me climbing around the rocks at Mar Chaquita.
At the Villa Montona Resort in Isabela.
Pictures of the resort. This was were the resturant/bar/pool was. I loved the white linen curtains hanging everywhere.
Milo Torres at Costa Bar on Jobos Beach in Isabela. He sings reggae music. It was really good.
Me and Yoel in Isabela
This is a picture of the inside of Porta Coeli. The oldest church in the USA.
Porta Coeli Church in San German
It is hard to believe that at this time last year I was getting prepared to move to PR. Now I am done with my very first year of full-time teaching and am getting ready to go home for the summer. It is going to be so fun to see everyone again. In just two weeks my brother is getting married as well. I know the wedding is going to be a blast!
School has been so boring! Our students were done on the 13th and we have to stay until the 29th. For what? I do not know…We have to be at school from 8-3 and they have given us nothing to do. It took me about two days to get my room cleaned up, and now I have been bored out of my mind. Everyone is trying to keep busy by watching movies, playing games, and playing on the computer. The days still go by so slow. I swear I am more tired from sitting here all day than I was when I was teaching. I would much rather be doing something than this. Oh well!
This past weekend I took a mini vacation with a friend. We left on Friday and went to the Villa Montana Resort in Isabela. It is located on a three mile private beach on the NW side of the island. It was beautiful. It was so relaxing. It was great hanging out in the pool and enjoying the resort. The resort was fun, but a little expensive for a poor teacher like me. There was a restaurant there overlooking the ocean with awesome food. I loved the way the place was decorated. They had huge wooden chairs and couches with oversized pillows and white lined curtains hanging up all around to enclose it. It was definitely a relaxing place to go. The only thing that stunk was the weather. Friday and Saturday were both rainy days. We still managed to have a great time though. Saturday night we went to Costa bar on Playa Jobos. There ended up being a band of Milo Torres playing. My friend Yoel is a huge fan so we really enjoyed that.
Sunday started off being good weather so we got to enjoy the pool for a while until it began raining. We left the resort and headed to Crashboat Beach Aguadilla. The weather there was sunny. I was excited because I need to get a great tan before I return to Chicago. I feel like I lose my color so quickly! After Crashboat we headed back East towards San Juan, which was about two hours away. We stopped in Manati at a beach I had seen in these pictures taken from above the earth in Old San Juan. The beach is called Mar Chaquita, which means little sea. It is a really cool place to see. There are these huge rocks that enclose a small part of the beach, which created a small swimming hole. Cool place to see. After that we continued to SJ. We stayed the night there. I found this guesthouse in Ocean Park right on the ocean. It was the Tres Palmas Inn. It was the cheapest place I could find, but I was glad I found it. There was a pool and two Jacuzzis. We went out to eat and planned on going out, but I was exhausted so we ended up going back to the hotel and sat in the Jacuzzi until 2 a.m. It was such a beautiful night and not to warm out so the Jacuzzi felt great! Monday was rainy so we left SJ and headed back towards Guayama. We stopped in the mountains to eat Puerto Rican food in Guavate, known for the lechon (pig). This place has the best food! After that we went to a place in Patillas called Charo Azul. I have been here before, but it was raining. It was bright and sunny so we decided to go. There is a small trail that leads to a pond, which people swim in. The water is really blue from the sulfur I believe and really cold. It is fun swimming there and you can dive off of small cliffs. The plants and trees are pretty too. Had a great time there then we finally made it back to Guayama after a quick stop at another beach. Very long weekend, but relaxing and awesome to see some beautiful places. I know I am going to miss this place after being away for two months.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Catching up...I have been lazy with my blog!
More pics of the turtle. This is when it started going back into the ocean.
Bye Bye turtle
Well the school year is ending and I cannot believe how fast it went by! It is hard to believe that at this time last year I was getting ready to come here. I am really excited to go home for the summer. I cannot wait to see everyone and for Andy's wedding. I will be home on June 3. Our last day with students is this Wednesday, but the teachers have to stay until the 29th! I had such a great year in PR. I am so happy that I chose to come here and teach. I love the island and it has been a great learning experience for me. I wonder where I will be going next year at this time???...
Getting a ride to the Justas Festival. It was so cool! We thought it was going to cost a lot, so we asked. It was free! The guy rode us soooo fast too. The festival was actually for the colleges in PR. They have something like olypmics with the colleges. At night it is a huge party. There were tons of people...too many. They had stages set up for musical performers, but to get into that you had to wait in a very long line. We had more fun walking around. The music was good too though.
Most awesome thing I have ever seen! This turtle is a leatherback. They are an endangered species. This is their nesting season, and they come up to the beach at night and lay their eggs. They are also the world's largest turtles. We were at a birthday party on the beach and this guy was like, "Hey you want to see a turtle?" I am ALWAYS saying that I want to see animals in the ocean, so you don't have to ask me twice. This thing was so big!!! It digs a hole with its body and drops the eggs, then covers them, and then leaves. When it was trying to leave it looked so difficult because it is so big. We wanted to push it, but I don't think it would like that. It looked really mean, but I would be too if a whole bunch of people were staring at me while I was laying eggs. 
On Sunday I went to a tobacco museum in Caguas with Tom and the Mudd's. It was really cool because there are people actually rolling the cigars there. I bought a bundle of 25 for $7. I am going to give them to Andy for the wedding.
These are the tobacco leaves that they use to make cigars.
Me with the old man (80 something) who rolls cigars at the museum.
working hard
This is Faro (lighthouse) Punta Tuna in Maunabo. We go to a beach right next to this a lot. I had never actually gone up to the lighthouse so me and Barb decided to go see it. There was a really pretty view from up here of the beach and the ocean.
Looking down from the lighthouse.
Last weekend I went camping in Culebra. I left after school on Thursday, since we were off Friday for Teacher's Day, which is a holiday here! We got to Culebra around 8. It was so nice because there were hardly any people camping. Culebra is a small island off of PR. They have one of the best beaches in the world. You can camp right on the beach. It is amazing. The weather was great and the water was beautiful. They have the best snorkeling beach that you walk to from the camping spot. It is awesome. So many fish and colorful plants. I had a great time. I love camping on the beach.
Cinco de Mayo with the Mudd's & Yoel
They don't really celebrate this holiday here, but we just wanted to drink and eat Mexican food.
Getting a ride to the Justas Festival. It was so cool! We thought it was going to cost a lot, so we asked. It was free! The guy rode us soooo fast too. The festival was actually for the colleges in PR. They have something like olypmics with the colleges. At night it is a huge party. There were tons of people...too many. They had stages set up for musical performers, but to get into that you had to wait in a very long line. We had more fun walking around. The music was good too though.
Most awesome thing I have ever seen! This turtle is a leatherback. They are an endangered species. This is their nesting season, and they come up to the beach at night and lay their eggs. They are also the world's largest turtles. We were at a birthday party on the beach and this guy was like, "Hey you want to see a turtle?" I am ALWAYS saying that I want to see animals in the ocean, so you don't have to ask me twice. This thing was so big!!! It digs a hole with its body and drops the eggs, then covers them, and then leaves. When it was trying to leave it looked so difficult because it is so big. We wanted to push it, but I don't think it would like that. It looked really mean, but I would be too if a whole bunch of people were staring at me while I was laying eggs. 
On Sunday I went to a tobacco museum in Caguas with Tom and the Mudd's. It was really cool because there are people actually rolling the cigars there. I bought a bundle of 25 for $7. I am going to give them to Andy for the wedding.
These are the tobacco leaves that they use to make cigars.
Me with the old man (80 something) who rolls cigars at the museum.
working hard
This is Faro (lighthouse) Punta Tuna in Maunabo. We go to a beach right next to this a lot. I had never actually gone up to the lighthouse so me and Barb decided to go see it. There was a really pretty view from up here of the beach and the ocean.
Looking down from the lighthouse.
Last weekend I went camping in Culebra. I left after school on Thursday, since we were off Friday for Teacher's Day, which is a holiday here! We got to Culebra around 8. It was so nice because there were hardly any people camping. Culebra is a small island off of PR. They have one of the best beaches in the world. You can camp right on the beach. It is amazing. The weather was great and the water was beautiful. They have the best snorkeling beach that you walk to from the camping spot. It is awesome. So many fish and colorful plants. I had a great time. I love camping on the beach.
These two geese were sleeping right on the beach. Barb says there are no geese in PR so they must have been someones pets. Who knows?
Whoooo! I love this place!
Crabby Patty! These little crabs are always on the beach. I love them because they walk sideways and there big black eyes are so funny. They always run from you and hide in small holes in the sand.
6th grade field trip to Bodies
Whoooo! I love this place!
Crabby Patty! These little crabs are always on the beach. I love them because they walk sideways and there big black eyes are so funny. They always run from you and hide in small holes in the sand.
6th grade field trip to BodiesThis is my homeroom class.
This is in front of the Raices fountain in Old San Juan. These are all three sixth grade classes. I teach sixth grade with Mandi and Mrs. Fuentes. The kids had fun, but I think they enjoyed walking around and eating the most.
For Spring Break, my friends Mia and Katie came to visit. We had a great time. We spent most of our time at the beach. Their visit went by so quickly. Next time they need to stay longer.
This is in front of the Raices fountain in Old San Juan. These are all three sixth grade classes. I teach sixth grade with Mandi and Mrs. Fuentes. The kids had fun, but I think they enjoyed walking around and eating the most.
For Spring Break, my friends Mia and Katie came to visit. We had a great time. We spent most of our time at the beach. Their visit went by so quickly. Next time they need to stay longer.
This is in Ponce. Katie really loved the local beer Medalla!
One of the days they were here, we tried to get the ferry to Culebra, but it was sold out. I was disappointed because I knew they would love it and we wanted to snorkel. At the place you catch the ferry, there is also another ferry that goes to Vieques. It is another small island owned by PR. It used to be where the US Navy tested bombs and weapons. The people living in Vieques protested their presence and in 2003, the Navy left. We went to a beach there and did do some snorkeling, but nothing compared to Culebra. Mia saw a string ray that freaked her out.
Me, Mia, Katie in Vieques
Night out with the ladies
One of the days they were here, we tried to get the ferry to Culebra, but it was sold out. I was disappointed because I knew they would love it and we wanted to snorkel. At the place you catch the ferry, there is also another ferry that goes to Vieques. It is another small island owned by PR. It used to be where the US Navy tested bombs and weapons. The people living in Vieques protested their presence and in 2003, the Navy left. We went to a beach there and did do some snorkeling, but nothing compared to Culebra. Mia saw a string ray that freaked her out.
Me, Mia, Katie in Vieques
Night out with the ladies
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