The Puerto Rico community collaborations trip lasted 7 days and included various forms of volunteerism including tutoring the boys and girls club, helping build houses that were torn by hurricane Maria, rainforest preservation, and building bunk beds. We were able to participate in a lot of events that created direct and fast impact.
Before I went to Puerto Rico, I had no idea what to expect. I had a general sense of the language the people there would speak but nothing aside that. When I reached puerto rico, I was quite surprised to see how everything was structured. Although the island is considered US territory, there was also an integration of the people’s Latino culture as well. It seemed that they had their own ways of living in between complete American culture and complete Latino culture. It was very refreshing to see the people still hold onto their language and culture.
There were many events or little things that showcased the integration of Latino and American culture in Puerto Rico. One small example are the road signs. They are identical to the ones in the states but the words are written in Spanish. Another thing that I noticed was how everyone knew English but always spoke in Spanish amongst each other, including the kids. They were very fluent in their language and it was really heartwarming to witness. They were teaching us some words in Spanish and trying to understand what we were saying as well.
Another event that has stuck out to me is how much they value and take care of the nature around them, whether that be trees, animals, or water. The effort to preserve the rainforest was wonderful and one moment during that day was when we were walking to the top and one of the guys stopped and showed us a natural shrine that was amongst the rainforest. That specific area was considered a shrine because it contained unique plants that were not found anywhere else in the rainforest. This to me is very wholesome and shows the perfect balance between Latino and American culture that the Puerto Ricans live with.
These events are valuable to me because as someone who grew up not wanting to identify with my own culture, it was a gentle but concrete reminder that culture is important and how much it plays into making everyone’s life a little more colorful. It served as a reminder that just because they are part of the US territory and are governed by the US does not mean that they will completely lose their identity. This can be applied to my own life because it reminded me that celebrating my culture is something to be proud of!