I think the most important aspect of what we could be taking from the course is the sustainability part. I want parts of the booth to focus on how sustainable the systems of Puerto Rico and Illinois are. I’ve always been a guy rooted into nature and to me I got to experience one of the most beautiful pieces of scenery that a person could witness. I think we shouldn’t take it for granted and I think we should let the kids at EOH know that even though we had fun, we only had fun because we were surrounded by all of the nature. It’s much more important to me that they get an educational experience rather than a fun one. It would obviously be best to combine the two but I would prefer them to leave with a thought like “man, I want to visit Puerto Rico but I want to see it in all of its glory.” Because unfortunately money can be a bigger influence on some areas than trying to preserve the beauty of nature. At the end of it I want us to be able to focus on the aspects of our trip that really made us appreciate it and want to go back.
I agree that it’s sad that some people will only visit places like Puerto Rico to visit super-developed areas paired with the wonderful climate they have, instead of seeing what Puerto Rico was originally like before all the resorts and tourist traps were set up. That said, if we were able to give them even a glimpse of what the rest of Puerto Rico is like, I’d be surprised if they walked away wanting to go only to the resorts there.