Until around 2006, Puerto Rico’s economy was one of the most competitive in both the Caribbean region and Latin America. In Puerto Rico, 1.6% of the work-force are agriculture workers and approximately 52% of the land is used for agriculture (Rivera). As a leading competitor in agriculture, 75% of Illinois’s total land area is farmland. Because of the importance of agriculture in both economies, it is vital that both the drawbacks and benefits of the agricultural/food system in Puerto Rico and Illinois are effectively compared and analyzed.
There are a few drawbacks/costs to Puerto Rican agriculture. One of these is the lack of sufficient natural resources. Other than the abundances of clay, sand, and limestone found on the the island, there is a severe lack of the resources necessary to maintain what remains of the territory’s dependence on food production. Over the past 60 years, the production of crops such as coffee, tobacco, and sugar, Puerto Rico’s primary cash crops, has declined. This is due mostly to the dramatic decline of the agricultural sector (“Puerto Rico – Agriculture”). In October of 2016, it was found that agriculture accounted for only 0.9% of Puerto Rico’s gross domestic product (“The World Factbook”).
There are also costs to agriculture in Illinois. For one, agrichemicals, such as pesticides and fertilizers, pose significant risks to both the environment and the health of animals and humans when used improperly. Illinois’s climate also leads to both negative and positive impacts. In terms of the negative, the pollination of crops such as corn and soybeans can be vulnerable to changes in weather. This affects these crops mostly due to the fact that they are planted in spring and harvested in the fall. Illinois’s wet springs make it difficult for farmers to work because the soil is often too wet to support heavy equipment and to provide seedbeds of sufficient quality. Following planting, newer plants are at a larger risk of being overwatered. At the point of harvest, weather that is consistently wet slows in-field drying. As a way to combat this issue, some farmers turn to using fossil fuel for drying which increases greenhouse gases. These wet springs also introduce a new range of pests that disturb crops across Illinois (Jarrell, 2009).
There are also some things that are benefitting Puerto Rican agriculture. Although agriculture in Puerto Rico has been declining over the past 60 years, many people believe that it will soon improve. According to Myrna Comas, the Agriculture Secretary, Puerto Rico could even double its food production by 2025 (Allen & Penaloza, 2015). In recent years, engineers who focus on agricultural technology have been working on creating new technologies that will help farmers do things such as monitoring their crops. These ways in which innovators have been improving agriculture by bring people and their ideas together can have long lasting positive effects (Luscombe).
Illinois agriculture also has many benefits. As a leading corn and soybean producer, much of the US and many other countries depend on Illinois agriculture to be efficient. For one, it generates over $19 billion every year. In the many rural areas in Illinois, agricultural production is a large part of the citizens’ income. In urban areas, agricultural processing and manufacturing dominates. Because of these urban areas, Illinois comes in first in the United States for processed food sales with $180 billion and 2,640 manufacturing companies. Illinois has a transportation system with over 2,000 miles of interstate highways, which surpasses many other states dependent on agriculture. It also ships around $8 billion in products overseas. The majority of Illinois land is considered “prime farmland” which, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, “is important because it provides an environmentally sound base for crop production”. Also, the food industry in Illinois employs approximately one million people and because of this, agriculture in Illinois has a large impact on many of its citizens (“Facts About Illinois Agriculture”).

Machinery used to crush sugarcane.

House used by plantation owners over the years.

Works Cited
Allen, Greg, and Marisa Penaloza. “Puerto Rico Is Sowing A New Generation Of Small Farmers.” NPR. NPR, 6 May 2015. Web. 10 Jan. 2017. .
“Facts About Illinois Agriculture.” Illinois Agriculture. Illinois Department of Agriculture, 2014. Web. 10 Jan. 2017. .
Jarrell, Wesley. “Impacts of Climate Change on Illinois Agriculture.” University of Illinois Extension. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. Web. 10 Jan. 2017. .
Luscombe, Richard. “Puerto Rico’s Born-again Farmers Dig for Victory in Island’s Debt Battle.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 29 May 2016. Web. 10 Jan. 2017. .
“Puerto Rico – Agriculture.” Nations Encyclopedia. 2011. Web. 10 Jan. 2017. .
Rivera, Magaly. “Economy.” Welcome to Puerto Rico. 2016. Web. 10 Jan. 2017. .
“The World Factbook.” Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, Oct. 2016. Web. 10 Jan. 2017. .

From the five days that I have been in Puerto Rico it has been evident that there are many cultural differences between here and where I live in Chicago. I obviously cannot fully understand the Puerto Rican experience since I am not Puerto Rican, but from what I have seen so far during this trip, I can identify a few differences between my culture and my world view, and that of the Puerto Rican experience.

The first thing that I can think of is music. I am really into music, listen to it all the time, and it plays a huge role in my life. I feel very passionately about the music that I listen to, and find myself head-banging and sometimes even dancing around when I listen. But why do I listen to the music I listen to? What is the connection that causes an organized array of sounds to bring pleasure to my everyday life? The answer for me is simple: because I like it. However, while being in Puerto Rico I can sense that there is something else in play. In the time that I have been here I have realized that everywhere we go, especially in the little beach town Cabo Rojo, there is always music playing. The kind of music that I have heard here is stuff that I am not very familiar with; these kinds of music are Bachata, Salsa, Cumbia, Merengue, and Reggaeton. These genres of music are unique to the Puerto Rican culture and they are something that every Puerto Rican can feel a connection with. It is fascinating how Puerto Rican Music is directly a part of the Puerto Rican culture. You can tell that it is a deep rooted part of their culture because everyone is dancing to it and they are doing so so passionately and embracing it as a part of themselves. I feel like I cannot say the same about where I am from, I have not been born into any kind of music genre, other than what my parents listened to. There isn’t a cohesive genre of music that is linked with American culture, at least from my experience. There is obviously some kind of gap here. As an American I view music as something I listen to because I like, and, in comparison, I’m sure Puerto Rican people also listen to music because they like it but they also listen to some music because it is an innate part of their culture.

This music culture plays an important role in the lives of Puerto Rican people. In Cabo Rojo, at all times in the day there was always some kind of traditional Puerto Rican music playing somewhere, and almost half of the time it was live. I also saw karaoke at almost every bar we passed by. At night they closed off the street, put up speakers and microphones, and there was always some live band playing. This only highlights the importance of music in the Puerto Rican experience and how valuable to their music culture it is to them. During the three nights holiday (a holiday in Puerto Rico that we learned is very similar to Christmas) there was a huge celebration in town and people filled the entire streets. There were live bands playing all day and night and the Puerto karaoke going nonstop and everyone was dancing and celebrating their culture. There were three people dressed in kings, who probably played a big role in the celebration, and they were also singing and dancing with everybody. Not only is there music that can be associated with culture but there is This just goes to show how much they see music as such an important part of their culture unlike my culture.

Another view that I think differs greatly between the United States and Puerto Rico is the cost of college. In the United States, some of the only ways to get a decent college education and being able to afford it is by either going to community college, your state’s school (which can still be too expensive and can be very competitive), or get a scholarship which are always extremely competitive and sometimes don’t even give you enough money. There are so many high school students in the United States that do not go to college merely because they cannot afford it. This is unbelievably unjust; a college education should be a right, not a privilege. The amount of money that a family has should not determine whether their kid can attend college.

In Puerto Rico, although college still costs a good amount of money, especially at private universities, it is a lot less than it does in the United States. One of the Agricultural Engineering professors at the university that we visited told us that at that particular college students paid about 45 dollars per credit hour. To put that in perspective, students at the University of Illinois pay about 452 dollars per credit hour on average. The engineering school that we visited was a public institution so it would generally cost less than most private schools in Puerto Rico. The professor told us that typically the private institutions in Puerto Rico cost 3 times as much per credit hour as the public ones, which makes the private schools cost 135 dollars per credit hour which is still significantly less than the cost of the University of Illinois. Although school still costs a good amount of money in Puerto Rico, it is so much less than the United States. It seems that they actually understand that all hardworking students should go to school instead of people with money. This is one of the many big problems in the United States that leads to our incredibly messed up capitalistic society, in which everyone is competing with each other to stay afloat in life. I really think that we should take a lesson from Puerto Rico and begin viewing things as they do so that we can become everyone can have an equal opportunity to become passionate about learning, not competing.

The world is very different in Puerto Rico than it is where I am from. This is to be expected, though, because I live in a very different climate and I’m not surrounded by ocean. The struggles of living in Illinois are much different than that of Puerto Rico. Let’s take driving, for example. Puerto Ricans drive like maniacs compared to what I’m used to, yet I have yet to see a single accident. The cars in Puerto Rico last much longer because they aren’t exposed to cold winter weather and salty roads. Because of this, there are lots of very old cars that still drive around the island today – most of them in poor condition with dents, scratches, and missing bumpers. Also, the speedometer in our van specifically is read in miles per hour, while the odometer and street markers are read in kilometers per hour.
The people in Puerto Rico seem to be very calm and laid back. They like to live by “island time” which basically means they are late to almost every meeting or event. People in Puerto Rico just seem more relaxed and not in so much of a rush. The local Puerto Ricans seem very nice to each other and strangers alike. The locals at the beach in Puerto Rico knew how to have a good time. They brought coolers full of food and alcohol as well as speakers to jam out to their music. It felt so normal to them to hit the beach on a winter sunday afternoon. I also feel like locals take more risks than people in Illinois because they have less to lose. They can live on the edge and the worst that can happen is that they’d be living on a beach, while homeless people in Illinois quite literally can die from frostbite.
As an urban kid born and raised, I can attest to the speed and organization of life in Illinois. In Chicago, everything just seems very rushed. This is good, though, because it increases daily life efficiency. The streets are clearly labeled, lit, and easy to follow. Commuters use public transportation to get from point A to point B in as little time as possible. The winter weather causes everyone to wear lots of layers and get uncomfortable quickly while indoors. Everything’s a competition. Students are constantly competing to get into high school and then into college. College students are competing for a job. Workers are competing for a pay raise. People in the city are in their own world, only caring about their own lives and struggles they are facing.
From an Islander’s perspective, it seems like things don’t need to be perfect, they just need to function. They would be satisfied with any air conditioner, for example – not just the most efficient and very best one. As long as it works, they’ll be happy. This concept could be applied to Blue – the apartment we’re staying in. We’re staying in a nice-sized apartment with air conditioning, two rooms, and a sweet veranda. Our first reaction moving in was, “wow, this place is so janky”. Our quality of living is just so much higher than that of Puerto Ricans that we weren’t satisfied with something any local would thoroughly enjoy. We expect quality and accommodations, while Puerto Ricans will just be happy with where they’re at. Of course there will be competition in Puerto Rico, but it’s definitely less than in the states.
On a global level, I thought it was very sad to see pieces of plastic washed up on the beach. It wasn’t just a miniscule amount, either. There were empty Clorox bottles, storage containers, cans, bottles, plastic caps, and much more. I couldn’t believe all of this was just floating around in the ocean and somehow ended up on an island in the middle of the Atlantic. There were broken beer bottles and pieces of glass mixed with sand along the ocean floor. As a world, we must work together to reduce the amount of waste that slips into the oceans.

The streets and sidewalks in Old San Juan were very narrow – especially compared to the ones I’m used to in Illinois. Each building was painted a different pastel color with borders that were intricately designed.

Illinois is extremely flat and made up of mostly cornfields, which is extremely different than that of Puerto Rico. Illinois has a wind farm visible from the main highway – something I didn’t see while staying in Puerto Rico.

One of my favorite experiences on this trip so far has been hiking the dry forest and swimming on the beach near Guanica. We all climbed into the rental van, excited to spend the day outside and exploring. Our first surprise came when we reached the park entrance and found the gate closed and locked. Apparently, since the day was a holiday on the island, the gatekeeper had decided not to show up, so we were locked out. Nothing was going to stop us from getting to the beach, though, so everyone piled out of the rental van and started trekking up the road into the park. The walk to our trail seemed to take forever, and was uphill for most of the time, so everyone was hot and sweaty as we searched for the trail head. We saw a dead crab on the road, which was a little exciting, but other than that the walk was mostly uneventful. As we continued to walk, I started to get a little nervous that we had already walked past our trail, and that we had hiked this far just to have to turn around. It was a relief when we finally located the correct trail and were able to officially start our hike.

The dry forest was absolutely beautiful, and it was cool to see the variety of plants and animals that inhabited the area. There were plenty of lizards, which seem to be very common all over the island, but there were also some things, such as cacti, that I hadn’t seen much of in Puerto Rico. Parts of the trail were a little uneven, and everyone stumbled once or twice along the path. After we had walked about halfway there, Dr. Rodriguez had us take a little detour so that we could visit one of the oldest trees in Puerto Rico, which is approximately seven hundred years old. The weathered, ancient tree had roots jutting out all around it, which provided a perfect place to sit, drink some water, and take a break from the sun. After we had all rested for a while, we climbed back up to the main trail and continued our journey to the beach.

We took a quick break on the roots of this ancient tree, estimated to be over 700 years old.

By this point, I was very hot and sweaty, so I couldn’t wait to be on the beach and in the water. Everyone started walking much quicker, eager to get there. When we finally reached the ocean, I was so excited to be there that I slipped on the path and nearly fell, accidentally flinging my water bottle at another student. When we reached the sand, everyone applied lots of sunscreen and ran straight into the cool, refreshing surf.

I have loved all of the beaches that we have visited so far in Puerto Rico, but the one thing in particular that stood out for this beach was the giant waves that we were able to splash around in. I was caught off guard at first by the force of the water, and some got into my eyes, which was very painful because of my contacts. Even though my eyes were stinging a little, bodysurfing through the waves was still a super fun experience. We stayed in the water for a long time, until the waves started to get a little tiring to ride out, so we headed back to shore for a while.

I was sitting in the shade with some other students, eating some pretzels and sipping on water, when one of the students ran up to us, very excited to be holding a coconut that he found on the beach. He was absolutely determined to open it, because he thought that it would be fresh. I was pretty skeptical at first, but after a lot of effort and struggles, he succeeded in opening the coconut, and it was just as fresh as he had hoped it would be. I drank a little bit of the coconut water, which I didn’t love, and then we cracked the coconut open all the way so that we could eat the meat. I’m normally not a huge fan of coconut, but on such a hot day, it made a pretty amazing snack. All of the boys then decided that they all wanted coconuts of their own to crack open too. A few of them were rancid, which was both disappointing and disgusting. However, they were able to find some good ones, so there was plenty of coconut meat to go around.

After a few hours on the beach, the rental van showed up again to bring us back to the apartments. Even though I had an amazing time out in the sun, I was worn out from our long day of adventure and fell asleep as soon as I sat down inside. I was tired, sunburned, and completely content after spending a perfect day on this beautiful island. I will definitely have many great memories, not only from this particular day spent in Puerto Rico, but from every day spent here as well, and I am positive that I will make even more for the duration of the trip.

Every moment so far on our trip to Puerto Rico has been a blast but there have been a few that have stood out as some of the best of the trip. In particular, the day that we hiked through the dry forest and saw the beach in Guanica. The hike ended up being about twice as long as planned because the day we went ended up being Three Kings day which is a popular holiday in Puerto Rico. This meant that the person who usually unlocks the gate in the morning took the day off so instead of just having to hike from the entrance to the trail farther up the mountain, we had to make the hike all the way up and around part of the mountain first. This proved to be much harder than we all imagined as most of the climbing was at a 30-45 degree incline. Pairing that with the blaring hot sun didn’t make things too comfortable. Making it to the beach became everyone’s goal as the hike progressed. Being in such an interesting ecosystem made things a lot more manageable. With the climate in that region being so arid, it has led to the creation of something called a dry forest. It can be compared to the chaparral of southern California and the Mediterranean. The soil was very rocky and sandy and there were plenty of woody bushes and cacti growing in the area. Professor Rodriguez told us that the area only receives about 10 inches of rain every year, meaning that every plant has adapted to live on very small amounts of water. On the hike, we also were able to see one of the oldest trees in Puerto Rico. It is estimated that the tree was around 700 years old! Its roots sprawled out on different levels and gave all of us a great place to sit and stop for a quick snack. After the side trail and seeing the ancient tree, we were back on the main path and inching closer and closer to our first beach day in Puerto Rico. As we descended down the mountain we could finally see what we’d all been waiting for. The water looked perfect, the only problem was how far away it still was… After 25 minutes and dodging out of the way of plenty of cars we scaled down about 5 huge rock steps and finally stepped onto the sand of the beach. The hike was completely worth it, the views were breathtaking and the water was so blue it didn’t look real. People could hardly wait to get in the water and bags were dropped just as quick as shoes could be taken off. The water was the perfect temperature, and just what we all needed after a long hike in the hot sun. There were some bits of sea weed in the water but we didn’t mind. We did mind when the huge waves blew us down and tumbled us over a large bed of sticks either. Sure, a couple people got some cuts but no one really cared. The experience was all worth it. The waves were huge, and if you met one just right, you could body surf about 20 feet! I hadn’t been in the ocean for a while and was surprised at how salty the water actually was. This, of course, meant that when everyone got out, they were dying of thirst. We made camp around the base of a large shade tree. Its limbs spread out far and provided much needed protection from the intense sunlight. After drying off to some extent, I started my quest to find a perfect coconut washed up on the beach. I knew the key was to shake they to listen for the water inside and not to get one that felt too heavy because that meant they were water-logged and most likely bad. Surprisingly enough, I found one that seemed perfect only about 100 feet from where all of our stuff was. I brought it back and began the very tedious task of extracting the cannonball-sized nut from inside the husk. I began this operation by first removing the 3 sections of outer husk. The coconut had been out in the sun for some period of time so the husk had dried and cracked along each of the three sections. I was able to slowly spread them apart and remove 2 of the sections. Keep in mind, this was a VERY exhaustive process. The hardest part was definitely removing the 3rd and final section of husk. On the beach, I found a concrete cylinder with some iron pieces coming out of it. My best guess would say that it used the be the base of an old sign post. This tool proved to be imperative to my coconut breaking endeavor. I hit the coconut with one husk section remaining on the iron piece that came out of the tool and was able to slowly work the section piece away from the nut. Once enough space was created I slowly ripped the fibers until the section was finally removed. From there, I cleaned off many of the remaining hairs and was finally ready to break it open and try what I had worked so hard for. I slammed the coconut once, hard, onto the metal and it plunged a perfect, golf ball sized hole. I flipped it over and was able to keep some of the milk from leaking out. Emma, Emily, and I were the first to try it and needless to say, it tasted better than the fancy store-bought organic kind. One more hit on the rock and it cracked right down the middle exposing the sunscreen scented meat. Dr. Rodriguez pulled out his trusty pocket knife and we began cutting off pieces and trying it. It tasted incredible! It wasn’t as sweet as packaged coconut, but it just tasted more… real. That whole day was definitely one of my favorites. From the awesome hike through a very rare ecosystem to seeing a 700 year old tree to body surfing on 8 ft waves to successfully cracking open and trying my first coconut, all were memories that I will never forget. This trip has already been so fun and interesting, I can’t wait to see what the rest of it has to offer.

As a new adult, I may not always have my life together, but if I ever desperately need something from the store, I know that there is a conveniently placed Walmart, CVS, or gas station around the corner that is open twenty-four seven with all the necessities I could ever need. It has always been this way for me. Whether I was in Illinois, Maine, Washington, or New Mexico, there was always at least one store open late to provide me with what I needed. In Puerto Rico however, the stores open late and close early, and when they say they are closing at six, they mean it! Here on the island, everyone follows their own clock, or as I have heard it called “Island Time.”

I personally did not notice it as much in Old San Juan as I do in Boquerón. I suppose this is because there is an enormous flow of tourists from the cruise ships at the docks in Old San Juan compared to the few outsiders that travel all the way to Boquerón on the other side of the island. The pictures above are to show the streets of Old San Juan at different times during the day. The first, illustrates how dead the city seemed in the mornings. I mean, it was not ungodly early, but it was about 9:30 in the morning, and the only cars on the street were those of the people who worked the local shops. The second picture, shows the streets the day we arrived. We were in that horrendous mess of traffic at two in the afternoon. It was ridiculous! Both days while we were in Old San Juan, the streets were flooded in the late afternoon with a rush of people on the one way cobblestone roads. Bumper-to-bumper traffic with honking and blaring music, and the streets were not just flooded with cars. There were people all over the roads and sidewalks weaving in and out of the traffic taking their merry sweet time in the warm evening air. This traffic however, always cleared out by dinner, when rush hour usually starts in the states. All in all, even though the hours when the city was busy seemed a bit off to me, it ended up in our favor, because when we wanted to do things as a group, the city had usually calmed down, but the shops and restaurants were still open.

In Boquerón on the other hand, the shops close extremely early by American standards. The convenience store down the street from our apartment, for example, closes at six every day, except Sunday when it closes at one in the afternoon. The owner even closed and locked the door in our face at 6:05. They refused paying customers! I just cannot comprehend that. How can someone justify turning away the opportunity to make easy money? We all would have gone in, got what we needed, and left. We would have even rushed if they told us that they were staying open past closing for us. Apparently they just do not care. A few lost customers is nothing for them, because they know that no other store in their town is going to be open either. They know that we would have to wait and come back when they opened the next day.

Altogether, if I am being honest, being in Puerto Rico for this little while will, if anything, make me more aware of how lucky I am to have stores that cater to my schedule to best fit my needs. I now realize that not everyone has the time, money, or effort to always please me. This world does not revolve around me, and I should not expect it to. It will not kill me to go without my groceries for a few hours, and adapting to this “island time” may end up helping me relax a little in my semesters to come.

January 8, 2017

By 9 AM, my entire group was packed into a van excited to go to a “beach”, but little did we know, this beach that we were heading to had so much more in store for us. Upon driving up, some of my cohorts started to notice large pools that contained a questionable white substance. Soon after asking our professor what the substance was, we learned that the mounds of white substance on the ground was salt and that the location contained dozens of salt flats. Salt flats are flat expanses of ground covered with salt and other minerals, which shine white under the sun. They are found in desert-like environments, and are natural formations. Flats form by evaporation of a water pools such as a lake or pond. This happens in climates where the rate of water evaporation exceeds the rate of precipitation. Some of the students found this interesting, but our curiosity was quickly overshadowed by the excitement seeing of the beach.

With a cooler in tow, all 12 of us briskly walked towards the beach, eager for the day’s activities. After setting up camp and being told of a few hiking trails, we all went running into the water. With great splashes and some stumbling, we all were in the slightly warm water. Although the water was not exactly clear, the color was a brilliant blue. The calm waves made it extremely relaxing for me to just float on top of the water. Along with a few friends, I enjoyed the water, swimming around and talking, but after about an hour or so, my friends and I had the urge to be children again. With a frisbee that we found on the beach in hand, my friends and I began to build a mini pool within the sand. With the sun scorching our backs, we dug and dug in the sand until a slightly deep hole started to form. In order to protect our creation and fill it up with water, we constructed a sand wall and dug a little channel going down towards the water so that when the waves came to shore, it would flow into the pool. When we finished, we turned to admire our work and sat down inside of it to quickly take a picture before it was washed away.

After working together to create a pool like structure, we celebrated by spending some time sitting down and relaxing.

Famished and exhausted from the sun, we decided to take a break and eat some food. During this break, we decided that we were going to do some exploring. After finishing our food and asking our professur what exactly what was available to see, we set off in search of the lighthouse located near by. Not wanting to change into my gym shoes, I went on this venture in flip flops. While walking up, we found two trails: the clear path and the one less travelled. Being adventurous, we took the one that was less travelled. The path being riddled with plants and the path hardly visible, we made our way up a hill only to find the pathway disappeared. With a small sense of disappointment, we turned around and took the clear pathway to the lighthouse. After climbing up a very rocky and pebbled path, we reached the light house. After looking around the main floor and finding that we could hardly read the information that was displayed because it was all in Spanish, we decided to see the views from the top. After walking up a winding staircase, we reached a rooftop like clearing and I saw one of the most beautiful sights I ever experienced. To the left, I could see various large pools of water all different in color and the salt flats. In the middle I saw glorious grassy hills and rock formations; and to the left I saw the magnificent ocean and the sheer, jacked and breathtaking cliffs.

After, spending a great deal of time taking in the views, we decided to go to the cliff. Walking up, you would not think much about these cliffs, but as we started we reach the edge, we quickly realized how dangerous they were. The cliff’s edge dropped down more than a hundred feet and ended with raging waves and jagged rocks. Filled with adrenaline, I walked to the edge and sat down and stared out into the ocean view. One of my friends was even daring enough to climb down and around the rocks to a lower cliff ledge. With considerate caution, we navigated the cliff’s edge and saw various views from different locations. Each time we moved, we continued down the rocky, and hilly terrain. At various times during the descent, we would walk to the edge, each time getting closer and closer to where to beach began. During certain points of the descent, the floor was pebbly and once when I was walking down, my feet slipped on the rocks and I tumbled down. Luckily for me, I was not close to the edge and one of my friend caught me before I could completely fall to the ground. Scared that a horrible event would occur, we retraced our steps to the main path and continued our descent and before long, we rejoined the group.

While at Playa Sucia or La Playuela, I along with other students explored around the area and sat along the death defying cliffs.

The events that day impacted my life in many different ways. It taught me how beautiful nature can be and to appreciate it. It taught me that I am more courageous and adventurous than I thought I was. It taught me that sometimes, exploring new places can lead to the best memories and lastly, it taught me that making new friends and experiencing things together for the first time is a way to possibly create lifelong friendships. This experience has sparked my interest and has makes me look forward to future study abroad opportunities and my future career in environmental science. I am extremely grateful for the experiences that occurred.

A black plastic bag pollutes the beach

Traveling to another country is basically jumping into the unknown. No matter how extensively you research the culture of your destination or believe you know what to expect, it’s impossible to fully prepare yourself for the challenges you will face ethically, socially, and environmentally. With little prior knowledge of Puerto Rico, I was standing in these shoes as I walked through the airport in San Juan. I’d previously traveled to Europe, the Bahamas, and been to almost every corner of the United States, but once again this was something drastically different. With each new trip, I have experienced not only the unique cultures that give each community its own identity, but also the challenges that each society faces on a local scale. Puerto Rico is no different, as it has many glaring challenges of its own.
One of the most apparent problems I have noticed in Puerto Rico over the last five days has been the extensive litter. As we drove across the country and walked along the beaches, the amount of litter was very eye opening. Cans, bottles, plastic bags, and more lined most of the areas along the beaches and roads of nearly everywhere we have traveled thus far. This environmental problem has many negative effects both locally and even globally. Puerto Rico has countless amounts of animals that will be affected by this trash. Lizards, iguanas, feral cats, and more will have to deal with the loads of pollution each and every day. One example of the problems faced by these animals is that discarded soda cans are tempting to many of the island’s small critters as they look for food and shade. These animals face danger as they can easily be cut and injured by the cans sharp edges. Plastic bags are another object that proves to be a huge threat. Curiosity and the need for food lead countless amounts of animals to crawl into these bags, and some may get trapped and suffocate. Not only are these discarded objects a huge threat to the land animals here in Puerto Rico, but also the animals living in the vast ocean surrounding the island. With so much trash on the local beaches surrounding the island, it is easy to assume a lot of trash gets sucked into the sea during high tide and storms. Fish and seabirds across the world suffer from these same problems as the land animals, as they also cannot escape the countless troubles caused by human trash. Even though this is a very obvious environmental problem on the island, it does not seem that people are trying to make a significant change. Trash cans have been very sparse on each of the beaches we have visited, even though the litter has been mind blowing.
Not only does the massive amounts of pollution on the island have an effect on the environment, but it also causes large social challenges. We have previously learned in this class that most of the Puerto Rican economy no longer relies on the agriculture harvest as it used to. Instead, Puerto Rico thrives on tourism, as we have seen by the large cruises that docked in San Juan and the hundreds of stores that sell souvenirs. Foreigners want to see the long, spotless beaches that they had seen on commercials and in advertisements begging citizens of first world countries to come explore the beaches of the Caribbean. If these travelers come and witness the extensive pollution it will dampen the excitement of their stay here on the island. A lot of tourism relies on friends talking about different trips they took, as they suggest exciting trips, and vacationers who take repeated trips to the same location. Neither of these would be positive if people were to dislike the beaches due to its trashy nature. Instead of coming to Puerto Rico again, they may choose a different tropical island for their next adventure. Locals may also be deterred from taking day trips to the beaches, which may ultimately lower the overall happiness of the island if this problem continues to take over.
Personally, I can take action on this problem by making sure I throw all my garbage into the trash cans. I can challenge my family and friends to do the same, both here in Puerto Rico and back home in Illinois. Even this small difference can help animals locally and globally. Another action I can attempt to take is talking to local environmental organizations on the island and suggesting they invest in more garbage cans to scattered around the many beaches on the island. Signs can also be added on the shorelines reminding people to throw their trash in garbage bins and of the troubles caused by their pollution. I believe the island is moving in the right direction, as they have stopped handing out plastic bags to start attacking this extreme problem. However, this will not be solved until each person, both locals and those visiting, takes a personal initiative to do their part in helping to stop the pollution of this beautiful island.

It’s hard to pick just one event that I enjoyed in Puerto Rico because there were several. I have to say that my most favorite event thus far was hiking the dry forest and swimming on the beach. In spanish, it’s called Bosque Nacional de Guanica. We were supposed to get dropped off right where the trail started, but we ended up walking over a mile and a half to the start of the trail. There was a local holiday, and the guy who was supposed to open the gate wasn’t at work that day. It wasn’t easy hiking to the trail because it was hot and very high in altitude. Along the way, we found a large, wild hermit crab crossing the road. It was interesting to me because I was used to seeing tiny hermit crabs in painted shells at the local pet store. This one was massive and looked very healthy. We also found a large camouflaged moth in the middle of the street.
The trail itself was absolutely astonishing. We walked through a sort of dirt road surrounded by vegetation. At this point, we’ve been walking for almost two miles, so we were exhausted. I also enjoyed walking through this patch of different sized rocks. Most were small, so with every step my foot would sink in a few inches. It made the hike a little more interesting. I felt like I was walking in quicksand or something of that nature. We then trailed off to see this 700-year-old tree called Guayacama Centenario. This tree was crazy to look at because it’s grown on a steep hill. The tree roots were full of life and all bulging out. The group of twelve all stood around the tree and took a beautiful picture that encompasses just how big it was – attached below. We sat in the shade of the tree, eating a snack before heading back out. Once we were finished, we started hiking again and saw massive cacti. We also spotted numerous Vultures flying high above us. Dr Rodriguez explained to me how the vultures eat small animals and roadkill, including cats, mice, and other rodents. The hike concluded with a paved, civilized road. We all walked along the road in the hot sun for just a few minutes before hitting the beach.
The beach looked like it was rarely used and there was lots of seaweed, sponges, and other sea debris washed up. I put all of my stuff in the shade and ran right into the turquoise water. At first it seemed chilly, but it got very comfortable once I started swimming around. At the spot we were at, there was lots of algae floating around, which made it a little gross. The waves were strong and big, so it was quite the experience to jump into such waves. Each of us had a different method of defense, like we’d jump up, in, or turn so that the wave wouldn’t pull us away. The sun was bright and strong, so I was sure to wear my long sleeve swim shirt. Then a few of us started walking along the coast until we decided to jump it again. This spot was much better with less algae and even more clear water. I doggy paddled and floated on my back, seeing about twenty vultures in the distance by the forest. The beach was surrounded by healthy, tall palm trees. A few of the students decided to throw rocks at the coconuts in attempt to capture one. They were eventually successful and were actually able to split the coconut open. It took a while, though, because they had to use a strong piece of protruding metal in a piece on concrete. It was a very pleasing hike and beach day.

This hermit crab was enormous compared to the ones I see at the local pet store. The crab had vibrant colors and intricate details.

This was the massive, beautiful 700 year old tree.

Throughout the time I have been in Puerto Rico, it has been truly amazing to experience Puerto Rican culture and the mosaic of subcultures that exist on the island. The speed at which I became physically and emotionally immersed in this culture has been astonishing. I have always had an interest in Latin American/Caribbean culture. During high school, I thoroughly enjoyed my three years of Spanish class and couldn’t wait to apply it in a Spanish-speaking territory. Well, here I am in Puerto Rico, getting immersed in Caribbean culture while at the same time, learning how to solve world problems in the future. I believe that it is very difficult to solve environmental problems because there are many different worldviews. Therefore, it involves people from all over the world coming together and compromising. It has been very interesting getting to understand some of the worldviews Puerto Ricans have because my personal worldviews are quite limited. The United States of America was originally founded on the philosophy known as the “American Dream”. This popular idea meant that Americans were destined to prosper by getting well-paying jobs, owning vast quantities of land, and spending more money. Therefore, people started living by this philosophy regardless of the cost. One of the major costs was environmental degradation. Forests and wildlife started disappearing, greenhouse gas levels started rising, and the air and water quality began suffering. It wasn’t until the 1970s that America began taking action by forming environmental agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (1970). Despite the influence of these agencies, many Americans carry very little regard for environmental quality. Instead, they have a mindset that is geared toward achieving economic growth. However, I have a worldview that differs from that of most Americans. I profoundly believe in conservation of the environment for our own benefit. It is crucial to have access to clean water, biodiversity, and abundant energy sources. Without these resources, it will be nearly impossible to ensure a high quality of life for future generations. I am not saying I am totally against the American Dream philosophy. I agree with some parts such as our opportunity to initiate progress. However, I believe that progress should be made at a national (environmentally-friendly) level as opposed to on an individual (profit-seeking) level. In my opinion, the motive should be to transform America to a sustainable society that uses clean energy sources and disposes of waste in an efficient, nontoxic manner. This will limit pollution, increase health, and lead to a higher quality of life for humans and all other organisms. Obviously Puerto Rican worldviews are different from those of the U.S. mainland. Puerto Rico has a different history, therefore, it wasn’t found on the same philosophy as the rest of America. After the island was ceded over to the  U.S. in 1898 following over 400 years of Spanish colonial rule, its citizens were forced to undergo an uphill climb in search of their identity as a people. Although Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory (officially a commonwealth), it only gets some of the rights of a state. For example, the commonwealth does get a governor along with its own constitution. However, Puerto Rico does not get an electoral vote for the United States presidential election. Regardless of this, the United States president still has executive influence over the island. Due to these limitations, most Puerto Ricans are unsatisfied with the current political status of their homeland. While some believe that their commonwealth should become an independent nation, most feel like it should be incorporated into the nation as an official state. Although I disagree with independence from the United States, I believe that Puerto Rico is more than ready for statehood. It exceeds the population requirement, possesses its own governing body, and has its own constitution. Moreover, the Puerto Rico is a united community (with many cultural influences) that has been fighting for the same rights for over a century. Over the past few days, I have greatly enjoyed walking the streets of San Juan and Cabo Rojo. These communities were filled with music, dancing, costumes, and an overall sense of enthusiasm. It was clear that these people have finally defined themselves. All they are waiting for is Congressional support. Although Puerto Rico is making significant progress, civil unrest has caused an increase in crime and poverty throughout the major cities, where many citizens struggle to make a decent living. In fact, the average household income is only about half of that of the U.S. mainland. As these issues continued, the environmental quality waned. Most of the environmental degradation was a result of development. The clearing of rainforests and other natural areas resulted in the shrinking populations of the many beloved animals such as the critically endangered Puerto Rican amazon. Although efforts have been made to preserve wildlife, the political crisis rightfully gained priority. Environmental issues cannot be solved without a good, stable government.

In my short blog, I explained my worldview, the worldview of an American, and the worldview of a Puerto Rican. I personally believe in a global conversion to clean energy, clean water, and protected natural areas. For the United States, although conservation efforts exist, they are in constant battle with the capitalistic worldview of the nation as a whole. For Puerto Rico, the severity of the political situation hinders its ability to completely solve environmental issues. To mitigate this problem in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the rest of the world, I believe it is important to visit other countries. It is beneficial to become familiar with different cultures, worldviews, and ways of life. This is the only feasible way we can solve climate change, deforestation, pollution and other global problems. In summary, as a global community we must unite, immerse ourselves in each others’ cultures, and work together to solve issues that are threatening the quality of our environment and future of our planet.