The United States of America is home to a multifold of different ethnicities, backgrounds, and cultures. The cultural diversity of the U.S is something in which their citizens pride themselves in. Being born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, I have had the opportunity to be exposed to a plethora of different cultures. Over the course of this trip, I have noticed that my exposure to cultural diversity is not the same as the citizens of Puerto Rico, hence my world view is much different.

Geographically speaking, the United States is obviously much larger than Puerto Rico. Therefore, the population is much higher and the each region of the country adapts their own culture. I think it is important to note that everyone experiences cultural diversity in different ways in the United States. For example, I grew up in one of the largest and most diverse cities in the country. My high school was filled with people with differing races, religious beliefs, and world views. In contrast, some of my peers who are traveling abroad with us grew up in small towns, where there was a distinct and overwhelming uniform cultural identity. I think it is arguable that a Puerto Rican’s exposure to cultural diversity does not greatly differ from one side of the island to another. I do, however, believe that Puerto Ricans (in some areas) are exposed to more international tourists.

As agricultural and biological engineers, American agriculture is a huge part of our identity, especially in the Midwest. Because my family owns a home in rural Wisconsin, I have been exposed to some aspects of rural life. As an American, when I think of a “rural” area, I primarily think of large areas of farmland covered with corn and soybeans, maybe even some livestock in the surrounding areas. I quickly noticed that “rural America” was not exactly like rural Puerto. In Puerto Rico like most places, most of the population resides in urban areas. However, the majority of their farmland in which I would consider “rural” resided in the mountains. It is evident that the United States rural cultural identity differed very much from Puerto Rico.

More commonly, cultural identity is associated with race and country of origin. While on the Island, I noticed that although everyone lived in Puerto Rican, some did not appear as if they came from Puerto Rican or Hispanic descent, yet they appeared to be natives to the Island. From research I discovered that Non-Hispanic cultural diversity in Puerto Rico and the basic foundation of Puerto Rican culture began with the mixture of Spanish, Taino, and African culture in the 16^th century. It was in the early 19^th century that Puerto Rican culture became more diversified with the arrival of hundreds of families from Non-Hispanic countries like Germany, Ireland, Corsica, and France. This came about because of the concessions made by the Real Cedula de Gracias de 1815 which allowed European Catholics to settle in the island with land allotments in the interior of the island with the intent that they would pay taxes in support of the Catholic Church.  There are also many people with non-Hispanic last names because European immigrants settled in Puerto Rico and intermarried with native Puerto Ricans.

Painting showing Puerto Rico’s cultural diversity

Racial and Cultural Diversity in my home city (Chicago)

Much of the cultural diversity in Puerto Rico was sparked by the Catholic Church, making most of the people of the Island Catholic as opposed to the United States where there are many different religions. As an American, it is evident that my worldview is slightly broader than someone from Puerto Rico. Aside from a few exceptions, Puerto Rico has a very distinct national culture, as opposed to the United States where it is more of a mixed, unconventional culture

In the world today, I think it’s so important to be as cultured as possible. The term cultured is often hard to define as it can mean so many different things. In this instance, I think it’s easiest to describe it as having exposure to many different cultures and using that exposure to better understand how the world works and how it affects the lifestyles of people around the world. For me personally, I think this trip played a big role in my understanding of the culture in Puerto Rico and understanding the different way of life here.
One of the things that has exposed me greatly to the culture here in PR has been the music. In America, music plays a large role. We have plenty of festivals like Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Summerfest, etc.. I believe that here in PR, it plays a much larger role in pulling people together. In America, everyone has their favorite type of music and they usually only listen to that genre, but here while people listen to whichever type of music is their favorite, they also are no stranger to interacting with any type of music they hear. In the majority of the places we have gone, we have seen plenty of different types of music being played. No matter what type it is, people are never afraid to dance and laugh and sing along with it. We’ve heard karaoke sang by people that are clearly no beyonce but they do it because they love the music. I don’t know how many nights there have been where I am trying to make a phone call and it seems almost impossible because of all the music that’s playing around where were staying. There is always some type of music playing no matter where we are. It’s almost enlightening to see everyone being connected through it. Even with everything going on in the world, there’s no problem just taking a few moments to dance around and hum to the beat of a song.
I’ve also seen this same thing when it comes to street musicians. The majority of the musicians we saw were in San Juan and, unlike in the states, passersby don’t fear making eye contact with the performers or taking a moment to stop and take in the music.
I think seeing this in a great way for me to become more cultured and better acquaint me with the different way of life here. I now have a better respect for music and its ability to connect people.
Along with the music, I think the speed that everything is done here is generally much slower than what we’re used to back home. In the states, it seems that everything is always moving fast, at restaurants, the key is to get the food to the table as fast as possible. On roads, everyone speeds to get to their destination. It’s the norm to go at least 5 mph over the speed limit. With technology, people always want the fastest internet and they want to constantly be connected. On the island of Puerto Rico, this constant rushing isn’t the case. The service of any restaurant other than a fast food chain, tends to be much slower. This in turn also affects how fast you eat and you spend more time savoring the food than scarfing it down. It’s almost as if the consumption of the food is more of an experience than a chore. The void which is the stomach doesn’t have to be filled, but tamed. In terms of the roads, the speed limits here are much slower than back at home. We’ve seen many 35 mph limits here whereas at home, it’s not uncommon to see a 50-55 mph limit on the same type of road. It’s more about getting to the destination safely and comfortably than as fast as possible. Granted, the lower speeds may relate to the low quality of the roads but we’ll say that’s beside the point for the time being. Finally, when it comes to technology and things like internet connection, having the fastest wi-fi and most up to date phones is not the priority. It seems that many people here are more concerned with enjoying life and letting it happen at the speed it happens as opposed to trying to speed everything up. The people here recognize that speed and rushing doesn’t always make everything better. I can’t tell you how many complaints I’ve heard from my fellow travelers regarding how slow the internet is. At home, we’re so used to having things load instantly and having what we want at our fingertips; sharing a constant connection to everyone we know and the things we want to know. But being here and observing all of these different idiosyncrasies, I am forced to learn the new customs and live and abide by them. I’m not saying that I hate having to make the change from what I’m used to. In fact, it’s almost enlightening. Sitting here writing this, the internet problems have led us all to be more social with one another. Dr. R is playing dominoes with Kai, Alisha, and Ariel. Bridget is strumming a guitar quietly in the other room. Living with the slower pace here has taught me to better enjoy the time that I spend and take in more of what this beautiful country has to offer. In addition, the music here and observing how the people interact with it has shown to me its connective capabilities. It can completely eliminate the language barrier too. Sure, we don’t all speak Spanish, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still feel a beat and bop our heads to some music.
Even with the short amount of time that we’ve spent here, I feel that I’ve grown by leaps and bounds culturally. I’ve lived in and observed the way of life here and am now able to fully understand it. People don’t have to speak the same language to communicate and they don’t always have to live life at the will of two hands that rotate in a circle. It’s a louder life here, a slower one, but a happier one.

During the past week, I have had numerous experiences that I will remember for the rest of my life. It has been amazing to get to experience Puerto Rican culture and their ways of life, while at the same time, learning how to solve environmental problems in the future. So far, my favorite part of the trip was when we went to Playa Sucia (“dirty beach”). Before we left, our professor explained that there would also be about 10 miles of hiking trails. Therefore, we could hike as much or as little as we pleased. I have always enjoyed hiking and viewing the incredible biodiversity along the way. So naturally, I expected to do a fair share of hiking along with enjoying the beach. However, little did I know, we would be hiking up a series of massive, breathtaking cliffs.

The drive to the beach was pleasantly brief. When we arrived, I was shocked to see that the so-called “beach” looked a lot more like a bay or inlet. It was not the type of beach that I had in mind. As we walked along the water’s edge looking for a shady spot to unpack, someone spotted a hermit crab crawling across the sand towards the water. This fascinated me because, before this, I had never seen a crab in the wild. While we observed it, our professor informed us that hermit crabs do not form their own shells. Instead, they inhabit the empty shells of other organisms such as snails and mollusks. When the crabs grow too big for their shells, they are forced to molt it (which greatly increases their vulnerability) and migrate to a new one. After we were finished studying the crab, we dropped our beach equipment in a shady cove and hopped in the sky-blue water. Despite its calm and beautiful appearance, the water was initially cold and filled with sizeable waves. After we adjusted to the temperature, we could venture deep into the water. The beauty of the bay greatly impressed me. The sun was shining so bright and was so high in the sky that it appeared to be directly above our heads. The water was a beautiful aqua while the sky was a deep navy. It seemed like heaven on Earth. Therefore, it was very hard to imagine that at that same moment, there were many places in the world that were cold, overcast, cloudy, and simply unpleasant (including my hometown). I simply did not want that moment of beauty and tranquility to cease.

When we were done with the water a few of us spent time in the sand. We started out building a sand castle, but later we made a small pool. Our goal was for the waves to crash onto the beach and fill the pool with water. We even built a small canal in the sand to make this process more feasible. Although this was a fun, simple activity, it reminded me a lot about the water crisis that exists in many parts of the developing world. It made me realize that people around the world desperately need others to create systems that can transport scarce resources. This moment opened my mind to the numerous career opportunities that exist in environmental science/engineering.

My favorite part of the beach was the hiking. However, this was no ordinary trek along the coast. Not only was there no forest, but the entire hike involved going up a series of rocky cliffs that seemingly led to a lighthouse. This reminded me more of a high adventure only seen in the movies. In the beginning of the hike, we walked along a rocky coast at ground level. As we were walking, someone pointed out group a sea urchins near the coast. Unfortunately, just as I was about to snap a photo, a gigantic wave came out of nowhere and nearly swept my phone out of my hand. That was the last time I got near the water to take a picture! As we trekked along, we saw even more wildlife including eels, lizards, iguanas, and pelicans. Gradually, we climbed higher and higher. A few of my peers asked me to take pictures of them standing on the edge of the cliffs, but my fear of cliffs would not allow me to go closer than 10 feet from the edge. At this moment, it was hard to imagine that we were in Puerto Rico. The rugged, rocky coast reminded me more of the Atlantic coast of Maine. Although the crashing waves seemed violent, the scene was spectacular. I had never seen anything like it before. When I looked down at the beach, it no longer seemed like a bay because I could see the vast ocean from the top of the cliff. My mind was at peace.

When we got back to the beach, I noticed some exotic-looking birds near our beach clothes. Previously, we learned that there were 16 species of birds that are endemic to Puerto Rico. The bird in front of me looked like one of those. It was black with orange on its shoulders and a slender body. I photographed it and found out it was a yellow-shouldered blackbird. It was very cool to get the chance to photograph an animal found nowhere else in the world. Before the exploitation of forest materials and other natural resources, there were many more endemic species to the island. It is my career goal to properly manage natural ecosystems to maintain high levels of biodiversity all over the world.

As the day progressed, I went on to climb more cliffs and take in more vistas of Playa Sucia’s remarkable landscape. This was my favorite excursion because I have a tremendous appreciation for nature. Unfortunately, natural areas are quickly disappearing due to our increasing consumption of natural capital. Due to this trip to the beach, I was given the opportunity to get to know some of my peers better. I greatly look forward to having many more amazing experiences during the rest of my stay in Puerto Rico.

Upon arriving to the beautiful land of Puerto Rico, I did not feel any real impact or wow factor. Having been to Puerto Rico a few times before, I had already seen the beautiful beaches, mountains and rainforest that the land has to offer. The culture in Puerto Rico was not surprising or different to me since I come from a Hispanic background. While hanging around the bars by our apartment in Boquerón, Cabo Rojo, I realized that the music that was being played was very familiar to me. Songs that I grew up listening to such as Suavemente by Elvis Crespo was played. I sang and danced along with the locals while my peers looked at me with fascination. While passing the bars, I would hear familiar music and start to dance where I stood. I liked hanging around this one specific bar because it was the only one playing bachata. Bachata is a form of Hispanic dance that is usually found within the states and is my favorite style to dance to. Surprisingly enough, one of my male peers wanted to learn the dance. Step by step, I showed him how to do it. Within in minutes he was able to follow along with me doing the simple steps of “side, side, hit”.

Another element that I found of similar of back home was the style of houses, but the houses I’m talking about are the ones found in Mexico. With the gates outside and colorful houses, it looked like I was in any neighborhood in Mexico. The atmosphere felt familiar and the people spoke the same language that I was used to. Spanish is such a common language especially in Latin American countries or some Caribbean islands. The cultures in each area are vaguely similar so I did not have a hard time adjusting to the life here in Puerto Rico. When the locals found that I could speak Spanish, their whole demeanor changed. It went from nonchalant to engaged and friendly.

Although a lot of aspects felt familiar to me during my stay in Puerto Rico, there was some things that were new. For example, during our stay in Cabo Rojo, the holiday of Los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day) occurred. At night the streets of the downtown area was congested with people for all walks of life and all ages. Music filled the streets and atmosphere was joyful. Streets were blocked and people partied in the streets. Having the opportunity to experience that, for personally, I’ve never celebrated that holiday, was very special to me.

On another note of positivity, a certain event became a repetitive experience that surprised me. I quickly realized that I was the only one of my peers that could speak Spanish somewhat fluently. Because this, my classmates would ask me to translate things all the time but I didn’t mind. I was happy to help. There were numerous occasions where I would order food for people or ask questions in Spanish. One of my friends here on the trip, has asked me numerous times to stand by her side while I help her order food. By doing this simple act that I have no trouble doing, I feel appreciated and useful. It has made me look at my life differently because even though I had an advantage over my peers, I used my knowledge to help people. I want to continue learning the language in order to further help other individuals and feel more at home within the people of my culture.

While exploring the downtown area by our apartment in Cabo Rojo, some of my friends and I stopped to eat a few ostras (oysters).

While meeting Dr. Rodriguez’s parents, the whole crew used our Spanish speaking skills to order our food.

Today, I decided to look into the debate over the Lajas valley. To give some background on this one agricultural problem, of Puerto Rico’s many, we need to look at its history, its present, and what may end up happening one day. For most of Puerto Rico’s history, the Lajas Valley was a sort of seasonal wetland that could not be used for agriculture. It pretty much just sat and took up space. In the late 1950’s the Puerto Rican government drained the swamp and made the area available for agricultural use. There have been some salty shenanigans along the way.

Unfortunately, because this land in Lajas was submerged in water during the seasonal rains, it would flood so much that it would connect with the ocean, leading to soil and water tables with high concentrations of salt. This is incidentally bad for most forms of agriculture in that it induces wilting and poor growth of pants resulting in poor yields. The farmers tried to alleviate the problem by drawing water from wells in the area, but because the wetland had been connecting the land to the sea there for a long time, the water tables contain high levels of salt as well. This only hurt the farm land more. This cycle of self-deprecation has led to two main possible solutions. One, to return the Lajas valley to its origins as a seasonal wetland, and use it to generate revenue via tourism. The other, to use rice patties to flush the salty soil so that in a few years the Lajas valley could be used for any type of agriculture.

The first option to use tourism is technically viable, but I personally would not recommend it because tourism is such a fickle business. Not to mention that the Lajas valley is quite a distance from any other area that already has tourists. This means that if people wanted to see the wetlands they would need to make a special trip, and find a place to stay. Currently, there is just not the infrastructure in the area for that to be possible. It is admirable to hope that people would want to see the wetlands, but they are, as previously stated, a seasonal oddity. This means that even if the tourist base is there to see the area, the wetlands would not be present for viewing for large portions of the year.

I personally would go for the agricultural route involving rice. This route would not only produce food that does not need to be imported, but also heal the soil. In my opinion, this is a win-win situation with almost guaranteed benefits for all parties involved. Of course, some people are skeptical of taking the agricultural route because it has not lived up to expectations in the past fifty or so years. The rice however, has not been attempted thus far, and it seems to be living up to its predicted results. In the near future, the fields could be viable for more diverse and productive crops. The Lajas valley must only go through this mildly productive period to attain its full potential as a fertile area free of its salty nemesis.

Obviously, I favor the current use of the land that has an assured outcome with small profits over regressing in hopes that tourism will spike and enrich the economy when the “solution” is seasonal. Not to mention that this would mean that if flooding the valley does not work it would effectively ensure that that land could not be used again unless someone wants to invest heavily to drain it again. I just personally see small progress as a better option than the risk of losing the ability to use the land entirely.

This shows how well the rice flourishes even in the salty soil, showing that it is a viable crop even in these harsh conditions

This image shows just how much land would be affected if the wetlands were flooded again

Well I’ll begin this with a disclaimer: this wasn’t by any means my favorite part of the trip but it had my favorite outcome. It was the day before we left, and I leisurely woke up at twelve in the morning. I got up made myself a bit of breakfast, went upstairs and began watching some Netflix much similar to a normal winter break morning. As I waited for the show to load I checked my phone only to see that I had about five missed calls, and many texts asking me where I was. As it turned out it was not the day before the trip but it was the day that we left and I our flight had departed a few hours ago. I immediately turned to a state of incredible rage, I was so upset. How could I have been so dumb? What if I wouldn’t be able to go? How might our professor feel about my horrible mistake? Even if I would be able to find a way to meet up woth our group, how much would it cost and how long would it take me to get over there? I punched my bed out of anger for about a whole minute, and then tried to find a way to get out of my predicament.

I ran upstairs and me and my mom went on a flight finding site and we were somehow able to find a flight to Puerto Rico leaving at 10:40 that night. I felt so lucky that we could find flight considering that it was the middle of the winter break and everyone is looking for someplace war to go for vacation, not to mention it was direct and only two hundred bucks. I instantly sighed of relief, I was going to be able to make it to Puerto Rico. I then remembered that I had a doctors appointment that day at 4:00 and needed to get all ready for the trip before then. It usually takes me a long time to pack because I have to always check a few times to make sure I have everything, since as you may have guessed sometimes I am not very organized. I frantically began to pack as fast as I could praying that I remembered everything. I also had to find some time to fit in the chores I had to do that day. This as you could imagine was a pretty stressful few hours, and I did end up forgetting a few things most importantly my phone charger and my book. I eventually finished packing, went to my doctors appointment and got back in time to polish off some stuff and leave my house when I was planning to. I knew that since I was going on an international flight I had to arrive at the airport three hours early and allow an hour for the train ride there.

I left for the train only to realize that the handle of the suitcase that I was using wouldn’t extend at all, so I had to roll it using the handle attached to it, and had to walk around crouched over at a forty five degree angle, just my luck. When I got on the train I decided to spend the time waiting for the O’Hare stop (the last one) figuring out my handle situation, because it wold have really sucked to have wheeled it around the immense airport so uncomfortably. I began kicking my suitcase as hard as I could, hoping that it would somehow come loose meanwhile everyone on the train was staring at me out of bewilderment. Eventually it finally finally came loose and stood up and looked around the train car in triumph.

I got to the airport and much to my surprise I was able to make it past check in and security in less than twenty minutes and found myself with a bit less than three hours to kill. I indulged in not one but two of Rick Bayless’s famous tortas at at the Frontera restaurant. I waited at the terminal for the remaining two hours hoping that I wouldn’t fall asleep and miss the flight. We boarded, and I found my way to my seat and a sat next to this couple. When they began talking to me, I thought to myself “come on, all I want to do is just go to sleep.” Usually I am a pretty social person and don’t mind engaging in conversation with complete strangers, but it was a very long day for me. We ended up actually having a really great conversation, the man’s name was Ricardo and he was from Italy, and his wife was Kristin and was from California. They lived together in Puerto Rico with their two kids. Ricardo was a Biology professor at the University, and was very intrigued when I told him the purpose of our trip. He told me a lot about the country, the ecosystem and its environmental state. They also talked to me about their kids and I told them a bit about my childhood. They had me write down suggestions that they had for places to see and restaurants to go to. We talked for about an hour until it got late and they decided to go to sleep; they gave me their contact information in case I ever needed anything or had any questions.

The plane landed and I walked through the airport to claim my baggage. My bag was the first one to come out considering how early I arrived at the airport. I called a cab at the cab station and it came pretty quickly. My cab driver was really nice and told me about everything that we passed on the way to the hotel. Once we got there I got out of the car, looked through my bag for a minute to find my phone to call Dr Rodriguez to let me in. He picked up and said he would change and come down. I waited for like ten minutes and then got a call from him saying that he was outside; I was at the wrong hotel, just my luck, again. Fortunately the right hotel was only a couple blocks away and we were able to find each other pretty quickly. By this time it was about 5:30 in the morning so I had time to take a little nap before we got up. However I couldn’t sleep at all because I was so happy and excited that I was able to get to Puerto Rico after all.

Just a couple hundred years ago agriculture dominated Puerto Rico’s economy. In 1930, sugar itself accounted for over 30% of the economic activity passing through the tropical island. High prices of sugar throughout the world markets, as well as countless large private investments of capital, led Puerto Rico to become an international power in the sugar trade. Although, sugar was not the only crop being produced, as coffee and tobacco production also thrived. These three crops combined to employ about 43% of the work force in 1940. However, the same agriculture dominance is no longer present on the island. Currently, agriculture makes up only 0.8% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and employs a mere 1.6% of the work force. On the other hand, Illinois is currently one of the leading competitors in agriculture in the United States. Around 74,000 farms cover nearly 24 million acres of farmland, or about 75% of the total land area in Illinois. As agriculture is a growing portion of both Illinois’ and Puerto Rico’s economy, we must consider both the costs and benefits of the food systems on both economic and natural systems.
Although it is obvious that Puerto Rican agriculture has been declining for many years, there is hope for the future that it can start to benefit the economy in a more positive manner. Recent technology is allowing farmers to increase their yields and defeat the many pesticides hurting their crops. One example of this that we witnessed was while visiting the Café Gran Batey coffee plantation. Insects have recently taken over many of the coffee beans produced, and are obviously hurting the profitability of hundreds of coffee farmers. To combat this, coffee producers use a pesticide to try and diminish the amount of beans that the insects are able to destroy.
In Illinois, the benefits of the current agriculture system are much more apparent. The agriculture sector alone generates nearly $19 Billion each year to boost the state’s economy. Corn accounts for over half of this total, whole soybeans and dairy also play large roles. Adding to these astonishing numbers, billions of more revenue is collected through ag-related fields, such as manufacturing and agriculture real estate. Much of this success can be connected to the “prime soil” that Illinois is rich with. This soil, combined with a steady climate, will allow Illinois to continue its dominance in the agricultural field for many years to come.
While it is exciting that Puerto Rican agriculture is making a comeback, it can also have many drawbacks. It is obvious why many citizens want to increase the amount of production across the island in the future, as around 84% of the current food intake is imported from overseas. However, adding more agriculture would likely decrease other aspects that are currently fueling the economy, especially tourism. To increase the food production, large amounts of area would need to be converted into farmland. While this seems as if it is a trivial problem due to the massive amounts of forest area currently on the island, much of this area is on hilly terrain where it is nearly impossible to farm many crops. Some of the current land used for tourism would need to be converted into farmable property, lowering the revenue that is currently created in this booming sector of the current economy.
There are not many costs to the extremely valuable agriculture production in Illinois; however, some may point out that the massive amounts of chemical usage are damaging the ecosystem. Many fertilizers and pesticides can be dangerous to the water system, animals, and even humans if used improperly. For example, the chemical runoff has affected many of the lakes rivers and streams, causing harm to hundreds of aquatic species. As solutions to these problems continue to be produced, the agriculture fields in both Puerto Rico and Illinois are both heading in very positive directions.

The sun sets over a large cornfield in Serena, Illinois. The prime soil in these areas of the state lead agriculture to dominate the state’s economy.

These citrus trees in Puerto Rico provide shade for one of the nations most profitable crops, coffee.

Perspective is everything. Each and every person in the world, no matter how similar of a background, has a different perspective. Sure, many people seem to have similarities with how they view the world, but overall a perspective is like a snowflake and each person is going to have something that is slightly or completely different than the next. While we know that perspectives can be similar, we also can tell that these similarities seem to stem from similar situations that result from gender, religion, and background. I am not saying that just because someone is the same gender or religion as someone they will always have similar perspective, but what I am saying is that in general people with similar attributes have some similarities in the perspective that they look at life from.

I am a white female that grew up in a tiny town with very narrow views. It is a place in the middle of cornfields where teenagers do peculiar things for fun because well, what else is there to do. I grew up in the standard, stereotypical small town full of football-watchers, beer drinkers, and Republicans. A town like mine tends to impose its views on the people living there because to be honest, if you have a view that is different than the majority you could potentially be outed and in a town like that, with only so many people to be friends with, that could prove disastrous for your social life as word travels from group to group seemingly faster than it comes out of your mouth.

Once I went to college I had the realization that there are other views, and there are much less hostile environments to share them in. However, at that point my perspective of the world had somewhat already taken its shape. Puerto Rico, while technically part of the United States, is completely different than Illinois and even more different from my tiny corner of Illinois. From cornfields to dry forests and lakes to the ocean, the environment here is one hundred percent different than that of Illinois. The diverse ecosystem is home to dazzling creatures that can be found nowhere else. Overall, Puerto Rico seems truly magical compared to Illinois that, for me, can be so mundane. But this is all perspective. While warm weather and beaches is something that screams vacation to one may be completely boring and normal to another. Not to mention the way that my view of the world has been shaped compared to that of the locals.

Attempting to find a place to fit into a different culture is something that I believe almost all travelers experience. There are a lot of times that travelers feel an awkwardness about this new place they have found themselves in. You feel like you don’t know where you are going or that you stick out like a sore thumb and everyone is looking at you. That is part of a perspective that I believe many travelers share. You are caught between trying to enjoy the environment of the place you are traveling, and making some attempt to blend into the locals who have been here for their entire life.

I think that a huge difference in perspective of the two places is how much must be done in a period of time. There are so many farmers in my little town who get up at 5:00 in the morning or even earlier to begin their days and end far after the sun goes down. Today at the coffee plantation, we learned that workers that are payed by the weight of the berries they pick and can come and go pretty much as they please. While these two farms clearly are growing different crops that require different types of care, it is still obvious that Puerto Rico in general is much more lax on how much productivity they would like to see in one day. This is a mindset that we have not only encountered in agriculture however, we also say this when a convenience store near our apartment shut its door in our faces as we arrived at exactly 6:00 in the afternoon. I can confidently say that in the continental U.S. there are stores that purposefully stay open ten to fifteen minutes past their closing times to accommodate those paying customers that just barely missed the closing time. Another example is the sheer number of holidays in Puerto Rico. I learned at University of Mayaguez, their semesters last around fifteen weeks in order to accommodate the number of holidays that they have not counting their spring break. We also learned that there are a lot of days considered holidays either federally, island-wide, or locally that businesses close for.

Overall, I believe that perspectives of myself versus that of those in living in Puerto Rico probably differ the most in sense of time, but I would not limit sense of time to be the only difference between the two. Perspectives depend on a lot of different variables, but in the end all perspectives matter because in order to solve the problems facing the world we will need different perspectives to look at problems from different angles to solve them efficiently and effectively.

This is a picture of the sign of the coffee farm that we visited. The image shows a man hand harvesting by hand and while he is in a cloth, it is still very similar to the way they pick coffee beans today. But the workers are no longer slaves or servants, but people getting paid by weight rather than an hourly wage which allows them to create their own hours.

Over the years, I have been extremely fortunate to have traveled all over the world. From Lithuania, to China, to India, to France, and now Puerto Rico, I have been exposed to a plethora of people with different backgrounds. Despite the different cultures people have, I have noticed that people all over are more alike than different.  One thing I found extremely interesting about Puerto Rico was the culture. Everything about Puerto Rican culture was very distinct. They have specific foods, dancing, music, and everything else. It was extremely interesting to see how Puerto Ricans were able to maintain their culture while adapting to the culture of countries that influenced them. This was very evident from Old San Juan. You saw Spanish architecture, but American and Puerto Rican music filled the streets. The atmosphere in Puerto Rico was nothing like I had experienced before. Puerto Rico had a strong sense of community, and the constant dancing, upbeat music, and colors truly exemplified just how active the area is.

Discovering a culture different than mine forced me to reflect on my own culture. I always felt as if I never really belonged to a culture, and because American “culture” is really just a mixing pot of other cultures, I always envied those who had very specific culture traditions they followed in their home. However, in Old San Juan and in Cabo Rajo, I realized that my family has a very distinct culture, and we do practice several traditions in our homes. My mom is Lithuanian and Croatian, while my father is mainly Irish. However, because I was born and raised in a predominately Irish neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago, I see my Irish culture is more evident. However, both my mother and father are very strong Catholics.

Growing up with mostly Catholics, the Catholic traditions we practiced never seemed unique to me. It wasn’t until coming to college that truly made me realize how much being catholic was a part of my identity. For example, while in Puerto Rico, the surrounding village near our apartment celebrated three kings day. Some of my peers on the trip weren’t really aware about that holiday, while I knew all about it because it was celebrated in our home. While I did notice some differences between my culture and the culture of Puerto Rico, the strong Catholic faith I saw here made me feel at home. In fact, I think the Catholic faith is stronger here than in America. Every grocery store we went into had religious candles, and the church was the center of San Juan. I also noticed that many places had chapels attached, just like the fort we visited. I found myself taking pictures of the local churches and even some remains of St. Pius and sending them to my family. Just like St. Barnabas Church in the Beverly Community (My hometown Church), Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan defined the community. Despite being 2,000 miles away from home, I found a connection to Puerto Rican culture and found myself feeling at home.

However, there were some differences I noticed between Puerto Rican and the United States culture. In Puerto Rico, I noticed an extremely friendly and family oriented atmosphere. Every morning while I strolled down the streets of Cabo Rojo, random construction workers would smile and say good morning. Our group also was greeted by a lady who yelled “Happy New Year!” out her car as we walked to the beach. Everything about Puerto Rico was extremely lively and colorful. People always seemed to have a smile on their face, and they were willing to help with whatever we needed. Everyone was so open to share their culture and let us become a part of it- from the tour guide at the sugar cane farm, to the farmer at the coffee plantation. Despite all Puerto Rico has been through, they still welcome tourists with open arms. Our questions were answered no matter how silly they seemed, and despite the small kitchens in Puerto Rico, restaurants were always willing to accommodate our small group.

Ultimately I believe traveling abroad has made me realize a lot about myself and my cultural identity. There are so many aspects to a culture that I didn’t quite realize before coming on this trip. Although Puerto Rico is technically part of the United States, it has a rich history and culture that differs from the environment I am used to. Puerto Rico is an interesting blend of Latin American and American culture. Traveling abroad with the University of Illinois has helped me foster a new found respect for Latin American culture. I now realize that I am nothing but a mere spec of all the cultures and ethnicities that is what we know as the world today.

Church in Old San Juan

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. .