Today is my second day in the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It has been a fabulous start. Yesterday I woke up at 6:30 so that I could be awake to see the ship pull into port. It was so beautiful. From my window I could see the in port pilot climb aboard from his little tug boat and guide us in. I took pictures and ate out on the deck where I could see it all.
We were greeted by the Governor of Puerto Rico in the morning as all of the students congregated in the Union to see him speak. Not only did the Governor appear, but also the Secretary of State, numerous press crews and it housed the first public appearance of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It was interesting because not only were the press crews snapping photos but also all the students so there were about 800 cameras flashing all at once. The Governor is the highest political office in Puerto Rico since it is a US territory, so in a sense it was like their President came to visit...which was very neat. All of Puerto Rico is very nice. It is not that different from the US as there are COSTCOs and Walmarts but also they have a very strong sense of heritage and culture that we in the US lack. As the Governor said, yes, they are part of the United States but instead of calling themselves Americans, they are Puerto Ricans...even if they live within the mainland US.
Walking around old San Juan is very beautiful as each house is painted in a varying bright color. The pinks, yellow and blue doors seem welcoming and represent their fun party lifestyle. I walked the city with Molly, Mary and Haley and we made our way up to San Cristobal, El Muro and past the "dangerous" living lifestyle of the La Perla town. It was about a 2 hour walk from the ship and in that time we saw the Cathedral that J.Lo was married in but interestingly enough it appears as though the people of Puerto Rico don't like her at all. Instead they love their hometown hero, Ricky Martin. I guess he is home this weekend and is giving a concert tomorrow, but it is sold out. There are posters of his face splashed everywhere along the streets of San Juan and apparently his penthouse is a building right in view from our ship.
I was expecting PR to be more like the Mexico that I had visited in the past but it really is not. It is much cleaner and probably wealthier as well. There are no vendors lining the streets and following the tourists around so it has been nice, but definately not a big change compared to most US cities. I know that our next stops will definately be more diverse, but this was a good way to ease ourselves into the changing cultures.
Last night I was able to go to Carribean University in Puerto Rico where as the bus pulled up we were greeted by a steel drum band accompanied by dancers on stilts and people in traditional masks and costumes. After a brief introduction to the University we were ushered outside where they had this huge party set up for us. We entered the outside area by walking under the legs of the stilt people and in the middle of the outside area they had a platform stage with men and women students dancing in traditional flowing skirts and folling the beat of African drumming. They performed many dances for us that mapped out their history and we got a chance to taste some of the traditional food of deep fried plantains and ground up beef treats. They were interesting...not my favorite. I did however love the dancing, especially when the little children came out and danced as well. It was just so cool that as a culture they all know of these dances and songs and they are passed down through the years to keep them alive. And not only is it the tradtional dances, but also salsa, merengue and reggaton. I guess in Puerto Rico they must have been dancing in their wombs as they all have this natural sense of rythm and can pick up a beat and dance without even thinking. I guess that I should take up practicing my dance moves so I can impress them all. Haha, yeah right.
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