Our Adventure.... Part Two

Don't forget to read Part One! 
Day Three: Culture Shock!!!
One major thing we notice instantly upon arriving in Puerto Rico was the crazy driving. I likened it to driving in New York City, only ten times worse. What is the point of having laws when no one obeys them? Puerto Ricans drove how they want. A few times we witnessed a car driving down the wrong side of the street!

Traffic issues aside, we were finally able to get some rest Wednesday morning! We started our day bright and early at 12:30 p.m! Aunt Rita and Uncle Henry took Caitlyn and I to Walmart to buy some food for the rest of the week. For the most part, Walmart was the same as here in the States. A lot of the signs were in English and the items were very easy to find. Prices for certain things were cheaper, although imported items ran on the more expensive side. Ice Cream, for example, was outrageously expensive! That was a huge disappointment to Cait and I.

Later on, after some begging and puppy dog eyes, we were able to convince Aunt Rita to take us to the Beach. La Guancha is about a 10 minute drive from where they live. While it’s not technically a “Beach”, Cait and I both made good use of our swim suites. There was a small area were we could sit in the water, while the rest of the beach was overrun by seaweed. I was amazed at the crystal clear water. It was like a swimming pool! I had only ever seen the ocean via Charleston and Myrtle Beach, which leaves little to be desired…..

La Guancha Beach

Wednesday evening we were invited downstairs for girls night. Aunt Rita’s brother and his family also lived in Puerto Rico, they were in transition back to the states and were staying in their downstairs apartment until they left on Friday. Aunt Rita’s niece, Jasmine, had invited several girls from the Ponce English Congregation to watch movies and have pizza. We had an awesome time getting to know the young girls from their hall. We became close friends almost instantly, and before the night was up we already had inside jokes. We never got a chance to watch a movie, but we were able to spend the night talking with each other. Caitlyn and I noticed right away that the young people are more spiritually minded in Puerto Rico. They all seem to be very eager to serve Jehovah to their fullest. It was very refreshing. We were able to go around the room and tell stories of how we all joined the foreign language field and Caitlyn and I sang ‘Jehovah Is Your Name’ in Chinese for them. I have to say that girls night was a big success!

Ponce English Sisters

Day Four: Time to get out in the Ministry
The recipe for a wonderful vacation is to center it around serving Jehovah. I can honestly say that I feel more refreshed going out in service than if I chose to stay in and rest. Caitlyn and I had the wonderful opportunity of participating in cart witnessing for the first time. We set up our literature cart in what the local’s call “The Square”, a big tourist spot in Ponce. Caitlyn was able to have the first round standing by the cart while Aunt Rita and I walked around to the different shops listening for those who spoke English. She took me to two different souvenirs stores, where we ultimately bought all our gifts for our family and friends. While I was manning the cart, a Chinese man happened to walk by. I’m almost positive the Truth Tract in Chinese caught his eye, but sadly he did not stop. 

Later in the afternoon, Monica picked us up and took us to the Ponce Museum of Art. We then got to meet our second Instagram friend in person—Minnie! While in the Museum, we ran into the same Chinese man we saw during cart witnessing. This time we were able to approach him and speak to him. Monica and Minnie both were in the Chinese Group in Mayaguez. Monica had recently moved to Ponce English with her Mom though. Minnie has been raised in the Truth, while Monica was more recently baptized. In fact, she was baptized the same year I was! Hearing both of their stories about how they dedicated themselves was really touching. The earthquake in Haiti really moved Monica, resulting in her Bible study. The changes that she was able to make while studying in turn moved her mom, and then she started studying. They were able to get baptized together! 

Day Five: Iguana's and PINCHOS!
Friday morning we woke up to find that the City of Ponce was without water. This was a HUGE adjustment for me since I can not start a day without a shower. I felt hot and sticky already from sleeping. In Puerto Rico, the electric bill is crazy high, so most people don't own an AC unit. Rather, all homes are built with shutters that let in the natural air. Even though we have the breeze from the ocean, P.R. is still HOT! So you can imagine my extreme disappointment when I could not take a shower that morning. But life must go on.

Despite no water, the day did get better. We went out in service again with Ponce English. This time we were working street territory. I was interested to see if it was similar to our Chinese territory, but it was somewhat different. Once we arrived at our assigned neighborhood, we split off into twos and started going door to door. Instead of approaching a house and knocking on the door, we would stand on the sidewalk and call out to the house holder. If they responded back, we would ask if they spoke english. Even if the house holder's mother tongue was not english but they spoke a little, the friends would still witness to them. This is the complete opposite here in the states. We are encouraged to only use the house holder's mother tongue. Although it was a wonderful experience, for someone who is an introvert and has social anxiety, this type of field service was extremely difficult. Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy it fully due to a panic attack.

Later in the car, we mentioned to Uncle Henry that we had yet to see an Iguana. We heard stories that they could be found all over the Island! He took us to an area where you would normally find a bunch. Sadly, we were still unable to find any! I believe they knew we were looking for them so they were hiding from us! The area we stopped at happened to be close to a beach so we took a small break there. Other than La Guancha, this was the only other beach we had seen so far. The water wasn't clear like a pool here, but it had a pretty greenish tint. 

I was very much tempted to just jump in the water and cool off. After that we decided to call it a day. On our way back in, we stopped at a food cart on the side of the road and were able to try a snack called Pinchos! It reminded me of teriyaki chicken on a stick, but it wasn't as dry and the sauce was different. They were absolutely delicious! 

Later that night we went to Munchies for "Ice Cream" with Jojo and her husband. For the entire trip thus far, I had yet to be in a situation where I had to speak Spanish. As I was paying, the cashier began speaking to me in Spanish and I just looked at her. Jojo came to my rescue and told the cashier I didn't understand her. She then laughs and says that I did not look like someone who would not speak Spanish. Funny thing is, back home we have an inside joke that I am "Mexinese", a mix between Mexican and Chinese. I had been waiting the whole trip for someone to mistake me for a Spanish speaker. 

Once back at the house, we discovered that the water was back on, however, the water pressure was next to nothing. Somehow, we discovered that the garden hose outside was working pretty well. No, taking a shower outside was out of the question. But we did get pretty creative. We found four gallon jugs and filled them with water outside. We then used them to take a shower by pouring them over our heads. Hey, it got the job done. We even repeated the process the next morning. 

Day Six: Touching the Stars! 

Finally we had a chance to go out in Chinese field service! After a week of hearing nothing but English and Spanish I was beginning to wonder if I still spoke Chinese! Minnie picked us up bright and early and we traveled an hour to get to the Mayaguez Kingdom Hall where the Chinese Group was hosted by an English congregation. A foreign language hosting a foreign language. How awesome is that? I was really excited to see what the Chinese field was like in comparison to ours. Unfortunately we didn't get to talk to too many people since they were all busy, but I had a wonderful day out in service with Minnie and Steven. We were able to discuss spiritual goals, listen to K-pop, (did I mention many people in P.R. like K-pop too!!!?), and go site-seeing! Minnie even took us to an ice cream shop, which reminded me of Rita's Italian Ice. Interesting enough, the ice cream shop was owned by a Chinese Lady.

After service, we changed at Minnie's home where Monica and her mom picked us up. In conversation, we mentioned we had yet to go to a "real" beach since arriving. I expressed my worry, that with only three days left that we might not get to go after all. Monica and her mom then took us site-seeing themselves. They took us to several different beaches where we got out and put our feet in the water. The sand was extremely hand to walk on. My feet would just disappear with every step. Before it got dark, we ate at a sea side cafe in Guanica, where we ate Puerto Rican food for the first time. I tried a dish called Mofongo, which was mashed plantains and yucca. I instantly fell in love. 

After dinner, we traveled to Lajas, a huge tourist spot. We had been looking forward to this night all week. We boarded a ferry and traveled for about thirty minutes until we reached the biobay. When the boat stopped, the captain turned out all the lights. We eagerly looked over the railings but we were unable to see anything. After some time, the captain sent two divers into the water to swim around. As they swam, blue lights surrounded their bodies. When the organisms are agitated, they will glow a bright blue light. The crew members scooped up water into buckets and pulled them onto the boat so we could touch the water ourselves. It was like touching stars. 

Day Seven: Feels a Little More Like Home!
Sunday Aunt Rita and Uncle Henry took us back to Mayaguez to attend the Chinese meeting. Once the meeting started, I immediately felt like I was home. Chinese is not my mother tongue, but I feel like it's a part of me, and when we go for a period of time without speaking it, something feels off. The group was slightly smaller than our own. We found out that they became a group right around the time we did. Turns out, a Brother and his wife from a Chinese congregation in New York were also visiting and he agreed to give the public talk.

After the meeting we ate out at a Puerto Rican style fast food restaurant, with the friends from the English congregation. I was delighted that I could get a combo, that included a steak, for only $8! After we said our goodbyes and exchanged Instagram accounts, it was time to head back to the house, were we relaxed for the remainder of the evening. 

Mayaguez Chinese Group (+4 Visitors)

Day Eight: Beware of the Sand! 
Monday was our last day in the warm sunshine before we returned home to the freezing cold temperatures. After sleeping in, Aunt Rita took us to Playa Tamarindo, where we spent most of the afternoon. I was so excited to finally be able to swim in the Ocean. Out of all the beaches I had seen during our week in Puerto Rico, this by far was the prettiest! The water was so blue! The sand here was also difficult to walk it. If you weren't careful, you would sink into the sand and get pounded by the surf. At the shore, the waves were very rough and trying to get out of the water was an extreme challenge!

Later that evening we had a farewell party at La Guancha with a few of our friends from Ponce English. We talked and drank Pina Coladas, wishing we could spend more time with each other. After saying our final goodbyes to Stephanie, Jojo, and Tati, we returned back to the house to pack our suitcases. In the middle of the night I got pretty sick. When we first arrived in P.R., Aunt Rita told us about this illness caused by misquotes called Chickungunya. We couldn't pronounce it so all week we referred to is as Chicken Gorilla. I was worried that I might have Chickungunya, but thankfully the next morning I felt much better. 

Day Nine: Run Forest Run! 

Before boarding the plane, we took a small ride around Old San Juan and ate lunch at a very nice restaurant where we would have our last dish of Puerto Rican food. Naturally, I ordered the Mofongo one last time. After that, we said our goodbyes and headed home. Or, at least we thought we were heading back home..... As previously stated in my last post, we are starting to see a pattern when it comes to us flying. We attempted to check in our bags, only to notice that the stickers were just sending our luggage to Miami and our layover did not give us enough time to go on our scavenger hunt for our suitcases.  We stood in line for over 30 minutes waiting to get this issue resolved. All the while, the line at security kept piling up. By the time we finally got our luggage sent through, we told the clerk there was no way we were going to make our flight with a line that long. He escorted us to the front of the line, and we flew through security as quickly as possible. Running barefoot, we made it to our gate with only a few minutes to spare. 


Overall, I had a wonderful time. I am glad we choose Puerto Rico as our "gateway to the world". With our next destination, I would like to see more public transportation. Being at the mercy of the friends was okay, but we didn't get to go to a few places since we didn't have means to get there. Also, I feel like now I'm more prepared to go serve in a third world country with the incident with the water. 

We met so many wonderful people, who we will share life long bonds with. I'm so thankful to the warm hospitality shown to us by everyone we met. We truly have a world wide brotherhood. What other organization will warmly open their arms to you and treat you like their own flesh and blood? ONLY Jehovah's people. 

My suggestion to others: Next time you and your family consider taking a vacation, think about centering it around Jehovah. Go out in service with the local friends, attend the meetings, have the friends take you site seeing, you will not regret it! It will make your vacation that much more enjoyable. 

Now on to the next adventure!