El Día yo me gustó el café!

1-29-2014

Today was an awesome way to spend the middle of the week! I went to work as usual, but got to spend a little time chatting with Isabel the housekeeper before work while I ate my breakfast. She is so sweet- twice a week she comes and cleans, changes the sheets and does all of our laundry. I mean, I have never folded my underwear. Who does??? Isabel does! She goes the extra mile and all with a big smile! J I am thankful for her!

I arrived in Cayey and it was already around 85 degrees by 9 am! I worked cycle counts on the warehouse floor for 2 or so hours using the scanning machine which I think is lots of fun because you get to say hi to all the workers in the warehouse as you see them in each aisle. After, Mirna (my boss) took Humberto, Yamalier and Angelly and I (the auditoria team) to lunch with Heather (my mentor who works in Bayamón). We went to Ange’s which is an awesome little local shack place with a buffet. I am not talking any buffet. Puerto Rican. So mofongo, tostones with mayo-ketchup, salad, chicken with garlic etc. It was delicious… muy rica la comida! From there, we piled in the minivan of Angelly to go to Ponce where the coffee roasters is located and we got a long tour of the plant. It was incredible to hold all the different types of beans and test the quality of all of it! They have an incredible operation and the roads there are country – all surrounded by gorgeous dark green mountains. The hour flew by- we danced (they’re teaching me how to move like a Puerto rican.. which my poor body is physically incapable of! Those hips don’t move quite like the Puerto Ricans!) and we laughed and laughed. I am finally capable of 1. Understanding their jokes in Spanish and 2. Making jokes and being sarcastic in Spanish sooo it made the ride lots of fun! I learned slang: Corrio is yall so I often say Que es la que corrio? (What’s up, yall?) and other things like that. I love learning from them! The coffee plantation was incredible. Super interesting... and I liked black coffee they served fresh! Who knew coffee could be not bitter and have a chocolate aftertaste?? Apparently Puerto Ricans because their supreme coffee (Altos Grandes) is wonderful. 

On the way back, we stopped at a frappe stand near Ponce. It was packed full and delicious! I got strawberry coco and it was piled high of fresh fruit smoothie with honey and pieces of coconut and strawberry they cut fresh and stuck into it. I am telling you- nothing beats the fruteras here. Especially Carlos’ frutera by the plant in Cayey, which is full of fruit and limbers (popsicles made in tiny cups with leche and fruit and honey). They have every flavor imaginable and there are pieces of the fresh fruit in it… yum! It always serves to refresh after a hot day like today!

I drove home today and admired the beauty of Puerto Rico. It is hard to fathom the imagination of our God! He put mountains, jungles and beaches all within a short distance of each other on this beautiful island. I am seeing God each and every day here- in the people, the scenery and the solo time I have in the car. How incredible I have 40 minutes both ways to reflect when I am not chatting on the phone with my wonderful mommy and daddy! J I was reflecting on church that I went to this past Sunday today on my way home. The pastor Elí talked about music- how it has several parts. People must play instruments, each that they are gifted at. Someone must sing tenor, someone bass, someone alto, someone soprano. If everyone tried to sing all, it would not work and would be chaos. However, when everyone sings their part, it is harmony. A union of voices and talents all serving one purpose but unique in sound and structure. He explained how music can calm the soul, can invoke emotions and glorify God. It is also an incredible symbol of the Trinity- all parts are unique yet one (harmony). They work together in perfect union. My encouragement from this is to “speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and Songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:19. I am excited to see what God reveals to me next as I enjoy Puerto Rico and all that He has given me with this beyond amazing experience! Thankful cannot begin to describe how I feel!

La Vida Loca

It is hard to imagine that I only arrived in PR 14 days ago today. It seems like a lot longer than that.. which is awesome because I feel like I have already done and experienced a lot here! I live with an awesome family, the Rocas. The parents are Lynn (Italian) and Cesar (Colombiano). They have lived here in Condado 21 years and are just absolutely precious. They are so easy to hang out with- I already am sarcastic with them (respectfully so of course... but sarcastic all the same!) and they are sarcastic with me. It is a fantastic dynamic to have... no awkward moments when you feel this comfortable! We go out for dinner, on walks, dancing (yes, salsa and merengue where their friend plays in a band), to the casino (got my poker face down now!) and out for acai bowls (my newest addiction... step aside, Starbucks!).

I started work also... work 9-5. It is in Cayey right now, which is considered el campo o the countryside so it is a gorgeous drive! I will be in Bayamón the last 7 weeks. I work with Angelly who is literally, as her name says, an angel. She is awesome... she has as much energy as me so we giggle and joke around all lunch break and (shhh!) sometimes during work. Humberto, Cristián and Yamalier who I also work with are all young too.. I think they think were crazy. But hey, work's got to be enjoyable right?? I LOVE work. I mean I really LOVE work. I get to do inventory in the warehouse, scan things with this cool scan gun thing, do audits of the Coca-Cola test lab which is awesome, watch bottles being blown on a machine, and basically see everything from planning and forecasting to actual production of Coke and other products to the distribution and warehouse and finally audit it as the forklifts take the products onto vagones (trailers). I even wear steel toed shoes... tempted to buy pink ones and decided maybe that's too soon to be that bold :)

I also LOVE the food. Yes, I will gain the Puerto Rico 15 lbs. I eat mofongo (mashed plantains), tostones (fried plantains), pinchos (spicy roadside stand chicken kabobs), fresh fruit from the frutera stand by work in Cayey, etc. They make frappes of fresh fruit ahhh I go each lunch. and Limbers, which are popsicles made from fresh fruit at the stand that they make in solo cups. I also eat EVERYTHING with mayo-ketchup. It is a genius combo of mayo, ketchup (yes I know that part is obvious) and garlic and oil. It is the island's signature salsa.

I learned to surf and to salsa, to eat like a local and am now working on my phrases in Spanish. Who knew "Qué es la que?" is "what's up?" and "loco/a" is the same as "dude." Things my new friends are loving to teach me... I am sure my Spanish teachers would be proud? I have joined a gym, where I workout to extremely loud Latino music and the teacher yells in Spanish. I am always one move behind in the Zumba and other classes (every class, even weights, involves dancing with disco balls and lowlights) to which the teacher simply responds "oh, gringa." I love it so much!

Driving is another story... nobody follows any sort of rules. They are aggresive!!! I sat at an intersection for 5 minutes (LITERALLY 5 minutes) the other day because nobody lets anybody go. The unspoken rule is to simply go and cut people off. I wait until a small car comes so I can survive the hit and pray I don't get hit (and sometimes actually scream out loud). I am learning the roads though.. take hwy 22 to 26 to 18 sur to 52 sur to salida 32 etc etc. It was quite confusing the first week!

I know this is a long post, so I will stop. I hope to update this regularly with fun stories and new events here in PR! I will also need to update it from fun stories the past week... goodness, I can think of so many to share. For now, it's a work night so to sleep by 11 :) Buenas noches... nos vemos!