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!
No comments:
Post a Comment