Puerto Rico

I really enjoyed our substitute last week. At first it was kind of intimidating because she has such a strong personality. However, we learned a lot from her about Puerto Rico, it's people, and culture. Puerto Rico is an island and is currently a territory of the United States. This is highly controversial in Puerto Rico, and the people are very opinionated about politics. The relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States is complicated, and the people have extreme perspectives on it. Some people think that Puerto Rico should become it's own country while others think that it's fine the way it is. The people who believe that Puerto Rico should stay the way it is have a nostalgic picture of the American dream and prosperity. The other side of this is that people believe that Puerto Rico would be better off if it was independent; however Lorna pointed out that they don't understand the economic effects that this could have on the country. Her father is a part of this group that believes in the independence of Puerto Rico or making it a state. Puerto Ricans do not get to vote in the United States elections because it is not a state, but they do vote in their local elections.

Lorna said that her favorite thing about Puerto Rico is the people. The people are very friendly and hospitable even to tourists. Even though the political scene is complicated, the people welcome Americans. I think this is really interesting because some places in the United States are not very hospitable. For example, when I travel to different states I can see the difference in the way the people treat me. When I went to California over the winter break, the people were very shady and stiff. A place that young people in Puerto Rico go to San Juan for a good time. San Juan is can be compared to 6th street in Austin. The area of San Juan where all of this takes place is filled with old buildings. The most popular music in Puerto Rico is reggaeton.