Snorkleing and Rainforests

For the first time we tried some authentic Puerto Rican food and to everyone's surprise we all loved mofongos, which is made with smashed plantains and a type of meat in the center. Our server was extremely nice and we even had the pleasure of listening to some live jazz while we ate. It was a lot of fun and we are all hoping to try some more before we leave.

Yesterday, we woke up bright and early and went snorkeling. The first place we went was a deserted island with very shallow coral reefs. That was our "bunny slope" for snorkeling. There were tons of fish and we even saw an eel. Most of us made it out alive with only a few battle wounds. Next, we went to a larger reef with deeper waters. From here we could see the meeting of the dark waters from the Atlantic Ocean and turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. There were larger schools of fish here and we did not have to worry about thrashing up against the coral reefs! The ship's crew were all extremely nice to us and told us the best places to snorkel and helped us in becoming more proficient in our Spanish speaking abilities.


Today, we went to the only rain forest in the United States, El Yunque. Our bus driver gave us a tour from the bus as we drove through the winding mountain roads. We began to embark on the trying endevor of hiking through El Yunque to the amazing waterfall La Menina. Here, we were able to swim in a pool created by the waterfall. This was an experience none of us had even imagined. The sights here were magnificent and we wished we could have stayed longer.

Tomorrow we are going to visit the local university and having a chance to mingle with the locals. Until next time...que tenga buena noche. =) =)

Week 1 in the classroom

So last week was a busy week for me and I forgot to post but there wasn't much to post about. Last week we spent a majority of time in the classroom discussing chapters and going over notes and other information that will be vital to our final project. Each day two of the students presented over a chapter from the text so our instructor did not have to give us lectures on each chapter. some of the lessons were made into hands-on learning and others were power points but we all appreciate the change of pace. This week we only have classes on Monday and Tuesday before we leave for the trip on the following Monday. I will post after tomorrow because I will have more information to post. We are going to Velocity Sports Performance in Naperville to do some sports testing and I will post about that experience and have some pictures from the trip. but until then that is all I have for now. Talk to you later!

Our First Impressions

We have been in Puerto Rico for only 2 days and have already seen so much! The first day we walked around a lot to get to know the beautiful island and to find a restaurant to eat at. To our surprise we discovered that all of the stores and restaurants were closed between 3-6pm, which was terrible because we had not eaten all day. There was absolutely no food given to us by the airlines on a 4 1/2 hour flight (that lasted during both breakfast and lunch)!! We luckily found one, only one, restaurant open that served Mexican food, but it was much better than nothing. The food was good and we all enjoyed being able to relax and get to know each other better.

Yesterday, was our day of exercise and excess walking! We walked to the grocery store and found a beautiful park along the way. We bought some food for a few days, so we do not have to eat out every meal. Afterwards, we headed towards Old San Juan to see El Morro. Since we decided to walk instead of taking a taxi there, we were able to see all the history of the city. We even found the capital building along the way and saw an exhibit displaying the Holocaust. It was really interesting to find such a display in Puerto Rico. We took a break and sat in the plaza taking a drink break and getting to know the locals. They were all extremely kind and helpful to us. El Morro was used to protect the island of Puerto Rico from the pirates and anyone else who attempted to threaten them. It was filled with dungeons and dark crevices with a beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean. There was so much history there and we spent hours trying to take it all in and capture on film.

The weather here is aboslutely beautiful. After some class time today, we are all looking forward to having some beach time and some authentic Puerto Rican food! Until next time....enjoy the cold weather back in Chicago! :)

Notre Dame and Champs Elysees

Hey Everyone guess what we did yesterday??? We got to see Notre-Dame!! OMG it is soooo amazing!!!! I have seen pictures of it but up close and in real life it is just so amazing to look at!! Our professor did a great job of describing the different architectural styles that were used when building it. I was excited to know that I knew a lot of the thing he was saying cause I remember talking about them in my Art Appreciation class my freshman year at AU.

After the Notre-Dame we went to the Champs Elysees. Let me just tell you that its huge and nothing compare to Michigan Ave in Chicago!!

oh by the way I am working on uploading some pictures but its not really working

Lutetia, the Crypt, and Roman baths

hey guys so I am really sorry that I didn't get to write as much as I wanted to yesterday its just that there is so much we have to do that time in the computer is really limited!

Let me contiune to let everyone know that Paris is soooo beautiful we got a chance to go see the old part of Paris (Lutetia) and saw the ruins of the Crypt and Roman Baths. Also we saw the old Arena that is still used by people. We saw a few boys playing soccer it look like a lot of fun!!
After visiting these we had a chance to walk around and we even got a few little gifts for our love once back home!!! And by the way I love shopping!!!
I am very happy with the way the French are treating us they are just so nice and helpful. I did take a few years of French so I try to use it as much as I can but the French are very nice and they help us out!!! Well everyone once again I have to go because We have class in a few minutes!!!

Today I am really excited because we are going inside Notre-Dame Cathedral!!!!

In PARIS

HEY EVERYONE!!! SO WE ARE FINALLY IN PARIS AFTER 8 LONG HOURS IN A PLANE WE ARRIVED. I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLAIN HOW BEAUTIFUL PARIS IS... WOW!!! WE GOT HEAR YESTERDAY AT ABOUT 9; 10 IN THE MORING PARIS TIME WHICH WOULD BE ABOUT 2 AM OVER THERE!!! WE WERE SOOOOOOOOOOO TIRED BUT WE MANAGED TO WALK AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND EVEN GOT TO SEE THE EIFFEL TOWER!!!!! IT WAS AMAZING!!!

I HAVE TO LET YOU GUYS GO BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO HAVE AN ORIENTATION AND THEN OFF TO OUR FIRST DAY OF CLASS!!!!!

HEY...

HEY!!! so I realized that I never introduced myself in the last post... sorry!!! but well I guess I will take the time and do it quickly... My name is Sandra I just finished my second year at AU and I'm majoring in Biology Secondary Education. I've always wanted to go to Paris especially because I took about 5 years of French in middle school and high school. I am very excited about the trip especially because the next time that I post something it will be from the beautiful city of Paris!!!

I will be leaving to the airport in just a few hours so I have to say good bye!!!


Talk you guys later from PARIS!!!!!