University of Rhode Island

When we first moved into our dorm last September, we could have never anticipated that we would find ourselves together in Puerto Rico only a few months later. The idea started in October, when we began discussing a shared desire to travel as much as possible, for as little money as possible. With URI's January term, instead of taking some extra classes, we were eager to fill our time with travel. After some cursory research, we quickly stumbled upon WorldPackers. WorldPackers is a platform that connects travelers with hosts. People from across the world offer free accommodations in exchange for skills and labor. Most hosts require around 25 hours per week, and jobs vary between anything from gardening to social media managing. With advertisements around the globe, we decided to narrow down our choices based on plane ticket prices. We quickly found that Puerto Rico offered the cheapest round trip options. The first host we messaged got back to us within the day, and soon we had plane tickets booked for ten days during our winter break in January. 
  

 The house we stayed in was in a neighborhood in Rio Grande, around half an hour from San Juan. It was split in half- the left side was for volunteers, and the right for the host and his kids. We shared a bedroom with three bunk beds with a sophomore undergraduate from Connecticut and a culinary school graduate from Ecuador. The four of us had our own living room, kitchen, bathrooms, and balcony. The balcony was our favorite spot in the house. It had a washing machine and clothes lines along the sides, with a central dining table and two big sofas. The walls were painted white, but covered with colorful marker quotes left by past visitors. The breeze and the view of the trees and hilly neighborhood made it so peaceful. We spent a lot of time reading, journaling, and playing Sudoku there in the mornings.     
    

The property surrounding the house was huge. The host's three affectionate pitbulls lived to the side in plastic dog houses. Every morning they ran up to us, tails wagging, and bumped against our legs until we pet them. Behind the house, there was a long, grassy slope. The entire backyard was surrounded by a chain link fence. At the top, there was a cluster of fruit trees. We could see breadfruit, guava, papaya, and bananas growing above us. Further down the slope, there were chickens. There used to be a dozen, but a week before we arrived the dogs broke through the fence and cut their population in half. At the bottom of the slope, there were younger fruit trees planted in a line. Our host told us that recent volunteers had helped him plant them. 
  

 Our host was animated and welcoming. He served in the Navy for several years, and currently lives with his kids. He started using WorldPackers around a year ago, and since then has hosted dozens of travelers. There are polaroids with all of them proudly displayed in a glass cabinet. He was very enthusiastic about teaching us what he knew. He introduced us to the fruits on his property, and encouraged us to experiment with them when we were cooking. He gave us fresh guava during work breaks, and taught us how to fry breadfruit. He also occasionally quizzed us about Spanish pronunciation and vocabulary, as we were the only people in the house who were not bilingual. 
  

 The work he had us do was predominantly landscaping. For five hours a day, we hacked through overgrown weeds and vines in his sprawling backyard with machetes, weed whackers, and rakes. The time passed quickly. Some days we listened to music, and others we spent chatting on and off between sections. Aside from the bug bites and machete blisters, the work was enjoyable. We got to see tiny lizards scamper away underfoot and snakes slowly curl around branches just out of reach. We also both loved that it gave us the opportunity to move our bodies outside. The warm sunshine was a welcome change from Rhode Island's cold winter. 

Most mornings, before work started, we went on runs around the neighborhood. The road was hilly and winding, but the views made it worthwhile. El Yunque stood in the distance, and it overlooked valleys and hills covered with green and dotted with homes. We passed lots of those local homes as we ran- some were super colorful and unique, and most had barking dogs in gated yards. The day we did hill sprints, we passed one house more than twenty times each, and a chained chihuahua on the porch lost its mind barking every time we did.  When we got back to the house from our runs, we still had lots of time for a slow morning. Most days we laid patterned towels on the tile floor to do ab workouts and stretches. After that, we would eat breakfast. Some mornings we made smoothies from the fruits from the backyard, and others we grabbed chia seed puddings we prepared the night before from the fridge. We had to wait for the host to tell us what he expected us to do each day, so we usually filled the time until then relaxing on the balcony couches. 
    

After work, we hung out with the other volunteers. A few of the days, we walked to the nearby river together. At one section of the river, we played in small waterfalls and jumped off of boulders. At another, we launched into a deep pool from a rope swing. We always brought snacks- mozzarella cheese sticks, bananas, Oreos, and peanuts- and books for when we were ready to dry off and lounge on the rocks. Most times we stayed until it started to get dark. 

Another day, we went to the beach. We rented our host's two-door car and piled in for the ten minute drive to the water. The stretch of sand was rimmed with palm trees, the waves were perfectly turquoise, and we were the only people there. We floated in the water and read on the sand until we were burnt and hungry for dinner. On our way back to the house, we stopped at a grocery store to explore the local options.

On weekends, there was not any work, so we had Saturdays and Sundays to ourselves. We spent our time hiking in El Yunque, visiting the city of Old San Juan and even visiting a small island off of the coast of Puerto Rico called Culebra. While visiting this island, we went snorkeling where we saw multiple sea turtles and many colorful fish swimming around the reef. Afterward, our snorkeling instructor introduced us to tamarind, a brown chewy fruit that has a breakable shell. Once we finished our fruit, we headed to Flamenco beach which had the most beautiful palm trees and clear water. We spent a majority of the day here reading, and swimming in the ocean. Then, we got back onto the ferry and headed to the mainland. 

Another day that we had off, we spent in El Yunque, a beautiful rainforest about forty five minutes from where we were staying. We followed a guide along with a group of tourists down a path that led us to a beautiful waterfall and swimming area. Here, we spent the day sliding down natural water slides and jumping off of rocks. Our second day spent in El Yunque, we hiked to the summit of the mountain and surfaced to find ourselves in the center of a cloud, unable to see anything around us. At the top there was a castle-like structure that we explored as it began to rain. We then headed back down the mountain in search of another waterfall that was notorious to the park. This waterfall did not have an area to swim, but it was very tall and popular for people to take pictures in front of. 

We also visited Old San Juan where there was very much to do. We first stopped at a historical fort where we took many pictures of the surrounding views and read a little about its history and purpose. Then, we walked around the city to find an amazing park overlooking the water with many people flying kites. After this we headed toward the shops where we did some shopping and finally ended up at a restaurant with amazing food. We tried many of their popular dishes like fried cheese and plantains. 

Our last day in Puerto Rico was spent at the beach, soaking up the sun before heading. We had an amazing experience in Puerto Rico and are immensely grateful for the opportunity that we had to travel on our own during our January Term at University of Rhode Island. This time allowed us to follow our passions for traveling and service. We are both looking forward to traveling to new places in the future.

 

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