My honest thoughts about the trip

I was very nervous coming in. I had signed up alone and although I thought community service was important, I did not always enjoy it because I did not get to see what an impact it made. This trip changed everything! It started off by getting to know everybody and getting a walking tour of Old San Juan. The next few days we went into a community where they didn't know English and we mixed cement to make floors, walls, roofs and stairs for various houses. I'm not going to lie... If I never have to mix cement again, I will be very happy. My favorite part was hearing the stories of the people we were helping and getting to see the way it would change their lives forever. After that we got to zip lining on our way to the next location. That was a great view and a nice break from the hard work. At our next location we flattened rocks and dirt to make at flat road for the people to receive supplies for their forest preservation group. We also weeded out a huge area to create a tree nursery. This location was not my favorite of living quarters but I dealt with it. One night we got to go to the bioluminescent bay. It was one of the coolest things you will ever see! At night the water appears to glow from creatures in it. While you can't swim in it, it was still cool to dip hands and feet. I don't why this isn't one of the 7 wonders of the world. In our final location we got a trolley tour of a different city that had a lot of history. I'm not a huge history person but it was so cool to realize how old and strong the buildings are. Plus in both tour locations there is an opportunity to shop! For our final service project we reprinted some houses with chipped paint. Everybody had a blast doing it! For the last couple of days we stayed on a catamaran. It was soooooo much fun and a great time to bond with people! I became friends with every single person on the trip and we all cried when we had to leave. :( we still keep in touch and have had reunions to see each other. It was great forming bonds with all of these people and I came out with a new group of friends. Two weeks may seem like a long time but it was the shortest two weeks of my life in Puerto Rico. I loved this trip and would highly recommend it to anybody who likes to have fun and help others!