Karin C. is a foreign language teacher from Pennsylvania, and an experienced traveller: She’s been taking students abroad every other year for 26 years, usually to Spanish-speaking countries. And while she’s taken students on our Puerto Rico tour before to experience the culture, nature, and language, this year was a bit different.
In September of 2017, Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm, caused devastating damage to the country, wiping out power in most of Puerto Rico and costing thousands of lives.
Efforts to rebuild are moving along, albeit slowly, and tourists—an essential source of revenue for the island—are also making their way back, giving the country a much-needed economic boost.
That’s one of the reasons why Karin decided to take her students to Puerto Rico anyway, seven months after the storm. Once a few itinerary changes were made, she took her students on a tour that was even more impactful than she’d anticipated.
For one, Karin and her students saw some of the effects of the hurricane first-hand. “We had dinner one night in an area that only had two locations open—our restaurant and a grocery store,” she said. “The town around it was dark, and some houses even had signs in front of that said ‘no electricity’ and a few that said ‘no running water.’”
It was eye-opening for the students: “The kids thought it was sad and surprising after so many months.”
While they saw the effects of the hurricane, Karin says they experienced “nothing that had any great impact on our tour,” she said. “Old San Juan was completely up and running and we saw many cruise ships resuming their stops there.”
Her students had an excellent time, too: “My kids’ favourite day was the snorkel trip. They also loved Cueva Ventana, touring Old San Juan, and our Salsa dancing lessons. The food was great as well…They had a ball.”
And education-wise, the trip was a great success: “My students did a really nice job speaking Spanish, and our guide continually encouraged them to do so,” she said.
“I wanted them to take away the appreciation for a different culture and language, immerse themselves into each experience, and become avid travellers with a desire to be comfortable getting out there and finding new places with new learning experiences. I believe most did that. ”
Karin encourages anyone who wants to take their students to Puerto Rico to do it, now more than ever.
“Almost every Puerto Rican native thanked us for coming,” Karin said. “It makes a HUGE impact on their economy.”
Are you interested in giving your students a unique and beneficial cultural experience like Karin did? Get information on activities, pricing, customization options, and more for our tour to Puerto Rico.