230 Strong Smiling Faces and More

March 7, 2019

For those of you that don't know me, my name is Tyler Barry. One of the things that I loved about this whole trip was the Boys and Girls club here in Peurto Rico. It was a great experience to see a different Boys and Girls club in a non-English speaking community, a true experience that you can't get everywhere.
For those of you that don't know what the Boys and Girls Club is, here is a brief description of what it is and what it's functions are in the community. The Boys and Girls Club is an after-school activity facility that is used by all students, ranging from the ages of six to eighteen. This facility offers tutoring for classes like math, English, and even Spanish. They also have a full-size gym and classrooms in the different areas of the building to help assist the students in the best way they can. On average the Boys and Girls Club here in Peurto Rico sees anywhere from one hundred to two hundred and thirty children each day, throughout the day. They come and go as they please and they can do what they want. All the Boys and Girls clubs around the world have the same saying and it is "A Great Future Begins Here" which is seen in the pictures below. Along with the great things like these listed, one thing that all the clubs around the world do is they trade shirts. Each club has a shirt that is special to them and made for their club every year. Being that I have worked many events in the Boys and Girls club in McKeesport, I have many shirts with different designs. I got the opportunity to trade shirts with the club down here in Peurto Rico. It was a memory that I will never forget. I will never forget the children and all their smiling faces and all the great memories we made, not only today, but all the ones made this whole trip. I am proud to be a Penn State student and very happy my school offers chances as grand as this for our Spring Break. I have learned more about my fellow classmates and myself than I ever thought I would. I need to thank Louise, Tony, and our chancellor Dr. Edemondson, for this great opportunity and these great memories that will last me lifetimes.
Along with all this, I tend to have a way with words, as Louise and Tony would tell you. So this was a poem I wrote for the Boys and Girls Club of Peurto Rico. I hope they can get it and they receive not only a shirt but a memory that will bring a smile to their face every day. Please enjoy and thank you all for this great opportunity.

230 Strong Smiling Faces
By: Tyler Barry

Colours seen all around
Broken English
Yet easy to understand
Groups gather round and form ranks
Divide and Conquer
A tsunami of children flood through the clear glass doors
We stand strong in our different locations
Waiting patiently with arms open wide
Waiting for the children
Waiting for the perfect moments in time
Children of all ages and sizes
Tall and short
Young and old
They stormed into each location
Some in the gym
Some in classrooms
Some in the game areas
And some just eating food
Just doing their daily routines
Until they saw us
Standing in the areas
Just watching
Watching the biggest smiles run across their faces
The smile you have when you see your friends
The smile you have when are loved
The smile you have when you are cared about
They ran to us with their arms filled with toys
Hoping to play every game they could make up
Basketball, volleyball, tag, piggyback rides
Games that brought out the kid inside of us all
As sweat dripped from our brows
Spanish speaking all around
Not knowing how to respond
With few words learned
We learned our ways around
Keeping them happy
And their faces smiling
All excited and happy
Happy to be alive
Happy to be cared for
Happy to be loved
As our times together flew by
People moved from place to place
Seeing each of the smiling faces
Of children who just wanted a friend
A friend who will play with them
A friend who will bring the light
A friend who will bring them happiness
And that's what we were there for
To bring them joy
To bring them peace
To bring them unity
With children on our backs
And holding our hands
Laughing and smiling at all the friends that we made
Smiling because they smiled
Knowing everything they needed
A little entertainment
A little friendship
A little happiness
Happiness to bring them back to the light
The light that Maria destroyed
The light that brought them from the shadows
The light that will light their future
We came with our hearts on our sleeves and arms opened wide
We stood strong
Standing in the light
All standing with smiling faces

Louise's Stray

Thursday, March 7th



We returned to the school, Escuela De La Comunidad Mata De Platano in Luqillo. We worked delighted to scrape paint off of the pavilion. We cleared the back of the schoolyard with rakes with Ilu's dad, while D.J. and Adam had an interesting discussion about politics.  There was an adorable chihuahua mix mutt that was at the school.  The dog was very friendly and Louise fell in love with him.  She got approval from the people at the school to adopt the stray.  Then she got approval from her husband and the vet.  She adopted this stray dog and is going to give it a loving home.  Now, she will have two dogs.  Then after, we finished at the school we returned to the camp and had lunch, followed by an hour-long bus ride to the Boys and Girls Club of Puerto Rico where we helped children.  The facility is very nice and offers tutoring to the children, along with a place for them to express themselves.  Sabrina and Ronnie tried to help children with their homework, even though they knew some Spanish but not enough to be fluent, but they did help the one kid learn the difference between similes and metaphors.  Natalie and Rachel communicated with a few children.   In the teenage area, Wyatt and TJ helped a student with his English and Math homework.  In the gym, the majority of the Penn State Greater Allegheny-New Kensington group played basketball with the kids and we're excited to spend time with the children and brighten their day.  In the Lobby, the children danced and had fun playing with toys.  At the end of the trip, we danced with the children to songs such as Baby Shark and the Meringue.  Then we returned to camp and had a flounder and rice dinner.

Culture, food, and music!!

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

After a hot day of work, we have the chance to stop by the kiosks in Luquillo, PR. Some of the vendors sold authentic Puerto Rican food, such as al capurrias, arepas, tostones, chicharrón, and many more. However, the number one dish students purchased was monfongo, which is a mashed plantains baseb dish mixed in with your meat of choice, in our case pork, and vegetables. Other vendors sold fruit and dessert smoothies. Ronni got a delicious dessert smoothie with Nutella, chocolate wafers, and and Oreo. In addition, there were some vendors that sold artisan, handmade items. TJ bought a beautiful and very colorful bag that he could carry extra items with him. The music was playing at every kiosk! The music was so upbeat and we danced down the street, saying hello to all of the people in Luquillo and just having a wonderful time. This day was Paulina and Ronni’s favorite day of the trip so far; being able to help people and also have a little fun!




Paulina Iniguez
Ronni Corbett

Highlight from Service on Tuesday

After service activities!

School Prep

Day 4: 

Today started as a typical morning in Puerto Rico, the birds were chirping, the frogs were coquiing, and we were surrounded by the fresh morning air once again. We got our typical island breakfast and loaded onto the bus with our favorite driver, Tony. We braved the tsunami of potholes, as Tony so graciously put it, and made our way to the Luquillo community school which was forced to close its doors after Maria hit and is currently being restored into a Montessori, which is a low-cost option for the education of younger children. 

When we arrived, we split up into several work parties to help revive this place of learning. Some of us were tasked with removing the old and destroyed furnishings from all the buildings, some were power-washing inside and outside the building to remove the stains brought by Maria, others assisted in reclaiming the area back from mother nature, while others removed paint from the past so we can repaint the future. 

Soon the entire area was filled with the heart-wrenching screams of Tyler and DJ as a rat leapt from an abandoned cabinet and ran past them into the surrounding wildlife. After this excitement, Greater Kensington and Harrisburg made strides in the rejuvenation of this school. By lunch, most of the area had been trimmed, many of the walls had been washed, and all of the debris was cleared from all the rooms. 

After eating lunch and a quick dance session featuring the exotic moves of Tyler Barry, everyone was granted the second wind to make it to the end of the day. We finished most of what we started, but we left some chipping and painting for the next day. 

We then came back to camp and played some intense games of water polo and bonded with the other Penn State campuses staying with us. 

Painting in Puerto Rico

Today we got to work on a painting project for a family’s home in Playa Guayanes. The project also included prepping the building to be painted on. One of the ways we prepped was by chiseling paint off of a wall in front of the family’s yard. This was a challenging task since the only way to consistently get the paint off of the concrete wall was by hitting it with the chisel. Wyatt was a professional at completing his section on the wall. Other things we did for the house was paint the porch area ceiling and the walls high up on the house. The family was very appreciative of our work, making the experience very rewarding. After we finished up for the day, we went to a beach briefly. There were several stray dogs roaming the beach making it nice for those of us who missed our dogs (which would be everyone except Tony because he doesn’t have a dog). Then we came back to the campground and had dinner which was delicious. For dinner we had the selection of salad, rice, veggies, beans, and meats. After dinner we finished up on writing notes to each other and put them in  everyone’s “Feel Good Bags.” Then we did some reflecting and bonding from our experiences. It is currently night time at our rainforest campground and it is such an increadible location with so much green and wildlife. Tomorrow we will continue the painting project from yesterday and go to a new location. Goodnight from the rainforest in Puerto Rico to everyone reading our blog. I hope you feel inspired to do something to help someone else after reading our blogs.
-Raeann (aka. Captain Rae Rae)

Painting for a Cause

Today we traveled to the south east of the island, Playa Guayanes. The director of CCI had said the day before that we were traveling to a location that was hit hard by Maria. Many people have left this town because they went months without electricity and water. Many of those who left were younger, specifically the work force. Our goal was to help the elderly population that were left and could not fix up their own houses. The next step in the process was painting! Pen Ken and GA worked together on a small cement house on a hill. Everyone worked hard in the sun and heat. Some people even climbed on roofs to make sure all of the nooks and crannies were covered. During the afternoon we met the home owners and a few community members. They were all lovely people and were very accepting of us and grateful. 

For me, today was personally a good day. Although having a painted house may not seem like a huge deal to some people, it can mean alot. Surviving a hurricane is hard. You loose family and friends, your home, and even your dignity. Having a fresh coat of paint on your house helps you move in the right direction of having a normal life and moving on. I'm glad I was part of an amazing group who could make an impact on this community 😊.

Enjoy these photos of the beach down the road from the house and us covered in paint!

- Ashley Worlds

Puerto Rican Tumble 3/3/19

3-03 Puerto Rican Tumble

After crazy delays and half the group being separated throughout various states along the way,  about three-fourths of our crew arrived in San Juan at the airport around 10 at night, and we made it to the camp at 11:30. Adam thought he scared the girls in the room half to death when he walked into the room, in the middle of the night.  After a nights rest, we were ready to work at the Cabezas de San Juan.  At the reservation, we cleared debris around newly planted trees and added mulch and water to the saplings.  We removed invasive species around the newly planted trees.  We saw some pretty interesting things such a giant hermit crab, dead coconuts, gigantic termite nests, and a humungous iguana.  Tony Gomez worked so hard that when he was pulling a weed near one of the saplings, his hand slipped and his body flew backwards and rolled back down a 15-foot incline.  He had an abrupt ending where he laid at the beach and took a moment to compile himself. Some members rushed to his aid while others were fighting back tears of laughter.  He managed to get himself up and continue working.  After we finished with our reforestation process, we relaxed at the beach.  While others played in the water, Sabrina and Wyatt built an elaborate sand turtle.  Tonight, New Kensington and Greater Allegheny took time to get to know each other, and grew closer as a unit.  Tune in next time, for our next adventure!   
   

A Series of Unfortunate Events...

Today was a bit hectic to say the least. Our original flight was supposed to leave after 8:00am, but during the early hours of the morning our flight got delayed because of workers needing to complete their rest hours. We were all happy with the extra few hours of sleep, but this put our arrival time to Orlando too close to our departure time to go to San Juan. When we got to the airport... imagine Home Alone where everyone realized they left Kevin. Louise was running back and forth among all of the different airlines desks, trying to figure out where everyone was going to go. Spirit Airlines employees, Monica and Lynette were life-savers. The solution to this issue was going to be that Tony was going to take all of PSU New Kensington, Courtney, DJ, Ronni, Wyatt, and Sabrina. Turns out this could not be completed either, so everyone mentioned previously ran to security in separate batches (we were not sure where they were going after Orlando). Louise, Tyler, and I stayed back with the incentive of Spirit Airlines vouchers and a hotel room in Robinson. PSU New Kensington (Paulina, Ashley, and Adam), Tony, Courtney, Wyatt, and Sabrina are almost to San Juan. Ronni and DJ had to stay the night in Orlando where they will leave tomorrow morning for San Juan. TJ, Natalie, and Rachel are all in Orlando where their flight to San Juan keeps getting pushed back and they are expected to arrive at 3:44am tomorrow. For those of us staying near Pittsburgh Airport, we got to our hotel after 6 hours of airport nonsense. Then we went to have lunch/dinner at Bravo. After our meal, we came back to the hotel to relax by doing homework and watching Golden Girls (Tyler's request) while also staying up-to-date with the Saga: Will PSU make it to PR? Stay tuned with us tomorrow on the next episode of ASB.

No matter the struggle that we have gone through today, it will never add up to the struggle that the people of Puerto Rico have gone through. WE ARE going to make it to PR and serve the community of Puerto Rico.

-Raeann (aka. Captain Rae Rae)

What is ASB?

What is Alternative Spring Break?

Alternative Spring Break (ASB) is a weeklong immersion experience dedicated to learning about complex social and cultural issues through direct service, experiential learning, group discussions, and reflections. ASB breaks the stereotypes traditionally associated with college spring break trips.

 Penn State Greater Allegheny Alternative Spring Break Mission-

Alternative Spring Break (ASB) at Penn State Greater Allegheny encourages students to become active members of a global society by promoting social awareness through direct service, experiential learning, and reflection.

Alternative Spring Break (ASB) at Penn State Greater Allegheny provides opportunities for students to be immersed into cultures and communities throughout the United States through direct service, experiential learning, and reflection.

Our Story

Penn State Greater Allegheny has embarked on their second annual Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trip.  This year, students are headed to Puerto Rico to assist with Hurricane Maria relief and restoration.

On September 20, 2017, the eye of Hurricane Maria struck the Island of Puerto Rico knocking out power to the whole island, destroying homes, businesses, roads and bridges, etc. An estimated 4,600 people died as a result of Maria; the hurricane itself and the aftermath. The majority of deaths were due to lack of aid, resources, and complications with post-storm recovery.

Now, almost a year and a half after Maria, the island and the people of Puerto Rico are still recovering. Residents continue to live through food and water shortages, water-related disease outbreaks, and hospitals, businesses and schools are still closed due to extensive damage.

“We were still planning our 2018 Trip to Beaumont Texas in September when Maria hit and there was an instant desire from our students to go to Puerto Rico right away and help. It wasn’t feasible, but we knew before our first ASB trip had even happened where our next one would be. Maria affected many of our student’s family and friends and we feel a special connection to the island even on our campus thousands of miles away.” – Louise Whyte Aravich, Residence Life and Student Activities Coordinator at Penn State Greater Allegheny

Lead by Louise and Admissions Counselor, Anthony Gomez, seven Penn State Greater Allegheny students (Tyler Barry, Ronni Corbett, DJ Impavido, Courtney Kurth, Raeann Sleith, Wyatt Thomas, and Sabrina Yushinski) and six Penn State New Kensington students (Natalie George, Paulina Iniguez, Adam Johnson, Rachel Queck, TJ Slancauskas, and Ashley Worlds) will serve in the communities of Luquillo and Fajardo. The students will assist in clean up, painting and general restoration of homes as well as a local school hoping to reopen their doors in August 2019.

In addition to helping families who were affected, the students will be visiting the Boys and Girls Club in Loiza and will aid in reestablishing the devastated environment and ecosystem by working at the Natural Reserve in Fajardo. The students not only participate in service they will have opportunities to explore the island, try new foods, learn traditions and be immersed in a culture different from their own.

The group is working with Community Collaborations International (CCI), a non-profit organization that connects colleges and universities with service opportunities. CCI has been bridging students with service for twenty years and has built a positive presence and relationships in Puerto Rico for over seven years.

The students will be sharing their experiences through live blogging. Blogging is a common practice on Alternative Spring Break trips and is an opportunity to capture all the memories, feelings, and experiences of the trip. This blog will be shared on social media so classmates, staff, faculty, friends and family can follow along on the adventure.

Follow along at psugapr2019.blogspot.com