Puerto Rico A.S.B. — Day 6

Puerto Rico – Alternative Spring Break 2013

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Today is our final day in Puerto Rico.

Much like Wednesday, the group split into two. One of the groups stayed at the farm and did various projects around the farm. The other group left for the elder center.

Before we got to the center, however, the group was asked by one of the Pleintud staff if they would be willing to go and help a neighbor.  The group helped plant nine different plants, which the woman greatly appreciated. We learned that she grew up in Puerto Rico and moved to New York when she was six years old.

The group working at the farm had a successful day as well with all they’re hard work they completed. The natural building for the super-adobe continued. All of the rock foundation is now in place as well as the draining system. It really is amazing what can be done with natural earth materials! Another group on the farm got some planting done and mulching which turned out so good.

When we got to the elder center we interacted with the residents. Some played dominos while others painted and helped spread cardboard and dirt around the garden.

The group is in the process of packing and getting ready for our busy night of traveling. We will be having a small dinner at the farm and then going bomba dancing followed by a final group dinner at a Thai restaurant.

The travel agenda includes leaving Aquadillla at 2:50 a.m. on Friday and landing in New Jersey around 6:05 a.m.  We will all be back in Pittsburgh around 10 a.m. on Friday.

To family and friends:

I would like to personally thank you for encouraging your son/daughter to go on this trip.The individuals in this group all have  fantastic personalities and work ethics. They are all motivational and have a sense of pride. They have  all showed me motivation and a love for service and helping those in need.  I would encourage you to keep motivating them because not every student would give up their spring break to help with service.  Thank you all! — Jon Wolff, president of Reality Check

The time we have all shared together has been memorable and I wouldn’t ask for a better family to spend it with than the 2013 Alternative Spring Break group.

Thank you for  reading this year’s blog.

— Jon, Ian & Lauren

 

 

Puerto Rico A.S.B. — Day 5

Puerto Rico – Alternative Spring Break 2013

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Hola friends,

Last night’s reflection was led by Tony Tedesco, Brittany Smail  and Michelle Godzinski followed by Marissa Morrissette and Mark Sanford. The first reflection was pushed back to Tuesday because we did not have time. The first  reflection was tie-dye T-shirts, which was part of a social event.  The group wrote each others last names along with a message on the shirts and puffy paint on the front of the shirts with “ASB 2013 Puerto Rico” and other sayings. Marissa and mark’s reflection consisted of deco pots. They brought newspaper that they gave to the group to have them cut out unique letters and paste them onto the pot.

Photos from reflection:

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Wednesday was another beautiful day. The group divided into two, one of the groups stayed at Pleintud and the other went to Las Marias where they helped at the elder center.  The group actually taught the dance move “Cotton-Eyed Joe” to the elders at the center and they helped establish a garden, thanks to the engineering students in the group.

The group at the farm split into three groups and worked on various projects around the farm including natural building, installing a outhouse and terraces (help channel water from the road). (see pictures below) When siesta came around at 1:30 p.m., some of the group relaxed on the hammocks while others went to the river and had a cool and relaxing afternoon.

On Wednesday night, the group ventured to go see the bioluminescence in the water. We caught our boat at 8:15 p.m. and enjoyed a night out on the town.

One of the group members mentioned that he no longer felt we were just friends. He said, “This group is no longer friends; this group is family.”

This is completely true! This group, as a whole, has learned together, sweated together, laughed together, sang together, and grown from random students to family.

WE ARE… Alternative Spring Break

WE ARE… Reality Check

WE ARE… Friends

WE ARE more importantly… Family.

— Jon, Ian & Lauren

Puerto Rico A.S.B. — Day 4

Tuesday, March 5, 2013
This morning’s breakfast included porridge, which was delicious. It was another day of hard work at another organic farm in Puerto Rico.

After the drive to the farm we got started quickly. Dr. Brian Bruner had many different tasks for us including putting plants along side a mountain, a trench for good farm use and a trench for a retaining wall and filling in dirt around given areas.

Lauren Smith’s group was in charge of the trench at the cottage. This job involved using a lot of arm strength and digging an 18 x 18 trench that would be used to help with the farm. Jon’s group was responsible for digging trenches that would be used for a reflecting wall and digging up and moving dirt.

Once the work was done, Dr. Brian Brunner bought the group pizza for working so hard. The group got to enjoy some pepperoni, sausage and veggie pizza.

After the group finished eating we all sat down and had a great discussion led by Dr. Brunner about why organic growing is so important and how lead a healthy life with healthy eating habits. We all took away a great deal of knowledge after keeping an open mind!

We then split up into two groups and adventured around the farm. One group went on a hiking trip with Dr. Brunner to the top of a really tall mountain where we were able to over look parts of the island. It was a breath taking view and an adventure to say the least, with Gabe clearing the path to the top along the way.  The other group of students took a shorter hike to cool down in the river.

On the way back from the mountain hike a couple of us were walking down the driveway to meet the rest of the group when Gabe spotted a horse on the side of the road. Offered the chance to finally fulfill one of his dreams, he hopped on the horse (after three attempts) and went trotting down the road for a horse ride.

It was a very exciting day that left everyone tired, but our day was not over yet. We got back to Plenitud and had another delicious meal waiting for us—pasta with marinara sauce with fresh vegetables and a fresh salad. We are definitely being spoiled with all of these homemade meals.

After dinner two members of Plenitud told us all about natural building and the different methods. It left many of us thinking about our future homes and how we should build it once we get our “grown up” jobs.

There were two reflections done tonight, one was led by Marissa and Mark, the other was done by Brittany, Tony, and Michelle. We decorated our tie dye T-shirts and decorated pots to remember our trip and all the amazing people who were apart of it.

It’s getting late here and is not time to get some well deserved sleep. Goodnight from Puerto Rico where the stars are as beautiful at night as they are back home.

— Jon, Ian & Lauren

Puerto Rico A.S.B. — Day 3, part 2

Monday continued…

The rest of Monday turned out to be a very productive day. Upon finishing our blog for the first days, we (Ian, Lauren and Jon) returned back to the farm. The ASBers divided into three separate groups. The group projects included working on the installation of a latrine a natural building (see slideshow in previous post) and the road of the farm.

When the groups were done, everyone was instructed to get a shower. That took some time since 27 of us are sharing.  Then, we headed out to watch the sunset and enjoy a group dinner with some of the workers from Plenitud.

 

— Jon, Ian & Lauren

 

 

 

Puerto Rico A.S.B. – Day 3

Puerto Rico – Alternative Spring Break 2013

Monday, March 4, 2013

By Jon Wolff, president, Reality Check

It is a  hot, hot, and hotter day on the farm. Our minds are clear and calm thanks to starting off the day with some yoga outside. Other students’ minds are clear and calm thanks to the extra sleep that they got!

Breakfast was prepared by our wonderful Plenitud staff members and served by a couple of our students. We have been taking turns preparing and cleaning up for each meal. We’re really getting good at team work.

After getting our water bottles filled up and loading up on sunscreen we were taken on a tour of the property  of the  farm and were able to see the different projects that they are working on. The group really liked the chicken coop and  decided we need some on our campus to have our own fresh eggs every day!

Around 2:30pm all of the students starting working on two projects that we (Lauren, Ian, and Jon) are late for and headed to now! Gotta get to work. Check in for more tomorrow. Until our next venture up to the building where we write the blog (below), see everyone later!

WE ARE…. Reality Check!

— Jon, Ian & Lauren

Photos, photos, photos

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Puerto Rico A.S.B. – Day 2

Puerto Rico – Alternative Spring Break 2013

Sunday, March 3, 2013

By Jon Wolff, president, Reality Check

It was definitely a different kind of morning waking up on the farm here in Puerto Rico. Instead of a phone alarm, nature was our nice wake up call with birds chirping and the rooster crowing.

The rooster was not only a morning alarm, it also was a surprising alarm around 3:30a.m. Getting ready for the morning was done all out in the wilderness. There are two outdoor showers and two sinks over looking all of the farm area which all 27 of us are sharing (see pix below).

Bathrooms/showers

Boys’ tents

Girls’ tents

A few members of the Plenitud staff had breakfast all ready to go for us as soon as we were all ready. Puerto Rico sure knows how to make some oatmeal! Breakfast included homemade oatmeal with fresh island fruit, a special island tea, and coffee. After breakfast we gathered up our stuff, put our swimsuits on and were off to the beach.

The name of the beach we went to was called Playa Sucia, which in English actually means dirty beach in order to keep tourists away.  Fortunately, it did not keep us away; we were soaking up the sun and enjoying the clear crystal blue water.

We were joined by two Plenitud staff members that provided us with a delicious lunch! Some of us headed over to explore the rocks overlooking the water, while others took a hike up to the lighthouse. After a lot of sun and a lot of fun we took our vans back on the windy roads of Puerto Rico and went back to the farm to clean up and shower.

Niloofar and Aaron. Aaron got sunburned, so Niloofar applied natural aloe.

We had dinner on the farm which is all vegetarian with some of the food coming right from the farm. We’re learning how to eat healthier!

It was a day of beautiful scenery and some more great bonding time. Today bandanas were given out to each of the teams. The idea was thought up by Marissa and Jon to get each team in a “survivor mode” and just to keep some sweat off of our faces!

Our night ended with a great reflection led by the advisors and then……blessed SLEEP!

Puerto Rico A.S.B. – Day 1

Puerto Rico – Alternative Spring Break 2013

Satuday, March 2, 2013

By Jon Wolff, president, Reality Check

Hello from Puerto Rico! We are very excited to have the opportunity to share our experiences with all of our friends, family, and community back home from this beautiful island.

Saturday was the start of journey when we departed from Erie on a coach bus to Pittsburgh International Airport. Once we arrived at Pittsburgh we departed to our next stop in Newark, NJ. Our layover time there gave us some time for bonding and a lot of laughter. We had some down time to get some food and play a card game of spoons. After that…it was off to Puerto Rico!

As soon as we landed we could all smell the tropical breeze and were beyond excited for the 73-degree weather! We took vans to our final destination of Plenitud after a long day of traveling and headed to our tents for the night after a mini tour of the farm site. It may take some adjusting to the outdoor living for some of us but it will be an adventure we take on together. Before going to bed you just can’t help but to admire the beautiful stars. We are so excited to see what this week has to offer!

Views from Plenitud.

Road to our group’s living area.

Your faithful bloggers — Jon Wolff, Reality Check president; Ian McGinnity, assistant director of civic engagement and The Smith Chapel; and Lauren Smith, Reality Check vice president.

2013 ASB adventure begins Saturday

Two dozen students from Penn State Behrend’s Realty Check club and four advisors are leaving Saturday (March 2) to spend their spring break serving others in Puerto Rico.

The group is working with Plenitud de Puerto Rico Inciatives Ecodeducativas — a nonprofit organization that suports individuals and communities in their sustainable development by providing training, demonstrations, and services in organic farming, biocontstruction, and other sustainable and permaculture practice.

Students will be taking part in a variety of activities, including mulching, applying organic fertilizer, pruning, topography, and planting. In addition, students will be learning about natrual building and serving at the elder center for senior citizens.

Since Plenitud is an organic organization focused on sustainability and because all bathing water eventually runs into the river or forest, students were required to buy natural and organic products that would not harm the environment.  Students will also be eating vegetarian for the week as Plenitud does not serve meat.

Students leave Erie on Saturday, March 2 and will return on Friday, March 8.

Follow them here on this blog where we’ll post regular updates and photos from Reality Check president, Jon Wolff.

~ Heather Cass, Penn State Behrend publications & design coordinator 

Students & advisers attending:

Students: Alec Bovee, Chris Desmond, Nicole Donaldson, Brandon Dye, Niloofar Ghaysi, Michelle Godzinski, Aaron Hecht, John Klecha, Krishna Kulkarni, Gabe Lemock, Paul Lukasik, Lydia Maharg, Brittany Martinelli, Marissa Morrissette, Miri Ohashi, Jennifer Prechtl, Mark Sanford, Brittany Smail, Lauren Smith — V.P. of Reality Check, Anthony Tedesco, Kyle VanDusen, Stephen Vollentine, Jon Wolff —President of Reality Check, and Amanda Wylie.

Advisers: Ian McGinnity, Assistant Director, Civic Engagement and The Smith Chapel; Amanda Blaugher, Coordinator of Residence Life; Courtney Steding, Internship Counselor, Academic Career and Planning Center; Maya Pillay, Staff Assistant and SGA Financial Advisor

Thanks for your support

Alternative Spring Break is sponsored by Reality Check, the Center For Service, the Student Activity Fee, the Student Government Association, and the Janet Neff Sample Center for Manners and Civility.

In addition, the group held many fundraisers and teambuilding events throughout the year.

Reality Check’s Event Chair, Marissa Morrissette and Nicole Donaldson planned social events for the ASB group. Marissa Morrissette planned a trip to the Erie Otter’s game so the group could have fun, relax and get to know one another a bit better. Nicole Donaldson planned a Tye Dye T-Shirt social event as part of a reflection that will be used down in Puerto Rico.

Fundraising efforts included canning at local restaurants, carwashes, and much more:

Reality Check would like to thank all of those who supported their fundraising efforts in the past year, helping them raise the money needed to help others.