2025 Charles Wright Academy Puerto Rico

January 12, 2025
Travel Day and Arrival in Puerto Rico
This has been a very eventful 24 hours. We took almost an hour to check 49 bags and make it to our gate at the Seattle International Airport. We took off at 10:00 PM from SeaTac and landed at 6 AM Eastern time, in Miami. We were ecstatic upon our arrival due to palm trees lit up by the city lights in the twilight of the morning. At Miami airport, many of us got breakfasts such as bagels, fruit cups, and coffee since most didn’t sleep on the previous flight due to excitement for the upcoming journey. From there, we boarded the plane to finish the last leg of our trip, the flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The flight to San Juan seemed to pass in a flash, as the views from the plane were breathtaking. The turquoise water of the Caribbean and the green and sand beaches dotted throughout. Boats and cruise ships sailing through the seemingly endless cerulean waters. Almost no time later, we landed safely and exited the plane in San Juan. Everyone successfully snatched up their bags, and the wait began for the bus to take us to the iconic Big Yellow House. Though our travel was delayed slightly due to transportation issues, our excitement wasn’t. We were welcomed to the house with a variety of Domino’s pizzas and the friendly chaperones that would accompany us for our trip here. Afterward, we were assigned to our rooms to make ourselves at home during our stay. And to round off the day, we as a group, walked down to the beach right by the Big Yellow House, and relaxed after a long day of traveling. We then participated in a group bonding exercise back at the House, where we talked about goals to make the trip as enjoyable as possible. In the evening, we settled down for dinner which was a delicious combination of local rice, salad, and chicken. Students were then assigned to clean up duties by advisory which rotates each day to share the responsibilities between the 8th grade student body on this trip. We ended this time by playing games outside such as basketball, volleyball, and soccer with our friends and roommates. We all are looking forward to our adventure in historic old San Juan tomorrow where we will learn about the local history and get to shop.
By Annabelle and Ems
January 13, 2025
Old San Juan Tour
This morning we awoke to a nutritious and delicious breakfast, catered by a local restaurant owner. At 9 AM we began our adventurous tour in old San Juan. During our tour, we were introduced to our amazing guides, who showed us historic sites, including forts, monuments, churches, and large significant buildings built centuries ago. Some places that we visited were, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a large fort built 500 years ago, which oversaw the Atlantic Ocean for defenses in war, and Casa Blanca, the oldest building in San Juan, where the first governor Juan Ponce de Leon lived, and which was later used by his family.
After finishing the tour, the class enjoyed a traditional Puerto Rican meal which let us understand Puerto Rican culture of food to a deeper level. Some of our classmates were interested in trying new foods, like smashed plantains, or tostones in Spanish. Then, we were given time to enjoy the opportunity of shopping on popular streets, which led to some people buying cold refreshing smoothies, tropical popsicles, traditional souvenirs, and clothes to commemorate our trip. We then journeyed back to the Big Yellow House, and rushed to greet the cool and welcoming ocean. After some time at the beach, we went back to shower, and enjoy the final meal of the day. We then had time to play and relax until we did our community building, where we watched an interesting documentary about how current events affect Puerto Rico and how the territory has been impacted throughout the past decades. Finally, we are now winding down, and looking forward to getting out into the community for a work day tomorrow, which will include many memorable activities.
By Alec, Adrien, and Khang
January 14th, 2025
Work Day 1
This morning we got to sleep in an hour later, which was greatly appreciated. We had a quick breakfast before getting ready for our first day of service. On the bus ride to the local community construction site, we were entranced by the stark contrast between the area near the Big Yellow House and farther inland, where the towns were less developed. We were surprised and intrigued by the lush jungle, the aftermath of the hurricanes, and the stray dogs and cats.
Once we arrived, we met the community partners: Ángel, William, and Eggy. We listened to the safety introduction that William and Angel gave us and appreciated the bravery of our peers who tried translating. After transporting a new delivery of cinder blocks and organizing the building materials, we split into two groups. The groups traded off between having lunch made by Ángel’s wife (María)- which was delicious- and moving, cutting, and bending rebar to make the skeletal structure of the house. Maria’s home-cooked meal was a lovely escape from the hot and humid environment. She made us rice, a cold bean salad, and Puerto Rican spiced chicken. Finally, we were comforted all day by the neighbor’s dog who hung around the work site with us.
When we left the worksite, our CWA lead teachers led us in a reflection about our experience on the trip so far and how we could support each other during the remainder of the trip. People then had the option to stay and relax at the house or end the day swimming at the beach. We are looking forward to our salsa dance lesson this evening and returning to the work site tomorrow to pour concrete into the skeletal structures that we built today.
By Reet, Andy, and Emma
January 15, 2025
Work Day 2
This morning, we awoke exhausted from our late-night salsa lesson that we were apprehensive about, but which turned out to be really fun. The opportunity taught us that sometimes you need to take risks and step out of your comfort zone in order to find fun experiences.
We then gathered as a group and had a delicious and nutritious breakfast, that consisted of pancakes, sausage, eggs, and fruit. After that, we gathered on a bus to continue our second and last day of construction. Once we arrived at the work site, we reunited with our construction guides: Ángel, William, and Eggy. They gave us a rundown of the work we would be doing today. Instead of working with cement, we continued working hard on the projects from the previous
day. We continued to bend rebar, and made aros for the frame of the house, which are rectangles made out of rebar that we bent into shape. Once again, after a couple of hours, we split into the two groups and half went to get lunch, prepared by María, Ángel’s wife, who is an amazing cook. The other half continued working. This time around, María made pasta, chicken, and salad, and she gave us sauce options that consisted of alfredo and marinara.
We fully completed six column rebar skeleton’s made from the aros we bent into shape earlier. After lunch we lifted and attached five of the column skeleton’s to the foundation. The guides then told us that we were done for the day because we had completed the work that normally takes groups three days. They commended us on how efficient we were and how we impressed them with our willingness to learn new skills. As we left we all discussed how we were sad we
could not stay longer so we could finish building the house and continue to work with the wonderful people we had met.
This afternoon, as we returned to the Big Yellow House, some of us went to the beach and enjoyed our last day at the beach while others stayed back and relaxed. We are now excited for the dinner awaiting us and celebrating our accomplishments with the community members who worked alongside us for the past two days at our community celebration. We also are excited for our last adventure in Puerto Rico tomorrow, going on a catamaran and snorkeling adventure.
By Yahir, Levi, and Brandon W.
January 16, 2025
This morning, we were able to have a later breakfast so we would all awake well-rested, ready to pack up and clean at the Big Yellow House. We were also alll excited to travel on the catamaran to snorkel and swim in the afternoon! After a rich and fulfilling breakfast of delicious cinnamon french toast sticks and eggs, we began to clean up the Big Yellow House. We accomplished our tasks, such as packing up our belongings, sweeping the hallway floors, cleaning the bathrooms, and collecting our bedding. After that workout, we all went downstairs to wait for the bus to take us to the marina where we were set to meet our snorkel guides. After a short wait, we hopped on board and headed to the catamaran! We arrived at the marina where we met our Captain Jay, and snorkel instructor Lolo. After a 25-30 minute boat ride in the turquoise tropical waters with lush green islands going by, we arrived at the reef where we would snorkel. An additional instructor gave us a tour where we were lucky enough to see a giant lobster, sea turtles,
and a multitude of tropical fish. After our snorkel tour, the boats took us to a family-owned private island with a picturesque sandy beach and as we were setting the anchor, we saw a mother dolphin and her baby swimming right next to our boats! We then had snacks, sandwiches, and even tried non-alcoholic pina coladas and passionfruit juice. After some food we got to play in the water, swimming between the boats and to the island’s beach. We played in the sand and some of us jumped from the boat into the beautiful tropical waters (at a safe height, parents). We also had time to get to know all the deckhands on both boats. We ended the day at the marina restaurant where we got to try some yummy traditional Puerto Rican foods. People were able to have things such as chicken mofongo, vegetarian mofongo, and spiced beef with rice and
beans. We are now on the way to the hotel, where we will be spending the night, before heading back home to Washington. See you soon parents!
By Finn, Zoie, Maya