Puerto Rico: Hurricane Relief Session 4, 2025
July 31, 2025
Today we had an early morning and ate some french toast sticks with our new friends! We played a little game before we got onto our bus and headed to Old San Juan. The bus ride was about an hour but we listened to music and talked to each other. When we arrived in Old San Juan our tour guide was waiting there ready to greet us. Our tour guide showed us some of the old monuments before we entered through the walls. By the way, the walls were super tall and wide. Some of the highlights throughout the tour included going to a few churches, the governor’s mansion, and seeing one of the smallest colonial houses in the world. After that we went to the fort, El Morro. The fort was super big and had many levels with great views. One of the best views came from the bathroom. After that we went and had lunch and followed that with some shopping time! A lot of us got souvenirs to remember our time here. After being in the hot weather and walking around all day we went and got some local popsicles before getting back on the bus and heading back to the Big Yellow House. When we got back we immediately started getting ready for the beach so we could be there by 4pm. We had some fun in the warm waters of Puerto Rico. Then we had some time to shower before we ate dinner and ended the night with a game and a documentary about the island. Now we are writing the blog and getting ready to get a good night’s sleep for the next day ahead of us.
By: Cali, Caroline, Lucia, Rlynn & Jake
Aug 1, 2025
Rise and shine Puerto Rico! Today we had a slightly later wake up time, which we were thankful for. We were surprised by some fluffy warm pancakes along with some scrambled eggs, slices of ham and some refreshing juice. We enjoyed our meal outside in the already bright sun. As we prepared for our first day of construction, we packed the worksite essentials like work gloves, boots, sunscreen and water. We hopped on a big yellow bus to make our way to the construction site and were delighted to see a group of cows on the side of the road. At the worksite, we learned that the purpose of constructing this house was to give an ill elderly woman a place to live comfortably and return back to her home land. After receiving helmets from Angel and Willy, they instructed us on how to prepare the base of the walls that would later be filled with cement to give this family a wall to what will soon be their home. We split into two groups, one to fetch wood and the other to start securing the rebar with pieces of wire. After our hard work, we were led by Angel’s three grandkids through some steep hills to Maria’s house, where she served us a delicious home cooked meal of white rice, pollo guisao’ and fresh salad. We enjoyed the food and felt very welcomed by Maria and her family. As we made our way back to the work site a sprinkle of rain foreshadowed what was to come. Upon our return, we were able to finish what we started in the morning, which meant we were now ready to pour cement tomorrow. Once we returned to the Big Yellow House, most of us walked down to the beach where we relaxed in the warm Puerto Rican water after a long day of work. Later that night for dinner we enjoyed some pasta and meat sauce along with more greens. After supper, we headed upstairs to debrief about the documentary of the ongoing issues in Puerto Rico which we watched the day prior. We discussed how we felt about the situation of Puerto Ricans and how their homes were being taken away from them. We learned that Act 22 allows Americans to purchase land in Puerto Rico and make a profit off of it without contributing to taxes which affects the living conditions of Puerto Ricans. We followed up with some games as a collective which brought smiles and joy to the group. The excitement and joy carried on through the house as the night went on before bedtime.
y: JC, Collin, Anthony & Jazminh
Aug 2, 2025
We woke up at an early 7:15 this morning and packed our workplace essentials for the day, our gloves, close toed shoes, sunscreen, and most importantly water. For breakfast we enjoyed delicious waffles, lots of fruit, eggs, and some slices of ham. We washed down all our food with some fruit juice. After our morning meeting and stretch we hopped on the bus and drove through the scenic roads and quickly arrived at our destination. There was a family of dogs waiting for us at the workplace. We efficiently debriefed about what work we would be doing that day and we started on our cement assembly line. At the beginning of the line there were members of our group shoveling rocks, sand and water into the cement mixer. The cement was then poured out, scooped up and put into buckets. Those buckets were rapidly transported down the line and poured into the wall mold. After filling half of the walls we took a lunch break and headed to Maria’s house for an amazing lunch of salad, yellow rice, and homemade chicken nuggets. After finishing our food, we hiked back to the house and finished our project for the day. Many of us were covered in cement! As soon as we got changed out of our dirty clothes we rode the bus back to the Big Yellow House. Instead of beach time today, we hung out at the house and called our families. We also finished our check ups with the leaders and took showers. After our casual afternoon of recreational activities, we enjoyed dinner. Our dinner was crispy pork chops, salad, flavorful white rice, and leftover pasta from the night before. There was a brief hour where many of us joined together and talked before our entertaining night of salsa. We all gathered and learned about what activities we have planned for the next day. Our salsa instructor was our amazing leader, Lauren. We learned four basic moves and practiced them with our partners. One move at a time, we moved around and danced with new people. It built a connection between many people and allowed them to connect with dance. We ended the class with some free dance. Once we completed that activity we headed downstairs to close out the night and with excitement still lingering from our dance class we headed to bed.
By Tatum, Zack, Abby, Alex & Wyatt
Aug 3, 2025
Good morning from Puerto Rico! Today we had an early start to the day at 6:15. We began the morning with a fresh and nostalgic breakfast of cinnamon french toast, buttery eggs, and an assortment of fresh fruit and juicy sausages. Following breakfast, we created a circle and stretched to prepare our bodies for the long day of labor ahead of us. Next, we headed off onto the bus for about an hour long ride to the rain forest where we were greeted and welcomed by the community and nature itself. We split into groups with Andres, John and 3T where we each had an important task to improve the experiences of those who live and tour the rainforest. With 3T, some of us worked in the garden where we ripped weeds, cleaned up the rows, and replanted new life. Alongside the road revisions, improvements were made to the trails within the rainforest. We set off on a short, but muddy hike where wood was collected to make the stairs along the trail. First, we measured out pieces of wood that would be tied by rebar to make sturdy steps that would allow people to walk up and down the trail safely. After a productive, but tiring few hours of work, we gathered in the homestead for a comforting meal made by Monique and the rest of the community. Spaghetti and meatballs were served, alongside a fresh and delicious salad. Following our delicious lunch we gathered around and listened to 3T speak about the importance of solving deforestation and contributing to the change as volunteers. To wrap up our experience in the rainforest we rode the bus to a swimming hole where we had to again, walk muddy trails. The water was fresh and cold and allowed us to rinse off our hard work. Lastly, we ended our day with delicious and juicy chicken and potatoes for dinner paired with rice and leftovers from yesterday. After a greatly fulfilling day we each learned that deforestation is a large problem here in Puerto Rico. Today we each did something that was critical in order for change, a first step in addressing an issue: deforestation. We accomplished what’s necessary and needs to be done. To finish our long day, we enjoyed free time and played a bunch of card and board games with each other at the Big Yellow House.
By Roscio, Sylvia, Anyeli, Allan, & Shayne
August 4th, 2025
Buenos días from Puerto Rico! This morning we woke up at 7:15 to enjoy breakfast at 8:00. Our breakfast consisted of buttery pancakes, ham, fruit and the classic scrambled eggs. After breakfast, we joined Jorge in a stretching circle to prepare for our long, and final, day of work on the house. We got on the bus and after a quick twenty minute ride to the worksite, we got to work almost immediately. Although we were tired from our previous rainforest work, we persevered through the heat and were able to finish all of the walls for the house. We accomplished this through assembly lines and quick shoveling. We were able to enjoy the afternoon work with full stomachs from community member Maria’s flavorful rice with beans, comforting chicken nuggets, and refreshing salad. We were all excited to hear Angel call “¡Terminamos por hoy!” meaning “We were finished for the day!” after our last wall of cement was poured. Lots of naps on the ride home were quickly followed by beach football games. Don’t worry, we made the house look very clean for our dinner guests- Angel, William, Eggy, Maria, Beba, Talia, and their grandkids. We ate a familiar meal of hamburgers with cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and lots of condiments. After this delicious meal, we spent some quality time with the community members playing volleyball, meeting their dogs, and playing games. Angel, William and Beba led a speech, translated by our leader, Lauren, letting us know about the important impact we have on the Puerto Rican community. They explained to us about the numerous groups that spent parts of their Spring and Summer on this project and the record breaking cement work that we accomplished. We learned the value of Global Works and how their dedicated workers put so much effort into changing over 60 families’ lives in Puerto Rico. After ópening the floor for questions from us, we were handed lovely gifts, bracelets with various charms on them. Of course, these bracelets came in the Puerto Rican colors of red, white, and blue. After taking a group picture in front of the Big Yellow House and saying our farewells to the community members, we celebrated our hard work with cupcakes. To end the final night in the BYH, we will continue to play games and pack for the long day ahead of us tomorrow.
By: Bangaly, Brya, Eli F, Ashley, Lily
August 5, 2025
Good morning Puerto Rico! Today was a normal wake up call where we were greeted by the fresh smell of cinnamon from the warm french toast that enlightened the day upon arrival! Other things that were being served for breakfast were delightful sausages, and creamy and delicious fresh fruits. After we all pounded our food down we said our final goodbyes to the Big Yellow House and hopped in the bus with all our spectacular luggage. Due to some minor issues we were unable to visit the beautiful water hole, but we bounced back with a fantastic and lavish shopping experience with a delicious meal for all. After lunch we split our group between very cool and new hostels, Casa Coral and Surfing Turtle 🙂 Once settled in we swam in the river by the ocean right next to Casa Coral. After this we ate a quick pizza dinner and sodas! We then wrote a letter to our future selves and it will be sent to all of us in the next six months. Then, we finished getting ready and drove to our Bioluminescent Bay Tour where we got to kayak through the beautiful mangroves into the bay. After all that we finished up the night with a closing activity, then getting our phones back and spent time speaking to our beautiful family members while also saying goodbye to our new family.
P.S. We miss Eggy!
By: Luca, Eli H., Nasr, Jacky, Avila, and Sol
