Sandy Spring Friends School Puerto Rico 2026
March 16, 2026
Hello everybody! Today is March 16th, 2026, and it was our first full day in Puerto Rico! We started our day by having breakfast all together at the big yellow house and enjoyed eggs, sausage, and French toast sticks. After our lovely breakfast we headed out on the bus to Old San Juan, where we met our lovely tour guide, Alvin. We toured around the city learning about many historical landmarks and churches. We ended our tour with a self guided walkthrough of El Morro, which had plenty of beautiful views. We then went to get lunch, which was a good taste into the local culture. After this we were able to walk through some tourist shops and buy unique souvenirs that were made by local artists. We then got popsicles and headed back to the big yellow house. Once at the big yellow house, we changed and headed to the beach for a relaxing few hours. We ended our day by coming back to the house and sharing one more delicious meal for dinner. We had a fantastic first day!!!
By: Jake, Sadie, and Anthony
March 17, 2026
This was our first day of service in Villa De Rio, we started with a pancake breakfast at the big yellow house then we loaded onto a big yellow school bus and drove 30 minutes of steep and winding roads while seeing beautiful nature on the way. When we arrived near the work site we saw many cute dogs and were introduced to Angel, Eggy, Willy. We were told about the family of 5 that lives in the small house on the worksite. Next we geared up and learned about the house plan and how to make molds for the cement walls for the 3 new rooms. The next 2 and a half hours were spent working on building the wood walls of the molds then stopped at Maria’s house to have delicious chicken, rice, and beans. At Maria’s house we met their dogs and family and bonded over incredible food. When we got back from lunch we were introduced to Ashly who lives in the home we are building. Next we spent a couple of hours finishing the concrete molds, and saying goodbye to angel, eggy, and William. We then loaded onto the bus and made our way back to the big yellow house. Then we split and some stayed at the house and fought off iguanas, while the other group walked to the beach and spent the evening hours lounging in the sun, enjoying the water, and playing games. In the water we spotted a sea turtle close to shore which was very special. After this time was over everyone cleaned up and rested or played volleyball. Next we gathered for a meeting shared our positive observations about the person we were told to watch. Next we had catered dinner from Rickie’s restaurant and had grilled chicken and plantains. After we had desert and reflected about our day and our impact the community and what our works means to the people. We hope to have another fun and successful day of service tomorrow.
By: Tyler, Zoe, Rohan
March 18, 2026
We started the day with breakfast at the Big Yellow House, and made our way to Villa del Rio for day two of our service. Angel and Willie (the service leaders) gave us a tutorial on how to make cement. We made an assembly line, with some people filling buckets of materials to make cement, some people actually making the cement, some shoveling, and some pouring. We pushed through the morning working really hard before breaking for a delicious lunch made by Maria, Angles wife. After our service we headed to the beach to relax and drink tropical refreshments. We then came back to the Big Yellow House and got ready for a celebration of our hard work. The entire crew, including the family we were helping build a house for came over and we shared a meal. We played lots of games like football (both American and not), hide and seek, and freeze tag. After that we came together and Angel and Willie told us more about the projects they have worked on and Global Works as a whole. They expressed their gratitude towards us and made sure any questions we had got answered. At the end we took a picture and said goodbye!
By: Melanie, Maxine and Aidan
March 19, 2026
Hi everyone! Today marks the fourth day of our Puerto Rico intercession trip. We visited the cacao farm and divided into groups to assist in the replanting process. We opened the cacao pods and learned about the tree’s ability to produce more cacao. Afterward, we enjoyed a delicious home-cooked lunch of chicken, rice, and potatoes followed by a chocolate tasting session featuring various cacao percentages.
On our final day at the Big Yellow House, we rested and visited the beach one last time. We took a hike to watch the sunset during a group meeting for worship, reflecting on our time here. We returned to the Big Yellow House for dinner, which consisted of chicken, potatoes and salad, followed by a salsa dancing class taught by a local mother and daughter.
This incredible experience brought us all together for one last time before we leave the Big Yellow House. We are filled with excitement for our final day and eagerly anticipate the experiences that await us in our future activities. Thank you for listening, everyone!
By: Guliana, Eli and Liam
March 20, 2026
To start off our fifth day of intersession, we woke up for breakfast and said goodbye to the Big Yellow House. We then went to a swimming hole in the middle of the rainforest which we enjoyed for an hour and a half. Then we went to a shopping area along the beach for lunch, and did some souvenir shopping. We checked into the Casa Coral and spent some downtime at the beach. Then we went down the docks where we boarded kayaks to set off on the short paddle to the bioluminescent bay, where we had an incredible time. We then went back to Casa Coral where we had a nice pizza dinner and went to sleep. What a wonderful day.
By: Matthew, Ash and Dylan
March 21, 2026
On the last day of the trip, we started the morning with amazing breakfast sandwiches while writing notes to ourselves. Following soon after was a group reflecting circle where we shared and gave gratitude to our fellow peers, recognizing everyone’s triumphs and accomplishments on the trip. We said our final goodbyes to Amanda soon after, and Barbara guided us on a walking reflection meeting for worship on the beach. We ended the meeting by getting our feet wet in the water. Before the airport, we had time to relax and share our final moments together on this amazing trip.
By Aaron, zoë and Stephen
