From London to San Juan

It seems like every single one of my blog posts starts by mentioning how quickly time has gone by since my last post. True to that trend, time has flown by in the two months since I last wrote! In that time, I submitted my dissertation, flew home from London, took a trip to Puerto Rico, and started my first “big girl” job. (In case you were wondering, I also finished reading my 70th book of the year and started watching Psych again.) Since that’s a lot, let’s dive into a brief overview of all the happenings from London to San Juan!

Last Month in England

My last month in England was fairly uneventful, as my main focus was on finishing my dissertation. (I also had an NHS sleep study done, but that’s a story for another day!) The title of my work was “Women’s Empowerment and Minimum Acceptable Nutrition Among Children Aged 6-23 Months in Haiti.” While I do plan to post a link to my paper at some point in the near future, I am going to wait to post it in its entirety because I haven’t received my marks yet.

While working to finish this paper, I also navigated the familiarly frustrating process of moving from one country to another. This included weighing everything I owned and trying to figure out how to pack boxes below their volumetric weight. Due to COVID-19, it also involved navigating the constantly changing legal requirements to travel between countries. (Thankfully, it wasn’t nearly as complicated as my experience trying to travel from the UK to Italy earlier in the summer!) With my bags packed and my negative COVID-19 test in hand, I was able to fly back home on September 1st!

San Juan

After spending some time at home, I made my way back to the Kansas City airport to hop on yet another flight! A fortuitous series of events led to my parents being unable to use their annual timeshare. (My immediate family usually travels to Florida during the week of Thanksgiving. This year, my cousin Derrick is getting married during that week. Thus, my parents decided to let Bryce (my boyfriend of 7+ years) and me use it instead as a graduation gift.) As a result, Bryce and I were able to spend an absolutely amazing week in Puerto Rico!

On our first day, we spent some time walking around Old San Juan. (We also spent some time trying to figure out the road signs… We eventually learned that speed limit signs are in miles per hour, whereas traffic signs indicating distances are in kilometers!) While in San Juan, we visited the San Juan National Historic Site. More specifically, we visited Castillo San Felipe del Morro. This fort, which was constructed between 1539 and 1790, is located at the entrance to the Bay of San Juan. Spain built this fortification to guard the harbor. Right away, it was really neat to see people flying kites all around the fort!

I was fascinated by many things at the fort, but I found the information about daily rations to be one of the most interesting things I learned on our visit. The sign outside of the kitchen reads as follows:

Spanish soldiers in the 1700s subsisted on a daily ration of three pounds of food per day, consisting of meat, bread, assorted root crops, vegetables, and dried beans. Rations were not issued individually. The food was pooled and prepared in the fortress’ kitchens.

Given that Spain had garrisons located around the world far from the army’s supply depots, soldiers were expected to obtain their food from local sources. The money for the food was deducted from the soldiers’ pay, leaving them very little disposable income.

Provided the soldier would actually receive his full ration, which could sometimes be in question, he was generally better fed than the local civilians, one of the facts that attracted some to a difficult life in the military.

San Juan National Historic Site

After visiting the fort, we drove to Río Grande to check in to the resort. Before checking in, we had to stop by a tent where our vaccine cards and temperatures were checked. (Unvaccinated guests did have the option of presenting a negative COVID-19 test instead of a vaccine card, but since Bryce and I are both vaccinated this was not necessary.) We then received blue wristbands to wear at all times to show that all of our coronavirus-related paperwork had been checked. (In case you’re wondering, we also received emails every 24 hours which notified us of the requirement to fill out a form daily to indicate whether we had experienced any coronavirus-related symptoms that day.)

After checking in, I was eager to see the ocean! The view from the beach absolutely did not disappoint. While I usually like to go see all the things and go on all the tours when I’m traveling somewhere new, I was absolutely content to relax by the water and read for hours on end. As a result, I managed to finish five books while on the trip! (I also spent a decent amount of time attempting to befriend the resort cat, Callie…)

However, Bryce did manage to pull me away from the water (and Callie!) a few times throughout the week! We visited a local supermarket (where a gallon of milk was $8), El Yunque National Forest, and several amazing restaurants.

Visiting El Yunque National Forest was one of my favorite parts of the trip. This is the only tropical rainforest in the national forest system! After booking our timed entry spot for $2 and entering the forest, our first stop was at Yokahú Tower. This tower was built in the 1960s. Visitors are able to climb up the stairs inside of the 69-foot tower to look out over the forest.

While in the national park, we also stopped at Baño Grande. This location operated as a swimming pool from 1936 to 1968. It was constructed as part of “The New Deal.” I can only imagine what an amazing experience it would have been to visit while the swimming pool was still operational!

The main portion of our time in the national forest was spent hiking to Mt. Britton Tower. This was definitely a sweaty experience! I nearly forced Bryce to turn back around when we were almost to the tower, but fortunately another group of hikers was coming back down from the tower and informed us that we were so close that we couldn’t turn back yet. They were definitely right; the view (and the cool breeze) from the top of the tower were well worth the effort!

Like Baño Grande, the Mt. Britton Tower was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was constructed between 1937 and 1938. And like the hike to reach it, the view from the top of the tower was breathtaking!

Our last stop in the national forest was La Coca Falls. This 85-foot waterfall was absolutely gorgeous, and probably would have been a beautiful place to stop and take more pictures if we weren’t so worn out from the hot and humid hike!

As I briefly mentioned earlier, we also made sure to enjoy some of the amazing food while we were in Puerto Rico! My favorite dessert was a delicious sweet potato flan. Although I’ve never made flan before, I am now determined to try to recreate this recipe at home!

We also enjoyed an incredible dinner at Iguanas Cocina Puertorriqueña. At this restaurant which is located inside the gates of the resort, Bryce enjoyed the catch of the day (swordfish) while I ordered the lobster. (We also had an amazing experience while walking back from this restaurant, because we were able to see some of the wildlife—including many crabs, as well as some of the noisy tree frogs!)

Our favorite meal, however, was from a restaurant outside of the resort called La Parrilla. This restaurant, which is located right by the ocean, offers a wide range of seafood. I had mahi mahi (with a delicious side of fried sweet plantains that we have since attempted, although not nearly as successfully, to make ourselves). Bryce ordered the stuffed grouper, which was filled with shrimp and other sorts of goodies. We stopped at La Parrilla for lunch on our last full day in Puerto Rico, and we definitely regretted not going earlier in the trip!

Of course, the trip passed by far too quickly. Before we knew it, we were on a plane headed back home. However, I have a strong feeling we’ll be back!

Starting My First Full-Time Job

A mere 36 hours after returning to Kansas, I started my first full-time job! I am now serving as the new Nutrition, Food and Health Extension Agent for the Southwind District of K-State Research and Extension. Food security and child nutrition have long been passions of mine, and I am eager to start on programming in these areas. I am also thrilled to be able to give back to the communities that raised me, as the Southwind District serves Allen, Bourbon, Neosho, and Woodson Counties.

I may not have my boxes from England or my suitcase from Puerto Rico unpacked yet, but I am ready to hit the ground running with programming in my new position! So if you’re reading this and you have ideas, please feel free to reach out. (And of course, I want to provide the typical disclaimer that all opinions posted here on my blog are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my new employer.) If you’re interested in reading more, Tim at the Iola Register and Matt at the Chanute Tribune both wrote wonderful articles about the issues I’m hoping to tackle in my new position!

Stay Tuned

That’s all for now, but stay tuned for more updates on all of the things! While I imagine I won’t be traveling outside of Kansas much (if at all) before the end of the year, I am really excited for this new chapter and planning to take you along for the ride through periodic updates to my blog. And as always, you can subscribe to my blog below to make sure you receive an email update every time I publish a new post!

Thank you so much for reading!