Fourth Anniversary

It's hard to believe that it has been almost four years since I moved back to the island. In some ways it seems like it just happened yesterday, but in other ways it seems like I've been here forever. Perhaps this feeling of ambivalence may sound perplexing to some. Although I was born here, because of my almond-shaped eyes, most people assume that I'm a foreigner or a tourist. Once they hear me speak Spanish, they are fascinated and ask me a bunch of questions. This happens quite often, and I've come to find it amusing and often chuckle about it. While living here for the past few years, I've lost count how many times strangers have struck up conversations with me. In New York, which I still consider my home, I can count them off in one hand!

Since living in Puerto Rico, I've become a lot more open-minded and appreciative of the smallest things in life. Living outside your comfort zone forces you to adapt to your environment. Otherwise, you'll just have to surrender and return to the old and familiar. It's all about perspective. You can either see the glass as half full or half empty. I choose the former. One of the things I love about living on this island is that it has forced me to learn and grow by leaps and bounds. I enjoy being outside of my element, because through such experiences you have a better sense of yourself and your place in this world. Many who move to the island from the mainland tend to have a lengthy list of complaints. This is something which I've always found to be irritating because it's completely futile and counterproductive. One thing I always tell people who are thinking of moving to the Puerto Rico is to never expect things on the island to be the same as they are in the U.S., because they simply aren't.

On the other hand, looking back to these past four years, time seems to have stood still because nothing much has changed in terms of the island's politics, which seems to be more fractured and polarized than before. Crime levels remain high, and the economy is still in the doldrums. Although the island's governor was from the red party (Partido Popular Democrático) four years ago, and the current governor is from the blue party (Partido Nuevo Progresista), it's more of the same. Unfortunately, in terms of the island's quality of life, I cannot say that it has improved at all. Then again, most parts of the world seem to be in a similar predicament.

On the topic of Puerto Rico

With much heartfelt gratitude and appreciation, I was approached with the opportunity to submit a blog entry to a travel Website, Unpaved South America, a while back. The editor asked me to write about Puerto Rico, and gave me the liberty to write from whichever angle I desired. Since many have not heard about this small island, I chose to focus on the things which makes Puerto Rico unique. Therefore, I decided to write about the island's relationship with the U.S, and the mixture of cultures which permeates the island. Hope you all enjoy reading, "Dichotomy in the 'Island of Enchantment.'"

Emotions Running High

This week is turning out to be quite an eventful one at the State Capital (el capitolio), where police clashed with protestors today, and had to use pepper spray and lacrimogenic gas to disperse them. It all started on Monday, when the pugnacious State Senator majority leader Thomas Rivera Schatz (PNP) made an inappropriate homophobic remark towards Senator Eduardo Bhatia (PPD), who also fired back with an insult. For the integrity of this blog, I won't delve into the details of this exchange. Truth be told, the actions of these two gentlemen makes me wonder about the direction of Puerto Rico's future. When two elected officials have to resort to cat-calling, and behave like children, one can't help but do some soul-searching. Like the popular public service announcement slogan says, "¿Que nos pasa Puerto Rico?" (Translation: "What's going on with us in Puerto Rico?")

Mr. Rivera has seemingly not given this question much thought, and decided to grab as many headlines as he can possibly get. Yesterday, he finally bowed to pressure and allowed the public and the press to attend congressional sessions. He had gradually been limiting such access, especially after the intense media coverage of the arrest last week of Sen. Héctor Martínez (PNP), who is facing charges of corruption. The Senate majority leader's restriction on the press has been called unconstitutional, and various local press associations have gone to the Puerto Rican Supreme Court to demand the re-opening of the plenary sessions to the public.

Today's skirmishes occurred when University of Puerto Rico students attempted to enter the capitol building to attend the congressional session taking place. Some journalists and photographers were assaulted by the police as well. Today's session was the last before the start of the new fiscal year 2010-2011. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have not been able to find common ground on various budgetary measures. During a period in which Puerto Rico is experiencing some very tough economic challenges, as well as social problems, such events serve no purpose in helping the island move forward in resolving its issues.

(The image above was obtained from www.endi.com)