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Coming back from the PLA spring break trip to Puerto Rico only reminds me, once again, how incredibly blessed I am to be in the Academy. It is such a privilege to be able to travel to various cities, for free, and interact with the Erickson’s and the Hintz’s. I truly appreciate the effort they put fourth to not only come on these trips, but to also speak to every student. While I have many memorable moments from this PLA trip, I can definitely say that my conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Hintz about Teach for America and my upbringing are among the top of the list. They are deeply interested in getting to know us as individuals, and that means the world to me. By far, this trip was one of the best. Aside from the wonderful location, I loved that we took a more touristy approach and learned more about the city of San Juan and Puerto Rican culture. While I can admit that I typically tune out at certain locations on our trips, I was much more attentive this time, and I greatly benefited from it.

While it was nice to spend a week in the Caribe Hilton, my favorite parts of our trip were when we were exposed to a more authentic Puerto Rico. By that, I mean, we were exposed to the foods people in Puerto Rico actually eat, or the places they live. Sure, we might not have interacted much with the local people (other than when we went to shops and such), but even driving through some of the neighborhoods we did to get from destination to destination was important to me.  One element of PLA that tends to bother me is the sense of elitism that being in the Academy carries. When we visit cities, we experience the best of the best that the location has to offer. We get such an unrealistic view of what a city and its people actually face. The same was true in PR, however, there were a few moments when we started to get a glimpse of how people actually live. Driving through some of those neighborhoods was a nice reminder for me that all of Puerto Rico is not about beautiful beaches and easy, hotel resort living. I think it is vital that PLA begins to expose students to a more realistic view of the cities they visit. We need to start tackling some of the harder topics to talk about, such as poverty, education, healthcare access, etc. We need to be forced to confront the fact that, yes, we are privileged to be in the Academy. And as a result, we should be charged to learn about and make a difference in some of the realms of life that are more “authentic” to a large population of people.