This week I am going to change things up with the blog post, mainly because I have such an amazing person here on Penn State Campus. Instead of talking about one of the externs that have lived with us over the years, today I am going to talk about a freshman at Penn State that I have been developing a close relationship. She goes by the name Kami, but her full name is Kamille, and she is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. We met in biology class on the first day and I instantly heard her slight Puerto Rican accent. She now is my biology lab partner and we often study together.
When she grew up in Puerto Rico, she often visited the United States for college summer programs and also skiing. The fact that she knew how to ski blew my mind, for I know a ton of people who know how to ski, but that is because they live about two hours away from the slopes and not a seven-hour plane ride from where she was from. Another thing that intrigued me was her thoughts about Hurricane Maria. But more specifically, how it affected her and the people around her. She mentioned that she lived in a safe house, for it was in San Juan, which was in the largest city in Puerto Rico. She did mention that it was during this time when she first got her driver’s permit and had to learn how to drive with the trees and powerlines still down on the road. Her father purposely did this because the took advantage of the situation at hand to learn how to maneuver the car in precarious conditions.
Her brother, sister, and a bunch of her cousins all went to Penn State. Annually for the White Out game, her entire family comes to Happy Valley to tailgate and enjoy the game. They fly in from Puerto Rico for the White Out experience, which to me speaks truth to how amazing the White Out is. This weekend I am going to meet her so-called, ”Crazy family” and have a Puerto Rican twist on typical tailgating food. I am excited to see how my friendship with Kami will teach me about the differences between Puerto Rican life vs the States. Thank you for reading my blog, and I hope you learned a little bit about my dear friend, Kami.
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