Unity In Puerto Rico

Unity In Puerto Rico

Zaina Al Ghabra

January 10, 2010

Traveling today has changed drastically when you compare it to the agendas of those who traveled before us. Back then travel was dedicated to advancing certain agendas. Those traveling to far away places were a minority who were assigned to certain tasks. Luckily today, more people associate traveling with leisure and as a way to learn about our world and all its complexities. Anti-conquest is a word coined by Mary Pratt, which refers to the innocence of travel rather than traveling for conquering and dominating other people and cultures. Many of us find ourselves traveling to far away places simply to fulfill a curious obligation within ourselves; thus reiterating the notion of anti-conquest.

Anthony Bourdain is a well-known author and chef who travels documenting his experiences and broadcasting them on the Travel Channel for the world to see; a luxury that was not readily available in the past. His series integrate Pratt’s notion of anti-conquest, as he travels to different parts of Puerto Rico and offers his own account based on what he has seen and experienced. More so, he offers pointers to those who plan on following his footsteps into unknown lands. Bourdain also emphasizes the importance of familiarizing oneself with the local population, gaining a “real experience, rather than being immersed in tourist destinations with other tourists.

When it comes to the amount of things I have witnessed and been a part of on this lovely Island, I can definitely say I was offered a well-rounded experience. Bourdain stresses on tasting a Piña Colada when in Puerto Rico, and I can walk away assured I was lucky to find and indulge in the freshest Piña Colada on the Island. More so, Bourdain emphasizes a little restaurant in Old San Juan called “Raices,” of which myself, Dr. Subervi and Dr. Carstarphen, along with a few other classmates had the wonderful opportunity of eating at. Not only did we eat there, but we indulged in the all famous Mofongo. Mofongo is a Puerto Rican delicacy composed of mashed triple fried plantains topped with your choice of meat, chicken, shrimp or vegetables. Bourdain also made sure visitors know the relevance and love people in Puerto Rico have for rice and beans.

Lastly, visiting Vieques, The Three Kings Festival, El Yunque Rainforest and the Bioluminescent Bay just last night, truly offered a tourist experience like no other. I feel as though I can walk away from this trip with a personal account of the Islands rich beauty, history, food, culture and people; Anthony Bourdain would be pleased. Of course none of this would have been possible without our amazing tour guides who gave us their all, our professors who are the backbone of the trip, and of course my fellow students who filled our journey with laughter and fun.

What Happens in Puerto Rico Gets Posted on This Blog!

By Marisa Mohi, goddess of travel blogs and obnoxious inside jokes.

Hello out there, ether space interwebs! My name is Marisa and I'm here to tell you a thing or two about Puerto Rico.



I'm a grad student at the University of Oklahoma in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. I'm working on a Masters of Professional Writing, with grand plans (delusions?) of graduating in May. Gaylord College offers a class in travel writing that takes place in Puerto Rico. When I heard about it, I knew I had to take it. I mean, learning on a beach or in a tropical rain forest...not the hardest decision I've ever made. I will be sharing my experiences on the road through Puerto Rico here on this very blog!

This first post is the entrance essay I used to apply for the class. It details why I'm interested in travel writing, though, I feel that I should tell you that the only reason I want to be a travel writer is so that I could potentially get a show on the Travel Channel and then marry Adam Richman of Man Vs. Food. But that'll all come in time.

Ever since I was eight years old, I’ve wanted to be a writer. But what good is a writer with no experience outside of their own little bubble?

It would appear that I’ve made it to graduate school without ever traveling east of Kansas City. I am by no means proud of this. In fact, I wonder if I can truly call myself educated if all I know about the world came from books and TV.

It’s safe to say, I’m more than a little interested in going to Puerto Rico. As an undergrad, I minored in Spanish, and immediately fell in love with both the language and many Spanish-speaking cultures as viewed from the scope of textbooks and stories told to me by friends who traveled abroad. I knew I wanted to travel too.

For me, this course would not only be about travel writing. It would be the first glimpse of a world outside the suburban culture of the U.S. It would be tangible evidence that there is something other than shopping malls and Sooner football. In short, it would most likely be the most educating of all courses I will ever take.

There is no way I can ever genuinely write about another culture or location without going there myself. I want to go to Puerto Rico to become a better writer. I want to experience something first hand and write about it.

And, as if the introduction to this little blog o' mine isn't proof enough of my superior nerd powers, I also wrote this essay in Spanish. I was just trying to secure my place in the class, man. Sometimes you just gotta show off your cranial capabilities and make everyone else around you look lame by comparison. This is also the reason why the first years of my public school experience were so painful and full of bullies. Clearly getting tripped in the hallways at good ol' Sequoyah Middle School and having rocks thrown at me and my friends as we got off the school bus wasn't enough to persuade me to behave like less of a dork. But that is neither here nor there, or any other location of consequence really. But I digress...so, here for your enjoyment is my entrance essay in la lengua de Díos.

Desde tenía ocho anos, quería ser una escritora. Y, ¿ que vale una escritora quien no tiene experiencia afuera de su vida diaria?

Pero, estoy en escuela graduada y nunca he viajado al este de Kansas City. No estoy orgullosa de esto. De hecho, me pregunto si puedo ser educada si todo que yo sé es de los libros de texto y los programas de televisión.

Una persona puede decir que yo estoy más que una poca interesada en viajar a Puerto Rico. Antes de la escuela graduada, estudiaba español y cayo en amor con la lengua y también muchas de las culturas hispano hablantes según lo visto con el alcance de los libros de texto y las historias mis amigos me contaron del viajar al extranjero. Supe que quería viajar también.

Para mi, este curso no va a ser solamente sobre la escritura de recorrido. Va a ser mi primer vista de un mundo afuera de la cultura suburbana de los Estados Unidos. Va a ser evidencia comprobable que hay más que ir de compras y el futbol americano de los Sooners. En fin, va a ser el mas importante de todos los cursos que va a tomar.

No puedo escribir sinceramente sobre una cultura o país si nunca viajo allí. Yo quiero ir a Puerto Rico para convertirme en una mejor escritora. Yo quiero tener la experiencia y escribir sobre la.

And now, mis amigos, for your listening and viewing pleasure, I will give you the first glimpse I ever had into the world that is Puerto Rico. However, unlike Anita, I am totally stoked on being in Puerto Rico!

Why I'm here

My name is Emily Nicholls and I'm a 20 year old junior at the University of Oklahoma. I'm currently on my 4th visit to la Isla del Encanto, but my first without my family as my mom is from Ponce, a city in the south of Puerto Rico. I'm so excited to share my experiences and encounters during my stay in beautiful Puerto Rico! Just so you can have some extra insight about me, below you will see my interest essay which stated why I originally wanted to apply to this program.

I am applying to the program Communicating Culture. Travel Writing in Puerto

Rico in December lntersession for a variety of reasons:

First of all, I have what the Travel Channel refers to as the "travel bug". I

absolutely love to travel. I think it's great to see and experience other peoples

and places to really broaden one's understanding of the world. I'm an

lnternational Enterprise Studies minor because I love to learn about different

places and interactions between them. I think that because individual countries

depend so much on one another due to our increasingly global economy, it's

important to be interested in the histories and practices of other cultures because

I feel that getting an understanding of those who are different really helps people

to relate better to one another. As far as traveling is concerned l've been to

Puerto Rico before as that is where my mother is from and l've learned much

about the history of it, but I think it would be great to learn about it in a way that I

can share with others, which is travel writing. I watch the Travel Channel all the

time and I'm so envious of the hosts of the shows because they get to

experience so many different cultures and lands and share their experiences with

the entire nation which really helps others to learn about the world outside of the

United States and reshape perceptions that we get from the variety of sources

we have access to. lt's secretly a dream of mine to have a show like that.

Definitely not one dealing with creepy crawlies & odd foods, but more along the

lines of increasing awareness of what the world has to offer beyond what we

have been exposed to.

Additionally, I am a Spanish minor so it would be great to practice in an

environment where I could be immersed in the language but still have English as

a safety net as everyone there does speak English also. I feel that practicing is

the key to success. Because my mother is from there, my grandmother and

extended family (see the above picture) still live there so it would be great to be able to see them while on the trip because I know it would make them all so excited that not only do I

want to learn about my heritage but I also want to share it with everyone else.

I'd really appreciate the opportunity to join you on this trip to Puerto Rico not only

for my own benefit, but also to provide a different perspective for others on the

trip because I do speak the language and have a deeper understanding of the

culture I feel that I would be a valuable asset to the trip. Especially since my

grandmother loves to cook!