Adventures

8/17/2011

I discovered quickly that the humidity level in PR stays around 70 percent all the time.  The temperature stays in the 80's and combining that with the humidity allows for a fair amount of feeling "sticky".... all day.  

The dorm is a colossal behemoth dinosaur built around the jurrasic period. 

The elevators rarely work, which as it be, has the benefits of me developing nicely toned calves.  The toilet in the small bathroom on our floor doesnt flush and the lights in the bigger bathroom don't work so you must bring a flashlight, which feels like a caving expedition and brings a new meaning to the term "spelunking".   The rooms are decent sized, however I had to beat the mattress into submission after trying to devour me.  No really....it was that nasty.  I let loose a furious battle plan involving an entire can of Lysol, a plastic mattress cover and a large shoe to squash any critters attempting to crawl away.

 

It was quite odd not having a pane of glass between me and the 150 feet below me.  The building designer elected to NOT install air conditioning, rather use giant metal blinds that retract up and down to allow air flow.  Occasionally a gust of wind will lessen my "stickyness".  Maddy kindly lent me her 6inch fan which helps to pass the nights.   Since there is no glass, the sounds of PR flood the room.  "Would you like fries with that?" is the phrase most ofter heard from the conveniently placed Burger King directly below our room.  Surprisingly 13 stories up I am able to hear sirens, construction work, cars and buses driving noisily down the street and the occasional shout from the random passer-by.  Sleeping is a challenge.

However, with all my complaining, there is a bright side to living on the 13th floor.  The view is amazing.

To say the least...my state of mind is..."frazzzzeled".  Yes, with 2 EXTRA z's.  Monday passed with waiting in lines for what seemed like an eternity.  Maybe an eternity + 1...that's how long it felt. I had to obtain several cards in order to "survive" at UPR.  I first obtained my personal ID card.  Next I went to to get my dorm card.  However in order to get that card I had to get another card. So I had to get my ID card to get my Dorm card to get my Door Code Card.  Confused?  SO WAS I.  And on top of that I had to get pictures developed for my ID card, which no one was kind enough to inform me.  SO, along with the 75 miles I walked from office to office, I had to walk another 34 to a Walgreens to get my pictures made.  While there, I also purchased a new pair of legs because mine were worn out.

In contrast to the grey building of doom, AKA the dorm, the university is appealing. The buildings are well-kept, the grounds are nicely groomed and the trees are FASCINATING.  James Cameron literally came to PR to get ideas for his movie "Avatar".  See below...

Here are some views of the school.....

That's all for now folks..... probably will explore today.  I need to find textbooks somewhere because the campus does not have a bookstore.  Yes, a university, a place where students go to learn things,  does not sell the books required to learn said things.  Uhg.  I miss Kentucky...