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Starting the day out, I met up with Jose Javier, a well-known Deaf surfer in Puerto Rico. As we got to know each other, some heavy rain started pouring down. I said to him, “Oh, no – will I miss my chance to surf with you?” He wasn’t easily cowed, instead suggesting that we come over to see some big waves a few miles from the San Juan airport. I could see the reef nearby the shoreline, and it looked very dangerous to me. We noticed a clear spot in the sky, and moved over to a safer location, hoping for better weather. He explained some things about surfing, and discussed his experiences in depth. I’ve done some bodysurfing and boogie boarding back in my old home state, California, but this will be my first time surfing outside the country, in Puerto Rico!

He took me into the ocean, and we waited for the right wave. I was struggling so hard to stand up on the surfboard. It looked so easy but it wasn’t, not by a long shot! We had a good laugh, and then I turned my surfboard over to him. He tried to find a good wave, and managed to surf a few times but time was against us. We went back to the shore to do the video interview. It was good timing, getting the chance to do the interview and some surfing before another rainstorm came by. We had a perfect window to try some surfing! He had tried previously to encourage other Deaf people on the island to surf, but had no luck. He said that he loves doing wild adventures, and will be taking a class on kite-surfing in a few months. It will be a very tough sport for him since it’s so physical, especially when you’re fighting with the heavy winds, like as if you were parachuting into the sea!

I met Elizabeth and Yolanda over in old San Juan, and then we met up with Hector Tirado at the plaza. He is Deaf, but doesn’t know any sign langauge. He heard about me coming to PR through a local TV news interview. I was stunned to hear that he’s doing a musical. He’s had some worldwide experience, and is being increasingly regarded as a superb doublebassist. You can find out more about him at www.hectortirado.com! He agreed with me that DeafNation is the perfect model to show the world that Deaf people can do anything. I invited him to watch me do an interview with a local Deaf jeweler, Jose Miguel Souss. We walked over to his small shop. There, we found that he makes a lot of jewelry for the local stores, and does some repairs as well for the local stores’ customers.

He also does some customized jewelry. He showed me his work, displaying Deaf-oriented products such as the “I Love You” symbol. He did it in the early 1970s, before the other companies copied his idea. He explained that the gold and silver prices went up so cost to the customers had to go up, too. I realized that we should respect him and other jewelers who have reasonable prices. Gold and silver prices usually go above the labor cost. I ordered three special customized “I Love You” jewelry pieces for my family. I’m looking forward to receiving them in a few weeks!

We moved forward to our next stop: the Puerto Rican Convention Center. I wanted to check it out for our June 13th San Juan DeafNation Expo. I was very impressed with the new convention center, as seeing as it was just opened less than two years ago.

We then stopped by the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (Museum Arts of Puerto Rico – visit them at: www.mapr.org). It was a very beautiful facility. It contains a lot of modern art, and is a cultural center of sorts in Puerto Rico. The Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR) dedicated a great deal of effort, in both human and material effort, to implement inclusive programs for people with disabilities. The museum collaborates with local institutions such as the Instituo de Asistencia Tecnológica, which is part of the University of Puerto Rico, to develop interpretative and educational tools for its programs.

MAPR also participates in the Art Awareness Month tradition, offering eight sessions’ worth of inclusive sculpting to people who are partially sighted or blind, and sighted. One of their classrooms had four Deaf students in a hearing class. They wove some metal string into the shape of a person, which impressed me greatly. I met 3 of the Deaf students at The Evangelical School for the Deaf earlier in the week. They were thrilled to have us here and showed us their work.

I am looking forward to our San Juan DeafNation Expo, which will be held on June 13, 2009. We will surprise everyone because so many people on the island are READY for our big event. The Deaf people are very friendly here! Come and join our event in June, and enjoy staying in Puerto Rico! Isla de Enchantment is one such nickname for Puerto Rico; it means island of enchantment (or love). You will definitely feel the love here in Puerto Rico.

Many thanks to GraciasVRS for having Jorge guide me around Puerto Rico! And I also want to thank them for their generous support of my assignment. You can visit their company at www.graciasvrs.com.

About GraciasVRS:
GraciasVRS is your global community in Trilingual VRS interpreting for Spanish/ASL/English. We service and respect every nation, country and community by providing the right interpreter you need every time! Try GraciasVRS with ANY videophone by dialing graciasvrs.tv or english.graciasvrs.tv today!