Alaskan family of five moves to Puerto Rico.

Yay! You did it! Awesome! Now after 10 posts add it to the expat-blog blog list for more exposure. Looks great!





Matt V. - Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil
Visit my Personal Blog - brazilbs.blogspot.com

Yaay!!! You have a blog!!! Adding it to  my RSS right now. Love the photos and your family is beautiful!

Excellent pictures on the blog, Williamusps.

Why brazil?

OMG!! I am so glad you have a regular blog!!! Love all the pictures!!!

The long cut:

Saturday, we got off to a late start. Not sure why. Maybe the island life is starting to hit us. The weather was forecasted to be hotter than normal. Normal is supposed to be in the low to mid 80’s. We have not seen those normal temperatures yet. It always seems to be in the 90’s or 100’s. Basically it’s always super-HOT and super humid!

We have some friends that invited us to visit their mountain home. They live high in the mountains. It should be cooler up there, right? So today was a perfect day for a mountain drive. Of course we dealt with the normal, “I have plans. How long are we going to be gone? What are we going to do up there? Can I drive?”  After all of those super important questions were answered we headed out on our mountain drive to find those cooler temps. And no the seventeen year old did not drive.

We drove east out of Mayaguez into the mountains toward the town of Maricao. Maricao was the spot of the last strong hold of the original native population. The original natives fled to this mountainous area and hid in the caves and dense forest. Maricao is around 2500 feet above sea level. The roads to Maricao are very dangerous. The roads/trails were originally set up horses and cattle and were later converted to paved roads. The town was founded as a coffee farming area.  Later as coffee production decreased the town moved more into a resort area. Today Maricao is home to one of largest factories in Western Puerto Rico. The German owned company called Fenwal Inc. is located downtown Maricao. They manufacture blood storage devices and transportation equipment for blood related products. Wouldn’t this make a great story line or location for a vampire movie? Maricao also has Puerto Rico’s largest fish hatchery.

The drive to Maricao from Mayaguez took us about 45 minutes. We even had to drive up a terrifying one lane road straight up a mountain side. This scared the daylights out of me. I can’t even imagine what sitting in the backseat would have been like. The kids thought it was fun. My lovely bride screamed the entire way up. We ended up on the top of a mountain overlooking valleys, rivers, waterfalls and a mountain that looked like a volcano. This area is by far one of the prettiest we have seen so far and we were above the clouds.

We had a wonderful lunch with our friends and a tour of Maricao. They even showed us several properties that could make a great vacation or weekend home.  The breezes and cooler temperatures make Maricao one of my favorite places on the island. Before leaving we bought some freshly ground coffee from a local store. Gosh, that smelled so good. I love the smell of fresh coffee. We said our goodbyes and headed home. About five minutes later the kids started complaining about the smell of my coffee.

It went something like this, “Open the windows! It stinks in here! How can you like that? Can you put that in the trunk? I can’t be in this car all the way home with that smell. Can you drive faster? I was so proud of my lovely bride. She just looked at me and smiled. I knew what she was thinking too. It’s time for the long cut. Besides, driving down that steep mountain road was not something I wanted to do. So I choose a different way home.  My kids knew it when I made that left turn. I could see their faces staring right when I happily made the left. My since of smell was heightened because of the glorious smell of fresh ground coffee.

Yes, the famous Long Cut!

We drove up and down mountains around crazy turns for what seemed to be hours. It was fun. Plus the extended drive with the smell of fresh ground coffee was heavenly. The frowns from the backseat made the drive that much more enjoyable. We arrived home in less than an hour. My Long Cut wasn’t that bad after all, this time. I am sure I will make up for it next weekend.

Our weekend away.

I have to start with, the kids didn't fight that much this weekend. I'm not sure why? They were actually a lot of fun this time.

We started our adventure in Dorado. Dorado is a large resort area west of San Juan. We spent the night at a very nice hotel on the beach at a golf resort. I didn't get to play golf. This was a work related event. So after the work thing we drove east to the El Conquistador Hotel/Water park.

Gustazos.com offered a family weekend getaway for 64% off so that is what hooked us. This website offers tremendous discounts on just about everything in PR. We should have brought some food and drinks with us because a bottle of water started at $6.00 each. Ouch!! That 64% discount disappeared quickly.
This resort is beautiful and offers a free ferry ride to an island with every water sport you can imagine. The food and drink prices still hurt but everyone agreed that this was a better vacation spot than Cancun.

We then took a day off from the water park and went hiking in El Yunque. I was surprised that the kids agreed to leave as they made a bunch of friends at the water park. El Yunque is a rainforest preserve in the mountains west of the resort. After hiking an incredibly steep mountain and fighting the slippery trails in the rain we arrived at a beautiful swimming spot under a waterfall. It was beautiful.

We left there and had dinner on our way to our next adventure.

We took a kayaking trip to the bio luminescent bay near Farado. That was worth every penny. Awesome trip and incredibly informative. This bio luminescent bay is one of five left in the world and is considered to be the best of those five. From there we walked to a local park and had dinner with one of the local vendors and listened to a local band. The Pinchos and tostones were amazing. And yes, the $3.00 street drinks are way better than the $18.00 mojitos at the hotel.

If you have read any of the previous posts you will understand this, eat with street vendors and drink at the restaurants. But I'm thinking it's all better on the street. The locals have it all figured out.

I have come to the conclusion that this is a true paradise. Living here is like no other place I have ever been.

Don't be jealous. Someone has to live here. I wonder why we didn't move to the Caribbean sooner.

I've got to go my $3.00 drink is here.

Remember if you want to see pictures of some of these beautiful places go to alaska2pr.blogspot.com/

It only gets as good as you let it!

For the last several weeks we have been driving back and forth between Mayaguez and Farado. It takes about 3.5 hours each way. I still can’t figure out why it takes 3.5 hours to go 113 miles. Whatever right? It’s a beach life now anyway. Farado is located in the northeast corner of Puerto Rico. It has the largest marinas and tremendous selection of boat brokers. We went there with the intention to buy a sailboat. We need something big enough for our Alaskan family of five. These are some of the things we are looking for.

·         Walk through transom                       
·         Self-tailing winches
·         Lazy Jack for main sail
·         Roller furling Jib
·         GPS/VHF/Autohelm
·         Low hours on the engine
·         Three berths
·         Center cockpit helm
·         Dingy with outboard
·         New bottom paint
·         New keel bolts
·         Holding tanks
·         and A/C

We are hoping to use the sailboat to explore the other Caribbean islands. We have looked at over twenty boats now and we still have not found that dream boat for our family of five. On Wednesday I received a call from a yacht broker in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. He claims to have the perfect boat for us. He said his boat has everything on our checklist plus more.

So on Friday we tried to fly over to Tortola, BVI. We actually thought for a moment we were back in Kodiak again. The weather was horrible. The airport had flash flood warnings, overbookings and mechanical issues. Our adventure to Tortola, B.V.I. did not work out for us this time. We ended up spending the next several hours fighting traffic in San Juan in super heavy rain. After about two hours of traffic and only moving ¼ mile. I decided to maneuver to the right lane and get off the highway. I took the first exit and ended up at the Bacardi Rum Distillery. Yep, you read my mind! Mojitos!!! I knew that this would be a GREAT spot for us until traffic died down. We of course did the tour and meet some wonderful people. After the last group of cruise ship tourists left we had the entire distillery to ourselves. We ordered a drink and sat back and said, “Gosh, this is so much better than sitting in traffic. Can it get any better than this?”

Then you would never guess what happened…..

One of the family owners of Bacardi walked up to us and asked us to stay for dinner. He said, he would be honored if we would stay for the VIP party for the European launch of the new Bacardi Oakheart Rum. Hmm, what would you say? We said, “Heck yes!!!” What did you think? We aren’t crazy.

In Puerto Rico It is amazing how a bad day can change in the blink of an eye if you go with the flow.

If you decide to visit Puerto Rico you have to remember one thing. It’s only as good as you let it be.

williamusps wrote:

·         Walk through transom                       
·         Self-tailing winches
·         Lazy Jack for main sail
·         Roller furling Jib
·         GPS/VHF/Autohelm
·         Low hours on the engine
·         Three berths
·         Center cockpit helm
·         Dingy with outboard
·         New bottom paint
·         New keel bolts
·         Holding tanks
·         and A/C

As you may already be aware, a complete marine survey is always a good idea.
Chain plates, running rigging, rudder, thru hulls, etc., etc. can be right on the verge of failing and a keen eye
goes a long way in preventing future catastrophies afloat.
I have enjoyed your posts and will check out the blog soon.
Still having the dream of moving there soon.
Smooth seas and fair winds...

The weekend:

It’s what we all live for except when you live in the Caribbean. Life in Puerto Rico never seems to surprise us. This past Saturday started with a bang. The road in front of our house collapsed. Then the coolest thing ever happened.

Have you ever visited a house with a beautiful fountain in drive way?

Yep, that is our house now!

An incredible water spout erupted from the cavernous hole in the road spraying water 40-50 feet in the air. What made the water spout so exciting was the amount of debris mixed with the shooting water. We found rocks, mud and even pieces of coral in the pool in the back yard.

We called the water company all weekend and even got hung up on several times. I guess the fountain was our Christmas gift? We just didn’t get the memo.

I think it is safe to say we have a permanent fountain now. But I actually kind of like it. The water flowing sounds are more soothing than the dogs barking and roosters crowing. But the falling rocks make it feel a little apocalyptic. The Caribbean continues to excite us and makes every day more memorable than the last.

I love my Caribbean life. To view pictures of our new water fountain go to
alaska2pr@blogspot.com

Perhaps it feeds your water line and you will paying the piper  .

I was thinking the same thing. It could be real funny and entertaining unless you get hit with a water bill for thousands of dollars.

I wouldn't put it past them.

Hello. My name is Jay. My wife, son and I are looking into moving to Puerto Rico this year and would like to make connections and friendships with people on the island. If you're interested in communicating please reach out and say hello. We will be traveling to the island March 18th to the 25th and would love to meet with some folks who have moved there. Thank you.


We found your post quite informative Thank you.
Regards,

Jay

That would be great. Give us a call when you get here. We look forward to meeting you.
Bill and Jenn Kersch
715-475-8336
Kodiakabroad@gmail.com

Did I mention that I love parenthood?

I will admit I have been a little lazy about writing on this for a while or I’m just enjoying the laid back life style that comes with living in the Caribbean. For the past few months our home has been very crowded. Berkley our oldest daughter came back home to live with us for a bit. I guess she needed a break from the college life? It’s nice to be all together again. We are back to the loud, fighting over the bathroom family of five. The funny thing about the bathroom problem is we have three and half bathrooms. Why do they all have to go to bathroom at the same time? I will never understand that…. I guess it’s like the middle seat syndrome. Someone is always too old or too big or too whatever to just to get in the car. If they can think of something to fight about they do.

Yesterday started out great. We decided to wake up early and drive to Marias Beach in Rincon. The surf was up and the beaches aren’t very crowded at that time. We arrived at 5:30 in the morning. The waves were around 12-15 feet. The riptides were so intense we decided to just watch the waves and the really crazy surfers from the cliff. It was the right decision. It was incredible how many surfers, swimmers and boogie boarders bailed and decided to join us on the cliff. It seemed our spot on the cliff turned into a support group session instead of a surf session.

We then headed home to work on a few things before coming back with the entire family in the afternoon. This is when the day got really interesting. When we finished the chores we loaded up the car with a cooler, beach chairs, surfboards, towels, a dog and all the other unnecessary items needed to take the family to the beach. This process usually takes way more time than it should. But after an hour or so of loading everything we were ready to go. Everyone got in their seats and buckled in. I jumped in and asked who has the keys to start the truck. Then Liam says, “I hung them up in the house.” I stuttered a bit when I said this, Umm, Umm, Why? He said because that’s where the keys go. That normally makes total sense but in this case it didn’t. We had just moved the truck in front of the house and had it parked illegally blocking the road while we were waiting for the rest of the knuckleheads to load up. I sat there dumbfounded for a few minutes. I knew the house was completely locked up all and the keys to unlock the house were inside the house hanging with the truck keys. My more than positive bride says, “Let’s go swim in the pool. Berkley should be home around 5:00 pm from work. Its only 11:30 we can spend the entire afternoon in the pool.” I was not going to do that after spending over an hour to loading the car. Plus, the idea of five plus hours sitting in the back yard without beer or a mojito on a Sunday just was just not going to happen. I will not go into how we got into the house but it was not pretty. It might be time to hide a key, huh?
We finally made it to the beach around 1:00. We sat down had a beer and started to relax. Sundays in Puerto Rico are big family days. The beaches are crowded but not like Miami Beach crowded. The beaches are filled beach chairs, umbrellas, kids playing ball and just plain happy people. It is one of my more favorite things to do as I transition into being a real Puerto Rican.

As the day came close to an end I had to remind myself that soon we will be having the back seat wars again. I could hear this ringing in my head; I’m not sitting in the middle, I sat there yesterday! I’m too big to sit in the middle! And my favorite, I get cramps if I sit in the middle seat. I can only imagine what my father would have said. Maybe something like this, “Get in or don’t! I don’t care. I am putting the car in drive right now!” But the funny thing is it didn’t happen at all. Everyone got in sat down and away we went.

Did I mention that I love parenthood?

I really don’t think I will ever get tired of waking up to another beautiful day, except when you find a centipede bigger than your hand.

W T F !!!

For those of you who don’t know what that means ask one of your kids… And this is the crazy part. These centipedes are poisonous. I swear these things are some form of mutated or radiation experiment. I am not a conspiracy theorist but this is NUTS. You really need to see these things. They are crazy big… My coworkers say these things can put you in the hospital and if you don’t get in to the hospital quick that’s it, you’re dead. I really don’t know if this is true but, I am not going to find out.


We truly are blessed to be living in such an incredible place and every day brings us new surprises. I am really glad my lovely bride didn’t see this.

BTW: that's not my hand in the picture.

The Perfect Mojito!

It looks like we have almost successfully completed our first year in the Caribbean. I will admit it has not been easy. The weather is sunny. The temperatures are always hot. The beaches are not crowded and the water is always just right. It’s been tough!!!

My favorite part of our Caribbean adventure is the search for that perfect Mojito.

Someone has to do it, right? Below is a recipe for our favorite.

Alaska2pr Mojito

·         Pineapple Flavored Rum (1 ½ oz) or any flavored rum.
·         Mint leaves (usually 12-15 leaves per glass)
·         (2) Limes cut into wedges then mulled with the mint leaves and cane sugar
·         Cane sugar (1/2 tablespoon or more)
·         Club soda (1/2 cup)
·         Ice (1 cup)
·         A dash of maraschino cherry juice and a few cherries.

Shake this to death!! Then pour over ice into a cored pineapple. Gosh, this is freakin GREAT!!! We stole the above recipe from the Bacardi Distillery and modified it a little bit.

Here are few interesting places for Mojitos. I am sure I will find even more amazing Mojito spots on this island. These are worth a visit and maybe a bite to eat.
               
El Varadero Grill, Fajardo, PR                             ***** (5 stars)                     $$$
Mahi Mahi, Anesco, PR                                       ***** (5 stars)                     $$$
                                Try them all, the Green Hornet is amazing!

Bacardi Distillery, Catano, PR                             ***** (5 stars)                     $$$
Pica Pica, Boqueron, PR                                      **** (4 stars)                       $$$
Villa Cofressi, Rincon, PR                                    *** (3 stars)                          $$$
This place is famous for its coconut rum drinks not Mojitos.

Royal Isabella, Isabella, PR                                  *** (3 stars)                          $$$$$$
This place is very exclusive and the Mojitos are made with Gin instead of Rum.

El Conquistador, Fajardo, PR                              ***** (3 stars)                     $$$$$$$$$$$$
Restaurant Hacienda, Mayaguez, PR                ***** (2 stars)                     $$$
Authentic Puerto Rican Cuisine

The search continues……….

Congrats on almost being 1 year in "La Isla del Encanto".  I know that is has been tough looking for that perfect Mojitos, but someone has to do it.  Also thanks for the recipe, once we are there and in our new place, I will be sure to try it.  Well the time is almost here to leave NY.  We will be making a couple of stops in NJ and in Fla. but hope to be on the island in the beginning of May.  I just can't wait to begin this part of our life.

Keep searching....

Too bad you couldn't have gone down before you had to deal with all that nasty weather this year. I wish you well in your sojourn.

Gregg, that is one of the reasons why we are leaving NY and going down there.   I am a New Yorker born and bred but I can't stand this cold and stormy weather any longer.  I just want warm breezes and Pina coladas.

This year was almost as bad as 1996 when we had over 18 storms.  I will keep my boots for when I come to visit but hopefully will not be in Winter.

It's actually starting to get really hot now that spring is here. Today's high was 93 in Cabo Rojo.
But a frozen Piña Colada cures the heat every time.
I low forward to meeting you all.
Cheers

I know what you mean. I lived in places like Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island for 20 years. You will get the heat in PR. Maybe not the breezes you expect. That depends on where you live. But it's definitely hot. Just don't count on using the AC much or at all. Unless you make a good living and can afford the electric bill. Just remember, everything is a trade off. You will gain in some areas and lose in others. Your happiness there will all depend on your ability to adapt because you are in for a lot of unexpected things.

By the way, do you all have jobs there already or an income source independent of the job market? I'm not trying to be nosey, it's just that the job market is virtually non existent unless you have connections or a very special skill. Being billingual would help you somewhat there.

Greg is right. The electric bills are some of the highest in the US. But everything is a trade off. The beaches are close and the people are amazing. And if it gets too hot go for a swim.
Another good point he makes is about the job market. It is virtually impossible to find work here. Please don't think this part of Puerto Rican life is going to be easy. It's not. We have met numerous people that have given up and went back to the states.
The trick is to always stay positive and look for the good in every experience.
We love our new adventure. It has not been a bed of roses but it has been worth it.
Now, where's that Mojito???

My husband and I are retired thus no need for a job just yet(and I mean just yet because if I get bored which I hope not to, I will look for something part time) but otherwise we are going to live on our retirement.  He is retired telephone guy, he worked for both companies and then started his own, so he might see about maybe doing some wiring for telephone and cable for anyone who needs it. He also got into the business of installing sprinkler systems ( which I don't think are really used in PR)

Me, I would like to perhaps take some cooking classes, I love to cook and am always anxious to learn more.  Maybe I will take a bartending class, ha ha so I can make all those mojitos and pina coladas. Maybe a Zumba class or so.

We are both Bilingual.  He was born in San German and I was born in New York, so I am a NewYorkican ( I'm not sure how it is spelled but you get my drift.) He was in the Air Force and stationed at Ramey many moons ago and my son was born on Ramey.

This will be our last move, since we have moved many times before and now that the kids are gone, we can do what we want.  The only hitch is that we are bringing our 18 year old grandson who recently came to live with us.  His arrival did not hinder our decision to move to PR and he is all for it.  He just has to learn to speak, read and write Spanish.  So I have my work cut out for me.

I am counting the days until we go and it will probably be in the beginning of May and have been researching rental properties in the East and North, namely Rio Grande, Manati and Luquillo.  So as soon as we arrive, we will be going to see a lot of houses and hopefully will find something well suited for all of us.  Can't wait.  It was always my mother's dream to move back to PR and now I am going to fulfill it.

Thanks for all the useful info that everyone always gives.  I am so happy that I found this site and look at it practically every day.

You sound well prepared, tonie. Good luck with everything!

Thanks, I have been researching for quite a while.   When we lived in PR before outside of Ramey AFB , we paid $90.00 a month for rent and we thought that was a lot. ha ha.  Now it is so much more but I know that we will find something good.

The end..

Hi William,
My family and I are being transferred to Humacao, PR in June and I am having a hard time getting any information on schools for our three children. I have heard that public school is nothing like we are accustomed to here in the states and private school is much more expensive then it is here in MD. Just curious, do your kids go to a public school?  Did you have any good resources in finding schools before you got to PR? 
Thanks for any input!
Shanah

I'd suggest home schooling over the internet if you are able to. You don't want to send your kids to public school. Private billingual schools in that area are expensive. We home schooled our second grader (at the time) and it worked out great. But it takes a certain kind of parent and child to be able to do it well. It's not for everyone. I'm sure they have some very good private schools in Palmas del Mar if you can afford them. There are other people on this forum that know a little more about the schools in the area than I do that might advise you. Public schools are just not a viable option.in most places.

The only bi-lingual school in the Humacao area that I know of is the Palmas Academy. http://www.thepalmasacademy.com/
I know  a couple of good private schools in Humacao that teach in Spanish only. Cheaper than  the Palmas Academy but if your children aren't fluent in Spanish that wouldn't work.

Hi, William!  I've so enjoyed your blog and postings here and thank you, so much for sharing your journey.  If you have more to update, I'd love to hear about it.

We fell in love with the Rincon area and we will be looking for long term rentals in the near future.  We are retired but have a senior in high school that is graduating next month.  Are the college fees expensive in Mayaguez?

Hi Shanah. 
This is William's wife.  I'm not sure about public or private schools in your area, but I can tell you what we have found.  We have an eighth grader and a junior in highschool.  Both kids had the opportunity to go to a private bilingual school, but chose not to.  My eighth grader chose a semi bilingual private school here.  He has three classes in English, and three in Spanish.  My high schooler goes to an all Spanish private school.  One of the main reasons they accepted her was because the school books are all in English.  (None of my kids are fluent in Spanish at all!).  I won't say it's been easy all the way.  In fact, they have had to study more.  And we were surprised to find out that the kids here in the private schools were further ahead than our kids in math and science.  I have heard bad and good regarding public schools, and a lot depends on the area in which you live.  If your child is willing to put in some effort, I would not discount an all Spanish school, private or public, however, unless you can get some good information on the public school in your area, private may be better.  I hope this helps.  Let us know if you need any other information.

The spring speed bump

Its been a very busy spring. The kids have kept us super busy with school functions and graduations. Everyone in Puerto Rico takes the graduation ceremony very serious. I remember going to my High School graduation soaking wet and only having only one shoe on. That is a long story that had something to do with a sailing.

The school graduations in Puerto Rico are completely different from what I am used to. The clothes, hair, makeup and shoes are all perfect. It honestly felt like I was going to multiple celebrity weddings. I have never witnessed such a thing. The outfits everyone wore were straight from Madison Ave.

Another amazing thing here is the parents are actually encouraged to participate in everything including the Prom and Senior Class trip. What makes this so different from the states is the kids actually want their parents to attend. In the states the kids want their parents as far away as possible. It was unbelievably refreshing and I love how important family is to Puerto Ricans. I will admit this is one of my favorite things about Puerto Rico. 

We also bought a house. Yes, we are real Puerto Ricans now. That process was less complicated than we have been told. Everyone has said that experience would break us. They told us horrible stories about the banks, realtors and the sellers in Puerto Rico. In fact, the banking process was very simple and was a little faster than we liked. I cant believe I actually wrote that. But yes, the mortgage process was as simple as pie. We even got very lucky with the sellers as they wanted to move as quickly as we did. So we will start painting, landscaping, and making it ours this week.

At dinner the other night the kids told me moving here was the best decision we have ever made. I will admit this made me feel really good. The decision to move somewhere completely different has been a very difficult one. As a parent I worry every day. Did I make the right choice? Did I complicate my childs life? Did I make this move for the wrong selfish reasons? And so on. But overall the move from the amazing state of Alaska to a territory in the Caribbean really has been a wonderful experience. We have had our fair share of hardships during this first year. But overall the speed bumps have made us a closer and stronger family. Puerto Rico is an incredible place. I am proud to call it my home.






Side note:
I remember going to a house for sale that that had over twenty speed bumps on the way to it. It was a beautiful home. I just could not get past the speed bumps. It was all I thought about. Can you imagine going over forty speed bumps every day. I have had enough speed bumps in my life. I cant even remember what the house looked like. I was so fixated on those ridiculous speed bumps.
I often tell my kids that life is full of hardships or speed bumps. Some days those speed bumps are really difficult to get over. Some days you dont notice them at all. But the trick is to minimize them in everything you do.
Yep, we passed on that house.

Oh, congratulations on your new home!!  Sounds like your family is really settling in and enjoying the island life.  I probably would have an issue with the many speed bumbs, too, haha. Interesting about the parents and school events.  I've noticed when we've vacationed there that Puerto Ricans love to dress up seem to take stock of everyone but I guess we do that here, too, especially women and footwear, lol.

Your outlook on life is refreshing, thank you, for continuing to post.  Bless!

Hi Jenn, thank you for your comments on the school system. I have been researching schools for my grandson, who is living with us and doesn't' t speak Spanish.

I found a school in Man at I that is Bilingual and has up to grade 12 but they are full except for pre-k. The lady told Mr
that he could get on waitlist for 2015
Then I called one in Anasco and was told that 11th grade was full.(my grandson didn't complete 11th grade in Fla. So he to repeat it.)

He did say thstbtherevwerebopenings in 12th grade and he advised me to contact the director tommorow. So that is what I will do. If he can pass the test and get into 12th grade, that would be great. He is a smart kid when he wants to be.It is in Anasco but we would drive him

On a side note, I even called Ramsey H S just to check if he could get in but we would have to be either actibrbduty or retired military( which my husband is an USAF vet but retired from the air force.

So my search continues but I like your daughters firtitudebto go to a Spanish school even though she is not fluent

I will into our local schools and see.

Thanks again for the info and congrsts on the house. Is it the one you have been renting?

An update on our search for a bilingual school. All the schools that I called register the kids in Dec. and therefore are all filled up now & I explained that we just got here a month ago and were searching for a house and all the other stuff and didn' t want to begin searching until we knew where we would be living. They didn' t care, just no room.So I spoke to our nephew and he gave me the name of another school in Aguadilla which is new. When I called, the lady said that she was waiting for the reply of some parents to see if there would be any room. So I have to call next week & I have my fingers crossed.

In the meantime, we are teaching my grandson Spanish.. Hewent into town the other day and met some young people his age but didn't get phone nos or anything. I figured that if he.met some people, he could converse with them and since they know English, he could practice his Spanish with them..

I also asked about English books and they said that only the nook for English class is in English

My last resort is schooling on the computer or he gets his GED

An update on my search for a high school for my grandson. Well after calling the dept of EF in Quebradilla all morning long and the phone being busy, I also tried the two h.s. in town to no avail.

Then I got the # of the dept of education in San Juan. Thelady was very nice and honest, telling me that it was going to be difficult for Jim since he doesn't speak Spanish. Then she gave me the # of the district office in Arecibo because as a last resort I asked about the GED. I was tildvthat it hasn't been given in 2 yes and that they are currently translating it to English and that it is not ready.
Then she gave me the # in Camuy, sinc e Quebrafilla is part of that district. I explained my attempt to contact someone at any school and she told me that they are on vacation until July 28 and to call back then. So that is where I stand. So freaking frustrating!!!

Get used to it. I'm telling you that your only viable alternative for your grandson is home schooling. A lot of things are about to get worse on the island and the educational system will be one of them.