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Day 10

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  Day 10:  “Hey Siri, Play Until I See You Again” On December 11th students from Texas A&M University of Kingsville’s (TAMUK) Communication and Science Disorders (CSDO) Program embarked on their first day of travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Upon their first day, they were greeted by Chad and Matt, who did a fantastic job in ensuring all students and faculty had a pleasurable trip during their entire stay.  The first couple of days in San Juan, Puerto Rico included the students sightseeing and immersing themselves in the culture of and history the U.S territory has to offer. Afterwards, the TAMUK CSDO students met with Dr. Reyes-Valentin from the University of Albizu in San Juan (two locations, one in San Juan and one in Mayaguez) to further educate themselves on the culture, history, and linguistic differences between various Spanish dialects. This included learning about the history of Puerto Rico’s population and culture where traditional dances were demonstrated to...
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Day 9

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  Day 9: Last Day of Camp TAMUK graduate students left The Posada Colonial Hotel around 8:15 in the morning to head to Albizu University- Mayaguez for the last day of camp. We were once again greeted with a warm welcome from the Albizu graduate students and their faculty/ staff. Students then dispersed to the different centers and waited for the kids to arrive. Once everyone was checked in, the Albizu students led warm up activities and after we enjoyed some snacks with the kids. Since it was the last day of camp, students administered screeners to see if any progress had been made by the children since the beginning of camp. Graduate students also had the opportunity to do hearing screenings on the kids. We were able to learn some tips and tricks from the Albizu Professors especially when it came to using the otoscope. Towards the end of camp, the kids were split into different groups and created gingerbread houses with the graduate clinicians. It was so fun to see the kids showca...
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Day 8

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Day 2 of Tykes Camp On the 8th day of our Study Abroad trip, PR students gathered in the lobby of Hotel Colonial at 8:15 am. We were transported by the city's local van service to the University of Albizu. The students arrived for our second day of camp and settled in. We had sandwiches and coffee for breakfast. After breakfast, we began the camp activities. The students enjoyed working in groups focusing on semantics, pragmatics, reading & writing, auditory comprehension, speech sound disorders, morphology, and syntax. The kids worked for 15 minutes at each station while Albizu and TAMUK (Texas A&M University Kingsville) students collaborated to create unique activities for each child. Many laughs were shared, and memories were created during this collaboration. They were able to learn from each other and shared a bond through the love of our field, speech, and language pathology. After the kids went through every station, TAMUK students hosted the group activity. We playe...
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Day 7

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Day 7.  Fun in the sun and shopping  On day 7 of therapy abroad in Puerto Rico, students enjoyed a free day in which they got the opportunity to go to two beautiful beaches in Rincon, Puerto Rico and did some shopping at the Mayaguez Mall. Students departed at 11am to enjoy the sunny day at Villa Confresi where there was a beautiful beach access and students and staff were able to get in the ocean, play racquetball, and sunbathe. Students then had a delicious lunch at Villa Confresi with an ocean view. The students then moved to Lala beach to enjoy the sunset on the beach and also did some souvenir shopping. On the way back to Mayaguez students were able to view a parade occuring in the city of Rincon with horses, bulls, classic cars, tractors and a lot of locals having a good time with festive music and dancing. It was a great experience to see the different customs and activities that occur in different places. Some students enjoyed a day full of shopping at the Mayaguez mal...
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Day 6

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  Day 1 of Tykes Camp   Today was the first day of Tykes Camp! Around 9:00am, the TAMUK CSDO 2nd year graduate students arrived at Albizu University, where the services for the camp will continue to be provided for the following days. As soon as they arrived the TAMUK CSDO students were greeted by the Albizu University students and the staff with a very warm welcome. The students had the amazing opportunity to work together to provide services for the kids in the camp. It was a great learning opportunity for both students to emerge in two cultures and come together to provide the best services they could for the patients. The day started with exercises led by the Albizu University and CSDO students, this allowed everyone to engage and interact a bit more through singing and dancing. The kids and students both had an awesome time engaging in this activity! It gave everyone a boost of energy and was an amazing way to start off the morning. After, the students and patients were a...
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Day 5

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  Day 5 - Bakery, Lighthouse, and Surfing.   On Day 5, December 15th, the group loaded up the van after being able to sleep in for a change and headed to a bakery a few blocks over. At the bakery, there were display cases filled with pastries of all kinds and all types of flavors.  Once the van was loaded and ready to go, the group traveled about 45 minutes to begin the awaited beach day. The first stop was Cabo Rojo Lighthouse which is a popular landmark and was a beautiful spot to admire on the beach. On one side of the beach, the water was calm and fitting for walks along the shore, and the other side was perfect for surfers and adventurous swimmers. Just after settling in, a few students decided to join Dr. Swartz and try to surf for the first time. Alison and Elan joined Dr. Swartz and braved the waves for a couple hours.  Alison caught the most waves with guidance from Rosa, the surf instructor. A special thanks to Matt Gross from Therapy Abroad for driving us ...
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