Puerto Rico-a last look

Landed stateside just after 8 p.m. CST on Tuesday. After being back in Norman for not even four hours I'm longing to be in PR again.

In typical fashion, the group melded nicely toward the end of the trip, putting aside this and that to get along and really enjoy one another.

It's always a special feeling following a trip such as this. My sentimentalometer is waxing. I think it will be most noticeable that I'm not in Kansas when I wake up in the morning, deprived of my other 13 compadres.

We had comraderous times in Viejo San Juan Monday night, our last on the island. Everyone danced and truly enjoyed him or herself.

If possible, I recommend such study abroad options. Good for pushing your comfort-zone limits in dealing with people not like you, and gaining quality cultural insights. I feel quite blessed in being able to go.

After looking through all the PR photos I posted up over the past days, I feel I've not properly represented San Juan. I showed the beautiful, the exotic and the pristine — as any honky tourist can. So, I thought I'd show more of what you won't see in guidebooks, but what is a viable part of Puerto Rican culture.

I can see I need to improve my abilities to capture the unsightly with the dazzling — reality vs. perceived reality.

I took this series of photos around Condado, the area of San Juan where we stayed. Some of the graffiti even appeared on our hotel.

Now I'm looking forward to resting following the sojourn. It was a highly draining excursion for being so vacationy. But, it was definitely worth it.

I've a better appreciation for our territorial neighbor in the Greater Antilles.

!Viva la Puerto Rico!