puerto rico: suburb of brooklyn?

Well.

Here I am, after a break from this blog. I haven't liked my past several posts, finding them to be uninspired and downright shitty -- at best. Sometimes words don't want to come out, and instead they sit there, heavy in my chest, like rocks.

I suppose, like everything, words don't always have to be my friends.

But, here I am again, after a break and a trip to Puerto Rico. I've been told not to write about my 'Rican adventures since this is a "New York blog," so instead I'll write about Noo Yawk and stay on topic. Well, sort of. I'm going to write a little about Puerto Rico in this, because it is truly a beautiful place and an amazing one, at that. (To any Puerto Ricans reading this: You are lucky, lucky, lucky to live in such a warm place! Oy!)

So. Puerto Rico. New York City. Related?

Oh yes.

Let me put it this way. My first hour on the island and I'd already met a person from Brooklyn. Born and raised. I hadn't even gotten out of the airport yet and here was someone telling me how B'lyn is their native stomping ground.

Then there was the guy at the Tibes Center outside of Ponce that was from Brooklyn. Born and raised. The man at the gas station my mom had to ask for directions after driving around for several hours trying to find the right highway exit. The kid in downtown Ponce who once hailed from Brooklyn. Born and (partially) raised.

Detecting a pattern here?

When I turned on the tv in my hotel room, the first thing I saw was Channel 7 news, beamed in live from New York. And then ... two more channels of New York goodness. I had to laugh when I saw how crap the weather was in my home state compared to Ponce, but then, after a few minutes, I realized ... wait a second. I'm in Puerto Rico. Where's the local news?!

I finally found it, but by then I had gone through several more channels of babbling New Yorkers. It was an odd feeling, sitting on a bed in the middle of Puerto Rico while watching mainland news.

Anytime someone asked where I was from, my reply of " Brooklyn," was met with smiles and knowing nods. I felt like I came from some sort of suburb of Puerto Rico. People who had never even been there were asking me what part of town I hailed from, more confident in New York geography than me.

It's funny because I always knew there was a large Puerto Rican population in New York, and especially in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Since my neighborhood is mostly Mexican, however, it's easy to forget this fact. My trip reminded me of how international my city really is.

I would go back to Puerto Rico in a heartbeat, and probably will sometime again in the future. Perhaps this time I'll get some good tips on Brooklyn living from the islanders, and learn things about my city that this Btown local doesn't know.

Note: Photos of my Puerto Rico trip can be found at http://community.webshots.com/user/flipinpr