Vacation Destination: Puerto Rico

2 weeks. It's one of the longer vacations I've had in a while in which I actually leave the house to go visit rather than just a local summer vacation. It was a last minute decision but give the length of time away from my birthplace of the island of Puerto Rico, I had to know if anything had changed in the 5-6 years since my last visit. While I wasn't expecting MASSIVE, Changes from the previous visits, I did receive a bit of surprise from area to area as I traveled along and spent my 14 days on the Island.

The first noticeable changes were in the airport upon arrival. Commerce was brimming! I mean there were stands everywhere, blocking every possible way to move around. Selling all types of foodstuffs and vacation goodies. A definite improvement in my eyes. I was amazed almost instantly at the progress along the tourist sector there. Though I did leave thinking this would be sort of a peak during my stay. Needless to say I was happy to see family, it's just the island itself still bugs me.

The majority of the trip was spent in Ceiba,Puerto Rico at my Sister's(half) house. Twas a very nice area inside a gated community. The apartments were small, but roomy enough to get comfortable in and even sport 3 pools!

Angled View from balcony

The primary to go spot near here was one of her Jobs(she has 3). Going by the name of "El Hotel Conquistador", One of the more well known resorts on the island and serves as a large spot for would be tourists. The Hotel sports Multiple pools at multiple elevations constructed along the side of a mountain located in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Since visiting it last in 2006-2007, It's expanded further along the coast with rooms and entertainment, and posses a private island for it's hotel guests of which are accessible by boat charter.

Other good news seems to be that higher quality houses are becoming more distributed around the island. From the wild coasts to the most harsh of inroads, apartments and housing are starting to really kick it up a notch. Newer models of cars are also becoming more common among-st drivers(though they are not all perfect). Most of my family on the island have seen higher standards of living as well.

Though not all is good. Puerto Rican Drivers remain notorious for their sheer madness. Constantly switching lanes, using the emergency lanes to bypass traffic, only to add to the traffic jam, BLOCKING Emergency vehicles from accessing the emergency lane, ect...you name it. In the first few days alone we already had drivers with us pinned as nearby targets. It didn't improve much over the course of the vacation and certain trips were longer than they needed to be. Most places on the island could easily be accessed in under 2 hours, were it not for bad traffic. Although they also remain masters of turning what look to be one way streets into two way avenues. Unless there is a sign that explicitly states that this is a one way street, no matter how thin it is, it's declared a two way(though good luck finding signs, they don't like those either.)

The terrain and smaller known local spots where quite the enjoyment. It often cause me to laugh, given the amount of 4X4 vehicles I see in Florida, which is relatively flat land with swamps mainly in the southern tip. Puerto Rico on the other hand has everyone driving small compact cars or SUV's while having to deal with inclines, and Mountains. One particular place, located at about 3,200 feet above seal level had a mandatory requirement of 4X4. There was not one single vehicle up there that wasn't able to offroad with precision. The whole trip up, the road was literally composed of nothing but medium sized rocks.

Despite receiving possible inside upgrades, most houses around the island still look somewhat trashy on the outside. One house abandoned was completely picked apart after being torn down, Not by the construction companies or the Government, but People looking to get some material(I'm serious). Politics I won't delve into, but nothing has changed. It's still everywhere and there are dozens of candidates rushing out for Ads to get voters. Gas was slightly more expensive than over in Florida, averaging about 3.65/Gallon for Regular. Though it was semi-irritating to keep track of units. Distance, and quantity are measured in metric(km and L), but speed is not. Electric infrastructure was also given a nice refresh. No longer does the power go out every single hour.

Overall if I can forget all the annoying parts and frustrating moments that still occurred and have yet to be rectified it is definitely something I would do again. Seeing family there is one of the best experiences I have had despite it's shortcomings. The nitpicks although vocal, don't do much to overly detract from the overall experience. If I could get another shot, I would probably return for another small visit. But the structure and drivers would definitely hold a permanent stay.

Weird gaming knowledge

In my last blog post I mentioned that Video games need not be geared towards smoothness to be able to teach one some knowledge. Anecdotal evidence in the next one isn't always the best, but I am being 100% honest in posting these; what I've learned OR first discovered from sitting in front of television and video games, applying to real life or fiction:

-Disney lied. Mermaids are creatures that hoard the treasure of sunken ships and who actively lead sailors to doom before dragging them down to the depths to devour their flesh. Not marry princes(Disciples I & II)


- A Succubus comes to the land of the living to steal the souls of men(Disciples I & II)

- An Incubus is the male version of a succubus. Rather than steal a soul however, it impregnates a fertile female with demonic seed (Disciples I & II)

- A Kraken is a giant squid(Disciples I & II)

-Dragons live for a LONG time(Disciples I & II)

- There are different types of Dragons(Disciples I & II)

- The Undead can die permanently(Disciples I & II)

-Demons fear no mortal pain, and thus are always ready for combat(Disciples I & II)

-Banshees are really loud(Disciples I & II)


-Roman military hierarchies and organization(Rome:Total war)

-Gallic tribe customs, beliefs, and inhabitant area(Rome: Total war)

-Roman Julii and Scipii royal houses(Rome: Total war)

-Operation Market Garden(Medal of Honor series, Call of Duty)

-Battle of the Suez Canal(Medal of Honor: Breakthrough)

-Weaponry of Allied and Axis powers(Medal of Honor, Call of Duty)

- Air strikes made it possible to take out enemy artillery without risking men on the ground(Call of Duty, Medal of Honor)

- The existance of secret intelligence Agencies/OSS(Medal of Honor)

-Italian at times sound a lot like Spanish(Medal of Honor)

- Elephants can be defeated in battle via flaming pigs(Rome: Total War)

-Agent Orange is a deadly chemical(Rouge Trip)

-Investing in what you think is good, may more than not cost you dearly(Capitalism II)

- Army Rangers(Spec Ops)

- Superior numbers mean nothing if you are an idiot(Strategy games)

- Geometry matters(Tetris)

- All around will struggle with specialists in direct confrontation(Pokemon)

- Melancholy describes a deep sadness(Super smash brothers Brawl)

- Formed an alliance? Always be prepared to break it(Disciples I & II; Rome: Total War)

- A Ward or Warding something off is temporary(Disciples I & II)

-Never Underestimate what you don't know(Disciples I & II)

-Always have backup(Strategy games.)

Video games do not have to be casual to teach

Not to say that you should stick a child or young adult in front of a TV or computer and have them play games, but to simply drop the idea that video games can ONLY detriment oneself. Video games are usually associated with couch potatoes or diversity of the sorts in terms of just playing the game. A video game primarily, yes, should entertain the player but entertainment and education are not two forces of which you cannot forge a cohesive whole out of. While undoubtedly there are many games that just serve as entertainment or time killers, there are others that can fulfill both purposes rather than one extreme or the other. There are some subjects conveyed more than others with strong representation, although I am sure that each subject gets a chance I will present my findings of the strongest to most commonly represented.

HISTORY

Whether it be past, present, future, fact or fiction, this is from what I have seen the strongest of conveyed subjects presented in gaming. A pseudo tug-of-war between first-person shooters and real-time strategies have insured such information. Games such as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series's, others like Total war series give us large introspect into the past from recent to ancient. With the former, you receive detail on the weapons, which side used them, historical background to combat zones, historical briefing on operations, important figures in the charge and much more. The latter grants your visible geography, historical background, army information, historical units, background on the military units, in-depth description of buildings and their purposes and much more. It's a less direct method of teaching such a subject but it does the job, and encourages to the player to find more on the subject if it is enjoyed.

SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS

The following one I noticed portrays potentials, but is applicable to known boundaries as well. Often in the realm of the science-fiction games, there are many a game that pushes science and math further or in a similar realm of sorts comprising of material that one knows of in our time as well. The games here do not do so much as the lore of which is built for them. Online forums around the internet especially grasp the large amounts of information often put in such universes. Say for example, a "Starcraft vs Halo" thread under debate may see numerous references to material, in and out of universe, and the details of it's purpose and construct, as well as mathematical calculations relating to the ability of an army via simulation, population demographics, travel times via technology, and the power of weapons. Given the often nature of Sci-fi, these calculations often are long and yield vast numbers, albeit even through the simplest of methods.

LITERATURE:

I'll be the first to say that I don't have a particular liking of the elements of literature, but I do enjoy using them. As time has progressed, many a game has wielded stories or plots, that can confuse many a person, and use little systems of dialogue with varying effects dependent on the game itself. The most evident genres that employ such a deep literal translation is often the horror and fantasy genres. The horror genre usually employs a more silent, and strong type of writing, often bringing in many a visual effect to rather distort one into following paths in the story that perhaps may not even be there. The Fantasy genre varies in the ability, but exceptions do come out strong, often changing the story itself through dialogue and sticking in occasional literal terms(that once again I do not enjoy searching for much, but utilizing). This is not my best attempt to show the literary elements in games, but I was never much of an English person.

ARTS(Music Included):

By far the most visually appealing grab for some is a game art style. The cell-shaded style often giving a comic appearance is a noticeable one. Others such as the watercolor-esque "Okami" do not happen frequently but often make for a unique look at perception into the different styles of representing figures or stories. Less common but still visually spender and employed is the Gothic style artworks often seen in areas such as Warhammer 40,000 or the Disciples series's which border realism without intent on sacrificing the heart and soul of the hand of the artist. The soundtracks that one usually sports, gives rise to many a  musical ear as well. The soundtracks very much so work in conjunction with the affirmed art style and story, giving rise to atmosphere and feeling, which fields importance in designing products and the realm of design in general. Almost any genre finds it's way into a design factor.

I reiterate once again that I am not the greatest speaker when it comes to these issues, but I do my best. Also, once again, I do not believe that you should just cave in to your child's demand, if you are a parent, for video games simply because of possibility. I do believe that one should monitor their child, and if interest is lacking in the educative field, to try and spice things up and get them to WANT to learn.