Physical Geography
Puerto Rico [3]
When I was Puerto Rican: The Film shows how the differences in physical geography from place to place lead to different lifestyles. Absolutely everyone has experienced the way physical surroundings (i.e. landforms, water.) shape the way they live their life. Two different countries with different weather patterns and climates have two different lifestyles. Puerto Rico is closer to the equator than New York. Therefore, Puerto Rico has a more humid climate, so they have to have mosquito nets around coffins and beds (51, 146, and 191). [4] During winter in Brooklyn, there is a lot of snow, and as Negi's grandfather tells her, you have to bundle up to keep warm (224). [5]
Also, in different climates, different foods grow. When the Americans come to Puerto Rico to educate the people, they bring food charts that that show the foods they should be eating to be healthy. Esmeralda makes an observation: "There was no rice on the chart, no beans, no salted codfish. There were big white eggs, not at all like the small round ones our hens gave us. There was a tall glass of milk, but no coffee. There were wedges of yellow cheese, but no balls of cheese like the white queso del pais wrapped in banana leaves sold in bakeries all over Puerto Rico. There were bananas but no plantains, potatoes but no batatas, cereal flakes but no oatmeal, bacon but no sausages." One of the women goes on to say, "But, senor, none of the fruits or vegetables on your chart grow in Puerto Rico" (66). [6] The foods that grow in Puerto Rico are not the same as those that grow in America, just as those that grow in America are not the same as the native foods of Europe. Everyone can identify with the way the physical geography of their land shapes the way they live, as shown in When I was Puerto Rican: The Film.