An Empty Mansion

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Approaching a mansion, seeing the large stone columns supporting the building; what a sight. The marvelous yard surrounds the mansion, and as you look up to realize that the house towers over you, you dream of what is inside. The magnificent, wooden doors swing open to reveal that there is nothing inside; it is empty. You are shocked to realize there are no beautiful paintings, no giant couches. You are so surprised that it is hard to enjoy the amazing exterior of the house, hiding what is inside, or what is not inside. My family trip to Puerto Rico was similar to this mansion. Puerto Rico and the resorts within it try to hide their extreme poverty within by smothering tourists with attractions such as the giant rainforest, the expansive caves, and the bio-luminescent lakes; these attractions are very charming; however, to get to these places, you have to drive through the impoverished towns and cities, looking at the tiny one story houses.
It was as if Puerto Rico had a cover on it, an illustration trying to depict the story but hiding the secrets within. Traveling through the caves was like staring at the massive columns supporting the mansion; it was as if you were in a different world underneath the island. It was amazing how such an impoverished territory could have such beautiful landmarks, yet be so poor. When we arrived back to the hotel after a long day of exploring and conquering, I asked my dad, “if Puerto Rico makes so much money on their attractions, how come everyone is so poor?” The answer I received from my dad was short and simple, “government.” For the rest of the trip I pondered upon how the government could make everyone so destitute. Spending its money in all the wrong places the government of Puerto Rico, P...

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...ed that there was a stage in front of the room and I began to wonder if there would be anyone to perform. About halfway through the meal a man walked up to the stage and introduced himself as the owner of the restaurant and then he began to sing in Spanish. As his voice cut through the air everyone in the restaurant stopped eating and paused their conversations, purely to hear this man sing. Everyone in the restaurant who knew the words to the song stood and began to sing with the man, including the restaurant staff. After the shock of opening the doors to the mansion, I realized that something so beautiful and so large on the outside, so appealing to the public could be so empty on the inside or so poor, yet within the poverty there were sparks of hope, leading to an entire community coming together, sometimes an empty mansion can be an inspiring structure.

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