Cuba: La Isla Grande

Cuba has been one of the countries which I’ve always wanted to travel to but thought I would never had the opportunity to do so. It was not until I was informed about the short term winter study abroad opportunity that might possibility and hopes went up. Through the Hola Cuba: people to people for US citizens by Intrepid, a group of GW students (including myself) and GW staff had the opportunity to travel through different cities in Cuba.

Initially, I was having a mixture of emotions about what to expect of Cuba. As an International Affairs major, I took several courses focused in Latin America in which we studied the history of Cuba and its relations with other Latin American countries, I was excited to put more of a real aspect to all of the knowledge I already had. I had the opportunity to perceive and learn more about the history of Cuba and the effects of the US embargo. But, due to recent incidents after the elections, I was worried about peoples thoughts of a group of American Students touring Cuba.

After arriving to Cuba, my entire perspective of the trip and all of the mixed emotions cleared up. As a Nicaraguan-American I had a different perspective compared to the majority of my groupmates. I also had a different experience. Throughout the majority of the trip I was asked where I was from, which after answering with Nicaragua consisted of an insightful conversation about Latin Americans touring Cuba and the importance of helping each other as Latinos. Through the conversations with the tour guides, and the hosts I was able to learn more about Cuba.

Although we hear and learn about the great education system in Cuba, it was not until I experienced it that I was able to believe it. The majority of the people we encountered were not only highly educated but they knew almost perfect English. In addition, a lot of people knew about the history of their communities. Before traveling to Cuba, I knew about the amount of people that moved to Cuba to obtain high quality medical education. But after talking with the tour guide in the Revolution museum, I learned more about the strength in other fields. The tour guide asked about my major, and begin to speak about amazing programs offered in Cuba which prepare Cubans interested in international affairs to be prepared with different scenarios and environments.

In addition, I gained a different perspective and more information about Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. The two were very influential and strong leaders that were able to accomplish their goals and dreams for Cuba. But, I also learned about the lack of information on foreign affairs or foreign countries. After talking about my background, I was asked about my opinion of Nicaragua which the tour guide responded with “Oh, we only hear good things about Nicaragua.”

Overall, I was able to gain a bigger perspective of Cuban tourism and beautiful culture.