My sophomore winter (Winter 2020) I was fortunate enough to be studying abroad in Havana, Cuba! Due it being an exchange program, I was supposed to spend a full semester there (Jan – May 2020). Of course, given what happened in the world due to COVID-19, our program was cancelled half way and everyone was sent home. However, despite this sad moment, the 7 weeks I did spend in Cuba were truly amazing!

Academics:

Because this program was a part of the Consortium for Advanced Studies Abroad (CASA Consortium) we were able to take classes both within CASA and at the Universidad de Habana (University of Havana). I took 3 courses in CASA with actual Cuban professors which was so exciting! The courses I took were: Cine y Sociedad en Cuba, Historia Cubana y Género, Raza y Desigualdad en Cuba. They were all really interesting and it was a new experience to be talking about gender and inequalities in Spanish! It was really nice to be able to be immersed in the culture and language. One of my key memories is that around noon everyday, one of the CASA employees would bring everyone cafecito (coffee). In addition to my studies, after classes once a week some other students and I would assist the English teacher who taught the ESL class for native Cubans. This class was so fun because I got to meet Cubans, bond with them and help them practice their English!

Social life:

It was so fun to be able to live with my Cuban host family, I am still in contact with my host mom to this day! They were so welcoming and caring and definitely made us feel safe: from the delicious food they made us to simply just getting to know us and watching TV with us. My host mom even spoke to my mom via Whatsapp video chat and it was such a sweet moment. My housemates and I got along really well and spent a lot of our time in Cuba together, we would go to El Malecón (beach wall) and just sit and watch the waves crash on the rocks or go get some ice cream from the many shops nearby or going to Habana Vieja (Old Havana) to eat and walk the streets full of small shops. My favorite thing we did was when we went to the beach on a random Tuesday afternoon and just enjoyed our time together!