| Pre-Departure Jitters |
Week #1: In John Jay College:
The first day walking into a room with unfamiliar faces can be frightening. And this is just what I felt when I walked into the classroom. El Profe, I knew since I had taken his class this past semester, but other than that I knew no one--not even those from John Jay.
As class began and with introductions we all began to express our embullo to go to Cuba. We all shared contact information and talked about the fears. It was comforting to learn that I was not the only one with lots of questions about being abroad. The main concerns were:
- Money!
- How much do we take?
- What are the types of currencies used?
- What are the conversion rates?
- How do I know when to uses CUCs versus pesos?
- Packing
- What do we pack?
- Should we pack a sweater?
- How much and What type of clothes should we bring?
- What kind of shoes should I bring?
- Flights
- When is our flight to Cuba?
- What is the airline that we will be flying with to go to Cuba?
- Weather
- Accessibility to pharmacies, groceries, or any other stores?
Lots and lots of questions we had! And el Profe was very kind in answering each of the questions, and he even had students who went last year come in and talk to us, and it really helped. This entire first week we also began to learn about Cuba's history starting with the colonization of Cuba. It was interesting to learn that Cuba is a country that has little connection to Indigenous roots.
Overall, this first week allowed to meet new friends and provided me with answers to the questions I asked.