Looking back to October when I first found out which trip I was placed in and the beginning of spring semester when I was getting ready for a week in Cuba, I never would have guessed that I would be wrapping up my first year at home in bed. Although my ‘Cuba experience’ turned out completely different from what I was expecting, it certainly has not fallen short of what I hoped for — a fun week exploring and learning about another country and its culture. Beyond this, all of the articles, books, and essays that I’ve read in class helped to create an image of Cuba so vivid that sometimes I felt like I was there already experiencing new moments first hand.
As I wrote in my letter, I was particularly interested in learning about how colonialism and all of its social implications have manifested in Cuba. With this, I was also interested in seeing what the African diaspora looks like in Cuba and what their experiences are like in comparison to the United States. So much of the material we read and the places we visited around Atlanta fulfilled this interest tenfold. Especially when we actually visited places, I found a deeper understanding than what I gained through just reading texts. Seeing the art at the KSU “Cuban Superheroes” exhibit and other visual elements made by Afro Cubans such as Wilay Méndez Paez’s “Connections/Conexiones” was incredibly impactful. I also learned a lot about things that I didn’t expect. For example, I wasn’t aware of the large population of Chinese people in Cuba and how their experiences have also influenced Cuban national identity. With that being said, Cuban national identity is so complex and for every individual the definition of what it means to be Cuban can be similar yet so different. Not only is the one-ness of Cuban identity important, but also the connection to heritage beyond Cuba. Cuban national identity is about pride in diversity and, at least on paper, pride in Cuba’s African-descent population.
Something that this class made me aware of that I had never really thought about before is my own identity as an American and how this would impact my experiences in traveling. I remember when I visited Peru I never really thought of myself as an “American” traveler. I knew that when I was with my group of mostly white classmates that this was how the locals would see me. When I was on my own however, I completely shirked myself of that identity. Sometimes, people wouldn’t even know that I am from the United States until they heard me speak Spanish (that needs a lot more practice). I know in some ways that my experience in Cuba may mirror this. Yet, this does not absolve me of becoming aware of the fact that I am American even if that’s not how I identify personally. Before this class, I knew that there is a privilege that comes with being from America and a “white” or Western country but I could never really see how it applied to me — a Black girl who is certainly not afforded any American privilege at home. However, when visiting another country this is not the case. Reading A Small Place changed the way I see travel as an African American person and gave me perspective on the areas where I do and don’t have privilege. Because I am American, when I travel I may be treated differently or even better than the local people who look exactly like me. Because I am American, I have a different level of mobility and freedom when it comes to travel in the first place. These facts about my nationality can exist simultaneously with the fact that my race and ethnicity do not afford me much privilege at all. Being conscious of these things has made me think about my identity in a different way and has changed the way I think about travel in general.
After reading my letter again, I think I had a pretty spot-on idea of what global learning is: having a well-rounded education — both inside and out of the classroom. And after all of our class sessions, readings, and ‘Cuba in Atlanta’ trip I think that this course did a pretty good job of giving me a global learning experience. In this class, we discussed so many important issues that may have been framed in the context of Cuba but had connections with different places and different times. Our trip being postponed and watching the global response to COVID-19 really drove some of these points about the impact of globalization and travel home and brought up new areas of discussion as well. Although I might not be going to Cuba very soon, having these experiences and prior knowledge definitely makes me anticipate visiting even more.
