In my last year at Iowa, I served as a Diversity Ambassador in a study abroad program which took me to Havana, Cuba. It was an unforgettable month of culture, dancing, cuisine, and lifelong memories. During my time on the island with the 20 other Americans participating in the USAC program, I learned much about group dynamics, gained some close friends, and had the time of my life experiencing such a unique learning opportunity with a well-rounded group of peers. The most important lessons I learned with regard to diversity, I learned from the people I met on the island.

A group of about 20 students arrived at the Aeropuerto Internacional José Martí in Havana close to midnight on Sunday, December 28th. That very next morning, classes started for the January, 2015 USAC Cuba program. Despite the late arrival and few hours of sleep, students were eager to climb up the marble staircase at Casa Africa in Old Havana for the first day of class. As a visiting professor, I, too, felt the rush of excitement that comes from that first meeting with students.

Getting off the plane at O’Hare was surreal. Was I really back in Chicago? Costa Rica felt like a dream and I had just suddenly awoken to the brisk winter of the Windy City. To be honest I wasn’t excited to be back, not as excited as I should have been or excited as my friends were. I had found a sense of happiness in Costa Rica that I was scared I would lose the moment I stepped back on to U.S. territory. But as I walked through the airport, I promised myself I would hold on to that happiness and optimism I had gained in Costa Rica and carry it with me wherever I went.