Ceiba

*NOTE: Names that appear in quotes are pseudonyms we have chosen to protect each individual’s privacy.

Heard about a possible study abroad program in Cuba. Waited for the program to gain approval. Waited some more. Applied to study abroad in Havana, Cuba. Got accepted. Fundraised to pay for the program. Raised enough money to actually go. Confirmed my acceptance. Packed to live for two and a half months in Havana. Said goodbye to my family in Ann Arbor. Left Ann Arbor. Had a small panic attack after finally realizing I was going to a place that was inaccessible to my friends and family. Cried incessantly in the car while my brother drove me home. I know he wanted to console me, but instead sat silent. But I know my brother and I know he will miss me. Said goodbye to my family in Kalamazoo. Left Kalamazoo. Arrived in Toronto. Checked in to the hotel where I would spend my last night in North America for the next few months. Promised my parents there would be no incidentals due to irresponsible and loud college kids. Hugged them real tight and watched them drive away. Wiped the few tears that I cried. Left Toronto. Landed in Havana.

It is Tuesday, January 19, 2010. The sky is blue above El Templete and there are clouds. It smells like Viejo San Juan, but today I am in La Habana Vieja. I listen intently to “Fernando” explain the founding of the city. He is a wiry man with laughing eyes and a squiggly vein on his left temple. Knowledge spills from his mouth like it has never been able to spill from mine and I can’t believe he is one of my new professors. Upon arriving, I instantly notice the colossal ceiba tree to my left. I wonder why there is money intentionally placed by its roots, but my thoughts quickly drift to my mother. Although she lived in Fajardo, a town on the eastern coast of Puerto Rico, she did most of her growing up in Ceiba, the next town over. At first I think the connection to this ceiba tree and my mother is coincidental, but now I wonder. People wish at this tree. Habaneros wish at this tree. Cubans wish at this tree. Now I get to wish at this tree. However, today the ceiba does not receive any wishes or money from me. The connection I immediately feel to it is too personal for me to make my first wish in front of so many strangers. So today, I just think of my mother y mi patria.