My name is Rachel and I am currently a Sophomore in the Women's College. I am 20 years old and from San Antonio, Texas. I am majoring in International Relations and I love being a student at Notre Dame because of all the wonderful opportunities I have here.
By far one of the best experiences of my life was going to Cuba on March 16. We spent 10 days in Cuba learning about their history, customs, government, and the role of women. It was so completely interesting to see what a Socialist country looked like, and even more interesting to live in one, even if for a short period of time. The island was BEAUTIFUL. As a Texas Girl I love warm weather and after freezing my butt off in Baltimore this semester, I was ready for some heat! Cuba was warm yet breezy and every single day was perfect. Not even a couple of rain showers could bring me down! We saw such beautiful places including a visit to Trinidad, which was founded in 1514. Our hotel was on the beach which made it so difficult to leave. The water was about 150 ft away from our room and you could hear the waves splashing at night. This water was probably the clearest water I have ever seen.
Cuba also did not have much technology which was a little hard for me. I am used to checking my email several times a day and sending texts throughout the day as well. I found it hard to land and not be able to call my parents and let them know I had landed safely. I was lucky, however, and was able to borrow someone's international phone to call my parents. There was also an obvious lack of computers, which made me think about how college must be. We were lucky enough to meet a few college students and even visit a University of Habana residence hall. When visiting their buildings, I had never been more grateful for Notre Dame. Like many of the buildings in Habana, the building was full of cracks and poorly lit. It was also poorly maintained in that there was trash everywhere and stray cats roamed freely. They also had very strict rules including no visitation and students of the opposite sex where not allowed in each other's buildings. Students were also not allowed to move any furniture in their room or decorate their room. In addition, each living area consisted of a communal area to study in, two bathrooms, one kitchen, and three attached bedrooms. In each bedroom there were three sets of bunk beds, making it a total of 18 students to 2 showers, sinks, and toilets. I will never complain about Doyle again!
I'll be updating weekly so come back and see what else I'm up to!
Rachel
