Revived U.S.-Cuba relations could mean new study abroad programming

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Revived U.S.-Cuba relations could mean new study abroad programming
spanish-friends_courtesy-laurel-nitzel
Junior Laurel Nitzel (middle) tries out paella, a traditional Spanish dish, in Gaudalest, Spain, with friends Adrienne Burfield and Mallory Rettenmeier, who she met during her time studying abroad. (Laurel Nitzel/Courtesy)

 

President Barack Obama’s efforts to improve diplomatic relations with Cuba could bring changes to Hillsdale College’s study abroad offerings.

On the heels of the Obama administration’s 2014 decision to reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba, including establishing a U.S. Embassy, Spanish Studies Abroad applied and was granted the opportunity to renew its Cuba study abroad program, said Kevin Teegarden, associate professor of Spanish and director of Hillsdale’s Seville, Spain, study abroad program.

Since Hillsdale College uses Spanish Studies Abroad to plan its students’ trips, the Caribbean island could become a future destination option.

“We have not encouraged our students to go to Cuba because we have had difficulties with diplomatic relations in that country,” Teegarden said. “In case of emergency, how would we reach them?”

Prior to the George W. Bush Administration, Spanish Studies Abroad, a program of The Center for Cross-Cultural Study, offered students the opportunity to study in Havana, Cuba. Spanish Studies Abroad had to suspend its offerings when the U.S. government imposed restrictions on travel to Cuba, Teegarden said.

Now, Spanish Studies Abroad offers a Cuban study abroad program complete with local housing with Cuban families and courses in Spanish language and Cuban culture at the Universidad de Habana, according to the Spanish Studies Abroad website.

Teegarden said the Spanish department has yet to talk about the diplomatic changes, but he said an opportunity to study abroad in Cuba could arise in the future.

Sophomore Kaitlin Kish visited Cuba over the summer on a mission trip.

“I think it is very worthwhile for students to travel to Cuba,” Kish said. “The culture and people are unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life.”

Spanish Studies Abroad also offers students interested in studying outside the United States the opportunity to live in Seville, Barcelona, or Alicante, Spain. Its Latin American program includes options in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Cordoba, Argentina.

Laurel Nitzel, a junior majoring in Spanish and English, studied abroad in Alicante, Spain, this summer. She said even if Cuba were an option, she would probably still choose Spain because she wanted to experience Europe.

“Any Spanish major should study abroad,” Nitzel said. “It’s really helpful to understand the culture you are studying. There’s a new intimacy that you get with the culture, when you live it. Just speaking Spanish as my only method of communication was also good for me. It made me appreciate the language even more.”

Wherever students go, Nitzel said, they should travel with an open mind.

“Go study abroad, but be ready to embrace the culture and be okay with it being very different from American culture because that’s how you grow,” Nitzel said. “I came to appreciate my culture more after learning about Spain and seeing the differences and also seeing how the people really aren’t that different.”

Students interested in studying Spanish abroad can get more information at a general information session featuring a Spanish Studies Abroad representative on Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. in a room yet to be determined.