On Saturday, we all could agree that sleep the previous night was hard to accomplish: nerves, excitement, last minute packing, goodbyes. Each participant attended to their own needs, resulting in less sleep even despite best intentions of 8 hours. This said, everyone arrived at the airport on time, luggage in hand and a realized anticipation of the journey to come.

Our travels carried us to Miami first. Many people made up for their missing hours of sleep during the three hour flight, and we landed almost an hour earlier than planned, meaning more airport hang time and getting to know one another amid bustling crowds of travelers. A group of us played cribbage, others read, some connected with their family one last time with reliable service. The only hiccup was that our student visas didn’t get approved in time, but Marisol & Sharon (the most adaptable roll-with-the-punches leaders) promptly resolved the issue by buying tourist visas.

When we say everything went smoothly from there, what we really mean is that all 19 of us made it to Havana safe and healthy. The two plane rides generated some stuffy noses and a little nausea, but that’s expected with such a large group. We got our luggage and headed to our home-stays at Casas de Particulares.

Each person or group of persons got assigned a family that so generously welcomed everyone into their homes. Each homestay is equipped with a bed for everyone, a bathroom, and a loving person or family that wants to make our stay in Cuba nothing but spectacular. Even through limited Spanish, on the first evening together students were able to communicate gratitude and excitement to their families.

After spending a brief moment making acquaintance with their families, it was already ready to “ready” for the “day,” which in this case meant the evening we had ahead. We had a welcome dinner scheduled at the Hotel Nacional, the only hotel in Cuba still managed by only Cuba. This hotel is a 5 star hotel that is recognized in stories and history, known for having hosted many famous artists and musicians, for example, Frank Sinatra and Harry Belafonte. We had a decadent dinner accompanied by a spectacular piano performance. It was a lot of fun and the patio at the hotel was also gorgeous.

By the end, though, those limited sleep hours had caught up to just about every one of us. We headed back to our respective homes and settled in for the night, excited to greet our first full day with some rest in us.

~Paige Heitpas