I am from sunny Miami, Florida. I was born in the United States, but my family comes from a nearby Spanish-speaking country called Cuba, which is just 90 miles away from Florida. For this reason, I was raised in between two cultures and grew up speaking English and Spanish. I grew up in a loving and supportive family, with an incredible mom who is from Bronx, NY, dad, two brothers and about 200+ cousins. However, sometimes what they think is best for me doesn’t always match up with what I think is best for me. The first time this happened was when I decided to be the first generation in my family to move five hours away from home at 18 years old to attend the University of Florida (UF) where I studied international studies, public relations and the Arabic language.
At UF, I did just as much learning outside the classroom as inside. Through my involvement with student organizations such as the Cuban-American Student Association, Arab Students’ Association and working as an English teacher for international students, I learned a lot about myself, my culture and the world around me. I love meeting people from different countries who always teach me something new about their cultures. One friendship in particular with a Palestinian girl named Noor, from a one-of-a-kind village called the Oasis of Peace in Israel, inspired me to learn about a new culture, region and language.
Six years after meeting Noor, this is my second time visiting the Middle East, and now I live and teach English in her homeland and speak her native language of Arabic. Arabic is one of the toughest languages to learn and is spoken throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
