Ollin García Pliego

On Aug. 5, 2016 I arrived in Iowa City. I was about to start my master’s in Spanish Creative Writing. I had with me a sleeping bag, a ton of books and suitcases filled with clothes. I had hopes of having time to write a novel and was terrified of teaching Spanish at the University of Iowa. My experience as a Mexican writer and brown-skinned person in Iowa City has been fruitful, but I’ve also had experiences that made me reflect on some of the challenges that those of us who aren’t white face.