Cuba
Havana & Viñales
During spring break, I attended an international education program through my school for the first time! Looking at all my options, I chose to go to Cuba because of the new experiences I would be able to gain that I would not be able to gain anywhere else like London or France. It has been hard for Americans to travel to Cuba because of some history of the past. Thus, I was eager to learn more about the international relationship between Cuba and the U.S. I had never been to Cuba so this would be a great opportunity for me to dip my toes in new water and share my newly acquired knowledge with family and friends. During our stay, we experienced city life in Havana, and then country life in Viñales. At the end of our trip, my group then traveled to Miami, FL where we experienced the life in Little Havana. Stay tuned to find out about what we learned comparing Old Havana with Little Havana! Additionally... I got to practice my Spanish!
Havana
Sustainability...
On our first day, we learned about an organization that promoted permaculture which is the concept of using all given resources, land, people, and environment to work with nature without harming or wasting it.
The backyard garden we visited was incredible! The garden was surrounded by old bottles (picture 3) to replicate fences. In picture 2, you can also see that old fans were used to carry plants. All resources were put into this amazing creation and turned out to be a great success. In the last image, you can see the whole map of the spacious and organized garden. My group and I were amazed by the resourcefulness and creativeness.
Architecture...
Next, we viewed a presentation on architecture in La Casa de Amistad..."The Friendship House".
In Cuba, roughly 3 buildings collapse a day once a house reaches 50 years old. This is because many owners cannot afford repair and don't feel the responsibility for a house's maintenance, so once the house reaches an old age, it falls apart. This was a pattern I saw when driving around Havana with the group: many houses were left in crumbles, but this was normal in Cuba. Additionally, you might be wondering, why are Cuban houses and apartments always different colors? It is certainly beautiful and unique! Each person living in their apartment colors their own cubicle, and does not care for the rest of the building. This is why you can sometimes see one single house have multiple different colors, and maybe no color at all, creating color contrast.
In Cuba, there are blockades. This means that Cuba can export to the U.S, but cannot receive imports from the U.S. This explains the lack of food, oil, and more, resulting in mostly the same meals we ate everyday and resulting in the frequent power outages in the countryside. In Cuba, another pattern was that for each meal, there was always a soup, two drinks, a main course, and dessert. For the main course, no matter if we ate at a small restaurant or fancy restaurant, the options were always the same. The course would consist of rice, and then a meat of your choice (chicken, beef, pork).
La Casa de Amistdad
Mojito!
During a night, we took a cooking class and learned how to make the famous Cuban drink...Mojito! We then learned how to cook some meat and then prepared our own dinner. In the back of this outdoor restaurant, there were a bunch of plants and recyclable items that grew plants in them, relating back to our lesson on sustainability and permaculture from the previous day.We even got to see the restaurant's bees. Despite to mention, we took a salsa dancing class the next morning and it was super fun and engaging! We learned to step out of our comfort zones, and had some great bonding experiences when doing so.
Viva La Música!
Music and art are fundamental parts of Cuban culture. Everywhere we went, there were street musicians and beautiful art murals. As a musician myself, I had a wonderful time exploring Cuban music and visiting one of the top music schools in Cuba. The students had a performance prepared for us and then later, we spoke to them in Spanish and learned more about them and their passions for music as well as comparing education systems in Cuba and the U.S which we found to be pretty similar. Speaking of education...
102 yr old learning to read and write
A Student's Letter
Education...
Exploring the Literacy Museum of Cuba, we learned about education systems in Cuba which changed our perspective on communism in the country. Fidel Castro greatly emphasized education and its importance. In 1961, a compaign occured which mobilizied more than 700,000 Cubans to achieve literacy. Now, Cuba has a 95% literacy rate being the most literate country in the world.
Vamos, Vamos!
We had another amazing interaction with local Cubans! We played a soccer game with local students who were about our age. It was competitive but fun! In Cuba, it was very easy to make friends with anyone since the Cubans were super welcoming and wanted to interact with us. They always had a smile on their faces.
Viñales
After an adventure in Havana, we traveled all the way to the country side where we stayed in casa peticulares, which are basically b n b's in local Cuban's homes. Our group was split up into different houses and we each had 1-3 roommates. Each home also had a host which we built great relationships with. At first, we were all a bit nervous being split up and not staying in a hotel this time. But as we assimilated into the countryside and our new house, we found that it was much more fun than we thought. Most of the time, we did not have electricity either so we had to adjust to the new environment...and we did it! This was definitely an experience I would not be able to have in any of the other travel programs at my school-- it was worth it!
Our Home
Exploring Nature...
Viñales was such a contrast to Havana! I enjoyed seeing different parts of Cuba. During our time in Viñales, we explored farms where sustainable farming was emphasized yet again. As a country, Cuba was able to use their creativity to make use of their limited resources. In the video, you can see a clip of the tocororo which is the national bird of Cuba because of its visual resemblance to the Cuban flag.
Tobacco Farm...
Later, we took a tour on a tobacco farm and even wrapped our own cigars (obviously did not smoke or keep them). It was nice taking a hike and observing how the farms functioned and how people grew tobacco. We heard that Cuban cigars were one of the best in the world!
Last Day in Viñales...
During our last day in Viñales, we ate an amazing restaurant with a gorgeous view! The shape of the mountains here were very unique and were just like a bundle of big, round rocks, contrasting with the triangular/pointed shape of mountains that I usually think of. The whole evening was surreal and we made it just in time to catch the sunset-- such a beautiful countryside!
The Farm...
As our trip came to an end, we made our way back to Havana. Just outside of Havana, we stopped at Finca de Marta. This organic farm is run by Fernandito Funes. Fernandito offered us a snack which consisted of all of his fresh produce. This included cucumbers, honey, cheese, hibiscus water, and more. There were bees, chickens, a horse, and more on the farm. This farm contains much of the produce used in restaurants, and the farm exports outside of Cuba as well. Fernandito sends the produce to many local restaurants, playing a significant role. He, along with many other Cubans we met, emphasized the importance of sustainable farming, and then he gave us a tour. The vegetables were grown on raised beds and there were an abundant amount of rows full of fresh produce. Fernandito even spoke in a TedTalk in Havana to inspire others on agriculture and sustainable farming. By the end of the trip, I was very inspired as well and wanted to use recyclable items and incorporate them in my own garden back at home.
The Cars...
On our final day in Cuba, our teachers surprised us with a ride in the iconic, pink vintage cars! The cars in Cuba are very rustic and beautiful, so this open roof-top ride with blasting music was such a lovely way to end our stay.
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Little Havana...
On our last day of the trip, we went to Miami, FL. Little Havana was full of the same delicious food and souvenirs like Cuba. However, unfortunately no vintage cars or beautiful landscapes. As a final reflection, the trip to Cuba changed the way I understand people and culture in the way that now, I know I should not make up so many assumptions about a place that I have never been to. Initially, I thought that Cubans would be unhappy and not as content because of their lack of resources. But now, I have seen with my own eyes that many people there are so welcoming and always have a smile on their faces. Cubans are resourceful, creative, and make the best out of what they have.
Little Havana
In Cuba, every night was a party. We had a blast with waiters, waitresses, local students, tour guides, and more. Many new bonds, relationships, and friendships were made within my group and with locals. We even exchanged social media accounts to keep in touch with the locals/our new friends.
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Havana contrasted with Viñales, and I greatly appreciated the opportunity I was given to explore both the city and the countryside with my classmates. I learned a lot about international relations in Cuba, and acquired a lot of new knowledge and new experience. Flying to Cuba was rare for me, and I was so excited to go home and share everything with family and friends.
Night View in Old Havana
