Anthony Smith - May 27th

This wasn’t just another day in Cuba. No day is just another day in Cuba. For Horizons, May 27^th is our last full day. The morning started with breakfast being served at 9. From the time you finished your first meal of the day, until 6 pm, the day is yours. Free to do as you wish. Some traveled to Old Havana for last minute souvenirs while some such as myself laid in bed to avoid packing. Was I avoiding packing, or avoiding the goodbyes I knew would come tomorrow? Nevertheless, lunch time crept upon us when the sun was high in the sky. The majority of our group went to a rather nice restaurant called La Cathedral, which had become a favorite for many students, hosting them on a plethora of occasions. I sat down and ordered my Orange Fanta followed by a wonderful warm brownie topped with vanilla ice cream with a dash of colorful sprinkles draped in caramel syrup. I’m a college student so this counts as a full meal. La Cathedral is two for two in perfecting this dish for me.

When lunch came to an end, we broke again into smaller groups. It should be noted that the heat on this Saturday was intense and surely carried a vote in our decision making. Some took on the heat and walked to Cuba Libro, another favorite among our entire group. As those students bought and read books or played games, the rest of us walked home and showered or finish packing to prepare for the night to come. Around 4, a few of us got together and went to a bakery close to home that may have hosted some of the best eclairs I have ever tasted. As we walked out of our homes to meet, we saw a lineup of about 5 classic cars. This is in preparation for our evening to come.

When we returned from our 14-block round trip to the bakery, we went into our homes and got dressed for our evening. We all brought nice outfits to wear specifically for this night. It began with a “Classic Car Tour” around Havana. We stood where the bus would normally pick us up in the morning. Again, facing the cars that were built between 1956 and 1967. Each one has the top laid back between the backseat and the trunk so the passengers can feel the Cuban wind working its way through the car as they traversed the streets of Cuba. Along our journey, we got out and took pictures near a beautiful background of trees. We snapped photos for 20 minutes or so and got back in our cars to head to our last dinner in Cuba.

We pulled up to a wonderful restaurant called 1830. This particular restaurant quickly ranked among my top 3 favorite places to eat on this trip. We were served dinner. We could choose form fish, pork or chicken. The meal was great, but after dinner, almost everyone gave input as to what this trip and the people meant to them. A beautiful moment. After that, we danced and boarded a bus to sleep in our Cuban home one last time. 

From left to right, front then back: Myself, Jess, Kevin, Sydney, and Henry. We snapped this photo when just before the engine started to begin our Classic Car Tour.

Lead instructor, Josh and myself took a moment to get a picture together on our pit-stop in the old forest I mentioned above.

Amber Swint - May 26th

Today we had our last day of service learning, and the boiling heat and humidity was a recipe for a long day. However, we managed to work hard to make our last day worth it, even if we were all dripping with sweat by the end of it. We managed to help quite a lot, and knowing that the people there were grateful for our help made it all the more rewarding. I believe that the hard work we did really shows how much we value what Cuba has been for us. All of us developed along different paths, I think Cuba has really pushed us to become a better version of ourselves. Cuba has introduced us to a new culture and way of life, and made us more aware of the values of treating everyone as if they are your friend, how to make sure you stay connected with your family, even when they are thousands of miles away, and how to adapt to any situation and knowing that it will be okay.

We ended the day by spending a few hours at the beach, which was when it hit me that in two days’ time we would be heading home and that I was excited, yet dreading it. Cuba has quickly, in the past nineteen days, become like a second home for me.  Being the second to last day in Cuba is very bittersweet, I feel like I have finally started to connect and really get in the spirit of Cuba and not just in a tourist-y way, but truly adapting myself to the Cuban culture, but I am also so excited to be reunited with my family and friends back home. With the trip coming to a close, I felt today has been an emotional day. We started the day off with a deep and emotional conversation that really got me thinking about the entire trip and how it impacted not only me, but also the other twenty-some people on the trip. I think everyone made nineteen new friends, and even if we only ever see one other person from this trip, we will always have the memory of these three weeks we spent together as something that has changed us all. The conversation this morning was honestly one of the most impactful experience of this trip because it showed me that it’s okay that I want to leave, but also wish I could stay longer.         

Standing at the entrance of Muraleando, after the last day of community service.

One last day at the beach, Stanely is ready to wash the sand off and head for home.

After a hard and hot day of work at Muraleando, Chelsea and Tyler are having fun and cutting loose with some salsa dancing. 

Myra Rademacher - May 25

The rusting metal table wobbled ever so slightly as I threw down my card pair. I looked to my left, curious to see what Stanley would do with his turn. He stared down the competition across the table, contemplating his move. He asked for a number, and anticipation was met with a satisfied, “GO FISH!”, as the move passed on to the next player.

In the shade of giant blue and white concrete canopies, protected from the mid-afternoon sun, my service group’s joyful game of “Go Fish” had a reminiscent quality about it. We were playing a favorite childhood game while waiting at an ice cream parlor for a sweet afternoon treat; the experience was the epitome of happy, early memories, and gave us a sense of relaxation I think we’d forgotten we could have a few weeks ago, when we were finishing our college finals for the year. Sitting at the Coppelia, the first ice cream parlor in Havana since the Revolution, I was reminded again of the change Cuba has incited within our group and within me.

Emotionally and mentally, I was exhausted today. Some days are just draining, and today, the sun, humid heat, and time away from home took a toll on me. It was difficult to have a positive outlook during the morning debrief and the service project at the Muraleando, and the language and cultural barriers seemed impassable as a result. By the time we made it to the Coppelia ice cream parlor, I was feeling done for the day.

However, one of the greatest qualities of Cubans is patience, and that is a trait I and the Horizons group had to quickly adopt over our three weeks here. Despite the heat, sweat, and tired looks on everyone’s face, we waited in the long, tediously slow line to engage in the famed experience of this ice cream shop. One of the most intriguing parts of the event was the inner workings of the line itself. I learned that because of the hours long waits that sometimes occur while the locals wait for cheap ice cream, individuals will hold spots in line while the rest of their families run errands or walk around town. The game of waiting in line begins with knowing three groups ahead of you, and understanding where the ultimo, or end of the line, is at. Instead of standing in one long line under the sun, Cubans split up into groups in spots of shade around the block surrounding the shop, so it can be difficult to determine where the end of the line is located.

Today was a great test of our endurance in the Cuban art of waiting. At the end of the day, the wait was worth the reward, because we were able to spend one of our last afternoons in Cuba eating ice cream and playing cards together. It’s hard to imagine that we’ll be leaving this beautiful place in a matter of days, but I know that even long after we return to the U.S., it’s the small moments like today that I will cherish the most from Cuba.

Me posing next to a friendly statue outside of the Muraleando. When the statue was built, a local woman offered her set of real teeth for the metal man. The art center happily accepted them, and now they are the only living part of this stationary dancer.

After indulging at the Coppelia, a few students chose to attend a salsa dancing class at the IFSA center. We learned the most traditional style of Cuban salsa with two professional dancers.

Daniel Cervantes - May 24th

I woke up today, and I felt pretty exhausted. The previous day we worked a full shift of community service, and today would be no different. We have been volunteering at a place called the Muraleando. It is a public space where artists create and paint murals, bands play music, and children learn about the arts. Today, we had to pickaxe, shovel, and level out a giant pile of rock and dirt. It took us about two hours to completely level everything, but it felt fulfilling to give back the community. On the other hand, the sun was excruciating while we were working. The previous days we were lucky enough to work in the shade, but today was not the case. I usually never get sunburned, but today might break my streak.

The main event for tonight was going to a cannon ball ceremony. At 8:30 pm, there is a showing of how a cannonball is shot out of a cannon every night in Havana, and tonight we finally went to see the show. The place we went to was called the Castillo del Moro, and it is a fortress that lines on the bay of Havana. There was a bridge that linked the mainland to the fortress which lead to a souvenir market. After you walked through the market, you could climb these stairs and reach the castle wall. The sight was insane from the fort. You could see the entire skyline and the fact that it was nighttime made it so much more beautiful because of all the lights.

The ceremony was more elaborate than I thought it would be. There were men dressed in 1800’s army clothes and the sound of a drumline followed the men as the carried a torch from the bottom of the fort wall to the top. The men were yelling something I didn’t really understand, but it was supposed to signify a ritual done by the cannonball crew. There were so many people that crowded the showing that I had to fight my way through the crowd to even see. Once I was in position, me and the other millennials around me took out our phones and waited till the men prepped the cannon. The men stuffed the cannon with gun powder, and eventually the man with the torch ignited the fuse. The sound from the cannon was insanely loud. It was probably the loudest sound I have heard from such close range. I was kind of disappointed that the cannon was only shot once, but it was cool to see either way. This event was on my Havana bucket list, so I can cross that of my list of things I want to do before I have to leave in the next couple days.

This is a picture of a clown that was made by the artists at the Muraleando. It is one of my favorite pieces at the facility. 

This is the bridge that connects the mainland to the Castillo del Moro.

This is the inside of the fortress where merchants sell little knick-knacks to the people that visit the fort.

This is part of the ceremony. The man with the torch lit the bottom torches before he finally lit the fuse to the cannon. 

Tamara Lipsa - May 23rd

We started our last Tuesday with a debrief at the Centro de Estudios Martianos. Josh wanted everyone to update the group on how they were doing both physically and mentally. Most people told the group that they were ready to go home, but where also looking forward to the remainder of our program. We do have a lot of free time, so if there are still things we want to see for ourselves, we are free to explore.

After debrief the group split into our two groups. One group went with RJ and our tour guide Orlando to start our first day working at Muraleando, a cultural center a little ways from the city. The other group headed out towards the Organoponico, which is a completely organic farm that grows everything from Avocados to Bananas. I was in the group that helped the workers at the cultural center. First, we were shown around the property. We saw all the art they had to offer, and got to work shortly after. Some wood was cleared and then the team started clearing a path in front of a fence in order to gain access to it. Afterwards, we got to see a group perform upstairs and we danced with them. It was a good opportunity to practice what we learned in our Salsa class that we had a week before.

Tired, we all got onto the bus and headed towards the National Botanical Garden, which I have been wanting to see since I’ve heard about it. We got a tour while on the bus when we first entered the park. I didn’t know that Cuba housed the world’s largest botanical garden, the institution occupies a little more than 600 hectacres and has trees from most every continent. My favorite part of the tour was the Baobab trees. We read about them in my AP French class, and it was really interesting to see them for myself. We stopped at the garden’s restaurant to have lunch. Our food was all vegetarian, which was a nice change of pace. It was nice to take in the scenery of the garden for a bit.

After lunch, the group piled back on the bus and we finished the tour. We got to go inside the greenhouses and see their collection of cacti and succulents, more than I’ve ever seen. The architecture of the greenhouse itself was very interesting, the buildings where shaped like triangles. Most of the girls in my homestay took time to relax when we got back from out trip. After dinner, a lot of us went for a walk to this pastry shop a few of us found earlier in the program. It was really nice to slow down and spend time with people without having to worry about a schedule. 

Our professor RJ helping out at the Muraleando worksite

Scenery outside the Muraleando

A view of the Japanese section of the National Botanical Garden

The Cactus and Succulent Greenhouse at the National Botanical Garden

Sydney Bernadel - May 22nd

For today being the first day of our service learning, it went extremely smooth. Today, I went to a place called Muraleando, which was a community art center. Looking at the mosaic art work was probably the most intriguing part of the whole experience. I learned how the community took some of the most prominent people and made art out of them. For example, an old woman named Elena used to sit on one bench everyday waiting for a bus that would never come. One day some community members asked her why she kept sitting there and she said was waiting for the lover her life. She later passed away and the community dedicated that bench to her so she could always keep an eye out for the love of her life. After looking around at the art center the rest of the students and I went look at the rest of the center. We were given a task, we had to pick axes and shovel a dirt wall to make it level with the fence. At first I did not think the task would be that hard, until I started to use the mini pick axe that just had one end. I then realized that digging out a wall is an extremely difficult process that requires strategic planning and people willing to put in the work. Handling a pick axe is not my strength, so I’ll probably leave that to the people who are more experienced. After a day of hard work and a fulfilling lunch, everyone meet at a cute bookstore called Cuba Libro. There we met the owner, Connor, and she talked to us about why she moved to Cuba, her purpose in creating the bookstore, her goals in life, and just some basic information about herself. One thing I loved about Cuba Libro is that all the books there are donations, and can be either bought or lent out to the Cubans in the area. I also, enjoyed the reason why Connor made the space. She said she made the space to give everyday Cubans a place to relax that’s not home, school, work, or whatever they are just trying to get their space from. She also created it as a safe space for anyone to come and talk, read, drink coffee and just enjoy, and lastly, Connor wanted to make a space for foreigners to come, relax, and talk to Cubans about what it is like to live in Cuba. So, after a long day of hard work, and lots of sweat to come to a relaxing and welcoming environment was beyond a pleasure.

The first mural that was at the opening of Muraleando.

 Me struggling to pick axe the ground.

Me reading a book, while Jess (left) and Anthony (right), and some other students play card games. 

Renato Bazan - May 21st

Day two of our time in Varadero had a heavy emphasis on relaxation. There was much excitement yesterday and that was channeled into swimming, drinking and the occasional late-night conversation. For the most part we all woke up around nine and checkout was at eleven. That gave everyone a decent amount of time to say their goodbyes to the resort. The group’s focus today was about relaxing by enjoying the beach and the resort pool (which had a fun inflatable obstacle course). I personally got caught up in a new book East of Eden and decided to read that on the beach. There was always a cool breeze and the background noise the ocean made my afternoon incredibly enjoyable.

A discussion topic during breakfast was that the food at the resort was nowhere near the level of the food at our casas. The food was buffet style and the staff had to focus more on the quantity compared to our casas' quality. Since our checkout was at noon and we were all getting hungry the idea of coming back to our casas for some homemade meals became increasingly appealing. Unfortunately, due to some miscommunication, our bus from Varadero back to Vedado did not make it on time. Through a couple of calls the group was informed that the bus would arrive at around five-o-clock and we had to wait in the lobby of the hotel for a couple of hours. That would have been a bigger problem but luckily we happened to keep our wristbands and could get drinks from the bar and eat from the dining court. With so much extra time on our hands a few of us decided to play board games to pass the time. I played Chess with RJ and Stanley and after that RJ introduced us to a new game Aboretum which was a game based around resource management. We ended our gaming session with what might be the quickest game that I have come to absolutely love, Hanabi. Hanabi was a card game played with a team of four whose objective is to get the highest score possible. The twist is that none of the players can look at their own cards but show them to all the other players. The game combines luck and strategy with intuition and can lead to very stressful and exciting moments. Once our game of Hanabi was done, the bus arrived shortly after and we said goodbye to Varadero and were on our way back to Vedado.

 Cat and Emanda were doing some reading beach side and gave me the inspiration to read alongside them. I’m very grateful to them because if they had not looked so relaxed I never would have started reading East of Eden the first book I have found interesting in a long time.

Henry, like the never ending ball of energy that he is, decided that he wanted to do more than read like a nerd and decided to do something more hands on. Here he is talking with some of the resort’s staff about doing some kayaking.

Arboretum, a game where each player builds a garden and then is awarded points based off the quality. Do not be surprised if your cards do not look as amazing as these do because these were handcrafted by RJ whose notorious for his love of card games. 

Makenna Morgan - May 20th

Today is the day we left for Veradero. We left about an hour later than expected, but our group is so good with rolling with the punches so we were all still in good spirits. We just sat outside at our normal spot that we wait for the bus at and listened to music and joked around with each other. I think that everyone was just super excited that we get to go to this amazing all-inclusive resort. We set off for the weekend with the attitude of “do not have high expectations, so when then you can be pleasantly surprised.” When we got there, our rooms were not ready for another three and a half hours, so we some of us went and hung out on the beach and some played card games on the patio. Nobody complained, we just found a way to pass the time, which was easy at a place like this. Once we got our rooms, everyone put their stuff up and came out to the beach. It was the perfect day to spend at the beach. There was not a cloud in the sky and there was an amazing breeze. You could find people playing spike ball, swimming in the ocean, laying in the sun, or by the pool. The pool had an inflatable climbing mountain that a lot of us messed around on. It was even just entertaining watching people try to climb up the hardest side. 

The hotel is so beautiful and is located just off the beach, with pathways leading through an area that is filled with plants and palm trees. It has a very open concept and has a ton of natural light. No matter where you are in the hotel, you have an amazing view. After dinner, we walked back out to the beach and watched the sunset. It was the first one we have been able to watch and it was a good one. A lot of us hung out in the lobby at night because there was a nice breeze and it was a beautiful night. There was a concert near the beach that people went to and enjoyed. 

As I reflect on this day, I feel so thankful to go on a study abroad experience with the group of students that I am with because everyone is so positive. If things do not go as planned, we are able to just shake it off and go with the flow.

The beautiful beach we spent our time at.

Our beautiful sunset.

RJ, Stanley, and Jordyn enjoying the pool.

Savannah Belt - May 19

This morning started off with bang! We had a free morning and our translator Orlando was kind enough to take us to a fort that had cannons set up everywhere. As we were walking up to it, Orlando ran ahead of us all to the nearest cannon, jumped onto the pedestal holding it and shouted “FIRE”!! Everyone then proceeded to get their photos taken in various poses with the cannons, with mostly comical and a few cool results. Once we were satisfied with that we headed to the walls of the fort, which overlooked the ocean. At this point everyone was climbing around over everything and Orlando started getting a little panicked that someone was going to fall off the ledge into the water (and rocks) far below. To magnify his fear, Stanley, who was sitting at the very edge of the wall with his legs dangling over, decided to scare everyone by jumping onto a tiny hidden ledge and making it seem like he had fallen. While the majority of us found it funny once we realized what was happening, we were told to stay far away from the edge after that.

After a little more exploring at the fort, we went to the statue of Jesus and the house of Che. This was relaxing because the statue was in the midst of a small park, so there were trees and most importantly shade all around. A few of the students went into the house of Che, which was right next to the statue, and thought it was pretty interesting, but most of us, myself included, stayed by the statue and chatted. We did not stay for too long and by about 12 P.M. we were on the bus heading back to Vedado for lunch and then class time.

The topic of today’s lecture was Cuban Education and I really enjoyed it. The education system in Cuba is a point of pride for the Cubans, so I appreciated hearing from a person who is a part of it. Not only did she describe to us the logistics of how the system works, but she also did a wonderful job expressing how important it is to her. I think that this quote from the professor does a wonderful job of summing it up: “Education begins in the crib and ends in the grave”. From my experience here in Cuba so far, this certainly seems to be true; they absolutely love learning and sharing knowledge about anything and everything.

Once the lecture ended we had a group debrief, which is always a good time to process the day, and then rode the bus back to our casas for dinner and free time for the rest of the night. Overall it was a really fun day with a good mixture of learning, adventure, and relaxation. 

Orlando “firing” the cannon

Makenna, Chelsea, Amber, and I standing on the ledge that caused Orlando much anxiety

The giant statue of Jesus blessing us all

Lisa Le - May 18th

My first alarm pierced the calm at 6:30 and was unsuccessful at luring me out of bed. The second one rang at 7:00, but it wasn’t until the arrival of the scent of Cuban ham that I could pull myself out of bed. Breakfast is at 8 every morning and normally, I readily get up looking forward to Esmeralda’s specialty pineapple jam, but today, the weariness was heavier than normal. I planned to wake early to enjoy a walk/run around the neighborhood because I felt guilty about the naps I took after the scheduled activities, but after failing to wake up, I was disappointed with myself for wasting what time we have in Cuba. The day turned out to be quite eventful though.

We hopped on the bus to go visit an Afro-Cuban museum at 9:15. I think there was a slight change of plans and we ended up going to a different one in Havana Vieja, but it didn’t ruffle my feathers. After an interesting, yet patchy tour (because it could be difficult to understand), we enjoyed a performance of an Afro-Cuban dance for the second time; the first at el Callejon de Hamel¹ a couple of days prior. We were strongly reminded that this was not a mere dance, but a present-day practice of the Afro-Cuban religion, and the words of our first tour guide echoed, “Don’t try to understand, just enjoy”. Both times, the dancers performed the dance like a recital, following up with solicitation to buy their CDs, which seemed to diminish the integrity of the cultural experience, but it’s also understandable since artists need to make money in whatever way they can.

Afterwards, since we were already in Havana Vieja, we unexpectedly and pleasantly had a free afternoon to further explore the historic center of Havana. I walked with Orlando, our beloved Cuban translator, and he took us to a cafe/hotel named Ambos Mundos². This location is known to be a hotspot of author Ernest Hemingway who spent a lot of time writing there, but also home to the oldest elevator in Latin America. After an unexpectedly smooth ride, we stepped out onto a veranda as the sounds of lively restaurant chatter washed over us accompanied by the leisurely notes of an acoustic guitar. We marveled at the city below until our thirst set in, then Orlando brought us to a juice shack where I put my 2 cents in (literally!) for a glass of rich mamey³ juice.

Later, I was peering in between the bars of a cage where puppies were being sold in the middle of a park. I was reflecting upon how cruel it was to have an Arctic dog like a husky in the tropical latitudes when I heard familiar intonations. A group of girls had approached the vendor and in between their excited squeals, I realized that they too spoke Vietnamese. After a short yet energetic conversation, I learned that they were first-generation Vietnamese-Cubans like I was first-gen Vietnamese-American, and as I went on my way, I wondered at how humans and our social interactions can be the best and worst things on Earth.

¹refer to May 15                                            ²Both Worlds                                     ³A fruit native to Cuba

A panoramic view of Havana Vieja from the rooftop restaurant of Ambos Mundos.

An in-action shot of the Afro-Cuban dance at the museum.

A Pekingese puppy that was being sold for 35 CUC.   

A chocolate-filled churro I enjoyed as we left Havana Vieja. 

Cat Lee - May 17th

Today we went to the Antonio Guiteras Polyclinic. We received a lecture from a doctor who is working to get his master’s degree in endocrinology and has an administration position at the clinic. He gave us a lot of information on the healthcare system. The polyclinic has 8422 patients under its care. The clinics are an integral part to the healthcare of Cuba. The group’s questions ranged in topics from the education of the doctors, mental illness, and the positives and negatives of the healthcare system. One question highlighted the fact that the citizens receive care for free and medications from a pharmacy are received at an affordable cost.

After lecture, we were given a tour of the facility. The bottom floor is used for emergency care, x-rays, and other trauma related care. The first floor is more general care as in geriatrics, vaccinations, and ultrasounds. Upper levels get more into schooling of medical students, administration, and specific departments like optometry. The building was very different from a clinic or hospital you would see in the US. Unlike the pale clean colors you might expect in the United States, we saw brightly colored walls with chipped paint and elaborate decoration around doors and stairwells all following in suit of the uniqueness in structures we have seen all over Havana.

During discussion, we talked about how we were feeling being half way through this study abroad program. Throughout our experiences, we’ve all been pushing ourselves and gaining a lot of personal growth. We all expressed gratitude and happiness to be having such an incredible experience. At the same time, we had an intense discussion that allowed the group to continue to bond and share that such personal experiences can also elicit strong emotions that can be difficult to understand and process. Such an open group makes this experience what it is and is what allows each of us to push ourselves so hard to learn about global leadership and what it means to appreciate the importance of cultural diversity.

Following our discussion, the group split off to get lunch and find something to do for the afternoon. Jess, Sydney, and I initially tried to eat at a Mandarin restaurant, but encountered some difficulty in understanding what our waiter was telling us about how we needed to order. Despite our efforts, we felt that we weren’t going to be able to figure it out and decided to eat somewhere else. We found ourselves at ‘Restaurante el Polinesio’ which was across the street. In the third photo, you can see Jess and Sydney smiling as we discuss what to order. I ordered Polynesian barbecue chicken. After a walk, a nap, and dinner most of my house chilled out talking and writing our journals. 

Antonio Guiteras polyclinic

Floor organization of polyclinic.

Jess (left) and Sydney (right) waiting to place our order.

Polynesian barbecue chicken!

Emmanda McKenzie - May 16th

Today we got a little bit more amerced in the Cuban way of life. We were exposed to the harsh realities that are associated with feeding families. Cuban citizens depend on the use of ration books in order to provide majority of their food for their families. Our tour guide, Orlando, (seen holding up the ration book) tried to give us a brief rundown on how it all worked. Orlando explained a socialist system basically states that if you give the leaders the power that they will take care of you. Every few blocks in each providence, there are bodegas with all the allotted food for Cuban citizens. On the first day of every month, citizens can go and purchase food for their families at extremely reduced prices. The major items provided are rice, beans, and sugar. Sometimes there is noodles, maybe milk or fruit puree. But, there is a limit to the amount a single person or family can receive for the entire month.

In regards to ration books, there is a designated leader for each house hold. That person is responsible for making sure that every person, child or adult, is accounted for. Once everyone is officially represented as a member of the house hold, they are designated a certain amount of food. For example, each person can have 7lbs of rice a month, 5 lbs. of sugar a month, and 1 package of coffee a month. Depending on how large the house hold is, this could seem like enough to sustain a family. But it is barely enough. There’s also the issue about the age of the children and the providence the family lives in. Some places, for example, have different restrictions on how much fruit puree is allowed, or what age a child will stop receiving milk. You also have to consider fruits and vegetables. Those are not things that are provided by the ration books. Even though they may seem cheaper in price, or easier to come by, there are so many restrictions on who can produce what and who can sell to who for how much.

Today we got sort of a reality check on the Cuban way of life. This program has been awesome in regards to seeing sights and teaching us about global leadership, but today we encountered a more humbling experience. I know a few of us walked in expecting something similar to a grocery store you would find in America. So to come across something similar to a warehouse with a chalk board that listed all the available items and prices was shocking. Ultimately I think a lot of us will take this experience into consideration when purchasing things at grocery store or monitoring our food waste in the future.  

Chelsea Shafer - May 15th

Today started like any other day with an amazing breakfast made by my casa mom, Angelita, and then we drove to the Jose Marti Center to have class. After that we went to La Luecita for a lunch that was made right in front of us. One of our own, Jordan, even got to help the chef prepare the vegetables for a beef and veggie stew sort of main course that was paired with a chicken dish and then rice and beans and banana chips. Everyone loved the banana chips, including me, but the next course wasn’t as welcomed by the majority. In Cuba, they like to pair sweet and sour things together. For dessert, we had sweet papaya with grated cheese on top. Papaya generally is not very sweet, in my opinion, but here they prepare it by picking and slicing it before it is ripe and boiling it with honey, sugar, and cinnamon to make it sweet and mushy. Its similar to fruit cocktail. Now can you imagine fruit cocktail with shredded cheese on top? I couldn’t either. Cubans apparently love it, but a lot of us just couldn’t get into it!

Then we traveled to Callejon de Hamel. Callejon de Hamel is an alley in Havana dedicated to the afro Cuban culture. Something I noticed immediately was all of their seating and some decorations were made of bath tubs! I found that to be so creative and practical, the decorators found use of a bathtub beyond what I’m sure many people would have. Actually, I’m not so sure about the practicality aspect… I asked RJ to take a picture of me sitting on one of the bath tubs, so I plopped down and immediately my bottom and legs started burning! I jump up and told RJ how hot it was and he told me he would take the picture quickly so I braved the heat for a few seconds for the sake of commemorating the bathtubs benches. If I would have thought it through, I would have realized that the sun had been beating down on it, so of course it would be hot, but that didn’t register ahead of time! Luckily, I fully recovered from the surprise and the heat! The alley was very colorful and had quotes in Spanish and unique decorations posted throughout. One of my favorites said a phrase along the lines of the bad actions of a man are never forgotten and the good actions live forever. If you think about it, they really mean the same thing, the different actions are just framed differently, but I just took it as everything you do matters. Your actions show people if you are good or bad. Callejon de Hamel was very festive and overall a very interesting place to spend time. I still have some plans for tonight, but it has already been an exciting day! 

Jordyn Tucker - May 14th

Even though it was gloomy out today, we still enjoyed our first time at a Cuban beach. We went to playa (beach) Santa Maria across from the Tropicoco hotel. Despite the gray the weather still felt perfect. Most of us spent our time swimming in the water, which was extremely warm and salty.  We woke up around nine for breakfast and gave gifts to our host mom Esmeralda for Mother’s day. For breakfast we had scrambled eggs with a bunch of different fruits including pineapple, papaya, and mango. The taste of Cuban fruit is so much better than the taste of American fruit for some reason.

Today was also the first time I’ve ever rode in a taxi and it made me nervous especially because I wasn’t sure if it was going the right way. Once we got to the beach, we immediately put all of our bags down to go swim. We stayed in the water for about an hour or so, then went to grab food. We found a little stand right off of the beach where you got a box of rice, cabbage, and a meat for $35.00 CUP, which is $1.50 in CUC or USD. I was so excited that food so great was so cheap. After eating we headed back to the beach where we found a bunch of other students heading back into the water. Eventually I got out of the water and was hanging around the beach before it started to get especially dark. We all knew a big storm was coming, so everyone began to get out of the water to get ready to leave. Far out across the ocean we could all see that it was raining heavily, so Sydney and I quickly took a picture before leaving. We then caught a taxi back, which felt like such a long drive in the rain.

We arrived back at our casas and I quickly jumped into the shower before noticing how sunburned I was. It was worth it. I fell asleep for a couple hours before dinner. Tonight we had dinner “Cuban style” which means you just set all of the plates out across the table and everyone goes around to grab what they want before sitting. Esmeralda and Alexander had dinner with us tonight, which was nice because it has gotten easier to talk with them since we arrived. We all shared jokes when eating before cleaning up.

Look at that sailboat!

The Calm Before the Storm. Sydney and I

Pork Kabob with cabbage and rice

Kevin Mercer - May 13th

I certainly set myself up with a monumental task by choosing today to write this blog, since I have to squeeze all the things we did in Viñales into under 500 words. Today was our first time leaving Havana after our week here in Cuba. It was also RJ’s (one of our fantastic instructors) birthday, so we made sure to make the most of it for him. Agriculture was abundant on the countryside outside of Havana and cars were increasingly scarce as we got further away from the larger roads, slowly being replaced by motorcycles, horses, and ox driven carts. Another thing that grew more scarce on these smaller roads were straight lines as our bus drove on continually curved left and right around sudden corners.

What I’ll be able to write here about Viñales won’t do justice to what we experienced there, but I’ll at least try to tell you what we all did. The first thing we did was visit Las Cuevas del Indio which was a great spelunking experience. Experienced cave guides walked us through the cave system and onto a pair of boats where they showed us the cave’s rock formations as we moved through the underground river.

After that we explored Viñales town and tried our hands at haggling for all the artisan works being sold in the square before we left for our lunch destination. We all ate a feast of food grown feet away from our table at a restaurant atop a large organic farm. Due to the years of gardening I’ve done since I was a child, I was fascinated to see how they could grow so many different varieties of food plants in this one area. We were on a pretty tight schedule, so after a quick tour of the property with the man in charge, we rushed back onto the bus and headed towards our next destination, the tobacco plantation.

After getting off the bus, we were quickly introduced to a large thatch structure where the tobacco was set to dry for about two months out of the year. There we met the man in charge of the plantation who quickly demonstrated for us all, with his knife and a couple pairs of tobacco leaves, how a cigar was made. It was a spectacle to behold. Many cigars were purchased there soon afterwards.

Our last stop during our time in Viñales was an excursion to the painted mountains, which is a limestone cliff face covered in a giant, brightly colored mural. This was a nice stop that gave us a chance to pause and goof around taking pictures after a long day of traveling through this part of the country. Overall it was a very rewarding experience and today was one of the days that made me especially glad that I had this opportunity through Horizons. From the look on RJ’s face all day, I’d say today’s excursion also served as a pretty good birthday for him too.  

Renato, Tamara, and me at the organic farm/restaurant 

The view from the organic farm

The painted mountain

Jessica Kroll - May 12th

Today I learned so much about the education system here in Cuba, as well as how a group of people can run their own business with the aid of the government! First, we had our Purdue class in the morning, followed by a coffee break and a group reflection time. After, we were brought to a nice restaurant where we greeted by a band! One of the owners of the restaurant came and spoke with us about the process of running a cooperative business with many other people with the aid of the government. There are many things in the business that the government helps out on, like loaning a place and furniture for these business owners. But the people who own the business really have the say on how they would like to run their business. To become one of these owners, you have to take a test, as well as pass many requirements to show that you are proficient enough to be in the position. These facts about owning a business were very enlightening!

My favorite part of the day was the coffee time with the Cuban students. Since I am an Elementary and Special Education major getting an opportunity to speak with Cuban students about the educational experiences was amazing! I learned many facts that were very interesting to hear. For example, education here in Cuba is free, even at the collegiate level! Other than the education just being free, some of the easiest programs that you can get into are medical school as well as law school. This obviously came a shock as back in the United States this is very much the opposite. The student we spoke to was studying languages. His focus was German, however, he also has learned English, Portuguese, and French. He is currently enrolled in a six-year program at the University of Havana.

Overall, today I learned a lot about how the people of Cuba have been able to take advantage of government programs. It can be from owning your own business to being able to enroll into the major that you are most interested in! They are very grateful for everything that the government is providing for them, and they show that through their actions. They show that they are grateful through their determination to run a business or showing determination of finishing a degree!

Enjoying the music by a nice band and the help of one of our instructors, Ariel who played the maracas! (pictured in the back right corner in white tank top and pink shorts) Pictured from left to right: Amber, Sol, Sydney, Daniel, Ariel, Jop, and Henry. 

Chatting with Cuban students and learning about their education system! Pictured from left to right: Cuban Student, Tyler, Jess, Kevin, Renato, Daniel, Sydney, Lisa, Anthony, and Jordan.

Joplyn Raavel - May 11th

Today we started the day with our daily lectures, this one being about Cognitive Flexibility and Emotional regulation, during which a scenario was presented to students that pertains to making a choice and how to understand the difference in opinions of choices. After a short break for coffee and discussions amongst students about this scenario, how we would handle it, and how to respect or understand why others would do otherwise, we continued this discussion along with other productive discussions during our debrief.

This has, thus far, been the typical morning in Havana, however each day getting lunch on our own is always a different experience. Today, Tamara, Kat, Stanley, and I chose to spend a small amount on money for lunch in order to save for a larger meal in the future, however we ended up getting much more than expected. Due to my lack of certain Spanish language knowledge, I ended up with a pork burger with everything on it. This includes topping such as pineapple and Canadian bacon. It was intimidating, but I was ready. Trying new foods was a huge part of why I wanted to come to Cuba, and this burger did not disappoint. Despite the massive creation sitting in front of me, I was able to have a very engaging conversation with my peers, which left  me feeling good about the ability to have a productive conversation with fellow students.

After lunch, which was the highlight of most students’ day, was Salsa dancing. Our instructor taught us some basic salsa movements, and gave us time to practice them while he watched and (often, in my case) critiqued and fix our movements. My partner RJ was definitely a trooper, being with someone whose movements are the envy of robots everywhere, and whose palms could probably nourish a garden a square mile long. Eventually, we got the hang of it, and were twisting and turning with the best of them. When it came to learning from the instructor, multiple female students were picked from the crowd to be an example to follow, most of which looked amazing while doing so (shout out to them), others, to put it nicely “needed a little help” (shout out to me). All in all, I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed learning to dance Salsa, and hopefully we will get more practice turning and stepping before our farewell dinner in a couple weeks, and blow away those around us.

Tonight, we plan to attend a hip-hop show at the Castillo, which seems to be an event of much excitement among students. Hopefully this show will be able to uphold the standards American movies such as Step Up have set for our idea of hip hop dancing.

The burger of my dreams. Pineapple, Canadian bacon, cucumbers, carrots, cheese, an egg and lettuce, all stacked on a pork patty with a sesame seed bun (IN THAT ORDER) 

Ariel was one of those who was doing great, so shout out to her.