Life in Havana

I learned many things about Cuba, its people and its history over the course of my two weeks in Havana. During this trip, I became very familiar with Cuba and the way its people live through being fully immersed in the capital’s culture, exploring the different locations in multiple provinces and meeting the people. We stayed in a student/journalist hostile in the heart of the Vedado neighborhood of Havana. This unique environment really thrust us directly into the city, people and one of a kind Cuba culture. Being able to walk around the streets and interact with the locals was a huge part of the experience in learning about the unique ways of life found in Cuba. The other students an myself were able to develop meaningful relationships with the local workers of where we stayed. When we weren’t in the hostile or taking in the daily sights of the city, our group had lectures at the University of Havana where we learned about afro-cubans, ethnicity, history and race in Cuba. On top of the lectures, learning took place through trips throughout the cities historical sights such as the old fort, art museum and the museum of the revolution. Day trips to the countryside for seeing the mountains and visiting a former sugar plantation added a lot to the trip through connecting the lessons from class to physical realities in front of us. In all the trip was an amazing experience where I learned a lot through unique educational opportunities such as meeting the grandson of Nicholas Guillén and irreplaceable journeys into historically rich areas of the country.