My Cuban Experience

(First-day picture of Chennelle and I outside Jose Marti Airport)

Having been my first-ever study abroad trip, saying I was excited would be an understatement. I was so ready to experience the Cuban culture, history and life as an American student that I started packing months prior to the trip. I thought this opportunity would be one for the books and I simply wanted to see Cuba before it becomes more westernized to understand what everyone was talking about. 

(Last day picture of everyone in front of the bus- PC Jenny Munoz)

Post my return from Cuba, I am left greatly missing my peers who traveled with me throughout the trip. I did not realize how much fun I had till I returned home. Throughout our journey, we were privileged enough to visit numerous key attractions and talk with the people of Cuba. Although often tired, I was still able to witness nature's beauty while on the bus. I am extremely glad that we did not just visit the top tourist spot, Havana but also was able to visit other areas such as Matanzas, Holguin, Camaguey, Santiago, Santa Clara etc. There is a clear difference between Havana when compared to the other areas of Cuba which I believe most tourists do not get to see. 

(Picture of Havana)

The experience we received by speaking to Dr.Cuesta’s connections outside of Havana was what really led me to the see the problems within the country and comprehend it to another degree. For example, although free higher education is provided, many are controlled on what they can choose as their career as based on the country's present needs. Additionally, I found out those seeking education need to serve in a placement post their education which will be entirely chosen by the government. This placement would be three years for women and two years for males as they serve a year in the military before college and after high school. Furthermore, I feel thankful that I had a glimpse of the real Cuba thanks to my insiders we had in Cuba as ordinary citizens (apart from tour guides and other professions). I also learned that they are not allowed to talk to tourists unless we talk to them.

                      

                         

                (2 Pictures of typical billboards placed around Cuba)

Throughout my trip, I was encountered with so many contrasts that face the nation. Although in the United States we are in an away controlled by the rich (that own the majority of corporations and wealth in the country), compared to Cuba our country is better. What was extremely strange to me at first was the fact that even billboards were controlled by the government and therefore meant to be propaganda. 

(Picture of my wifi card)

Another important lesson I learned was a number of pleasures I take for granted, I was told by a student majoring in English from Holguin that he is limited to the countries that he can study abroad in and that there are lots of complications in the process to get through with this study abroad program. Basic necessities such as Wifi and access to the rest of the world are now clear necessities that I took for granted. Learning that one is limited to the outside world and is restricted to the areas where they can receive internet access is strange and appalling. Knowing the importance of search engines such as google and other  data that we have access to at our fingertips is something that I learned even further from my trip to Cuba take for granted. Talking with local students, I was able to find out that many individuals are not able to afford to buy a Wifi card which costs 1 CUC. Although this is simply a dollar to us students from the States, this is a huge sum to those in Cuba. Though I loved not being connected to Social Media and email all the time, I would not love to live in a country that does not offer this accommodation regularly.

{Picture of Matanzas}

Although I grew up in a developing country and was limited to many things when compared to the United States, this country, and this experience has been one of the best and the most eye-opening experience that  I have ever had. Being in the 21st century, you would imagine that people would have more human rights and access to the rest of the world. Clearly, this is not the case in the rest of the world. The importance of Human Rights Immigration is further understood throughout this experience. I will forever cherish the memories, moments and the wonderful people I have met in Cuba. It will be a dream for me go back to Cuba in about ten years and see how much or how little it has changed. One thing I will always remember will be the creativity and the hard work of the Cuban people which I learned through our amazing bus driver who used bars of soap to solve the issue with the gas tank (If we were in America, we would have relied on someone else to fix the problem).

(Picture of a couple of us when our bus broke down- PC Jenny Munoz)

(Wonderful man and woman not pictured who came to help me when my hat flew into the river in Matanzas :)- PC Jenny Munoz)

I humbly feel blessed  to have gone on this trip. I know that I was very fortunate to even go to a foreign country and have the experiences that I have had especially now knowing how many of my peers in America are not able to financially afford a trip like this and further knowing that my peers in Cuba are not even given this opportunity.

                                     

           {Picture of Varadero beach}                                                 {Blue classic car in Trinidad}