University of Houston in Cuba: When in Cuba.

La GuaGua- “La GuaGua” is another name for what we call in America a bus. This is the stallion that took us through the streets of Cuba. In this beauty we laughed, sweated, and slept. “End the blockade against Cuba,” was a message on the bus that drove through the country. This message didn’t mean anything to me until the end of the trip. The last day riding this bus, I realized the best thing about Cuba is not the vintage cars or the old buildings, but the amazing people. People like the man who drove this bus, Ariel. Two weeks with Ariel and I saw a Cuban man who didn’t complain, but made best of what he had. Every day I told him good morning he had a smile on his face. A smile doesn’t mean you have an amazing life, but perhaps you are simply grateful. The people in Cuba where the ones who made the biggest impact in my life. It was astonishing to see people not live in the best conditions and still be full of life. Before I came to Cuba I felt a little lost about how the government played a big role in the people’s life’s. The irony of this country and how it impacts people life's really blew my mind. The government gives you everything, so they claim. They offer: free education, healthcare, and portions of food sounds like the perfect country right? No. It is not perfect by no means. In Cuba although many residents told me they would never leave, they were also the ones who said they would not have children in order to save them from hunger and the hard conditions they are currently living in .

Thinking back in my days in Havana I remember the time we spent in the literary workshop “Sed de belleza,” where I felt anyone could share a portion of themselves. This was a place where people who had normal jobs came to express another side of themselves as writers and critics. They freely wrote about anything their hearts desires and their peers would critique it. As I notice their stories being read and torn down, for a moment I felt sorry. As the time came to an end there was no hurt in the look of their faces, but pure acceptance and that was something wonderful. The way they conducted themselves during those few moments I felt it showed so much character, in how some Cubans accept where they are and others try and make a difference like them. I was privileged to have a professor like Dr. Cuesta that through her personal journey the pain, the agony, made me us see this country through the eyes of a Cuban and not of a tourist.

One thing I found interesting was seeing how the government was so controlling. In Cuba, there was no such thing as advertising, but pure propaganda. There was many signs that talked about the revolution that happened more than 50 years ago and pictures worshiping the Castro’s as if they were God. As they control what you see they also control what you are able to do and that is the privilege of using the internet. While in America we take for granted the internet, in Cuba each second using the internet is precious and limited. Personally I didn’t miss using the internet very much, but I did miss hearing the voices of my loved ones.

In the beautiful city of Mantanzas, we found a little shop where I saw a man so pleased working on an art piece. The look on his face brought me a peaceful state of mind. Traveling through Cuba I saw the people who were entrepreneurs and didn’t work for the government had a little more joy in their eyes.

Oh the famous breakfast! This is the colorful and beautiful meal we enjoyed for 15 days. I also learned that the only tortillas in Cuba were those made out of egg. J Food was one of those things Cubans don’t take very lightly like most Americans do. Traveling through the country you would notice food shortages and how food was never wasted.

In Matanzas we also visited a community center where children would do several activity’s like have recreation time and educational activities. The look on their eyes was priceless pure joy and gratitude.