Cuban Experience

By Leslie Resendiz

            Summer 2019 will forever be one of my favorites and all the memories made will remain in my heart forever. As a student at the University of Houston I was able to take a once in a life time trip to Cuba. With fourteen other students we made our study abroad trip one of the best. We were given the opportunity to make Matanzas our home for two weeks and experience the lifestyle of true Matanceros (people who live in Matanzas).

            Our typical day started around seven in the morning in order to get ready for the day and arrive to breakfast at eight. Each day the lady’s at the blue hostel welcomed us with fruit and homemade mango, guayaba, papaya, or pineapple juice. Just remembering the delicious food and the amazing lady’s that cooked everything for us makes me miss Matanzas. One of the things I really wish I could keep up with is the time in which meals were served, three time a day, breakfast at eight in the morning, lunch at one, and dinner at seven in the afternoon. Also the freedom of being able to walk where ever and at whatever time without the worry of having to drive. Although it seemed as though we were on vacation that was not the case. We had to do our work, which consisted of translating different chronicles from Spanish to English every day from nine to noon. As far as time it does not seem too bad, but the heat was insane. As we sat in Ediciones Matanzas you could feel your sweat just roll down your face. It was important to always carry your water and hand fan to cool down a bit. Although the heat in Texas is crazy hot in Matanzas it just felt ten times worse, but even then the experience is worth it no matter how much seat dripped down your face.

            The more I think about it the more I realize that in two weeks we did so much. Every day consisted of visiting a museum, taking a tour, having different writers, artists, or important people talk to us. This was not just a typical tourist type of trip we seriously had busy days both during the day and at night. Yet, we would still manage to take short naps here and there. We went to visit a castle, city tour, meet many writers and artists we also got to see their work, go to different museums, visit a temple, night clubs, bars, had salsa lessons, went to the beach, Havana, and much more. Our first weekend in Cuba we went to the beach, Varadero. In general the beach is such an amazing place, but in Varadero the water is crystal clear and the sand is white as snow. That weekend I believe that we students were able to get to know each other and become friends. We all hanged with each other in the beach, at the pool, in the club, we even hosted a talent show for the professor. That weekend was stress free and we spent most of the weekend in the water day and night. After the weekend at the beach we went back to Matanzas for the whole week, but this time we worked in Ediciones Vigia. The people that work there make handmade books that look incredible. On our last day there we had lunch with all the writers and our Cuban friends. We were able to read a short paragraph from the translations we had made and did another talent show to show how much we appreciated them. Later that day we had live music to celebrate our time there and dance with no worries. Then in the night we went to a drag show and let me say that night will definitely be remembered. Not one of us stayed seated once the music started we had a blast that night. The last weekend we went to Havana. There we went to a jazz café, toured old Havana and went to la Fabrica de arte. Everything was so nice and beautiful, the cars are amazing and the buildings so colorful. Although we were still in Cuba it just felt different than in Matanzas, our Cuban friends were missing. Altogether, Cuba was amazing and I cannot get over the fact that we did so much and met so many people and I am so grateful that I was able to go on this study abroad trip.

Overall, words cannot explain the marvelous experience that we had together. It has almost been two weeks and I still cannot wrap my head around the wonderful places I got to see and most importantly the amazing people I got to meet. One thing that I learned from this trip is that friendships can grow instantly if you are willing to meet new people. Cuba will always hold a special place in my heart, but to be more specific Matanzas and the remarkable people who live there.

The picture that represents my experience is with Adrian because no matter how many incredible places I got to see, the friendship that I was able to make with Adrian, Lorena, Elizabeth and Hector is irreplaceable. To me Adrian represents all of the wonderful people I encountered on this trip. Plus, with our matching pineapples it will definitely be hard not to remember my trip to Cuba every time I see it.