This summer I travelled to Cuba with a group of educators and fellow leaders of school groups abroad. Eight of us were Spanish teachers and we had a great time immersing ourselves in the culture.
We spent a week in and around Havana visiting art, photography and dance studios as well as seeing organic farming in and out of town and being introduced to Santeria. The infrastructure, as expected, is in disrepair. We discovered that Cuba is a land of contradictions. On one block you could have a boutique hotel, a crumbling building and a family living in a building without electricity. Although the government is allowing internet access, the newly promised hotspots were few and far between. Even the famous and most often photographed Hotel Nacional is looking a little tired and musty.
The people were happy to see us and talk to us about their lives. We were able to speak with young people who are trying to build their own private companies, even with limited internet. But daily life is hard. The people still receive ration cards and receive staples from government stores. One of our trips was to a Cuban market where we were given 40 Cuban pesos to buy a nutritious dinner for a family of four. My team came in second because we relied on a large quantity of rice and beans and a few fruits and vegetables to add interest and flavor. Buying protein was out of the question. And this amount of money is twice what the average family would be able to spend on that dinner.
Another day some of us asked to see a beach about an hour outside of Havana. Our driver took us to what he considered a “nice” beach. Once again there was the split between what we tourists could buy with our Convertible Cuban Pesos versus the locals with their money. Our driver also said he would be able to take only one outing to the beach with his family because it was so expensive for them. Yes, you do get to ride in the old, beautifully restored cars but they are for tourists as well. It was a difficult, fascinating and important visit. I hope to be able to travel with older students there soon
This is great, Gabby, thanks for this. Cuba sounds like a great coming together of old and new worlds and in a way not easily found most anywhere else. I hope that students will be able to travel there in the not too distant future!
What an experience Gabby and thanks for sharing with us. I can’t imagine – going to the beach just once in the summer because it’s too expensive a trip to take frequently. I CAN imagine what a great learning experience this trip to Cuba would be for our students and other teachers!
Great! Thanks for sharing this, Gaby.
Gaby, how energizing to be with some folks who teach Spanish. I bet you shared many stories and ideas with each other. I’ve been wanting to take the kids to Cuba for years. Sounds a lot like the Dominican Republic. All that hardship builds resilience!!
What an amazing opportunity to see Cuba as it is on the brink of change and what an amazing opportunity it would be for our students if you could take them there as well.