David’s Vignette “Papito, Dame algo” A long, gorgeous Sunday afternoon walk through the Playa and Miramar neighborhoods of Havana. Looking for a meal, Amanda and I come upon two very different establishments on opposing sides of the street. An open, haphazardly arranged Cafeteria (national currency) on the right, and a closed off, posh CUC (“tourist” currency) place on the left. We opt for the CUC joint, in the mood to… Read More

I grew accustomed to seeing dogs speeding along the road with soda cans tied to their tails. Or the daily incident in which four dogs were intertwined with one another post intimacy. The four remained stuck to each other like the cartoon “Cat Dog” as more dogs would attempt to join in. This was typically followed by numerous voices shouting “dale dale” to the pack of conjoined dogs attempting to… Read More

So after our first week in Viñales we moved to the more rural part called Los Jasmines. This was for our farming portion of the trip. We had amazing food for every meal and Anni, our host mom, was always so gracious and had this super infectious laugh that got everyone around her laughing, regardless of if we understood her or not. She would always serve Nina and I tea… Read More

We were in Viñales and everyone was geared up for a relaxing day on the beach. When we all went to meet up to head out on said adventure, Grant decided to smash his head into an AC unit while frantically looking for his phone, the momentum of which caused his front tooth to skyrocket out of his head. This caused a radical change of plans due to the fact… Read More

BK ‘barracuda’ Kohler presents: a Vignette We were at a restaurant outside Bayamo, experiencing ‘Cuban time’: Two hours of waiting and still no food. I felt fine as I had eaten a breakfast fit for some tottering creature from the Jurassic period, but others weren’t so lucky. The stagnancy of the whole thing assured that a fair amount of voltage was coursing through our veins come meal time. We had… Read More

Coming to Cuba I had no idea how intertwined dancing is in the culture here. I’ve yet to meet a single Cuban who can’t girate their hips like a professional. So naturally I was pretty intimidated when it was decided that we were going out dancing with the Café Caliente dance team that we were working with in Santiago. We had learned a few moves from the classes that we… Read More

A week of stomach sickness, homesickness, and heat had drained me emotionally. It was Los Jazmines, smack dab in the middle of the trip, and I was getting in my head. I came home stressed out and upset after a trip to the hotel to try to call my mom proved unsuccessful, and I was feeling pretty down. I sat down all alone to drown myself on pity as I… Read More

In Playa Larga, one of the last cities (towns) we visited, the contrast between old “Hemingway Cuba” and the modern Cuba involving casa particulars and restaurants was incredibly visible to me. I was sitting on a rickety old pier under the stars, gazing at the old wooden fishing boats bobbing up and down with each passing wave. Off in the distance I could hear the booming stereos playing reggaeton and… Read More

I’d say my most memorable experience was the one that came to mind when asked the question. It’s not very crazy or incredibly interesting but it has value to me. So, we were hiking in the sierra maestra, visiting places where both Fidel and Che had established a “centro” or headquarters in English. The group separated into squads by pace, as most hikes devolve to, and I found myself without… Read More

For those who don’t know, Cuba has been experiencing a severe drought over the last few years which makes it very challenging for farmers to grow crops. One afternoon during our stay in Los Jasmines (a small farm town), a few group members and I were relaxing quietly on the back patio of our Casa Particular. The sun was beaming brutally against the dry soil as it had done everyday… Read More

On our first solo day in Havana, I ventured out by myself to go and walk around the city for a while. My goal this afternoon was not to go out and explore the city or to practice Spanish, it was to finish my college housing application. I walked down the Malecón and ended up on a bench at the back of the Hotel Nacional, with a beautiful view of… Read More