My time in Cuba

During my time in Cuba, I wanted to learn as much as I could and immerse myself in different aspects of Cuban culture. We had our traditional classes in the morning from 9 am to 12 pm in which I learned about the many revolutions that occurred throughout the Latin Americas. Before taking this class, in school I was taught briefly about these different revolutions that had taken place, but I never realized how much was left out of those lessons.

As a class, we read pieces of literature, watched films, and visited important monuments that gave us an in-depth perspective of the Latin American people’s struggles and fight against their oppressors. My most memorable moment from this class was visiting the National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana in which we looked at many different thought-provoking pieces of art including revolutionary pieces featuring famous writer and Cuban independence leader Jose Marti, a statue of the Cuban coat of arms made of raw materials, statues, and art depicting Afro- Cuban ways of life, and my personal favorite a giant cockroach with a human head. In my afternoons, after grabbing lunch we had our Cuban salsa class. It felt like more of a party than a class. Throughout the three weeks, we learned a series of different steps and their names. On the night of the final class, our teachers took us out to an actual salsa club that they like to go to by the Malecón and we all got to try out the moves that we had spent time learning as we danced the night away. My favorite class and experience in Cuba took place at night, this was the Cuban cuisine class. Our professor is an amazing cook and not only showed us how to make many traditional Cuban recipes but also explained their origin and traditions. We made many dishes such as arroz con pollo, albóndigas de carne en salsa criolla, garbanzos a la cubana, and ropa vieja. They were all so delicious and I appreciate her for letting us into her home and sharing her traditions with us.

Overall, my time in Cuba was amazing and I definitely have plans to visit again sometime in the future. I am grateful for the opportunity I was given to be exposed to and learn from a new community outside of my own. One of the things I will never forget from my time in Cuba was the sense of community and the pride the people held for their culture and history. Everyone there was very kind, not only to us but to each other as well, people would stop and have full conversations with one another as if they were old friends catching up. As someone who comes from a country that has more individualistic norms, it was different but welcoming once I got used to it and I found it would make my day a little lighter. I have gained many new perspectives that I will carry with me as I further pursue a career interest in public health.