This post features student writing.

Queridos padres (Dear parents),

My name is Alice C. and I wanted to recap a really fun day we had to give you all a student’s perspective of our time in Cuba. First, we went to a vegetable farm where we took a tour and learned about Cuba’s history and agriculture, and how agriculture affected the country’s citizens, economy, and the environment. Our guide, Jose Antonio Monjes Machado (or Tony), told us that 75% of Cuban food is organic and that organic farming saved Cuba after the country lost 90% of their economy after the fall of the Soviet Union. Tony also told us about how they use flora in different ways as natural pest repellents!

Next we took the bus to a juice stand that sold sugar cane juice, hands-down one of the best beverages I’ve ever had. We watched as they took tall stalks of raw sugar cane and ground them in a machine to create a sweet green juice. They added lime and the juice was delicious — all of us were asking for refills. The best part was when we found out that 36 cups of juice only cost $2.00! TWO. If we had bought that in New York, where I’m from, it would have been $4 per glass.

Then we went to a restaurant called Ajicao, where the Spanish Language workshop group (focusing on Cuban Life and Culture) had taken a cooking class the day before. We enjoyed some wonderful family style soup, fish, ropa vieja (pulled pork), and coffee. Later, we attended a small private concert at the hotel where Alberto Faya and his band performed for us. He is a university professor who also hosts a radio show. He discussed and performed the history of Cuban music. We were all impressed by his talent.

The group then split up for the last activities of the night. One group went to a nice dinner, while my group ordered sandwiches and went to a local salsa club with our salsa instructors from the previous day. We ate our sandwiches then went to the Malecón, which had the most amazing view of the sunset and the ocean. In the club, we went up a tower made of coral and saw an incredible view. Then we danced with each other using the salsa steps we learned the day before and got to know each other better. We were all sweaty, but we didn’t care! The music was loud, lights were bright, and everyone had a wonderful time.

We’ve all been having so much fun. It’s such a pleasure to get to know everyone!

Hasta luego,
Alice C.