I woke up to the standard breakfast of eggs, fruit, bread, butter, jam, coffee, and a smoothie—a start to every day that I particularly love. The city was bathed in a fuzzy golden light as the sun rose to burn off some of the lingering fogginess. It’s been hot and humid the past few days without much of a breeze. The morning is cooler, but by the time I was in the elevator heading to school, I was already damp.
Catching a cab can be a bit tricky at 7AM for a group of seven; the concentration of taxis is inconsistent and often times they are full. We try to take collective taxis rather than their more expensive direct counterparts. Collectives taxis, or “colectivos” run a specific route through a neighborhood or between neighborhoods, operating like a miniature bus. They typically cost 10 Moneda Nacional (a bit less than 50 cents). On this particular day we were lucky and the group got to school on time.
Once Toby and I got to school, we passed through a hole in the fence as it provided a more direct route to the classroom than passing through the front gate. A guard caught us inside and demanded our ID cards (which we cannot receive because of new laws stating that a student must study in Cuba for a minimum of six months in order to receive an ID card). We waited for about 10 minutes trying to explain our situation but he told us to wait until he took us to his boss. We walked over to his superior, dressed in an unassuming collared shirt, who knew of our program and let us go to class with a wag of his finger. This sort of situation is not uncommon in Cuba: Issues of access and proper paperwork are typical for any foreigner in the country. After our interaction we headed into the music/administration building for Spanish class. The building is a repurposed country club which used to serve a golf course that now composes the ISA’s campus. Our small windowless classroom is set in the middle of the building. It is reminiscent of an interrogation room with a bright white fluorescent tube overhead and perforated wall paneling. During class we reviewed a small text and went over some activities that had been assigned the previous Thursday. The class is structured very similarly to a Spanish class one might take in the states. At the end we dolled out some pastries because our professor’s birthday was the day before.
After class, we had a an hour break before art history. I found a nice spot in the trees and did some overdue journaling. In art history we covered architecture during the revolution (late 50’s-80’s). There were substantially different architectural trends within Cuba during the revolution. On one hand, pragmatism encouraged simple design and cheap materials. On the other, architects still taught to create works with artistic aesthetic in mind. The ISA was such an artistic endeavorer that cost the government a pretty penny.
At 1:30 a friend and I went to the front gate to meet up with an American we had met at a cafe couple days before. He was a producer for a podcast who wanted to see the ISA as a podcast he had worked for had done an episode on the ISA (Side Note: he worked for 99% Invisible which is a cool podcast that I recommend if you like learning about random history or things). We waited for a bit than decided to leave (apparently he ended up being really late due to the random difficulty of catching a cab). We walked around the campus for a few hours exploring the various buildings dispersed throughout fields and forests. We came across one building that is now used for studios for painters and artist of other mediums. It was a massive brick structure that felt like a fort; it had a closed design from the outside but felt very open and spacious within. There were some unused and unmaintained lecture rooms that provided a new habitat for plants of various sizes. The studios are incredible with high ceiling spaces with natural light but also somewhat less pristine than other parts of the campus. Then we walked a quarter mile to another part of the campus that I don’t know the history of. I suspect that it is not used for academia today because it is in a state of disrepair. The classrooms are open air domes connected via bending covered walkways. The largest dome is an amphitheater that is now home to various birds, bats, lizards, and graffiti. Following this we paid a visit to a favorite Italian spot close to school that makes killer pizza and pasta. We had a octopus salad, caprese salad, and a sausage and mushroom pasta (5/5).
We got back to Vedado (our neighborhood) a little late for dance class with the rest of the group. The the heat and humidity combined with fast pace of salsa made for a sticky class. I was literally melting. Afterwards, I jumped on wifi for a bit than went to sleep.
This is a mere glimpse, but conveys a realistic idea of the day to day that I have been living in Cuba. Some nights we go out, hear live music, or just hang out on the Malécon. There is always a new adventure accompanied by some inevitable waiting or some obstacle that demands a bit of attention or patience. I also apologize for the lack of pictures. My phone was stolen 🙁