Program dates: 01/23/2017 – 05/03/2017
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Academic study focuses on the study of the construction of the Cuban nation with emphasis on issues of race, slavery, socialism and relations with the U.S. The program will be based at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) and will include excursions to Santiago, Trinidad and Pinar del Rio.
Recent posts [display all posts]
Reflecting Back - I am writing my final post on my flight back home after having landed in Atlanta with a short layover. Being back in the United States, even just in the airport, was pretty startling. I found myself instinctively speaking in Spanish, saying “hola” and “permiso” to all the TSA agents and customs officers. I will […]
Visiting Trinidad - Last weekend, we took a trip too the small town of Trinidad, passing through the town of Santa Clara. Trinidad is located relatively in the middle of Cuba’s southern coast. It has beautiful scenery and it nestled surrounded by mountains and forest. Our trip started off with a 9 am bus ride from Havana. We […]
Final Thoughts - Its a hot day in late April and I’m in my casa with two days before the end of the study abroad program. It’s hard to think that it will all be over in a few short days; this has been one of the quickest three months of my life. There have been many challenges […]
Home - Arriving in Havana was like waking up in a submarine after a night of half-awake haze. I look out the window feeling confident that I have left my home but am not yet sure that this new life is all too different from that I am accustomed to. Soon I realize that this submarine ride […]
My Kind of Town - From the moment I boarded the airplane from Havana to Atlanta and I noticed the stark differences between that plane and the last one we took back from Santiago I knew that readjusting to life back in the states wasn’t going to be easy. I nearly lost my mind when I took a bite of […]
La tierra mas bella que ojos humanos hayan visto - Just came back from a 6 day trip to Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa all the way on the other end of the island. The weather wasn’t great but the food, the people and the increased Cubanidad really made up for it. I didn’t realize how when living in Havana you can almost sometimes forget […]
Learning to Dance Salsa - Upon arriving to Cuba, our group had made it clear to our professors that we wanted to better understand cuban culture. We wanted to learn the local dialect, the lifestyle and the struggles. We wanted to learn about politics, athletics, nationalism and socialism. We wanted to make friends, gain a new perspective on both who […]
Abandoned Buildings - In the start of March, a fellow student and I began to take weekly walks throughout the city. We’ve explored abandoned ferry terminals, hotels and apartment buildings. Our favorites thus far have been an old housing complex in Playa (a neighborhood just west of the city) and an old loading dock in Havana Vieja. The […]
Cultural Differences - I’ve had many wonderful adventures so far, and traveled to Santiago de Cuba, Matanzas and Viñales most recently, as well as taken up salsa lessons and made friends with gen-u-ine Cubans, which has been a great accomplishment in itself. Tomorrow we all depart for Trinidad Province just in time for Good Friday and Easter, both […]
Last Few Weeks - We now only have about three weeks left in Cuba. Something lately that has been most rewarding is having the confidence to reach out to people and talk to them. It has taken a long time to get to that point and at times has been easy to retreat into the comfort of the group […]