Once in a Lifetime

 

 

 After Brazil, the MV Explorer made its way over to Havana, Cuba!  Before coming onto Semester at Sea, I knew absolutely nothing about Cuba, so I wasn't overly excited about this stop.  But while preparing for our visit, I learned that the United States has an embargo on the country and as a result, most Americans aren't allowed to even travel to Cuba!  The only reason Semester at Sea could travel to the country is because our stop was for educational reasons.  And, before we even arrived in Havana, we had to drop family members of all faculty and staff in the Bahamas since they couldn't come into Cuba because they weren't technically part of the learning community.  So, I am extremely grateful that I was able to see and travel throughout Cuba!

When we got off the ship, we were immediately swarmed by the dozens of news crews waiting to interview the 500+ Americans miraculously allowed to visit their country.  Most wanted someone who could speak Spanish, so I managed to make my way past most (I got trapped in a 2 minute interview) of the overwhelming welcoming committee and onto the buses where our whole shipboard community would be traveling to the University of Havana.  Our day consisted of welcoming by professors and students, educational lectures, and cultural performances.  I decided to listen to a lecture on US and Cuban relations, and it was really interesting to hear a Cuban perspective on Americans.  Surprisingly, the lecturer (and the entire country's population, really) had hardly any negative feelings towards us Americans or the US.  The professor expressed his desire for the embargo to end, but in no way did he blame us.  He recognized both sides played a part in our "difficult" relationship, which I was certainly not expecting.  While I in no way can adequately explain the long history behind US and Cuban relations, if you have the chance, I encourage you to research some of the history, since it's actually pretty interesting!  

The next day, my group of friends and I decided to go on a Semester at Sea trip to a baseball game!  While I'm not a huge sports fan, it was fun to travel outside of Havana to experience a little bit of everyday culture!  As expected, I ate quite a bit of food (ice-cream), took a gazillion pictures, and participated in the wave.  Unexpectedly, I was caught off guard in the bathroom when I realized Cubans don't use toilet paper, took a bite out of a hot dog that tasted like cold bologna, and received cookies instead of my change at the concession stand because they ran out of change.  And, at the end of the game, we were able to go out on the field and meet the teams!

Since I couldn't do any souvenir shopping because of the US embargo, my third and final day in Havana was spent going to a small chocolate museum/café (where they sold hot chocolate for only 50 cents!) and exploring the center of town.  While I wasn't able to do a lot in Cuba, I fully enjoyed our last "real" port!