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Classic Cars in Cuba

Alexandra Defilippis: Student Report from 2017 Alternative Winter Break in Cuba

Before I went to Cuba, I had no concrete ideas of what to expect. I knew that most of the cars were older and I had some idea of what Havana looked like, but I didn’t understand how the government of Cuba worked and what to expect from the people. I also didn’t know anything about the history of Cuba other than the parts that were directly related to the US. I went into the country blind, but with an open mind.

While in Cuba, yes, I did learn a lot about the facts of the country. I learned they have free healthcare along with free education; I learned about the Cuban Revolution and how Cuba loves Che Guevara; I learned that Cuba has some of the most amazing art in the world. While I learned a lot of information in Cuba what I really took away from this trip was a new outlook on my life. I know it sounds corny but it’s true.

Never once on the whole trip did I have a negative encounter with any of the people there, and everyone was so much more welcoming than I was ready for. On multiple occasions, people would just come up to our group and try to talk to us simply about where we were from and if we liked Cuba so far. The people who were hosting the casa particular (the place we stayed) were more than welcoming and tried to communicate with us sometimes even though my Spanish was nowhere near good. People were constantly out in the streets playing music, dancing, or just talking with their neighbor. It seemed like people wanted us there; it seemed happy.

When I came home and showed my family pictures of the trip, my grandma mentioned that it looked like everyone lived in poverty. This took me aback. I didn’t even think about that while we were there. I did notice that the homes seemed smaller but I attributed that to a very largely populated city with little space, not poverty. It occurred to me that we may perceive things such as poverty and wealth differently in America.

Some of the largest houses we saw in Havana, may be considered upper middle class here. On our day trip to a biosphere reserve about two hours away from Havana, we visited the home of a very famous Cuba musician who had died a few years ago. The house was only one story and had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a den, and a kitchen. It didn’t seem like much at first glance, but then we went into the bathroom. One wall was a window overlooking the lake and most of the biosphere, and it was absolutely breathtaking.

It makes you think about what you really value in this world. In Cuba there is no LTE or 4G everywhere, in order to access the internet you had to go to a wifi hotspot (such as a hotel) and buy wifi for a number of hours. Every time we traveled I had no use of my phone so I was forced to pay attention to the world around me, and I am so glad I did.

Cuba was not better or worse than America it was simply different. The architecture was different, the cars were different, the animals were different, and the people were different. I believe it was so important for me to see that many of my possessions and surroundings that I hold most dear are not at all essential for me to be comfortable and happy. Because of this trip, I plan to travel more in order to educate myself more on other cultures and places in our world. You can read about a place and look at pictures, but you can never really know it until you’ve lived there. I can honestly say that I feel like a better person for going on this trip.

Lake in Cuba
Lake in Cuba