March 28, 2020January 4, 2022 Amy

Side Trip to Cuba

Cuba, Travel Central America

In March 2018, I travelled to Matanzas, Cuba with a group of teenagers from Drummondville, Québec who were participating on a school exchange with ARO International. ARO is a non-profit organization based in Montréal which organizes cultural experiences for high school students in Cuba (amongst others.) The young adults participante in daily life in the host country and practice speaking Spanish through full immersion. Instead of staying in an all inclusive hotel, the students slept in a dorm room with basic bunk beds, cold showers and toilet you had to flush with buckets of water. Instead of relaxing on the beach every day, the teens worked in the community gardens, helped clean the schoolyard, and sorted fruit and vegetables for the market. We ate school rations (basic beans and rice) three times a day and spent our free time dreaming of ice cream and chocolate. Working as a volunteer for ARO International, it was my privilege to accompany twenty young adults to the island of Cuba. Below are some of my observations.

Happy Island Living

It was a relief to leave behind all the security restrictions of Honduras for the happy island living attitude – which is Cuba. With its old vintage cars – which look like colorful adult size toys – still driving around, Cuba seems almost postcard perfect. The palm trees flap in the wind and the ocean waves of the Caribbean gently crash on the pristine beaches. Cubans are generally happy and upbeat. However, Cuba is also a country of contrasts; those old vintage cars are clunky and polluting. Strict rationing means there is limited access to fresh fruit and vegetables. Shortages of water and electricity are a daily struggle.

I run my errands early in the early morning before the scorching sun gets too hot. Wandering freely in the street gave me a glimpse into the houses of the average Cuban. I see people hustling from improvised storefronts in their living rooms and patios. The eclectic list of products includes: religious icons, Santeria bracelets, old car parts, homemade ice cream, and potted plants. Some Cubans ride around on bicycles with baskets others push hand carts loaded with objects for sale. They are covertly bartering prohibited items such as: bread, fresh fish, milk and cheese, brand new door locks with Vietnamese writing, live lobsters disguised as vegetables, spare parts in boxes with Chinese symbols, and the list goes on.

Side by Side Currencies

In Cuba there are two currencies: the subsidized prices are in Moneda Nacional which is very cheap (when you can find the product) and the rest is in pesos convertibles or CUC which is used mainly by tourists and on the black market.

One morning, I stoped at a cart selling vegetables and 2$ got me: a papaya, 3 guavas and 6 peppers. The produce selection was small and ripe. Some days, we worked sorting food from the “Organoponico” (a community garden) and the Canadian kids were quick to observe that the large and pretty fruit was set aside for the big hotels and resorts- the regular Cubans had to make do with the rest, the ugly fruit.

Everyone in socialist Cuba makes the same salary roughly 27 CUC (convertible Cuban pesos) a month which converts into about 1$ Canadian a day. I had to remind the teenagers to be discreet and hide their pocket money. The 100$ they had brought to buy souvenirs for their family was the equivalent of three months salary for an average Cuban. A Cuban teacher whispered to me that she had never seen so much cash!

Although basic rations of rice, beans sugar and coffee are assured by the state, one must also factor in the fact that imported products are much dearer for example: a roll of toilet paper cost 2,50$, a shower curtain 8$, and an electric rice maker is 27$. And with the stricter rules imposed by the US, some products are going to become even harder to find (read more on this here.)

 

“Amy! Help! Wake up! There is a dead rat in the shower.”

I rub my eyes and stumble out of bed.  It is 5 am. Where am I? What is going on? Why is the rat dead?

I follow the teenage girl to the worn shower stalls. It is a dreary place the cement partitions are bare, cracked and grey.

Water drips from the broken shower head and puddles form at our feet where the drain has backed up.

The rat is dead.

It is soaked and lying, unmoving, on the floor.

It has black wet fur clinging to its body and the long tail lays in an “S” shape on the ground.

Yuck! I want to scream and run away, but, I am in charge. I am the adult here.

A bleary eyed girl comes forward with a broom and dustpan. She suggests we scoop up the animal.

We all hold our breath as the dead rat flops into the deep crevasses of the sturdy black garbage bag and then we quickly let out a sigh of relief.

 

Ups and Downs

From dead rats to fresh mango, the trip had its ups and downs. Each participant underwent some form of Culture Shock and adaptation. One evening, near the beginning of the trip, I started to worry because a few of the girls in the group seemed down. They spoke of being homesick and were less enthused with the whole adventure. I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into – especially since the evening schedule called for a dance competition that evening. Then something lovely happened. The Cuban boarders at our host school spontaneously began to assemble in the main square of the schoolyard. Like bees to honey they flocked and buzzed around the visiting Canadians asking them all sorts of questions. They were creative in their communication methods using sign language, miming, and google translate. This immediately lifted everyone spirits and reminded us all of the reason why we were here, to share and exchange our cultures at the simplest level, which is friendship.

And So the Adventure Continues

For me, the physical deprivation was easier to bear than feeling unsafe while living in Honduras. Despite all the physical hardships, I caught myself smiling and worrying less during my side trip to Cuba (click here to see more photos.) Maybe it’s because teens are easier to look after than toddlers (that’s a whole other blog post in itself.)  I also enjoyed translating back and forth from Cuban Spanish into French for the youth. Despite not having much in terms of physical objects, the Cubans I met were always smiling and ready to make light of the situation. This is a lesson I try and apply myself. Have you laughed out loud today?