Alumni Ball

    Last night was the Alumni Ball. It is held at the end of every voyage on the evening of the B Day finals. It is a celebration for all of the people on the ship because they become alumni of Semester at Sea at that point. Before the ball, we received our diplomas on our door, which meant that our voyage really had ended. It was amazing to hold a paper in my hand to represent what I did in four months. There is no possible way that one piece of paper could EVER represent the past four months of my life. I digress...
    Our ball was themed "The Great Gatsby," so many girls dressed up to the era with headbands, sequins, and feathers. There were two seatings to the ball. The first was at 5:30 and the second was at 8:30 in the 5th deck dining hall. The dining hall is decorated like it is for fine dining, but there were special table runners to go along with the ball theme. I chose to eat during the second seating, that way I would not be rushed out after finishing eating. We had to sign up for which seating we wanted, what table we wanted, and what we wanted to eat before we got to Cuba so that the crew could prepare for the event. I had bruscetta as an appetizer, creme of broccoli soup, caesar salad, beef tenderloin, and my first baked Alaska, which was very delicious. It was so nice to dine with my shipmates all dolled up as a last "who-rah" at the end of the voyage. Everyone was taking pictures together, and I even took picture with my favorite waiters, because they really helped me through the voyage.

My Feelings of Cuba

    We were briefed that Cuba is famous for having a ton of 1950s Chevys, however I did not believe what I was told. There were many times throughout my voyage where I was told one thing about a country, and it turned out that that thing was not as huge as an aspect to their culture as I was led to believe, because people told me stereotypical facts. However, Cuba really does have 1950s Chevys EVERYWHERE! They are the dominant form of vehicle on the roads, and it is a wonderful thing to see. Although the cars most likely have new motors, because they are trying to deal with climate change as well as 60 year old motors and parts, the cars still hold extremely significant historical value.
    Other than the cars, when you drive through Havana, it feels like you are driving through America in the 1950s. But if you look a bit closer, you will see that they have a strong modern American culture as well. Their accent when they speak English is American, not British or Bahamian or Australian, but American. In addition, Cubans use their limited internet sources to download American shows to watch. one of the professors that I met from the University of Havana told me that he downloads House to watch. He also likes to watch some American television shows that come over on some satellite dishes. American music is very popular as well. In contrast though, Cuba has a strong cultural tie to Africa, specifically the Ivory Coast region, which is due to the slave trade. You may see this culture in many of their handicrafts and foods.
    When we arrived in Cuba, we were told that the first day would be pretty much planned because the University of Havana was hosting us for the day. We were only allowed to visit Cuba because we were traveling there for educational purposes, so our field programs and welcoming ceremony were influenced by the University of Havana. Every trip that SAS did had at least one UOH professor and student on it, and we were always escorted around Havana by policemen. They told us that we were escorted to "not worry about traffic," however, there was no traffic. Cuban policemen knew where we were at all times. We also received similar responses for many things, such as, "Cuban people can tell the difference between American people and the American government, so they like Americans and know that it is not their fault for the way America treats them." At first I believed this, but then I heard it from at least three different people. Many other students shared their suspicions as well that we were watched and monitored because that is what Americans do to Cubans. The conflict between the two countries is more complex than it appears on the outside, we just do not know that much about it to know any better.

Las Terrazas

     On my last day in Cuba, I went on a field program with my friends Shari and Carly. We traveled from Havana to Las Terrazas, which is a completely sustainable community about an hour and a half from Havana.  Las Terrazas has no trees in the area in the 1960s because of deforestation. The local community began to build back the area by building terraces, or steps, in the hills to stop erosion. The people planted over 18 million trees, which are now well grown. There are 24 different species of trees, where 20 of which are native. The 4 species of trees that were introduced were teak, two types of mahogany, and eucalyptus. Only around 3000 people took part in this reconstruction. The community opened up ion 1990 to ecotourism companies.

     Once we got to the community, we watched a local band play Cuban songs while we drank Coca Cola. After this, a local guide told us about the history of the community. Once he finished his lecture, we traveled to the community school, where they start to learn English in third grade. There are 670 students and 67 workers, where 47 of them are teachers. They go to school from September until July, but there are some breaks during the school year. There are 25 children per class in primary school, and 30 children per class. All of the teachers teach every subject, so the children do not switch classes for different subjects. They also have television sets to support their education. The school has associated with UNESCO for the past 14 years.

     After we toured the school, we drove to the old coffee plantation, which was in business until the mid 1800s. The area receives 100 inches of rain a year, with 90-95% humidity. There are 92 different species of spiders, 131 species of birds, and 14 species of bats.

     After the coffee plantation, we visited with a  famous local artist, Lester Campos. We were served Cuban coffee after we toured his personal studio. We ate lunch at the end of the tour, which was one of my favorite meals of this voyage. We had white sticky rice, black beans, smoked chicken, taro chips, and bbq beef.