Week of beginnings
The first half of SST includes language study, lectures, and field trips. Students began what will become their daily routine this week. Most mornings there is...Language study
Teachers from the Centro de Idiomas y Computación José
Martí came to the Wm Carey church on Monday to test students
and place them in one of three classes, with Carolina (pictured) or Xiomara or Maira. Teachers ventured out with their students
to the local agromercados (farmers' markets) to practice.
Lunch
After language study, students are on their own to find some lunch. Here
Neil, Andrew, Peter M (hereafter distinguished as Pedro from
the other Peter in the group) and Simon set off for some much needed sustenance.
There are no McDonalds in Cuba, but there are many eating establishments
set up in homes indicated by small signs. After five minutes our intrepid
group was devouring pizza (Pedro) for prices starting
at the equivalent of 24 cents.
Lectures
Many afternoons there are lectures and presentations. This week we heard
starkly contrasting views of U.S.-Cuban relationships from U.S. diplomats
on Monday, and from the Cuban Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. In the photo
an accusatory José Martí points a finger at the U.S. interest
section (which may not be photographed and is not shown). Below him are
inscribed the words he wrote in the 1890s just before his death warning
Cubans to win the Spanish American war quickly (they didn't) to avoid
being taken over by the U.S. (they did).Museum day
The first field trip was to the Museum of the Revolution. The revolutionaries
thought that this would be a suitable use for the building which was the
former presidential palace.
The museum includes the famous yacht Granma in which Fidel Castro, Che
Guevara and 85 followers travelled from Mexico to invade Cuba, as well
as planes used at the Bay of Pigs invasion.
There's also a bust of Abraham Lincoln (shown with
Beth, Lisa and Deb), revered by the revolutionaries for freeing slaves.
La Lima
We took a field trip to La Lima--an agricultural experiment on the edge of Havana.
When the Soviet trading bloc fell apart, oil and fertilizers also stopped
flowing to Cuba. Five hectares of former coffee-growing land at the edge
of Havana had been dropped from cultivation. The land had turned into
the local garbage dump when a group of mostly retired residents applied
to see if they couldn't farm it for themselves in the late 1980's. They
cleaned up the trash, and started growing. Now 53 families each have small
plots, on which they grow all manner of fruits, vegetables, and some grains.
The families grow for their own consumption, and have a bit left over,
from which they sell a portion, and also give some away--mostly to local
child care centers. Most parcel-owners just work on the weekends, but
the fruit and small income provide a much-needed income supplement.
We were recipients of the generous hospitality of the farmers, who shared
fruit with us, then sent us home with more: here Pete and Kyle
are shown with members of the farmers' association. Simon helped plant a tree in their forest
of peace, and we saw how well the tree
that last year's group planted was doing.
Casa Goshen
On Wednesday evenings, students gathered at Kathy and Paul's apartment,
known as Casa Goshen. We celebrated Andrew's
birthday (it turned out to be his third cake of the day!) and students
relaxed.