Last week in Havana
This was the students' last week in Havana. On Monday, June 9, the group will leave for a week-long trip to Santiago on the opposite end of the island. Students will return not to Havana, but rather will go to Cárdenas where they´ll spend the second half of their time in Cuba.
Family fiesta
Saturday
was the last day with host families. The students organized a short
program to thank their families. Neil and Deb mixed up brownies in the
Center's kitchen. (When the group arrived in early May, Neil had been
stopped and asked about the curious brown powder that smelled of chocolate
in his suitcase!)
We
thanked God for the chance to build ties of friendship between our two
countries, and then... ate, finishing off the brownies with ice cream.
The
students had prepared a small program, with hymns, poetry and songs.
At left el quarteto of Mark, Brandon, Simon and Andrew sings
"silhouettes".
Birthdays
We
celebrated Brandon's and Kyle's
birthdays on Wednesday. On Sunday, their host families invited everyone
home to dance.
Language study ends
...well, at least academically. Students will still have *plenty* of
opportunity to practice! This group of students has grown very close
to their three Spanish teachers. Thursday was the last day of language
class. At right, Pete, wearing his new Cuban mesh shirt we might add,
receives his graduation certificate from Maira.
Lectures and field trips
Artistic
endeavors were the theme of lectures this week.
Ballet is a national passion in Cuba. We visited Havana's dance
school. Children who pass a series of physical and other examinations
enter this dance school in fifth grade, and study until ninth grade.
In years past girls outnumbered boys three to one, but now boys are
equally represented. We watched as fifth-grade
boys practiced, and then stopped in on a class of sixth-grade girls
(pictured) whose teacher told them... "Look, I'm going to put on
a tarantella. Improvise something"...wonderful.
Artist
Joimen Lee gave us an overview of 200 years of Cuban painting
and showed us some of his work. He has developed a unique process of
fixing fur on skins, and then painting on the fur. Themes of his work
include environmental concerns, and his Chinese heritage, alongside
the better known Spanish and African tradtions.
On
Friday we talked with a poet and a short story writer. On Saturday we
went to a concert by the group "Camerata Romeu"
in the church of Saint Francis of Asisi. The program contained pieces
by three U.S. composers. Here are Alisa,
Anna, and Deb waiting outside the church to come in.
Our
last field trip was to the Jardín Botánico
(botanical gardens) on the outskirts of Havana. It has intriguing
plants from all over the world. Highlights included the "Palmarium"--the
royal palm is a symbol of Cuba, and more than 80 species may be found
here--and the Japanese garden.
- The Japanese garden: Alisa and other GC women.
- Simon with a primitive cactus
- Alisa nears the top of a palm.
