Cuba Immersion Experience

March 2024

Every Agnes Scott College student has the unique opportunity to go on a "First Year Journey", mine was to Cuba. In the semester leading up to the trip we learned about numerous topics all centered around our trip theme: "Alternative Medicine, Spirituality, Diversity, Ecology, and The Many Peoples of Cuba". The majority of the topics we learned were through student led research and presentations. In the beginning section of the course, everyone got assigned topics from Cuban religions to history to architecture.

We spent half the trip in Viñales, the countryside. 

While there we: 

• Hiked a mountain to Los Aquáticos, where we got to talk with locals about the waterfall.

• Visited and worked in a tobacco plantation; learning about the process of making Cuban cigars

• Went to the beach and visited a starfish reserve through paddleboat. 

The view on the way up the mountain.

A tobacco drying house.

The walk leading up to the beach. This was the bluest water I have ever seen.

My lunch as a vegetarian at the beachside restaurant.

While in Viñales, we visited a woman-owned farm to table restaurant. This was the view of the garden beds at the front of the restaurant.

The other half of the trip was spent in Havana. This section of the trip, I would describe as more historical, less hands on - but still an amazing experience!

While we were there we: 

• Went on a walking tour of old Havana, where we learned more the history of Cuba. 

• Went on a walking tour of Guanabacoa, learning more about Afro-Cuban culture. 

• Visited a Babalawo, while there we did salsa dancing lessons and learned songs of the different deities. Here was also where I ate the most delicious food of the entire trip. 

• Talked with recent graduates of medical school in Cuba over ice cream, here we learned the drastic cultural differences in medicine as a career in Cuba vs in the U.S.. 

• Visited and ate dinner in an art gallery in Guanabacoa, where we got to eat mangoes straight off the tree. 

• Visited the Akokan Project and worked in their community gardens. We got a tour of the town and the gardens and then we got to work! We also got to see some of the art the students created.

My all time favorite meal on the trip.

Dances at the Babalawo's house.

My breakfast on one of the days in Viñales.

We had each of our meals together. We started off with a breakfast that was typically eggs, a fruit, coffee, and some bread (that I ate with honey). Dinners varied more but there were several vegetarians in the group (myself included), so a lot of my dinners were variations of rice and beans.

The view at sunrise at the main house in Viñales, where we would eat meals. This is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

A group of us at the dinner on the final night.

On the last night of the trip, we had a dinner at a restaurant in Havana where we got to meet with another college tour group.

They did almost the same itinerary as us but in reverse. This gave us the opportunity to talk about our experiences, favorite parts, least favorite parts, and more.

The trip was incredibly impactful. It sparked deep conversations and reflections among my peers and I.

Our tour guides, Lellani and Alvero were incredibly knowledgable and were not afraid of answering our difficult questions. It was truly an "immersion experience". I am so unbelievably grateful for this opportunity, it really changed my perspective and opened my eyes.

Live music in downtown Havana.

A sunset over the buildings near where we were staying in Havana.