Life in Cuba has been amazing! Throughout my three, almost four, weeks that I’ve been here I’ve gotten the opportunity to travel around the island as well as the city I’m living in. I’ve gone to Trinidad and tried their local drink of Canchanchara (amazing), danced the night away in a discoteca in a cave, swam in the Caribbean at Playa Larga, seen the historical landmarks and monuments in Santa Clara, and gone to a coffee and tobacco farm in Viñales. It has been such an amazing adventure!
I also live in Vedado which is only a 5 minute drive away from Havana Vieja which is packed full of historical cathedrals, the Capitolio, and tons of theaters. One of my favorite things to do is go to Habana Vieja later in the day and walk around all the beautiful buildings. There are hidden cafés, cool bookstores, and random “street pizza” stands all in the beautiful Havana Vieja. One of me and my friends’ favorite places to go when we are in Havana Viejais the Chocolate Museum! Yep, Chocolate Museum. Here you can get all different types of chocolate in all different forms. The two most popular are “chocolate frío” (cold chocolate) and “chocolate caliente” (hot chocolate). We usually get the chocolate frío because it is the perfect way to cool down from the incredible heat in Havana. It is almost like chocolate milk but way better.
(Pictured are two of my favorite buildings in Havana Vieja in the Plaza Vieja area of the town)
Coming to Cuba, I wasn’t completely aware of what I was getting myself in to. I mean, I had studied the culture and their history in school but nothing compares to actually living it every day. Around every corner there is a famous historical plaza, monument, or building. What is really cool too is that my classes take field trips to many of these famous places. On one field trip, we visited the Revolutionary Plaza where Fidel Castro had given many speeches as well as where the last three Popes who visited Cuba had addressed the crowd. Another cool field trip my class took was to the Hemingway House. Hemingway, the author, is extremely famous in the U.S. but also in Cuba. His house has been completely preserved and turned into an incredible museum. They have even preserved Hemingway’s favorite bar the Floridita in Havana Vieja.
Everyday life in Cuba is great and starts out with a huge breakfast cooked by our host family. After breakfast, me and my roommates walk to school which is about 15 minutes away. Morning class is 3 and a half hours long but we get a break and drink coffee about half way through class. After class, we all have our favorite spot to eat lunch at which we go to EVERY DAY. I have an afternoon class so after lunch I have about an hour till class starts again. This is perfect time to visit the wifi park or sit on the Malecón and read. After my afternoon class, me and my roommates meet back at home and after that every day is different. This is the time we use to explore Havana and all its cool places.
I leave Cuba soon and I’m so sad to have to say good bye to this beautiful place. I’ve made some of the best friends of my life and some of the greatest memories!