Cuba Day 4

Hola Familias y Amigos!

A lot of individual conversations with the kids and a spontaneous dance party delayed me starting this blog until after midnight. Some context about the dance party: they asked to go to a discoteca, I said “sorry, no,” and so they just decided to start their own outside of the restaurant and even our waiter Robin joined in. YOCO.

 

Before today’s itinerary, I want to start with a quote from Ryan about his time in Fusterlandia yesterday—the artist who transformed his neighborhood into a work of art:

 

“My favorite part of yesterday was going to see Fusterlandia. I enjoyed seeing how Jose Fuster changed a normal looking neighborhood into a creative and interesting art museum. It was unlike anything I’ve seen before and it was cool to see the different types of art someone can do with surrounding objects.”

 

This morning, we walked through the largest, most colorful and bustling outdoor agromarket in Havana, buying fruit and talking to the vendors. A highlight for me was learning that Nathi went to buy fresh sugar cane juice, handed the lady a $5 dollar bill, and said he wanted to pay for his drinks and the drinks of the Cubans in line behind him. This is only one of so many examples of generosity from our students, who are finding small ways on their own to show generosity. The advice I’ve given them all week is “follow your conscience, and remember that it will look different for everyone, so be kind to each other too if your impulses differ.”

 

From the market, we walked a few blocks down the road to Havana’s Sephardic synagogue and community center called Centro Sefardi. We delivered five duffels full of donations ranging from food to medicine to hygiene products. The community’s leader, Samuel, gave us a short talk about the evolution of Judaism on the island, and I was most moved when he said, “I feel both Jewish and Cuban, but most importantly, I’m human.” He seemed to allude that the labels we give ourselves can sometimes cover up the most important identity of all—human. After the talk, we spent two hours engaging in activities and eating lunch with Jewish elderly. We knitted, played Jenga (each block had a personal question written on it in Spanish to encourage speaking while playing), made personalized bracelets, gave manicures, and—of course—played Dominoes.

 

The kids absolutely loved this time together with our elderly Jewish brothers and sisters. And as a teacher, I was elated because my favorite moment in the classroom is when activities are organized in a way that I can just back away and let things organically happen without me. I just stood by and observed how absorbed and happy everyone was talking and playing. We were also so moved by a beautiful lunch they prepared for us that rivaled some of the dishes we have been eating in restaurants.

 

“My favorite part about today was meeting the Jewish elderly. It was so fun to hang out with them and learn about their lives! One of the ladies I talked to is a professor of engineering at the Habana university and it was so cool talking to her abut it. She was like saying that she was so happy I was interested in engineering and it was just so cool to like see someone else in a completely different country who has some of the same interests as me. We also had arroz con leche for dessert and it was actually delicious…literally the best arroz con leche I’ve ever had.  At the end of the lunch she gave me her business card and wrote her email down so I’m gonna stay in touch with her hopefully! She also just happens to be like the grandma of this guy Miguel that I met yesterday which is actually cray.” -Johanna

 

After lunch, we drove to a large craft market in which students bought art and souvenirs. Miriam and Dawson both loved their experience shopping:

 

“Today I had so much fun shopping at the craft market. I was so cool to see all the venders and their store.  They sold so many different handmade items, coconut water, ice cream, and anything else you could think of. It was very busy and a little overwhelming but overall it was fun and exciting.” -Miriam

 

“The question of what the most human experience is has a simple answer: art. I learned that today at the craft market.  The lower level of the market was filled from wall to wall with touristy “tiendas” or stalls/shops; however, upon entering the upper floor, my sightline was filled with the most unique and eye-catching collection of Cuban art pieces. On this upper floor, I was greeted by the beautiful art of an extremely humble artist. She did not attempt to sell her art to me, rather, she let her art do the talking. Later on, in my self-led tour, I stumbled upon the most beautiful painting I had ever seen; it was a mixture of abstract and hyper-realism: a combination that left me speechless. I left that same market with 3 different and equally gorgeous paintings ranging in style and complexity. I plan on returning to this hub of art that has a greater collection than every museum that I have visited in my lifetime. This trip has truly evolved my way of thinking and my view of the world.” -Dawson

 

Before having a siesta at the hotel and going out for dinner, we made one more stop to “Angeles del Futuro,” an afterschool community project serving 56 children that teaches them acrobatics. We began with conversations in small groups with the performers followed by a demonstration of each kid’s skills and performance. We were more than blown away. Here are Jesse’s words:

 

“I thought Angeles del Futuro was incredible to watch. It was so amazing seeing these kids with little resources become such amazing athletes. At times I could not believe what I was watching. This inspired me to give more effort at things I wish I were better at because I know if these kids have dedication so can I.”

 

Me too, Jesse.

 

One performance moved me to tears. A young boy was balancing a tower of wooden boxes and cylinders on top of each other and then balancing himself on top of it all and juggling. And he kept adding more and more pieces to the tower, pushing himself to find what felt like an impossible act for such a shaky foundation. I got emotional because I realized this boy’s performance visually captures what Cuba is---a people given a broken, wobbly, impossible foundation on which to build and balance their life. And they somehow do it against all odds. But the tower is higher than I’ve ever seen it, and I just don’t know how much higher it can go and how much more hardship they can juggle.

 

Ending on a much-needed happy note: as I alluded to at the beginning of the post, dinner was epic. From Reese:

 

“My favorite part of the day was dinner. We had a good conversation with the waiter (Robin) and after dinner we all danced salsa together and he taught us how. It was really fun to make friends with a local Cuban and I really enjoyed it. The food we ate was also really good.”

 

Walking generosity and walking discoteca: that’s this group, and it’s the best.

 

Buenas noches.