Waking up at 3 A.M. was no easy task, but I knew what awaited me, so I pushed through. I could already feel the excitement building as I loaded my luggage into the car and set off for the airport. After some emotional goodbyes with my mom and the usual annoyances of checking in and getting through security, I was finally at the gate, waiting to board.
I noticed some familiar faces around me from the pre-departure lectures, so I introduced myself to Ben, Achilles, and Alex. We got talking about how much money we brought and how we felt about the trip, as well as Ben warning me to download maps.me, something that would come in very handy throughout the following week. After some brief chats, we finally boarded the plane down to Miami. As we took off, I looked out to my right, seeing the moon standing high in the sky, and to my left, the sun rising slowly out of the clouds. After a brief layover in Miami, where Ben and I indulged in overpriced food, something that would soon become unfamiliar to us, we landed in Cuba.
As I was deboarding the plane, I noticed how the Cuban people getting off seemed to know all the airport employees, greeting them as if they were family. Being from Massachusetts, where you’ll be lucky to have a pleasant conversation with a stranger, it was very foreign to see people be so friendly to everyone. Soon after this, we met Camilo and Jorge, our guides for the week, who kept that friendliness and made us feel welcomed as they ushered us over to the bus. As we were walking over, I already noticed a few of the older cars that made Cuba so famous. I’m no car guy, but it was already so unique to see the culture change that quickly.
As we were driving over to Casa Vera, I looked outside and saw so many things I’d never seen before. People were burning trash all over the place, people were traveling by horse and buggy, and other Cubans were casually walking along the edge of the highway. If I saw someone do half those things in America, I would be concerned, but this was the way Cuba operated. Even just a half hour into being on Cuban soil, it already felt like I was in a new world.
After getting to Casa Vera, we were brought to our rooms, unpacked our clothing, and took a brief moment to relax. We also took the time to introduce ourselves to other people in the program, building friendships that would last long past the trip. We soon found ourselves at orientation, meeting the entire staff of API, our wonderful hosts, as well as the program leader, Melissa. She took us through the basics of Cuba: exchange rates, curfew, and how to handle jinateros and piropos. Jineteros are people who hassle you on the street for money, and piropos are people who will catcall you, men or women alike. As I was learning about them, it reminded me of walking through Times Square and experiencing the same things, making me realize not everything was different between Cuba and America.
We finally went on a neighborhood tour, seeing a local gym and a 24/7 market that would soon satisfy our hunger on many late nights.
After getting a glimpse of what our neighborhood was like, we came back to the Casa and headed upstairs for some much-needed dinner. As we were all trying to relax and enjoy some good Cuban food, it suddenly sounded like a bull in a China shop had entered the dining room, as we met the infamous CU Boulder students for the first time. Dinner soon became a show as Clyde, a particularly rowdy CU Boulder student, came to our table and provided us plenty of entertainment for our entire meal.
After dinner, we decided to explore around Vedado, our neighborhood, and make the most of our 2 A.M. curfew. We went to Café Infinito first, where the rowdiness of the CU Boulder kids followed us. As Americans, who already have a bad reputation abroad, we felt as if they weren’t doing us any favors, especially in a country that America has already done so much damage to. We left and went to a different spot that had live music, and we were able to sit down and appreciate the beauty that Cuba had to offer us.
After getting back to Casa Vera, as I was lying in bed reflecting on the day, as well as the rest of the trip, I knew this would be an adventure like nothing else I’d ever experienced before.