While in Cuba I relayed my experience back to the Northwest Arkansas Times. I corresponded once every two weeks for a total of six entries. My writings were published on the Opinions Page. Below is a sample of the journal entries.
The storm began to roll in at about 4pm as I was sitting in the middle of my Cuban cultural processes class watching a slide show on the development of Cuban architecture. The professor had just switched the slide and had turned around to identify it when the loudest thunder yet boomed and the power went out. The professor turned back around to address the class and simply said "Cuba."
The classrooms provide a unique challenge to the leaning process. Many of the classrooms are poorly lit, relying primarily on natural light. Some rooms have air conditioning, but the majority depends on the breeze coming off the Gulf of Mexico, warmed as it passes through the streets and mixes with the exhaust from the old cars that roam the streets. Each classroom has a blackboard pasted on the front wall, and is very helpful granted the teacher remember to bring her bag of chalk. For the first couple of weeks of my Cuban history class we packed 40 students in a classroom more appropriately suited for about 20 students. Each class, after about thirty minutes, the morning sun would rise to a certain point and shine directly into the east facing windows, blinding the students. Every time a student would close the windows, eliminating all air flow. At this point, notebooks transform into fans.
Luckily we were able to switch to a larger classroom with more windows, some of which don’t face east. Classroom conditions are not all so meager. In the first week here I sat in on a class taught through a power point presentation. In addition to the screen at the front of the room, every couple of students had their own computer. Which classes get what resources seems somewhat arbitrary.
Textbooks and their availability have also added to the Cuban university experience. In contrast to the textbook frenzy at universities in the U.S., in Cuba very few books are available and students are not required to have all the appropriate books for each class. Often times there aren’t enough books for each student to have their own, or even a clear list of what books are required. Some of the other students in my program were unable to find the books they need in Havana, but found them in book stores in other cities. As a result of the book shortage and the high demand from students, the library doesn’t permit students to check books out and take them home. Instead, groups of students complete their readings together at the library. In addition, it is not always guaranteed that the library will have to books. My history of Cuba professor gave us a list of necessary readings and said that the books would be in the library. Only a limited selection of the list was actually available in library. The library is not open on the weekends.
While these conditions are not ideal, they don’t seem to hinder a student’s capacity to learn. The professors are very easy to approach always encouraging us to see them if we are having any problems with the material. Although, finding them at non-existent office hours makes this process somewhat difficult. They have also been very accommodating for us foreign students, ensuring that we have access to the texts.
The teachers and students have been very friendly in welcoming us foreign students into the university atmosphere. The university school year opened with a procession in which all first year students and a number of foreign students climbed the famous 50-meter wide stone staircase leading up to the Alma Mater statue that looks down the staircase and out over the city. A few days later, at Revolution Plaza in front of a towering statue of Jose Martí, Fidel gave a speech to officially begin the year for all students. Only those with an invitation were allowed to enter the plaza, but a large group of foreigners gathered by the railing for the opportunity to hear the famous leader speak.
The tree lined campus sits on top of a hill in central Havana. Behind the Alma Mater statue, porticoed, columned buildings surround a bustling quadrant filled with students, gathering on the building’s steps to study, pass their time in between classes, or just socialize as Cubans are prone to do. In the middle of the quad sits an army tank, which was captured by students in a 1958 fight against then president Batista.
. Attending school in Cuba has been a humbling experience. It’s amazing to look at what little the Cuban schools have in comparison to U.S. schools and realize that in the end everyone is still learning. It raises, in respect to schools, the constant question faced in Cuba: how much do Americans have that is unnecessary, and at the same time, how much could the Cuban schools benefit from conveniences common in the United States?
