Study Abroad Blog- Jacob in Cuba

Hey all, Jacob in Cuba here!  I am currently writing in an empty apartment, because all of the other Tulane guys are away for the weekend for their Biodiversity class field trip.  It is safe to say I have been enjoying my well-deserved naked time in this oddly quiet flat.

This Sunday we took a group excursion to la Playa Girón (the Bay of Pigs).  The drive was cramped and hot, we fit 14 people in a vehicle not much bigger than a Honda Odyssey.   We spent a few hours in the Bay of Pigs museum, where I read the phase “gobierno yanqui” (Yankee Government) more times than I could count.  Also each sign in the museum had a description in Spanish, and below that a translation in English.  I found that the English translations were often lacking harsh adjectives used in the Spanish versions, including allegations of blackmail that were nowhere to be seen in the English version.  The hostility and anti-American sentiment in the exhibit were palpable and thought provoking.  On a lighter note, the only other city displayed on a US map found in the exhibit was New Orleans!!  It has been crazy how often I find myself comparing Havana and New Orleans: the architecture, the humidity and heat, the kindness of the citizens, and the slower pace of life all remind me of being back at school.


After the exhibit, we all piled in the van and drove to where we could SCUBA DIVE!! While it normally costs hundreds of dollars and requires a lengthy process of training/certification in the states, scuba diving in Cuba costs 35 dollars for an hour and requires approximately ten minutes of training.  I put on my assigned wetsuit, vest, flippers, goggles, weight belt and air tank and was ready to go.  Like a drunken penguin, I waddled over to the water and slowly submerged myself into the sea.  Once we finally set off, I was immediately blown away by what I was experiencing.  Gliding underwater next to schools of brilliantly colored fish, so close that I could reach out and touch them.  There were hundreds, maybe thousands of fish of all different colors and sizes!  Incredible colonies of coral reef, sensitive and cautious neon-colored sea anemones, barely visible bottom-dwellers, soft white sand, and water clear enough to take it all in.  Not swimming among them as an intruder but more as an equal, I gently flexed my legs to propel myself forward, letting the subtle movements of the flippers propel me though this astonishing underwater paradise.  I can officially check scuba dive off the bucket list!

I felt very cultured the past few days because I took part in a walking tour of Old Havana and went to two separate art exhibits in the span of 36 hours.  The first gallery, La Fabrica, was a once successful production plant and warehouse, now converted into an art exhibit / nightclub.  The ground floor has quotes in Spanish from famous people around the world printed on the walls, and a live band playing at full volume. The next two stories house a series of progressive art installations and videos, one of my favorite works was a portrait done exclusively with Silly Bandz.  The other venue, Casa Biblioteca, was a converted mansion that now houses some art that is vague and amorphous, while at the same time being overtly sexual.  I picked a few of the more obvious sexual ones for your viewing pleasure.