Day 1
The crew piled into the two vehicles and headed for Santo Domingo! After a long and bumpy ride we arrived, hungry for adventure and maybe a second lunch. We split up into our houses and then met back up to hang out before dinner. There we met our guide Miguel. A man who was friendly and was ready to show us around the mountain. He described the plan… Read More
It has been a jam packed week full of all things Bayamo. Bayamo is one of the most historic cities in Cuba, allowing us to better understands this beautiful nation’s history. On our first day in Bayamo we began the day by riding horse coaches throughout the city. We quickly learned that about 40% of the city relies on horses as a means for transportation. The city felt almost farm… Read More
Hola!
Welcome to our second blog about our latest (respectively) adventure! We arrived in Santiago De Cuba and met up with our casa particularas. Our house stays felt a little more homey this time, as our Spanish was a good bit better and our chemistry as a group made us all more confident!
The rhythm took over as we learned to Salsa, Son, and Rumba. We learned surprisingly quick and… Read More
Hola, y beunvenidos a Holguin. Escuchando la primeras palabres de grupo Chango en Holguin!
Welcome to group Chango’s blog, where you can keep up with our latest (respectively) adventures! We spent the last week in Holguin! Orientation was packed full of Spanish with incorrect verb tense, corny camp games, and laughter shared all around.
Upon landing in Holguin we were met by our “guide” (but really our good friend) Ernesto… Read More
We just received word that the Cuba group has arrived safely! The were picked up from the airport and driven to their casas particulares in Holguin, where they’re settling in and enjoying the warm weather. They are looking forward to the next few days of orientation – where they’ll get to know more about one another, Cuba, and the semester ahead. The next posts will be from the students in… Read More
The CUBA students have all arrived safely in Miami! They’re all checked in to the hotel and settling in for the the night. They are already enjoying getting to know one another and are looking forward to the journey ahead. We wish them safe and easy travels tomorrow and will post another blog here once we receive word that they have arrived in Cuba.
They took an almost complete group… Read More
The blades on both turbines had reached a sufficient speed and the wheels were correctly aligned. A switch was flicked and a petroleum mixture began spraying into the tunnels of rapidly moving air attached to each wing. Simultaneously two electric sparks ignited the solution of pressurized air and fuel. The turbines roared and our plane jerked forward pushing everyone back onto their seats as we rapidly accelerated along the vast… Read More
Greetings from your favorite Carpe Diem group. Group Chango has had quite an active week spent at Korimakao diving into the Cuban cultures of art, dance, music, and theater. With an extensive array of talents among our group, everyone has found a form of art that they fit into quite nicely. Myself, Mirium, Sarah, Liza, and Michelle have spent our days attempting to keep up with some of the most… Read More
Dear Parents,
Do you miss us? Of course you do, how could you not? It’s been quite a while since you’ve had the grace of seeing the beautiful faces you’ve all raised, although worry not- we will all be returning in just over a week to eat you out of house and home, and make an unnecessary amount of noise at 1 A.M.
Now that the introduction is out of… Read More
Greetings from Chango!
This crazy group of gringos took Cuba’s capital city in stride as we entered the third to last week of our travels. Our second week in Havana carried a similar structure to the first, with Spanish classes at University of Havana in the mornings from 9AM to 12:30PM and teaching English to Cuban students at a church in the afternoons from 4-6PM. We spent Monday afternoon at… Read More
Greetings family, friends, and significant others! Week 8 has officially arrived and our next chapter begins in the beautiful colonial city of Havana. This week more than ever our misbegotten bandwagon of students has felt surprisingly adjacent to the United States we have begun to grow unfamiliar with. After nearly two months of travel in this tiny country it has taken progressively more and more unique and surprising events to… Read More
We started off the week with a literal bang when Katie’s migraine turned into a three day stay at the hospital after fainting at her Casa in Viñales. Luckily, Dr. Kevin came to the rescue and stayed by Katie’s side, eating Pringles and cereal until she was cleared to return to the group. The rest of the group headed to the country side with an uneasy feeling mixed with the… Read More
Yes, it’s time for the weekly team Chango update. After a wild week of going with the punches for independent student travel, I think all of us were a bit relieved to have a set schedule again in the heart of a beautiful farming town.
And although the churros here are ten times the price of the churros in Santiago, I still can’t complain because there is something so sweet… Read More
Hello family, friends, and all peoples who have come to this blog. It is I, Caden,
your guide to all things about our tour of Cuba. Last week in our travels we were in the
city of Santiago, known for its rebellious history, Afro-Cuban culture, and being really,
really hot. After the excitement of Hurricane Matthew, and the disappointment and relief
that it didn’t hit, we got settled in for… Read More
When someone says “Class-four Hurricane” what do you usually think? Perhaps it’s pictures of the damage done by Hurricane Sandy several years ago that comes to mind. You may think of the satellite image of the spiraling blob of red that has showed up on the news a bit too often for comfort last week.
Yet while both of these examples could be used to describe the most recent storm… Read More
Dear parents, families, and friends of the Cuba group,
Good news! I spoke with Michelle and Kevin this morning and they let me know that all is well. The hurricane passed far enough east of them that they only experienced rain. No high winds, heavy storms, flooding, or damage that they can tell so far in the city. They said if they hadn’t known it was a hurricane, they would… Read More
Dear parents, families, and friends of the Cuba group,
Thank you again for your on-going expressions of concern and willingness to support the group. I understand how challenging this continues to be and we appreciate your support as we navigate how to best support our students and keep them safe as the hurricane approaches. I recently got off the phone with Kevin and Michelle, they said the group is feeling… Read More
