D E S T I N AT I O N : C U B A
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We are...
Envoys programs are designed and implemented as a collaboration between school faculty and our highly-trained trip leaders, support staff, and curricular team. Upholding our mandate for community development, intercultural understanding, and empathy, we partner with carefully selected experts at home and in our destination countries to ensure the highest-quality educational experience.
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Cuba
A provocative developmental history
Students have the opportunity to delve into the past and present of Cuba through an experience that puts them into direct contact with local people. We learn from and share experiences with the Cuban people and also travel between the urban and rural landscapes of the country, gathering an ample framework with which we can understand the fascinating developmental history of this ‘island’ of the world.
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Program Highlights 1
Interaction with Cuban citizens Understanding and sharing exercises Interviews with students from the University of La Habana We have the opportunity to learn from and share with university students from the Universidad de la Havana in a semi-structured Q&A session facilitated by Envoys instructors.
Workshops with local students at Cuban schools Sharing with peers through both structured and unstructured activities can lead to the most powerful teachable moments in this program. Groups will work across boundaries to engage in a cultural competence workshop where values, principles and beliefs are compared and discussed. We set the context and let the students lead the way.
Round Tables with inhabitants of Cienfuegos
We set up informal round table sessions in Cienfuegos as a means to discover much more than the regular visitor. Discovering Cuban local peoples’ views on their past, present and future and having students learn to talk openly about their own perspectives will lead to deeper consideration of their world and themselves.
Dinner at local paladares with host families Sitting around a table laden with a wide variety of flavorful dishes and the omnipresent side portions of black Cuban beans, we share in the moments of everyday life while staying in typical family households in Cienfuegos and Trinidad.
Informal conversations with locals of small rural towns Setting out with the mission to talk to local people and find out about themselves can be a demanding communicative challenge; yet, the one of the most powerful ways of understanding a place. Students are provided with a set of objectives, ranging from the general to the specific, and then set out to engage in their own personal adventure.
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Learning from experts Study Cuba’s educational models with a local professor We visit with a university professor who explains the Cuban educational model, provides his views on the strengths and the challenges and opens the door for questions and comments.
Discover the value seen in being a Cuban sportsman and representing the island abroad Sports are a passion in Cuba and good athletes can be found on every corner. However, being a sportsman goes beyond the unique fact of loving the profession; athletics has been seen for years as an opportunity to transcend borders and discover the world outside of Cuba. We meet
Delve into another side of Cuba with local historical experts Cuba’s history is a mixture of turmoil, tragedy, and triumphs.
We work with a local historian while touring around the actual places where the events occurred. Students are prompted to consider the alternative stories as well as critically analyze what they are being told, a truly thought provoking opportunity.
with athletes in Cuba and discuss how they see themselves and their country Comprehend the Cuban economic model and discuss its strengths and challenges from the view of a local. Discovering what it means to live in an economy where everyone has access to the same resources, with a centralized distribution presents a tremendous challenge to the capitalistic mind. We engage in this opportunity to observe and draw our own conclusions.
Understand the importance of music and the arts in Cuba Cuban music has become famous around the world for it’s mixture of Caribbean rhythms and inspiring lyrics. Music became a route for the Cuban people to express their true selves and also an opportunity to interact with the outside world. 5
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Visiting the unavoidable Old Havana We set off to explore the streets of Old Havana with a local historian who will bring us back to the colonization period, passing by the Cuban revolution and landing in today’s reality.
The House of the Revolution and the Capitol Building. We travel to the House of the Revolution to learn one view of the path that led the regime to take control over the island and then journey to the Capitol Building, home to the Cuban Academy of Sciences.
The 9 O’clock Cannon Ceremony
The Bay of Pigs
Miraflores Neighborhood This upscale neighborhood housing embassies, hotels, NGO’s and the international community offers an interesting contrast with the rest of the city and at the same time a fascinating example of how ‘time was frozen’ on the island.
The Architecture Museum of Trinidad and Old Town. We visit the town of Trinidad and explore its museums, parks, cathedral and rock colonial streets while engaging in informal conversations with local people and discovering their life stories.
A traditional ceremony that brings together the people of Cuba every evening. For hundreds of years, the cannon was fired at 6AM to open the city gates and 9PM to close them. While the morning shot has been discontinued, the evening ritual continues to this day.
By visiting the ‘Bahía de Cochinillos’ we will be able to learn about the failed attempt to take down the regime with the Invasion of 1961, which was sponsored by the CIA and manned primarily by Cuban citizens living in the United States.
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Moving off the beaten path Stay at ‘Casas Particulares’ and live the local lifestyle The power of staying at a local house and learning from every detail of the everyday life of a family is the most clear way to understand the true nature of a particular place. Students, and faculty stay in these beautiful Cuban homes, engaging in quotidian experiences and learning how to exist as an outsider embedded in a new culture.
Visit coffee growing farm and Sugar mills We move off the traditional tourism path and begin to understand the role agriculture has played in the economic development of the island. Our tours of these farms and mills will be the perfect starter to meaningful conversations on the use of natural resources as a means of growth. Meet with artisans and participate in a pottery workshop. Around the developing world, arts and craft have a major role in the lives of millions of people. The similarities among the challenges and opportunities provide a key inlet into understanding how much of the world survives. We dig deeper into this profession to make personal connections that tell us more about the world.
Enjoying Cuban cuisine at ‘Paladares’ ‘Ropa Vieja’ and Black Cuban Beans will be guaranteed on your plate everyday; however,Cuban cuisine has far more variety and creative flair. We will explore the Cuban cuisine in depth by dining at the typical ‘Paladares’ , family-owned restaurants that provide a fascinating counterpart to the state-run tourist establishments.
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Potential Itinerary D AY 1
D AY 2
AFTERNOON FLIGHTS IN TO MIAMI • Meet Envoys staff and Program Objectives • Dinner • Health, Safety and Security Briefing • Full Value Contract • Night: Hotel - Miami International Airport
BREAKFAST • Transfer to Miami Airport • Flight Miami – La Havana • Check in at Hotel
LUNCH • Meet with a Cuban Historian • Tour of Old La Havana • Visit the Cathedral and the Morro Castle
DINNER • First impressions Workshop
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D AY 3
D AY 4
D AY 5
D AY 6
BREAKFAST
BREAKFAST
BREAKFAST
BREAKFAST
• Explore the House of the Revolution • Visit the Capitol Building
• Meet an expert: the Cuban education model • Visit Universidad de la Havana
• Travel form La Havana to the Bay of Pigs • Visit the Bay of Pigs and its Museum
• Tour Cienfuegos Cathedral, Plaza and Theatre
LUNCH
LUNCH
• Share a two-way Q&A session with students form University of La Havana • Set off to a communicative challenge having informal conversations with locals at la Havana.
• Lunch at a ‘Paladar’ with a local family • Travel to Cienfuegos
LUNCH • Visit a Music Studio and learn form the musicians • Take a Drive through Miraflores Neighborhood
DINNER • Attend the 9 o’clock Cannon Ceremony • Day Closure • Night: Hotel – La Havana
DINNER • Dinner at the ‘Casa Particular’ • Games night
DINNER • Story for Home • Night: Hotel – La Havana 9
LUNCH • Roundtable discussion on economy and culture with locals • Set off to a communicative challenge having informal conversations with locals at Cienfuegos.
DINNER • Negotiation workshop: Development world • Night: Stay at a Casa Particular in Cienfuegos
D AY 7
D AY 8
D AY 9
D AY 1 0
BREAKFAST
BREAKFAST
BREAKFAST
BREAKFAST
• Visit Sugar Mill and Coffee Plantation
• Visit the Architecture Museum of Trinidad • Take a walking Tour of Trinidad
• Travel from Trinidad to Santa Clara • Visit the Che Guevara Monument
• Program Debrief • Travel to La Habana Airport • International Flight Back to Miami • Flights back home
LUNCH • Visit a Sugar Mill and a Coffee Plantation • Travel to Trinidad
DINNER • Workshop: rethinking what does ‘global’ mean • Night: Stay at a Casa Particular in Trinidad
LUNCH LUNCH
• Pottery workshop
• Travel from Santa Clara to La Havana
DINNER
DINNER
• Discussion: The Cuban economic model • Night: Stay at a Casa Particular in Trinidad
• Farewell Dinner at Local Restaurant • Cuban Music performance • Night: Hotel – La Havana
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