Tips for a simple service

May 12, 2013-Day 3

Alicia Taisey, Havana

We pulled up to a lavish and elaborate mansion not knowing what to expect. This was a place for tourists, not for Cubans I might add.

A Taste of Luxury in Xanadu

Jasmine Goodwin
Reporting from Havana


HAVANA, Cuba - The trip included an array of pre-planned meals, including lunch at the Xanadu Mansion. It was easily the most beautiful meal we had. The mansion was just steps from the beach, and the house itself was breathtaking with flawless craftsmanship and timeless decor.

We dined outside on the patio of the house, which also overlooks the beach at Veradero. 

Welcome to Havana

May-11-2013

 

Tenzin Choephel

Reporting from Havana

The first night out in Old Havana

 Nothing could have started out worse during this trip. We were supposed to land in Havana Friday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. However, our flight was delayed for a good six hours in Miami due to airplane maintenance and some other issues.

The First Mojito

Jasmine Goodwin
Reporting from Havana


HAVANA, Cuba - We were taken to a local hotel to exchange our Canadian currency into Cuban pesos. It is possible to exchange American dollars into Cuban currency but expensive as the Cuban government charges a penalty of up to 15 percent, therefore we needed to transfer a set amount of cash into Canadian currency, which would then be transferred into Cuban currency.

Baseball and Cuba

I’ll admit it. Watching the behavior of Cuban fans at Havana’s Estadio Latino Americano was worth the 16-hour layover in Miami. If only I would have paid better attention during the “Escuchando” section of Sr. Powell’s high school Spanish class than perhaps I could have understood the series of obscenities directed at the starting pitcher of Los Industriales during their 14-5 loss to the Isla de Juventud.                  

Fortunately watching the hand motions and hearing the volume of the crowd was all the indication I needed. Baseball isn’t declining in Cuba, contrary to the government’s wishes.

Passion Over Glory

By Kelly Montgomery, Havana

Saturday, May 11-Day 1

I didn’t exactly know what to expect going to a baseball game in Havana, so I wasn’t surprised to see a rather run-down stadium with little “concession” stands, if you can even call them that. I was, however, surprised at how many people were actually in attendance given the size of the stadium.

 There were definitely more men than women, but it was still a surprisingly fair ratio. There were many children, running around with noisemakers eating folded-pizza that resembling a taco.

Plastic-Wrapped

Rachael Trost

Reporting From Miami



An airport official sorting baggage in Havana. (Photo credit Ed Rabel)



I have never felt like such a stranger in my own country. The Miami airport seemed to be filled to the brim with people speaking Spanish, wheeling carts of green plastic-wrapped merchandise with names scribbled-on with sharpie. All these sights were not accustom to me even though I have lived all over the United States. I knew that this was already an experience I would never forget.