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On March 2004, I had the great opportunity to travel to Cuba for an educational research project through my Comparative Education course. This was an experience of a life time. I traveled to Cuba with a cohort of 23 students. We stayed in a modest hotel with the basic essentials. After a few days in La Habana I grew accustomed to being referred to by the locals as the "Mexicana". The women would yell that out on the street to get my attention to see if I can spare them some lipstick or soap. The locals were very friendly and inviting. Some people, however, refused to talk to us or answer any of our questions..we respected that. One of my awkward experiences would be when we sat down at a restaurant and were asked if we were Cuban...basically it was a non-Cuban restaurant and the locals were not allowed...I found that to be very common in many of the tourist areas...I was memsmerized by the old school cars and the phenomenal architecture of the buildings...however, it was disheartening to see the dilapidated houses in the local neighborhoods...
I had the unique opportunity to interview teachers, students and administrators to find out how exaclty their educational system functioned..it was very surprising to learn that they have a 97% literacy rate...they have an amazing curriculum and educational system; however, with so much education there aren't sufficient jobs for the professionals they are producing...this was indeed mind boggling and unfortunate..
I was in my early twenties when I visited Cuba and I wish I had the opportunity to visit again...this was a one of a kind experience!
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