Extremely expensive waste of a semester Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I had 4 classes. 2 were regular economics classes delivered in spanish. I did not understand a single lecture in these classes for the entire semester because my spanish wasn't good enough. I would show up to class and sit for an hour and a half and stare at a wall while the professor spoke unintelligibly. I could have learned more from watching paint dry. this is emblematic of my overall academic and social experience while in cuba,

On-site administration of your program

Our program director Elena is a saint. We all love her and the great lengths she went to to help and support us.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in a luxury house with 9 other americans. This meant I had little exposure or immersion in cuban culture or spanish language. Also it separated us from coming into contact with regular cubans. However the house itself, and the servants, were really good.

Not a huge fan of cuban food in general. the breakfast and dinner provided by the program weren't always great but they were reasonable and pretty good.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I spent 3 and a half month in cuba and during that time I met and had conversations with only 3 cubans. Mostly I was surrounded by other americans at all times. I have no idea what most cubans are like or how to talk to them. I barely got the chance to practice spanish as Cubans seemed uniformly uninterested in interacting with me, other than to sell me things. I never experienced culture shock because i never came into contact with cuban culture while in cuba. My spanish was too poor to communicate with cubans and so I remained completely separated from locals and their culture by the language barrier.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Disregard how many stars I gave it. I didn't need any healthcare while I was in cuba so I have no idea but the survey won't let me continue unless i give it some number of stars

Havanna is safe

It was a bad experience. I did not have sufficient foreign language skills to manage taking classes or interacting socially. Basically I spent the semester sitting in my room watching american movies because there was nothing else to do in havana besides drink, which I refrained from doing because I didn't want to become an alcoholic. I truly believe that not becoming an alcoholic was my biggest achievement while in cuba. In general I was miserable and lonely the entire time. Maybe the situation would have been different if my program included a homestay or conversation partners

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

spent maybe $65 a week not including souvenirs and similar

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

It was weird. The program did not include a home stay or conversation partners. I was surrounded by english most of the time. I had insurmountable difficulty with spanish while I was there and limited opportunities to practice spanish. The program director was very supportive, though not all that successful, in terms of helping me with spanish. She encouraged me to arrange to meet up with this one student who could act as a conversation partner and also encouraged me to watch the news in spanish. I still wasn't all that immersed though.

Select all that apply

• Hotel

Select all that apply

• Americans

Select all that apply

• Local Students
• Americans

• Supportive program director
• US Cuban Relations class
• It was warm there

• Making it a homestay rather than a hotel full of americans
• If the program arranged regular conversation partners for students

The Academic or Linguist