Day 1

 

Depart for Cuba and arrive at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba. Check into your hotel and get your first taste of Havana by participating in a sunset tour of Old Havana with an experienced English-speaking guide from the Jose Marti Center. Enjoy dinner with your colleagues at a restaurant in Old Havana and evening of leisure.

 

Day 2

 

Day of cultural immersion in Havana. Meet with the Cuban people one on one while visiting museums, Plaza de la Revolucion, El Morro fort, engage in discussions at the Malecon sea wall, catch a baseball game, go salsa dancing, visit the Hemingway farm, and explore vibrant Havana neighborhoods and meet and exchange views with ordinary Habaneros.

 

(B) included

 

Day 3

 

Arrive by shuttle to the Jose Marti Center, a beautiful historic colonial mansion where you will be briefed on Cuban history since the Revolution as well as different aspects of modern Cuban government and society. After a tour of the facility, and a welcome reception, attend a lecture focusing on the life of Jose Marti, known as the father of Cuba. After lunch, return to the Jose Marti Center and attend lectures given by faculty from the University of Havana on Cuban government and politics. Evening at leisure after returning to your hotel

 

(B) (L) included.

 

Day 4

 

Participate in a field visit to a vibrant Havana neighborhood school and learn about the education system in Cuba as well as the values it attempts to impart on its students. Thereafter visit the historic University of Havana. The University founded in 1728 is the oldest in Cuba and one of the oldest universities in the Americas. Tour the beautiful campus in the center of the Vedado district of Havana and engage with faculty and students training for government and policy. After lunch, visit the Pedagogical Institute of Education, responsible for providing practical as well as ideological education and guidance to new and current teachers in the school systems. Have a discussion with faculty about any questions you may have regarding education policy and Cuba and express and share your own knowledge and challenges regarding education in Vermont and the greater United States. Evening at leisure after returning to your hotel.

 

(B) (L) included

 

Day 5

 

Visit the city assembly of Havana and meet with elected delegates in their offices and explore the real challenges of governance in a top down model of government. After lunch, arrive at the Jose Marti Center and attend lectures given by faculty from the University of Havana and a government official to discuss the cautious transformation of Cuban government and economy and its impact on the US-Cuba relationship and the US Embargo. Evening at leisure after returning to your hotel.

 

(B) (L) included

 

Day 6

 

Visit the University of Havana Medical School and tour the school with a staff member and engage in a dialogue with student and faculty and discuss issues of health care policy and learn about the Cuban approach to medical care which has resulted in health statistics that have been comparable to the richest nations in the world. Visit a polyclinic in a Havana neighborhood and meet with primary care physicians. After lunch, visit a children’s hospital and general hospital and tour the facilities and engage with medical and administrative staff at both facilities to discuss the challenges of health care in a society with limited resources. Also be prepared to discuss and answer questions about our own health care system to inquisitive Cubans. Evening at leisure after returning to your hotel.

 

(B) (L) included

 

Day 7

 

Visit government offices responsible for directing and formulating environmental and energy policy. Cuban has been held as a model by conservationists around the world in its care of preserving the environmental pureness of the island and its marine habitats while also having to face the reality of being a developing country with few energy resources. Learn about the island’s interest in renewable energy and its ongoing struggles to provide its population with ever increasing energy needs as the country tries to compete in the 21st century. After lunch, attend a closing reception at the Jose Marti Center.

 

(B) (L) included

 

Day 8

 

Bid farewell to Havana and leave for an early morning departure to Jose Marti

 

International Airport and catch flight home.

 

(B) included