Cuban 弹性 on Display for Old Dominion 访问ors on 出国留学 Trip
2017年3月23日
ODU students and faculty pose with a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, still running through the ingenuity of the Cuban people
The ODU delegation experienced many different facets of life in Cuba
古巴幸存.
Despite a decades-long trade embargo by the United States, the collapse of its financial parent - the Soviet Union - crushing poverty, natural disasters and state-enabled corruption, a group from bet8体育娱乐入口 found the Caribbean island a testament to the human spirit during a spring break visit in early 3月.
"We came away with a deeper appreciation of Cubans' resilience,汤姆·索查说, professor of communication and co-leader of a one-of-a-kind study-abroad journey to a country long closed to American visitors.
"These are folks who not only managed to work through revolutions,索查说. “他们很有弹性. They have figured out so many ways to handle things that we just take for granted here."
比如缺电. Periodic outages are common, even in major centers like Cuba's capital, Havana.
还有自来水. “我的房子用完了. They got behind in filling the cistern on the roof that brings water to the home,索查说. "The people there have a saying, 'A lo Cubano' - it's just Cuba."
RESEARCH生 students in the University's Lifespan & Digital Communication program, along with undergraduates in the Departments of Communication & Theatre 艺术 and Political Science and Geography, 去旅行了, which was focused on the fusion of communication, agriculture and food in the island nation.
They ended up participating in a veritable "Amazing Race" of Cuba. The 11 students and three faculty advisers rode in 50-year-old cars that are still running through sheer ingenuity. They were challenged to shop at local markets as Cubans do. They saw historic sites dedicated to the revolution.
Above all, the Old Dominion delegation was struck by the radiance and warmth of the Cuban people.
"The openness of Cubans was amazing. 在整个旅途中, we focused on how cool it was that we were in dialogue with people that we couldn't have shared experiences with only a few years ago,索查说.
古巴才刚刚对美国开放.S. visitors with the gradual lifting of the decades-long trade embargo. The Old Dominion delegation visited through a student sponsorship by the University of Havana.
The students were impressed by the beauty and passion they encountered in Cuba.
"I was not prepared for my memories of Cuba to include all the mesmerizing colors and visions of love so openly expressed,特蕾西·沃恩说, a master's student in communication from Ettrick, 维吉尼亚州. "It was an array of electrifying colors showcased throughout Cuban culture, artwork and architecture."
保罗Socha, a political science and geography student who isTom Socha's son, said the journey was an amazing "time travel" experience.
"Seeing Cuba function in 2017 with equipment and infrastructure from the 1960s really showed me how creative people can be,他说.
联系s at the University of Havana have invited the Old Dominion delegation to return next spring break. "To me, the potential there is unbelievable," Tom Socha said. "学习 is the best word that comes to mind to describe our visit."
