Twenty Goshen College students, with a fellow traveler/transient student from
Carnegie Mellon University, will leave for Cuba Wednesday, April 28, arriving
the morning of Thursday, April 29, in 
Havana.
Students will stay at a Presbyterian Center on Salud in Barrio Chino (Chinatown)
in Centro Habana, living there most of the first six weeks. They also will be
assigned host families from the congregation, and will spend part of each weekend
cooking, eating, and relaxing with their families.
Students will stay in two different sleeping areas, each a bit apartment-like
with a small kitchenette (with a refrigerator), sitting room, and one or two
bedrooms with bunk beds. Students probably will not be able to send e-mail from
the center, but within easy walking distance they’ll find an internet
café at the Capitolio.
The
Presbyterian Church in Barrio Chino has many outreach ministries in the community
– a staff of trained psychologists who provide counseling by phone, a
basketball team of youth from the area, and an active Sunday morning music group.
The church also is the only Protestant congregation in Havana to open its doors
to the public during weekdays for informal worship and reflection.
During the first six weeks of the SST term, students generally will spend their
mornings in language classes. During the afternoons, they will hear various
Cuban nationals lecture on politics, culture, religion, art, economics, and
social issues. Field trips also will be scheduled in the afternoons. Students
will have breakfast and dinner at the Presbyterian Center, but will search for
their own lunches near the center. They will have most of their evenings free
to study, spend time with Cuban and SST friends, and explore Havana.
The
group will remain in Havana from about April 29 through June 7, then leave for
a six-day trip to Santiago de Cuba, Santa Clara, Trinidad, and other points
along the way. On the return trip, the group will be dropped off at the Centro
Cristiano Para Reflexion y Dialogo (Christian Center for Reflection and Dialogue--in
photo at left) in Cardenas, where they will do service projects for most of
their remaining weeks in Cuba. They will return to Havana Monday, July 19, for
a concluding SST retreat, and then catch their flight for the U.S. Friday, July
23, returning to Goshen on the 24th.
Keith and Ann Graber Miller, leaders of the SST Cuba 04 unit, and their family (Niles, Mia, and Simon) also will live in Centro Habana, about a 12-minute walk from the Presbyterian Center. The Graber Millers previously led SST units in China (Fall 2002) and in Dominican Republic (Spring and Summer 1989 and Spring and Summer 1997). Ann was raised in Puerto Rico, and is fluent in Spanish. Keith teaches Bible, Religion, and Philosophy at the college. The Graber Millers have visited China several times, and they also have traveled extensively or lived in various parts of western and eastern Europe and in the Caribbean.
The Graber Millers will arrive in Havana Monday, March 29, and will spend the
next month preparing the academic program and logistics for the SST students.