Alas! My friends and I arrive in Havana, Cuba. We’d literally stepped off the plane into a land that would change our perspectives forever. For me, it was like stepping back into time. Instantly, a giant hush fell over our ears. Toto, we ain’t in Kansas no mo’.

Still at the airport, the first humbling encounter was el baño (for those who don’t know a lick of Spanish, I’m talking about the bathroom). We were greeted by a cute, little old lady who was rationing out toilet paper. To my surprise, as I went to take a tinkle, there were no toilet seat covers. Just plain toilet. Oh the things we take for granted!

Fast forward to us changing our Euros to Cuban pesos. It took us about 30-45 minutes for the task to be complete. Onward to finding a nice taxi driver who’d transport us to our first Airbnb in Vedado - Cuba’s central business district and urban neighborhood. Upon arrival, we were warmly greeted by yet another cute, older woman named Marina. Before showing us our rooms, she handed us each a glass of fresh mango juice. ’OH MUH GAWWW’, I thought. ‘Is this what real fruit juice is supposed to taste like?’ No pulp, no additives, and it glided down ever so smoothly. I could get used to this.

Aside from what we learned in secondary and post-secondary education, none of us were that fluent in Español. The language barrier was the second humbling experience as we quickly realized we were no longer the privileged natives. Every host we encountered would predominantly speak Spanish but with the help of our memories and the Google Translate app, we managed to hold it down.

Me, being my own photographer as always lol

Jess and Jas

Krystal, the birthday girl