For our last trip ever in the PLP program we traveled all the way to Cuba for 16 days to study to Cuban Revolution. This trip was absolutely an experience I will never forget and something that again altered my view on our world. Before embarking on this trip we started learning about the Iranian Revolution as that is what the people who were not going on the Cuba trip were going to do their project around. Prior to our trip I wish we were able to learn a bit more about the entire thing so we could have a bit more of background knowledge. There was an 8 part documentary that our teachers highly encouraged us to watch but being me both very busy and not very good at time management… didn’t quite finish them.
I remember before traveling to the deep south in grade 10 we had a ton more knowledge before we left and felt as if we had known everything so when we were down there, we were able to go deeper on the baseline things we already knew. I do wish that I had felt the same confidence before going on this trip also as I believe it would have enriched my trip just that step deeper.
Our project from this trip was to make a coffee table book of the Cuban Revolution. Our group of 12 that was traveling to Cuba split up into groups of two and each group would get a chapter that would be focused around the 6 historical lenses. (historical significance, evidence and interpretation, continuity and change, cause and consequence, historical perspective, ethical judgement). By looking through that lens we would choose one event that fit best and focus on tell our chapter of the book.
Short summary of the Cuban Revolution: (if you want more detail…read our book)
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt led by Fidel Castro‘s 26th of July Movement. It was against the government of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. The revolt took place between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally removed from office on January 1, 1959. He was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro. This government later changed along communist lines, and became the current Communist Party of Cuba in October 1965.
Gabi and I ended up working together on this book which I don’t think is that much of a surprise. At first we were saying how we shouldn’t work together because we won’t get anything down and then the groups were made and Gabi and I were left. It hasn’t seemed to be a problem yet but we will see.
Gabi and I decided to do historical significance focusing on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Our idea got switched a few times during our trip which might have slightly impacted the amount of visuals and audio we have on this topic.
While we were in Cuba we visited this Bunker… when I first saw this on the itinerary I didn’t think much of it. But as our topic got changed it became more revealt to us, still not knowing what it truly entaled. As we arrived there after bushwhacking in long black pants in 35 degree, humid Cuba weather, our amazing guide explained to us that this bunker was in fact the place that the Soviet Union was hiding their ballistic missiles. Alyster explained how it was so significant because the americans were desperate to know whether the soviet forces in Cuba had capability to launch the weapons. They knew there had been weapons sent to Cuba but they didn’t know what state of readiness they were in or whether they had lunch capability. America was desperately trying to find that information out and where the actual weapons were. If they had identified that as a location where the warheads were kept, Kennedy would have ordered either an air strike or an airdrop of marines and special forces in that area to destroy that location.
There is no doubt that if the Americans would have invaded Cuba at that time that they would have prevailed, the soviet union commanders would have used these weapons and it’s highly likely that they would have to defend that bunkers or themselves or Cuba, they would have started throwing the smaller nuclear weapons around it is very easily escalate and larger nuclear weapons get used. This could have easily spun out of control and become the beginning of World War III. The Cuban missile crisis is the time where the world was the closest to WWIII but the bunker is one of the locations where the world came closest to WWIII…. AND WE WERE JUST CASUALLY STANDING IT IN. Our PLP 12 class was standing in the place that easily could have been the tipping point into WWIII, which absolutely blew Gabi and I’s minds and right there we switched our topic to involve both the bunker and the cuban missile crisis.
Since we kinda switched our topic late into the trip we didn’t have the extent of media we were hoping for. But we did get a very good interview with Alyster and we have 12 other people who took photos and videos everywhere that we can get stuff off of.
(Actual book coming soon, just getting some final touches)
Overall this trip was and unforgettable one, even if I don’t remember the information I learned in 80 years there is no way I will forget this trip or the people I experienced it with, and will forever be thankful for this amazing opportunity.
