FOREWORD The Field Trip has been the heart of North South Studies since its beginnings. It has been the setting for learning experiences that have transformed the relationship of students and teachers with the Global South. It has been a space for the development of everlasting friendships and for the forging of a commitment to global social justice. This is why when Covid 19 shook our world, the possibility that NSS would not have a Field Trip felt as a great lost. In the midst of moving to emergency on-line teaching, a difficult task for us all (students, teachers and all of Dawson’s staff, it was difficult to master creativity to figure out our predicament. The most obvious option seemed to be to cancel the Field Trip. The most obvious but not the easiest decision to make. After Plan B and C were not workable, we came up with a final plan, to design a Virtual Field Trip to Cuba. What followed this decision was a collaborative process. The Virtual Field Trip to Cuba worked, it was a small success in a semester full of challenges.
The design of the Virtual Field Trip was a collaborative effort between NSS’s coordination and the Memorial Martin Luther King Center (CMMLK) in Havana. We set out to imagine how to create a space for experiential learning and the building of solidarity. Based on student interests we identified a series themes that we explore together. These included gender and sexuality, race relations, food sovereignty, Cuba’s new constitution, how their highly acclaimed health care system has fared in the face of Covid 19 and the embargo, and others. We set out to figure out how to use Zoom. For our Cuban friends, this was a big challenge considering limited access to internet connection, and the regulations around the use of American technology posed by the embargo. Let's just say that planning was a rollercoaster ride, with high peaks of enthusiasm and fear of it not working out! A week before the Virtual Field Trip was set to begin, we were troubleshooting connectivity and offering interpretation services.
On February 1st we were set to go! Joined by Sandor (our guide) and Polo (interpreter) we all gathered via Zoom for our first “encuentro”. In the new reality of Zoom learning, we wanted to go beyond having a webinar, a one-way transfer of information and instead we wanted to engage. The “encuentros” became a point of gathering to share knowledge and experience, to establish new friendships. This Virtual Trip could not replace the experience of traveling to Cuba, but the warmth of our Cuban friends came through the Zoom “encuentros” and left us not only knowing more but also inspired by their experience. It was an opportunity for solidarity. Covid and the embargo are weighing heavily on the lives of Cubans. This Virtual Field Trip provided the CMMLK an opportunity to explore new ways of doing international outreach and we feel proud to have been a part of it. The 2019-2021 NSS cohort had a lot to deal with. Many stud ents struggled with on line learning and with learning in general in the middle of a global health crisis. Some students put their studies on hold, others slowed down and some pushed forward. It is my hope that the Virtual Field Trip to Cuba was something to look forward to every Monday and that the learning will stay close to the heart of each student. I know I am thankful for having the opportunity to be involved in the creation of change. The virtual aspect of it does not make it any less real. Gisela Frias NSS Coordinator
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