Aung San Suu Kyi is now free, over 6,000 political prisoners have been released, and sociopolitical change is slowly engaging the nation.

Community organizations and businesses are encouraging travelers to support the democracy movement and the national economy now that the travel boycott has ended.

Finally Reality Tours can travel to Burma in good conscience and engage with people as citizen diplomats. We hope you will consider joining us in 2013.

Some of what you’ll experience on a Reality Tour trip to Burma:

• Journey to important historical and cultural sites (Shwedagon Pagoda, the pagodas of Pagan, the ancient cities around Mandalay, U Bein Bridge, etc.).
• Dialogue with opposition leaders and former political prisoners, human rights advocates and members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy.
• Engage with artists, craftspeople, farmers and educators to hear their hopes for the future.  Our local guides will offer unprecedented access to local people and groups.
• Explore how Burma will face a burgeoning tourism industry, and question who will reap the benefits of a vibrant tourist industry.

Ethical tourism can offer a much needed boost to Burma’s economy while contributing to community development. We will explore this issue by partnering with The Ethical Traveler on this trip, and one of its representatives will help facilitate these important relationship building tours.

Hope to experience Burma with you!

We hope you are able to join us on our first year of building people to people ties in Burma. A trip-of-a-lifetime just waiting to happen.

Kids in Cuba. Photo Credit: Global Exchange

The following is a guest post by photographer Ron Herman, who has lead three customized Global Exchange Reality Tours to Cuba. But first, worth checking out are these articles about recent changes in the Cuba travel industry:

• DETROIT FREE PRESS: Is door slamming shut for travel to Cuba?
• THE HAVANA NOTE: Will OFAC Pull the Plug on People to People Travel to Cuba?
  

To keep up-to-date about Cuba travel news, subscribe via RSS to our Reality Tours blog for future updates.

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Photographer: Bill Scull

“The Universal Language of Photography” by Ron Herman

Looking back on the three customized reality tours I have led to Cuba thus far, one of the things I like most after arriving in José Marti Airport is watching the trip participants’ eyes light up on the bus ride into Havana Vieja. As the sights, sounds, and smells, that are so distinctively Cuban, whirl by the bus window, it hits them that they finally made it to Cuba. And with that realization, smiles emerge on their travel worn faces……and the camera shutters start to click.

Photographer: Don Wheatley

I have led photo workshops in various other countries, but it is the people that keep drawing me back to Cuba. Unlike any other destination I have traveled to before, I find the people in Cuba to be more warm, open, and willing to engage with the camera. Even though many trip participants weren’t able to speak Spanish with the Cuban people they photographed, they were able to communicate through the images that they shot and then showed them on their camera’s LCD screen.

Photographer: Ron Herman

Many of my alumni have commented that because of the embargo, they didn’t know how Cubans would greet Americans. They quickly realized that Cubans differentiate between American people and the politics between our two governments, and that they are as curious about us as we are about them. Often you can find American flags or other American symbols displayed in local shops.

Several photographers have returned with me on subsequent trips to Cuba. They too have fallen in love with Cuba. Over the course of multiple trips, we have developed relationships with the people we met and photographed. Many of the alumni and myself have returned to Cuba with prints of the images that we shot of them and their family, which are always warmly received.

Cuban friend receiving prints shot on a previous trip. Photographer: Mary Ellen Kaschub

After returning home, it is always great to share our travel stories with each other and relive our Cuban adventure through each other’s images. Even though we were photographing in the same locations together, it is always fun to see how differently each person saw and visually recorded the experience.

I am looking forward to returning to Cuba this Spring to lead another exciting customized reality tour for photographers (March 30 – April 13, 2013) in addition to a LGBT trip (May 9-19, 2013) centered on IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia) and its related events in Havana and Cienfuegos.

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TAKE ACTION!

Check out this lively video about Ron Herman’s Cuba trips:

• For more information on Ron Herman’s trips to Cuba go to: www.hermanphotography.com/tours.html.
• Global Exchange is a licensed Travel Service Provider for Cuba trips. For more information on Customized Cuba delegations please visit our website for details or email leslie@globalexchange.org.

Ron Herman is a photographer and Chair of the Photography Department at Foothill College located in Los Altos Hills, CA.

Lea Murray (left) with fellow Reality Tours Venezuela delegation participants

The following post was written by Global Exchange Scholarship recipient Lea Murray who participated in a Reality Tours delegation to Venezuela last month. She shares her experience with us:

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Venezuela Vision: A Tale of Remembrance

I traveled to Venezuela for two reasons:  1) my friend and ESL student Lorena was going to be there at the same time that Global Exchange (GX) scheduled the Afro Venezuelan tour and 2) I was able to receive a generous scholarship from Global Exchange.

Had it not been for those two serendipitous events my life would be completely different from what it is today. I would have remained the same middle class American who is only concerned with those issues directly impacting my life.  Outside of my travels to Senegal and The Gambia in 2007, I hadn’t traveled to any place where it was obvious that people had financial need. I almost always traveled to resorts or timeshares in nice well-kept tourist areas.  I had forgotten my training in public health nutrition. I had forgotten how it felt to work with and be around people who are struggling to meet their basic needs.  I had forgotten my previous non-profit work with under-served communities.  This trip to Venezuela reminded me of my idealistic college days at UC Berkeley.

Many people in Venezuela love Chavez.  What a shocking revelation for someone like me who has only heard bad things about Chavez from some of the Venezuelans that I have met and taught in my English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.  Of course living in South Florida there is a very large Hispanic community mostly from South America and Cuba—mostly wealthy and white.  I heard stories from some of these people about how dangerous it is to live in Venezuela, and how Chavez is poisoning the minds of poor people so that it is unsafe for the hard working Venezuelan to travel in public places for fear of being attacked.

I heard stories of multiple kidnapping, theft, and political unrest.  That Chavez is bad for business and it is difficult to fire bad workers and employees who don’t have incentive to excel at work because they can’t be fired.  Chavez is crazy like Castro.

The many Venezuelans that I have met here in South Florida believe the USA is a refuge from the turmoil that they have endured in their homeland.  How was I to know any different?

But then I visited the missions, the university, the labor union, the farming coop, the black owned Cocoa plantation, and I heard and I saw what Chavez has done for the disenfranchised.  Chavez is making a difference in the lives of people who believed they were previously excluded from the benefits of living in an oil rich country.  Why didn’t I know this?

Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is Chavez in the eye of beholder.  It all depends on your perspective.  Now I know differently.

Now that I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears, what will I do? I will re-think my life. I have a new vision.  I want to see how other people live and experience life.  I want to travel to even more places where black Africans were dispersed during the slave trade. I will travel to Haiti and Cuba and examine the plight of my black brothers and sisters in these small island countries.  I will re-think my business.  Instead of solely working with those students who can afford to pay my hourly rate I will diversify and incorporate students with less financial means to pay for my services as an ESL instructor.  I will open my eyes—see the vision—and do something to make a difference.  I will participate.

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Lea Murray is a California native living in Florida and a part time ESL instructor with an interest in Latin American and Caribbean culture. Last month Lea participated in a Reality Tours Afro Venezuelan delegation, thanks to a Global Exchange scholarship.

TAKE ACTION!

• Travel to Venezuela: check out our list of upcoming trips to Venezuela
• Learn about Global Exchange Scholarships: visit this web page for scholarship application, fundraising advice and more!

Arirang Mass Games Photo: Global Exchange

This September, on the day of the 64th Anniversary of the foundation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), a group of international travelers will be among those to attend what may be one of the last performances of the Arirang Mass Games during a whirlwind trip to North Korea.

You could be among them. There are some spots still open for Global Exchange’s Beyond the Bamboo Curtain Reality Tour to North Korea this September 7th-15th.

Arirang Games Photo: Global Exchange

Started in 2002, the Airang games, named after the most well known Korean song and emblem of nationalism during the Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, takes place at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. The event features about 100,000 performing artists, divided into five acts each developing a part of the DPRK history, focusing on unification and national unity and featuring political developments and themes.

The Airang games is just one of the highlights of the Beyond the Bamboo Curtain Reality Tour.

During our stay in the DPRK travelers will also have the opportunity to gain first-hand perspective on the effects of both U.S. and North Korean policies.

We will experience a slice of daily life at schools, hospitals, a bowling alley and farming cooperative, local restaurants and more. Other stops will include a visit to the Sinchon War Museum (Museum and Site of U.S. Korean War Atrocities in Sinchon) and the demilitarized zone (DMZ).

Is it Time for You to Visit North Korea?

If you would like to see what’s behind the bamboo curtain, now is your chance. Visit our website for all the details about this upcoming trip and perhaps you’ll join us for this adventure of a lifetime!

Vaya! A l o Cubano

Many of our  Reality Tours Cuba  alumni will remember Karen McCartney. Karen lived in Cuba for years and regularly facilitated Global Exchange groups. Today Karen shares one of her memories about Cuban chivichanas while leading a Reality Tour trip we used to call “Following Che’s Footsteps”. 

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Chivichanas in Cuba: Tour Facilitator Karen McCartney Shares her Story by Karen McCartney

Elizardo, the ICAP represententative takes the microphone from our driver and turns to face our tour participants:

“Where we are going today is historic, for it was here, in the heart of the Sierra Maestra mountains, that President Fidel Castro, his brother Raúl, Che Guevara and their band of guerrilla fighters waged the battle that brought down the dictatorship of Fulgencia Batista and ushered in the Revolution. That was back in 1959. It took them three years to succeed and we are going to take this opportunity to retrace their steps. We’ll go into the mountains and see their headquarters for ourselves.“

Looking out at the Hotel Nacional, Havana

Just then our driver, Juancito, calls Elizardo over to him. They confer for a minute or so. From the concerned looks on their faces it is apparent that something is wrong. They beckon to me and Diana. It turns out that our coach is an older model and Juancito is doubtful about its ability to climb the hills that lie between us and our hotel in the tiny mountain village of Santo Domingo. We stop at the base of the steepest hill I have ever seen. Someone a few seats behind me mutters that the gradient would be illegal in the United States.

“What we really need is a fifth gear for the ascent and hydraulic brakes for the descent. Our coach has neither,” whispers Juancito.

“So what do you recommend?”

He looks up at me apologetically.

“Walking.”

We agree to let Juancito drive on at his own pace and for us to follow on foot. It will take a couple of hours longer but it’s safe. The students are elated at the prospect of getting out of their seats and eagerly rush toward the exit.

Joining in the Dance at Love and Hope, Pinar del Rio

All twenty-five of us set off, walking on occasions at an angle of what must be about 65º to the perpendicular tilt of the road. The landscape is undoubtedly the most magnificent that I’ve seen so far in Cuba. Lush vegetation springs from sheer drops, and abrupt upward sweeps arrest the gaze and guide it skyward into the clouds. The sky is shrunk, framed by verdant peaks. I too am shrunk, made delightfully small, humbled by the power of these mountains. I remind myself that I am in the east of Cuba, somewhere between the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, surrounded by topography which has not changed in millennia. All of us are quiet now, content to pay homage to the moment, knowing that it will never come again. Around us there is birdsong, insistent calls produced by exotic creatures I cannot see and cannot name.

An ugly clattering, suggestive of metal colliding with concrete, intrudes on my reverie. It is getting louder, faster, and it’s coming toward us. From around the bend – at speed – comes a chivichana, a guider steered by an elderly campesino, his face frozen into a grimace. G-force, or perhaps the immensity of effort required to keep his vehicle under control at such speed? It’s not clear. Both hands are on the reins, pulling hard now, and his heels slam against the front wheels, jamming them to a halt a few metres away. Mules and home-made guiders are the most common forms of transport in the Sierra. The students are already gathering around enthusiastically. I stay back, content to watch and let the encounter develop under its own dynamics. A few words are exchanged in broken Spanish between the wizened, bright-eyed sprightly driver and his admirers.

“Qué lindo. What a beautiful guider. Did you make it yourself? What speed do you go? Is it dangerous?”

And then, inevitably,

Delegates Laughing with Cuban Architect, Miguel Coyula

“Would you mind if we take a few photos?

Photos taken, the students give the old man the thumbs up and he manoeuvres his chivichana into position to continue its downward journey. Just as he is about to lift his heels from the front wheels one of the group calls out to him,

“Señor! Señor! Por favor.”

We turn our heads to see Jeremy, one of the quieter boys, hoist a bottle of Havana Club rum on high,

“Muchas gracias!”

And then he tosses it with a long slow motion to the old man who catches the bottle in a single deft sweep of the hand. Only a talented baseball player would have been capable of such elegance, and the group applauds. Then he is gone in a flash, followed by a rapidly retreating commotion that can be heard echoing through the mountains for a minute or two after we have lost sight of him. We see more chivichanas over the next few days; sometimes they are little more than a blur as the locals power down these slopes at breakneck speed on this most unique form of transport.

Living Inside the Revolution, An Irish Woman in Cuba. Book by Karen McCartney

To see more of Karen’s impressions please see  her blog. If you want to create a memory of your own,  learn more about the US Embargo against Cuba, or explore Cuban culture and history join us on a Reality Tour today. 

Photo from Inmagine

The following was written by Carol Steele, Global Exchange Director of Cuba Customized Reality Tours. She is an accomplished percussionist who has played with an eclectic range of musical acts, everything from Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Joan Baez and Steve Winwood to Diana Ross and Tears for Fears.

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The 27th Annual International Jazz Festival in Havana is coming up– you wonder, should you go?  And I say to you emphatically, ABSOLUTELY SI !!!!!!

It is a great time to be in Havana!  Usually right on the heels of the International Film Festival, Havana is buzzing with energy.  There are so many concerts in different venues all over town, lots of Cuban Jazz, as well as invited guests from around the world, and BEST of all (says the musician) the late night jam sessions!  You never know who might stop by and sit in on one of these nightly jams.  Once you have your pass for the festival, you can get into all of the shows, afternoon lecture demonstrations, and although I think there may be a small fee to go to the jam sessions – it’s a fee that’s well worth it as far as I’m concerned.

I started going to Cuba in 1987, during a time when I was working as a professional recording musician/percussionist, and wanted to go to the root – or “la mata” as my Cuban friends in New York used to say. (The root of my technique as a percussionist)  I was recording and working with Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Bette Midler and Tears for Fears, to name a few, and going to Cuba during my time off.  I went to study, see, learn, absorb, breathe, play, dance, and see what it feels like to be in   “la mata” and what I can tell you is that it changed my life!

Carol Steele in action!

I am not a formally trained musician, I play by “ear” (and I would add, heart and soul.)  So for me, whether I get to play or not, just going to Cuba, and getting to be in the presence of the masters that are constantly taking modern Cuban music to new levels, or having the privilege of experiencing Afro-Cuban Folkloric music that is being played in the same way that it was handed down from Mother Africa – it inspires.  Whether I have ever put my hands on a drum or not, during any given visit over the past 25 years, I always come home playing something different, taking a different solo, and feeling my place in the music in just a very subtle and different way – inspired.

So, I have to say that the Jazz Festival is an incredibly unique time to be in Havana, with so much music happening in so many different places daily. Whether you are a musician or dancer, expert or novice, music aficionado or music critic………. You will come back changed in some way that you might not be able to put your finger on at first -  is it the music, the culture, the people, the food, the painting, the architecture, the history……………or is it just ALL of it!  Come with us and see – and by the way, let me know!

TRAVEL TO CUBA

The 27th International Jazz Festival of Havana is taking place on December 11, 2011 – December 21, 2011. Find out how to travel there with Global Exchange.

You can see Carol in action & on percussion in this video!

My personal mission on this trip was to photograph and document Cuban life and society as I experienced it. Naturally I wanted to make some of those iconic Cuban images we’ve all seen — old cars, fading architecture, music and dance traditions. But I also wanted to make some interesting people pictures; to view ordinary people in their daily surroundings is, for me, the best visual representation of a society and culture. This brief essay presents two of the resulting pictures and their accompanying stories.

“The Baseball Player”

The economic situation in Cuba often makes it difficult for people to obtain ordinary items that we all take for granted –  clothing, toiletries, food staples, toys, etc. Global Exchange encouraged us to take small ordinary items as gifts for people we would be visiting in our travels around Cuba. Among the items I brought was a baseball — I know for certain that Cubans love the game and I thought a baseball might be a welcome gift at some point.

I didn’t have to wait long. On our second day in Havana I encountered a group of kids playing baseball in a plaza. Several of the bigger boys had ball gloves, and they had a decent looking baseball bat. But they were playing baseball with an old tennis ball! Perfect — my baseball had found a home.

I watched for awhile and saw that one of the kids was a pretty decent player. I finally approached him and said that he and his pals should be playing with a real baseball. The photograph I wish I could have taken was a picture of his face when I pulled the baseball out of my daypack. But the one I made of him posing with his new ball isn’t bad.

“First Photograph”

Our travels took us to the old colonial town of Trinidad on the southern coast of Cuba. One night we were invited to a block party in a working class part of town. The event was sponsored by the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, and the local block leader welcomed us with a brief and — surprisingly — nonpolitical address. This was followed by a short program of the resident children singing songs, reciting poetry, and one young man demonstrating his considerable gymnastic talents. They then played music over the PA system and our group and the neighbors all danced together and had a grand time.

One member of our group had brought a small, shoe-box-size photo printer. With his printer and digital camera, he sat up an impromptu photo studio in the middle of the street and started making and printing photographs of the children. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the place went nuts; many of the kids had never had their pictures taken before. But the most emotional reaction came from the parents as they were able to see and hold a picture of their kids. I realized at some point that we weren’t just making photographs — we were making family heirlooms.

This perfectly timed picture is typical of the kinds of reactions the photos evoked between the kids and their parents.

For a slide show of more of his Cuba photographs, go to http://bit.ly/cuba25views

For more information about the Cuba delegation’s travels, see the group’s Images of Cuba blog, and Cuba: From Inside and Out gallery site.

Harlan Crowder is a fanatical semi-professional photographer who lives and works in Silicon Valley, California. For more of his images visit his website.