Today we visited CENESEX, a health clinic in the plaza de la revolucion, UNEAC, and attended a Rumba class. We learned many things about Cuban culture and the Cuban healthcare system. 

CENESEX is a sexual education and reproductive health clinic that focuses on providing healthcare for patients with AIDS and other infectious disease, young adults, chronic illness, vector borne illnesses and mothers and children. At CENESEX  and the health clinic we learned about the levels of the Cuban healthcare system. Level one of the healthcare system is small clinics that provide care for the population and includes preventive care , the second level is hospitals which are mostly focused on curing the illness and the third level of the Cuban healthcare is instituted which are academic and focused on research. These institutes helped Cuba develop five vaccines for COVID-19! The second health clinic we visited also discussed the structure and organization of Cuban clinics within the healthcare system in Cuba. Public health and healthcare are tightly intertwined. For example, at the health clinic there is also an office for epidemiologists. Preventive care is a large part of Cuban healthcare. 

UNEAC is a center for writers and artists. There were beautiful gardens surrounding the property while we learned about how writers and artists come together to create. Inside we were shown the office of a poet who was very influential to Cuban writers. There was also an art display which showed various pieces of Cuban art that were beautiful and thought provoking. 

The rumba class was fun and despite the language barrier our teacher was patient with us as we learned how to dance the Rumba. The teacher broke down the steps so that everyone could understand and had fun teaching us how to dance the Rumba.