1

Hey Holly,
I'm in Havana at the moment studying at the uni. I was in contact with a lady called Carmina although it can take a while to reply - carmina2@rect.uh.cu. I think courses run all through the year although I know it does mention a few months when they don't run. I think the website is still accurate. You just turn up on the first Monday of the month rather than enrol in advance, do an exam to assess your level, and then lessons start properly on the Tues. For a month you pay 300 CUC and you don't needa tourist visa. For any longer I believe you do.

2

Thanks for the reply!

I have managed to contact them finally! What are the classes like there? How many lessons do you have a day? and are the classes big?

Thanks in advance!

3

Hi Holly,
Sorry for such a late reply - I haven't been able to get on the internet since the last post. Be warned - internet in Cuba is expensive and can be slow. :-) You have one class a day - from 9am to 12.30pm with a half hour break. My class had about 8 people in it, I don't think any of the classes are big. My lessons were good, I was complete beginner and the teacher spoke only in spanish, which was fine. However, if this doesn't work for you definitely make sure you have a dictionary!! In the end I wished I'd done some private lessons on the side because I didn't get as much chance to practice speaking as I needed.

Good luck with it!

4

Hi Holly,
I have taken a course in Havana uni last November. The classes were fine, my group had 10 ppl, we got along really well and the teachers were great. We also organized quite a bit of free-time activities.
One frustrating thing about the course was that the right books were sometimes missing or not provided, or it took 30 mins for the cassette player (!!) to start, you couldn't get the receipt of course payment for many days - all those technical issues, so typical of Cuba...
But all in all, it was great. I think I might have learned more with a private teacher, but I don't regret taking the course because it was a lot of fun. If I go again, I would probably take some private lessons in addition to the course. Teachers at the uni are good - I really liked Teresa and Maria, although Virginia was certainly most funny.
I'm not sure about the summer months as we were told the courses don't run during summer, but now that you have their email address, you can specify that directly.
Good luck, you'll certainly enjoy it there!