The Cuban Shuffle

Posted on February 4, 2015 by admin

In a few weeks an LCC delegation of 60 student-musicians and teachers will visit Cuba to perform as a band and experience some of the Latin rhythms that make that island famous. Many LCC families have visited Cuba before, but likely as part of a winter vacation package where the real Cuba does not come clearly into view.

To many people’s surprise, On December 17^th, American President Obama announced that the USA and Cuba would begin to resume diplomatic relations after more than 50 years of an American boycott that cut off all diplomatic and economic relations. This was implemented following the Cuban Communist revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959.

The Castro brothers – Fidel & Raul – have been the only Cuban presidents during more than 50 years of one-party rule, outlasting 10 American presidents. The long-standing US trade embargo is still in place and Cuba has suffered especially since special economic support from the formerly-communist Soviet Union disappeared when that country collapsed and unraveled in the early 1990’s. Today the average Cuban’s monthly salary is still only $20 – virtual slave wages by Canadian standards.

Winding down the American embargo will be difficult after so many years of entrenchment. However, it is the first step in fundamentally changing the relationship between the two countries which geographically, are close neighbours, and which used to be very tightly intertwined.

But memories are long and six-thousand Americans have filed for monetary compensation following loss of assets due to Cuba’s nationalization of all private companies back in the early 1960’s. The Cubans themselves have also filed for monetary compensation from the American government for allegedly strangling economic growth in Cuba over more than two generations. And they want cash to make up for it. So we should be prepared to see more heated discussions before relations are truly smoothed over. In the meantime, the Castro regime remains firmly in power and there is no indication that Cuba’s form of national state-controlled Communism is going to disappear.

Until December, the Obama deal was a well-kept secret, and it is actually seen by some Cuban-Americans and conservative Republican party “hawks” as a betrayal of US principles – that the government should simply never negotiate with a communist regime that disallows private businesses or the fundamental right of free speech.

Cuban-American senator Ted Cruz wrote that the move “may well strengthen the Castros and strengthen a new generation of their oppressors in power unless USA’s Congress steps in to stop it”. His Republican colleague from Florida, Senator Mark Rubio, is also sour on the deal. Considered a possible presidential candidate for the 2016 election, he recently stated that the “policy shift is based on an illusion – the White House has conceded everything and gained little”.

President Obama has described the relationship between the nations as one of “family and foe” that needed a new script. Obama takes the view that more than 50 years of boycott have not really changed much, other than entrenching mutual isolation, so he intends to be proactive. Getting this initial deal was hard enough, requiring a year of secret talks and special assistance from Pope Francis. Intentions are to see restrictions loosened on trade, travel and diplomacy and American Foreign Secretary John Kerry, will try to reestablish an American embassy in Havana. Kerry will also review and hopefully ease Cuba’s status in America as a state-sponsor of terrorism, as it is currently categorized along with countries in the so-called “axis of evil”, like North Korea, Iran, and Syria.

Cuban Americans will be allowed to send more cash home to family. Already at $2 billion a year, that flow of funds is critical to the Cuban economy – and the Cuban emigrés will soon find it easier to visit the island nation just 145 KMs off the Florida coast.

Rapprochement by the USA has been opposed for decades, especially given the fear of upsetting the Cuban-American voting bloc in Florida. However, polls in 2014 showed that 68% are now interested in a softer approach and that grows to a notable 88% for those Cuban-Americans under 30-years old.

Initial responses indicate that the shift should improve US standing in the broader Latin America region. In December in Havana, bells tolled in public squares and people were visibly celebrating. Although there are lots of cool old Chevy’s on Havana’s streets from the 1940’s and 50’s, this move is finally about looking to the future.

So, we need to remember that Cuba is not just a winter escape. Its people may be on the doorstep of significant social and economic change. I wish our LCC musicians well as they prepare for their trip to Cuba. I hope that they will return and provide us with some interesting insights into how the Cubans view the proposed easing of tensions with the United States and what they hope for in the near future. The Cuban shuffle –change is indeed in the air! – Christopher Shannon, Headmaster

Assembly Speech: Generational Observations

Posted on February 4, 2015 by admin

There is the generation X, the generation Y, the baby boomers. And then, there is us. I sometimes wonder whether we are not the attention deficit disorder generation. Someone or something takes our fancy, and for the space of a few months, days, or hours, we enthusiastically embrace an idea, elevate a person to ridiculous heights, and covet the most ridiculous object as if it was made of gold. From nothing, it becomes everything, is everywhere – in multiple copycat versions too – and, just as suddenly, we drop it, never to think of it again. We flit to the next idea, the next trend. It can be charming…except when it comes to charities. Because yes, it appears that for us, charities too are just fleeting fads.

When I was 8 or 9, I wore a yellow rubber bracelet, which bore the catchy slogan “Livestrong”. I loved my bracelet for one reason. My friends thought I was oh so cool. The bracelets were extremely scarce, having sold out of several NIKE stores. They were also very popular, not surprisingly since popularity and scarcity go together. The unexpected shortage of bracelets had naturally spiked interest in the rubber band to such an extend that – and this is the absolute truth – strangers would stop me in the street, offering me up to $20 for my bracelet. I am ashamed to say, that I had no idea that “Livestrong” was meant to serve the cause of cancer; I suspect that I was not alone and that for a great majority of people, the bracelets were simply the expression of a desire to be part of a trend. Quickly enough, yellow bracelets became lost in a sea of other rubber bracelets: green, blue, pink, red, RAINBOW! Rubber bands were everywhere, in sports stores and at the dollar stores. My yellow bracelet was given to my dog as a chew toy. Livestrong, the slogan and the foundation became passé. True, Livestrong’s spokesperson and founder had spectacularly fallen from grace, but the Livestrong bracelet had faded from our minds long before that.

I can give you dozens of examples. For a few months, we kept cool by throwing ice buckets on our heads. Every time we did it, we raised awareness for ALS. We also raised money. Not as much as we could have, since ice buckets were meant as an alternative to donating money, but still we did raise some money and a lot of awareness for the cause. Until one day, we just forgot to. Bet you a whole bucket of ice that very few of us still think occasionally – if ever – of ALS. So much for awareness.

Joseph Kony, by all accounts an evil man who ordered the abduction of 66,000 children to become sex slaves and soldiers became the cause célèbre in 2012. A video was shown on social media, it went viral within minutes, and suddenly every teenager in America and Canada was heard talking about Joseph Kony. For a minute or two, just a little longer than it takes for us to repost a video, everyone wanted to be part of the anti-Joseph Kony movement. A mere month later, another video called young people everywhere to “cover the night” and put up posters of Kony because, yes, the 66,000 abducted children still deserved to be remembered. And no, no one showed up to cover the night. No one. 66,000 abducted children did not deserve that.

Which brings me to the real point of my presentation. We are in a privileged position, all of us, and we are all conscious of it. We want to help. I want us to remember this: we are an enthusiastic generation, and for whatever time we spend on a trend, we give it our all. We do a lot of good. But we are also fickle, easily bored, easily distracted, and eager to jump to the next cause – one that’s compatible with Facebook and Instagram! Causes and charities cannot be the helpless victims of a generation’s attention deficit. Before we espouse a cause or adopt a charity as our own, we need to find what meaning the cause or charity holds for us. If we do that, we can be assured that our charities won’t be mere fads. Everyone in the 21^st century hopes for their fifteen minutes of fame. Cancer research, ALS or children sold as slaves ought to be able to hope for a lot longer than 15 minutes. – David Elbaz ’15

Abby’s Idayari: Week 3 – Canadian-Zulu Girl’s Sightseeing Never Stops!

Posted on February 3, 2015 by admin

Apartheid Museum

This weekend, my exchange Rodina attended choir camp with her schoolmates. Her mother Gladys kindly made sure I continued exploring every wonderful thing South Africa has to offer. Along with LCC’s Adam Vandenbussche ’17 and two of my friends, Lorna and Alluwande, we took on special sights and Soweto!

Apartheid Museum

Our first stop: The Apartheid Museum, which provides a special exhibit of the 20^th century history of South Africa. I was impressed how the entrance to the exhibit represented the country’s past battle with Apartheid. When entering, we were given a card, which either said “Whites” or “Non-Whites.” Depending on what card you got, you would take the tour through one of the two areas. At the end of our tour, we got to choose a stick and place it anywhere we wanted around the Museum in order to “follow in Nelson Mandela’s footsteps.”

Gold Reef City

At Gold Reef City, an amusement park in Johannesburg, I had an experience like none other! After what felt like several painful hours of waiting in line, we were finally able to enjoy the rides. Numerous flips and swirls later, we decided to go on the swing ride. Suddenly, a dark cloud invaded our sun-filled sky; this heavy cloud was filled with as much rain as Homer Simpson is with donuts. Within seconds, the thousands of tourists, including us, fought for shelter; we quickly regretted our choice of bringing SPF 100 rather than an umbrella. In the end, we had the best time ever just by running in the rain, fighting for a table in a restaurant and drying our drenched clothes.

Zulu Word of the Week: Imvula: which means rain!

Soweto

Once it stopped raining, we made our way to Soweto! We were privileged to visit the Mandela House; we were allowed to go inside Nelson Mandela’s house, see all of his awards and go into his backyard. After that, we went to the Hector Pieterson Museum. The Museum taught us all about Soweto’s uprising; on June 16, 1976, Soweto students ran a protest in response to the mandatory teachings of Afrikaans. The police killed several students, including Hector Pieterson. His photo is a symbol of what happened. What was very interesting was the fact that the Museum stood right where the protest happened and where Hector died. There are symbolic objects outside the Museum such as the grass line that indicates exactly where it happened as well as the fountain, which represents the tears shed by the parents who lost their children that day.

Culinary Adventures

This weekend, I had the chance to experience some of the more typical African foods. I am now completely addicted to “Melktert”, a custard-like tart made with milk, sprinkled with cinnamon lying on a thin, brown sugar crust. It is absolutely delicious! The Ayayas are making sure I can eat it daily when I come home from school! I also discovered “Mieliepap”. Pap is similar to porridge. It is made from a corn grain which, when cooked, inflates into a white ball that makes for an excellent side dish.

Next Week

Again, this weekend was as jam-packed as a Triple-Patty-Special-Sauce-Burger-Delight! Next weekend, I will be putting on my Safari hat and will be hitting The Bush! – Abby Shine ’17, Exchange Student at St Stithians Girls’ College

: Famous Photo of Hector Pieterson

: Hector Pieterson Museum

: Gold Reef City Before the Rain

: Entrance to Apartheid Museum

: Apartheid Museum

: Nelson Mandela House

Student Exchange Australia: Chocolate, Animals and Thongs!

Posted on January 28, 2015 by admin

After months of anticipation and waiting eagerly (and 40 hours of travelling on a plane), I can’t believe I have finally arrived in Melbourne, Australia! I have always dreamed of coming here. For the next month I will be staying with my exchange, Erica, her dog Charlie (who still scrambles to stay away from me) and her family, the Gikovskis. They are wonderful people who are absolutely full of adventure.

On January 20 (the day after I arrived), the Gikovskis took me to Phillip Island for a three-night trip. It was approximately a two-hour drive crammed in a car with people I had known for less than twenty-four hours. I have to say it was absolutely worth it to listen to Erica’s little brother, Daniel, chatter the entire ride. We stayed at a hotel across the beach. I stood on the balcony and just enjoyed the view; the clear blue water glittered as the sun shone and the waves rushed to the shore (it’s not something that is seen in Montreal!).

The very same day, my exchange family took me to Panny’s chocolate factory. It was AMAZING. It was not quite as jaw dropping as Willy Wonka’s, but still a pretty close match. There was chocolate artwork including sculptures and a miniature village, one giant cube of dark chocolate weighing one whole ton, and best of all a chocolate waterfall. I even got to make my own chocolate bar. It was like heaven! I ate so many chocolate samples; I wasn’t hungry for lunch or dinner!

The next day was probably my favourite day on Phillip Island. We went to a koala conservation center and a penguin parade! Who doesn’t love furry tree huggers and waddling little birds? Most of the koalas were sleeping. They sleep 20 hours a day, because their diet (leaves) don’t give them enough energy to do anything except eat, sleep and mate. Their bodies are specifically designed to sleep; their butts are padded so they can comfortably sit on tree branches and their paws can effortlessly hold onto trees so they don’t fall off. At night, I went to see the penguin parade. The penguins were about 30cm tall, and they all waddled out of the water towards their burrows. It was adorable to watch!

January 22 was beach day! Did you know Australians wear thongs to the beach? Thongs to Australians are flip-flops to North Americans. I found out the hard way when Erica’s dad asked Erica and I if we were going to wear our thongs to the beach and I was very much confused. I didn’t understand why he would ask me such a bizarre (and inappropriate!) question. Anyway, we went to a surf beach so the waves were massive. It was crazy fun. Erica, Daniel and I stood in the water and waited for the waves to come so we could jump over them. Those were some powerful waves! Some knocked me over, then ran me over, and dragged me to the shore, and then I would get dragged back into the water and get run over by another wave! It was very amusing though. I must say the most important item that day was sunscreen. I have never experienced sunburn. Ever. I got sunburned for the first time in my life that day.

What a great start to my exchange! I had an absolute blast on Phillip Island and I know this is just the beginning. Next time, I will be writing about sports and food! – Lucia Huang ’17, Exchange Student at Ivanhoe Grammar School, Australia

: Penguin Waddle

Grateful to be a Round Square Student

Posted on January 28, 2015 by admin

I am often asked, with just a hint of suspicion, “What is Round Square?” Quite simply, it is the sum of six ideals, internationalism, democracy, environment, adventure, leadership and service, which, added one to another, equal a philosophy of learning. Those six goals, each important in and by themselves, are bound together to form an integral whole that we call Round Square.

It is a great source of pride to me that these six ideals are so intricately woven in the LCC fabric, so much a part of the LCC student’s daily vocabulary that the six ideals are not so much applied as lived. Community service, the daily exposure to environmental or international issues, or participation in leadership activities are the common lot of all LCC students – much like homework, part and parcel of student life.

This no doubt explains why I am so often asked, “What is Round Square?” Round Square activities are not notable for the LCC student, exposed right from the start to the Round Square philosophy of learning. Round Square activities are quite simply and naturally part of life.

The most spectacular of Round Square activities are perhaps the international exchanges which give LCC students the chance to live for a couple of extraordinary months, the ordinary life of the Peruvian, South African, Australian, Indian or French student. These exchanges often begin with a burst of, until then unsuspected, patriotic pride. There are friendly patriotic tug of wars, where differences are highlighted. By the end of these exchanges, differences between cultures are dismissed as trivial, and there is the profound realization that for all the geographic differences, which, to all appearances, cause abysses between cultures and nations, we are all one humanity. This is a Round Square lesson.

Twice a year, there are Round Square or CAIS conferences for Middle School and Senior School students. LCC students travel, sometimes to far and exotic places, other times to more familiar destinations, to exchange, with other Round Square students, ideas about international or environmental issues. Open dialogue and finding ways of integrating leadership into everyday life is another Round Square lesson.

And then, there are all the other activities, no less important and very much a huge part of Round Square life. These include, but are not limited to, all the community service activities and the environment-oriented activities. The environment committee’s tireless efforts to educate on environmental issues proved effective: all six LCC students sent to Jordan had the urge to turn off the water sprinklers irrigating, all day and all night, the beautiful school campus. That we are all locally responsible for the global good of the earth is a third Round Square lesson.

The Coat Drive to benefit the Share The Warmth organization is a great example of the way LCC students live Round Square ideals. The drive, undertaken enthusiastically, if quietly, was a great success.

A Round Square student is a Round Square person for life. I am a Round Square student, and I, for one, couldn’t be more grateful. – David Elbaz ’15, Round Square Head