Description of Havana

Imagine some of the most gorgeous architecture that you’ve ever seen in your life. For those of you that have travelled to European nations, think of the Greek and Roman styles of building. The towering columns, the simplicity which is almost more overwhelming than an excess of detail. You could also think of the Spanish style, with a portico running around the second floor of a building. Then take these buildings, and put them together to form blocks. Imagine some of the buildings on wide, sweeping avenues, with a grassy esplanade located between the opposing lanes. Mentally situate more of these buildings, on a smaller scale, along more narrow streets and lanes, with small balconies just feet away from the neighbors. Many of these balconies have brightly colored blouses, towels, and sheets hanging from clotheslines.

Sounds pretty good, right? Now imagine the majority of these buildings in some state of decay. A few of the buildings are in near perfect condition- next time I see Gerardo, I’m going to ask him what the deal is with those buildings. Because the rest of Havana’s architecture is suffering. In the better-off cases, the paint is chipping, or the effects of the salt spray from the sea over the Malecon are evident. In the worst cases, the wooden shutters are warped and barely fit and the buildings are crumbling. I have yet to take lots of photos of the actual architecture, but I will put them up here ASAP- we have several plans for wandering around Havana this weekend, so that will happen.

Note: if any of you are planning on visiting Cuba at any time before the embargo is lifted, and you have Bank of America, complete any financial transactions before leaving the U.S. I learned that one the hard way…

Otherwise, though, I’ve been able to access almost everything else. YouTube, LinkedIn, and MySpace are the other sites that we can’t get on, but those aren’t such a big deal.

Anyway, I'm shortly about to watch Grey's Anatomy with Maria. All the Cubans in our household are terrific. We had a house meeting a few nights ago just to lay out all the rules, etc, and it really does feel like a family. Good times.