One Dog’s Poo Is Another’s Good Luck

Cool custom that we found out: stepping in dog poo is considered to be lucky. Then again, Gerardo might have been pulling our legs to make someone feel less self-conscious about stepping in poo.

While still trying to avoid stepping in dog poo, we have all been doing our best to explore Havana and its environs. Sometimes this just includes little excursions around our neighborhood. Recently we exchanged some CUC (the currency used by tourists) for pesos nacionales (used by Cubans). The exchange rate between the two at the time we exchanged was 24 PN to 1 CUC, which means we ended up with a lot of pesos. The best part of this means that we can now eat at the little cafeterias found on nearly every block. Yesterday, I got a lunch consisting of a mountain of rice and beans, a huge slab of pork, some cole slaw, and a little sweet potato. I paid 30 PN, which probably isn’t even US $1.50. Absolutely amazing.

We did have an interesting the experience the other day, when we first attempted to eat at a restaurant which accepted pesos. Basically, I think they assumed that we didn’t know what was going on, and we had to send the bill back twice, the first time because they were trying to charge us in CUC and the second time because the bill was nearly double what it should be. Good thing we are cheap college kids and pay attention to what the bill means. Also, I’m hoping that eventually people will realize that we aren’t just visiting, that we’ll be here a while- the “tourist” feel will wear off, hopefully.

Last week, we went to the beach. The interesting part of this is not the beach itself, but the public transportation we took to get there. This was my first experience on Cuban public transportation, and it was totally worth it. It did take 2 and a half hours to get there (compared with the 25 minute cab ride back), and was fairly crowded. However, it was also cheap (40 cents of a Cuban peso), and worthwhile because we got to see all different areas of Havana, because the bus wasn’t going directly where we wanted to go. Since then, we’ve taken the bus a bunch more times, and I’m finding it convenient, cheap, and fairly reliable as well, as long as you are staying in the general Havana area.

Another trip made on public transportation was to the zoo. We later found out that there are two zoos in Havana, a good one (the “show” zoo if you will, more so for tourists) and a bad one (more Cubans). Guess which one we went to? Of course, it was the bad one. And it was bad. We paid 2 CUC to get in. What we paid for, I’m not entirely certain. There were only 3 employees, a ticket seller, a ticket taker, and a cotton candy vendor. We certainly weren’t paying for upkeep, judging by the presence of hundreds of beer cans and other such debris (note- pollution as a while is, while not as bad as DR, still an issue here). We weren’t paying people to care for the animals, as proven by the alligator swimming in lime green scum. And we certainly weren’t paying for security, as this picture of a little boy in the rhinocerous’s cage proves. My final reflection on all of this is that while this zoo was certainly the worst of any I’ve ever seen, all zoos are the same in that they unnaturally cage in animals. I’m never going again.

We’ve also attended three different cultural events within the past week. One was a jazz piano show by premiere Cuban pianist Miguel Nuñez. It was good, but not really my kind of music. My favorite piece by them sounded a bit like an alien spaceship landing in a quiet, sunny glenn in the woods. Sunday, a few of us went to the theatre to see a play about Frieda Kahlo y Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. That was terrific…too bad I was so exhausted from the Power 90 workouts we’ve been doing every day and I slept through most of it. What I saw though was terrific, and I am definitely planning to see a few more shows during my time here.

Finally, last night we attended a Cuban hip-hop show (right near the zoo, interestingly enough). That was awesome. Not gonna lie, I didn’t understand every word, but a lot of the hip hop here had more to do with real messages than in the United States. My favorite lyrics were “En la vida moderna hay más de moderna que vida” (loose translation: In modern life, there is more of modernity than life). I would have to agree with that assessment. People I think sometimes forget that money and things aren’t all that matters. Is your expensive cell phone really more important to you than your kid, or your best friend? The best part of the show was that our professor's friend's son, who is Cuban, thought because of my Spanish that I was Mexican. Yay, it's getting better.

A few random notes that don't fit in elsewhere:
-The price of rice has not gone up here in 50 years. The government keeps it subsidized. Imagine the effects this will have after the eventual and inevitable liberalization of the country's economy. This needs to be done so slowly, because of the effects it will have on people.
-Things that we consider "PC" or not PC in the US don't apply here. I remember in one of my international affairs courses I was rebuked for using the term third-world country. That term is used here. I like it- it's more frank (surprisingly).
-They have juiceboxes of alcoholic drinks here. Need I say more?

A final thought: if I had a superpower, it would be to understand and put myself in the minds of others. I think so many problems in the world today exist because we as humans can’t and don’t understand one another. Think of terrorism. I’m not endorsing it, but I think in some circumstances, if you look down to the very bottom of the issue, what the offending party wants is sometimes reasonable. Look at the issue of the Basques in Spain. They just want some land for themselves. Granted, I’m simplifying things a bit, but that seems to me a reasonable request. They resorted to unreasonable means in an attempt to get what they wanted, but at the bottom their request is more or less rational. Understanding people and what motivates them is so important in making the world a better place (assuming rational actors), and thus my desire for this particular superpower.