Gardens, Diplomats, and Sex Shows

Date of writing: 2-05-09

It’s been a while since I last wrote, yet at the same time not too much has really happened. I definitely feel like I’m well-adjusted to my lifestyle here in Havana now, which scares me somewhat, as I now have less than 2 months to enjoy it.

One of the new things that we’ve done recently is pay visits to different community projects that are funded by the Cuban government. One of them was in Cojimar, on the outskirts of Havana. It was basically a co-op founded in order both to keep up sustainable agriculture and to teach people about better eating habits. It’s also tied into a school program. It was interesting to visit, although we spent more time looking at photographs of scarecrows that the co-op members make than seeing the actual results of their labor. This past week we also visited some more sustainable agriculture sites; these were rather anti-climatic as they mostly resembled big gardens in peoples’ back yards. Never seen one of those in rural Pennsylvania… Although, I really shouldn’t scoff. The whole “permacultura” movement (permanent agriculture) is tied into the ideas of caring for both the world and the people that live in it. So at heart, there are some really good ideals behind this. And when you think about, for instance, all the resources that are wasted so that I can have an avocado in Boston in January, you begin to realize that having a larger base in local and sustainable agriculture can really impact the environment. Other odd note, based on these materials we found in the gardens, SOMETHING isn't quite right about the embargo.

Speaking of agriculture and nature and whatnot, we also visited the National Botanical Gardens last Monday. Oh, Cuba. We arrived there after a fairly expensive cab ride. Apparently (and as we saw) the grounds of the gardens are quite extensive. We were hoping to nosh on some vegetarian fare at a buffet in the heart of the gardens, and were duly informed that we would have to wait a half hour for the tour car to return to the front of the garden to pick us up. How far is said restaurant, we inquired. On hearing that it was about a mile and a half, we decided that it would be a jolly good time to walk there, which would take a half hour anyway. But, oh no, it was MONDAY. Apparently, on Mondays, no one is allowed to walk around inside the park; you are only able to take tour cars. We ended up working it out with our cab driver that he would just drive through the park and take us to the restaurant. It was probably worth all the hassle to enjoy the all-you-can-eat buffet of greenery, not to mention the addicting pizza. After a brief digestive romp in the Japanese garden and a gander at 602 different species, we were on our way back to Vedado.

Today (Thursday) I went with Whitney to the hospital so that she would have company/backup in Spanish if necessary. During the wait, we met a diplomat from Mozambique who works at the UN but was delivering a package to her embassy here. Even after Whitney went in to her appointment, I continued chatting with the diplomat in the waiting room. First of all, we were talking about the state of affairs in Cuba, and the lack of opportunity that exists for Cubans, no matter how hardworking they are. I eventually asked her if it was hard to work at a place like the UN, which works supposedly to improve the world, when in her actual travels in different countries she sees so many hard things. She talked to me about feeling frustrated sometimes, that they spend so much time in meetings, and that the UN pays a good salary to so many people, yet at the same time so few tangible results are really accomplished from all of this. Lately I’ve been feeling somewhat out of touch with real life and the United States, because I’m getting so used to life here, and having this conversation with her in some ways brought me back to a different state of mind.

This afternoon we left for Matanzas and Varadero. We are staying in a nice hotel here in Matanzas, and to welcome us to the province, tonight we attended a cabaret show. I don’t know how to properly describe it. There were lots of mostly nude women, whose dancing costumes barely covered their va-jay-jays, let along their rears. The men were clothed in tight and revealing body suits. It almost felt like some type of barely veiled sex show. Steph and I spent time discussing the people in the show. Granted, it was a good show, and I’m sure they are paid fairly well. So for those who aspired to be dancers in the spotlight, this might be a terrific job. But for those who couldn’t find employment elsewhere and were forced to take this job as a way to make ends meet, this must be terrible. The women never stopped smiling the entire show, but mostly it didn’t seem to be in earnest. It seemed more or less the same as going to a strip club in some ways, because we were these tourists almost taking advantage of the fact that these people have to do these things to survive, yet we’ll watch the show and be taken in by it. I really can’t explain how uncomfortable it made me feel. It's even more bizarre, considering it was exactly this type of thing that Castro wanted to do away with after the Revolution- the idea of sex as an easily found commodity in Cuba. That coupled with the fact that it’s an outdoor show while Cuba is experiencing an uncommonly cold cold front made Meg and I depart early from the show. More on Matanzas soon!