Our country is so screwed...

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The Marines know nothing about Cuba, despite the fact that they are stationed here. I have little hope for our country after hearing all that went on last night...

Here's the deal with the party last night. We take a taxi to the address we were given and get out on a dark street in front of a barbed-wire fence compound. It reminded me a great deal of the military compound that gets attacked in the movie "The Kingdom". Within the compound were some houses, a pool, a nice yard, and a gym. We show up and thankfully as we walk in we see one of the FSOs who had talked to us earlier in the day. She pointed out the bar and told us to head on in. The barmen and -woman in question were actually the Marines themselves, so upon ordering drinks we also began making friends. In particular, I was interested to talk to the girl. I found out she was only 21 and had been in the Marines since turning 18. She served in Iraq and Senegal before coming to Cuba, and during this has been working with the Department of Homeland Security to earn a degree in Terrorism (just a suggestion, they should probably call it something different, although in some ways the US has practiced that itself over the years). Annnyway, I asked her if it was difficult to be a woman in the Marines, and she said yes, because first, it's more physically demanding and you don't get any slack (which is ok, but...), while at the same time you have to work twice as hard to earn people's respect even when you can complete the physical tasks. Figures.

After three green (hey, it was St. Patty's round 1) Sprite and 7 Years Rum, I hit the road for a dance club with Whitney and our boys. Meanwhile at the Marine House, peeps kept drinking green beer and discussion slowly opened up. We probably would have better opinions of them if it hadn't. More or less, none of the people stationed there really like Cuba. Why? They mostly don't leave their house. When they do, they go out in Miramar- read, really touristy and rich area where no real Cuban will do. Are they allowed to date or even really fraternize with Cubans? Not so much. What do they really know about Cuba? Nothing. BUUUT, they think lots of hilarious things. Like that it's a really dangerous country. When the girls told them we leave the city, they asked what kind of security measures we have! Please, children. It shows not only a lack of knowledge about the country but also a lack of understanding of the politics between our two nations. THIS IS A VERY SAFE PLACE FOR AMERICANS. The Cubans want the embargo gone. Something happening to an American here would be a deathblow for that dream. We are fine. Speaking of the embargo, there was a Marine who was apparently oblivious to what that even means. REALLY?? They also are convinced that the Commies are spying on us all the time, and that they are so good at it, we don't even know. But...how would they know, if they never leave the barracks? Anyway, it was just really depressing to me in a lot of ways, because the Marines also work at the Interest Section. And the Interest Section is the info-gathering arm of the US in Cuba. AND NONE OF THEM KNOW JACK SHIT BECAUSE THEY DON'T MEET CUBANS. I'm thinking of Sarah Palin all over again... I really feel that I might know just as much about Cuba as our diplomats here. Mom, I know you think it's ludicrous when I make this claim. But it's true. And maybe the worst part of it is that it comes from the top- it's American-enforced that the Marines don't interact much with the Cubans. Plus, the only Marine here that speaks Spanish is the Sarge (or whatever) in charge of the operation. The rest of them? Maybe a little here and there. What use are they?? Barack needs to consult our group- or the other American groups studying here, for that matter- to create policy, as we actually talk to Cubans and know what's going on. Right now I feel so angry that I could almost cry. Ignorance is killing the world.