Happy Three Kings Day!

Actual Date of Writing: 1/06/09

So today for our “Cuba in the 21^st Century Class”, we ended up basically just walking around Vedado, which is the section of Havana in which we live and study. We learned the locations of a lot of different things, like a library and the offices of the Ministry of the Interior (Minint). Apparently we also walked by a courthouse or a jail, because Minint trucks were outside, with a handcuffed guy being led into the building. I feel like walking down the street and actually seeing this is an experience not easily replicated, because the crime rate here is ridiculously low.

One of the other things we got to see was a bodega. So at home we all know bodegas to be a little corner store. Essentially, these are as well, only they run on ration cards. So the bodega we went to, which serves specific families in a certain area of Vedado, had things for sale like toothpaste, rice, or cooking oil- the basic staples. Two things, though. One- you have to have ration cards for whatever you want. If you’ve already received your rice ration for the month, you have to get it elsewhere, like at a CUC market (brief note: the CUC is the Cuban covertible peso, which is what tourists use, although Cubans can get them as well. The peso nacional is what Cubans use. The exchange rate between the two is that 20 pesos nacionales are worth 1 CUC. So you can gage the prices, one American dollar can buy you about 0.89 CUC- and that’s after you’ve already paid a 10% tax for converting the money in the first place. Clearly the embargo needs to be lifted. Speaking of the embargo, someone at home asked me what the benefit to Americans is in lifting the embargo. It will boost the economy. For one example (of which there are many) farmers in the Midwest would all of a sudden have a new market for produce. So many American products would also be purchased here. Also, our tourism to Cuba would bring more revenue into the country, then allowing more people in the end to buy more American products. It’s my firm belief that Obama should definitely lift the embargo- I think perhaps it might help to stimulate the economy).

Anyway, back to the bodega after that not-so-brief note. If the item you are looking for is not in the bodega, and you don’t have CUCs or don’t go to the market, tough noogies. Wait for later. We’re going to go back to the bodega at some point to sit for a few hours and observe how everything works.

Following the tour, we went to our AfroCuba class, and after a brief stop en la residencia, we decided to go to Old Havana for a Three Kings Day celebration that was supposed to be happening. FYI, Three Kings Day is January 6, and it’s the day when the three wise men/kings of Orient arrived to see Jesus. It’s very big in Latino culture. So, we thought this was something worth seeing. As it was also a gorgeous day, we decided to walked the (supposed) 35 minutes to Habana Vieja to get some exercise and see more of the city close-up. It was a gorgeous and enjoyable walk…but it lasted an hour and a half instead. Oh well. We later found out the parade was at 1:00, and we didn’t even start walking until 2:00, so we never would have made it anyway. So we basically ate lunch (at a Middle Eastern restaurant, mmm) and then shopped in a local open-air market that I’d actually been to last time I was there (Katie, you would LOVE this place).

It’s a huge area right off the Malecon (which is essentially the boardwalk) so you can enjoy a beautiful view as you meander up and down rows of stalls selling any kind of tourist thing you can imagine. There was clothing, wood carvings, and paintings, and a million other little things. Like in any area like that, everyone’s very interested in selling you their wares before you move on to the next stall. We made friends with some of the stall owners, like China, who gave us each a necklace made of painted seeds so that we would remember her.

During this, one of the people in our group got separated, and we spent some time trying to find her again. Now, we were all in the same little market area, and it’s not like she was in any danger or we were going to leave her there, but it made us all reflect on how much easier cell phones made our lives. Obviously you can get along without one, but it does facilitate things well. For whoever is wondering, cell phones aren’t terribly common among Cubans. In fact, there are people still that don’t have phones in their houses.

The rest of the night included a delicious (as always) dinner, followerd by some drinking and hanging out. We went down to the Malecon for a bit, and it was kind of cold- AKA, it was chilly in my sweatshirt and jeans. How’s the weather at home?

Excuse me, but have you been intimate with dead people lately?

Actual Date of Writing: 1/05/09

The title of this blog and the conversation to which it relates shall remain known only to those of us here. However, for all my fans at home, it is a great indication of how well we’re bonding. Let’s leave it at that.

So, lots to bring you all up to date on, as well as lots of random thoughts that somehow tangentially relate to what we’ve been doing. Let’s see. So we arrived in La Habana on Sunday afternoon. First note: last time I was here, we flew into the terminal for international arrivals, EXCEPT those for Americans. Not that it was the most majestic building ever, but it was decent, and I remember lots of duty-free shops and whatnot. Well, the American arrival terminal isn’t so much. Also, you walk out of the terminal and immediately see lots of revolutionary art- check out this photo (it says "that who gives refuge to a terrorist is a terrorist"). The other thing you see immediately on leaving the airport is amazing cars. Poppy, I will have an entire set of photos just of cars for you. There are some new cars here too, but you see a preponderance of old American cars. It’s so amazing.

We then arrived at our apartment, AKA the sweetest place ever. We have the penthouse apartment of a residence building, essentially. The apartment is owned by Casa de las Américas, the university at which we are studying, so students always live here. It’s a two floor apartment with maybe 5 or 6 bedrooms, each with 2 or 3 beds. I am living with Chelsea and Megan, and I have to say, we got the best room in the entire house- we are downstairs, in an apartment facing the sea, with its own bathrooom and balcony and huge windows. I’m living the good life here.

Maria, Milady, and Chino are all part of our household too. Maria is basically our house mom, and lives here too and cleans. She’s maybe in her 50s and really sweet. Rumor has it she’s a big Grey’s Anatomy fan (apparently you can watch American TV here), so I think I’ll be hanging out with her a lot (Tanya, Linny, and Kristen, I will think of you!). Milady is the best cook in the entire world, and my plan is to get her to teach me how to make beans the way she does. And Chino owns the place, and is ridiculously nice.

So we had dinner, unpacked a bit, etc, and then went out for our first drinks. We also decided to sit on the Malecon, and lots of people came up to us to talk. We spent the longest time with Yoandy, an eighteen year old student at Havana University. He’s learning English and wanted to practice with us, although we spent the majority of time speaking in Spanish anyway.

The night ended with four us sitting around the pool on the roofdeck. You know it’s going to be a good trip when one of you falls in the pool…and there’s no water in it. Thankfully, noone was hurt in the making of this comedic moment, and we soon went to bed.

The next morning was orientation at our school, which is basically a big art/cultural center kind of place. The rooms are open and large, and it’s a great place to have class. Also, the president of CASAs is Roberto Fernandez Retamar. This may or may not mean anything to people at home, but he is a tremendous writer who I’ve read for various classes, and we are going to get to meet him!!! This is also an amazing year for us to be here, because this is the year of the 50^th Anniversary of the “triumph of the revolution” (I have this in quotes because everyone here says is that way- I will talk later on the conditioning of nationalism). Our university was founded that year as well, and is also celebrating its anniversary, so because of this there will be really cool cultural events a few times a month here.

We had one class after orientation, our film class. We began watching a movie about the days of slavery and plantations. It’s a fascinating movie so far, but I’m going to hold back on the commentary until I finish watching it.

Following class, we headed down to Habana Vieja, or Old Havana. The professor of our Cuba in the 21^st Century class was our guide, and he is amazing. I’m so excited for his class. Anyway, Habana Vieja is the part of the city first constructed by the Spanish, with lots of forts and GORGEOUS architecture. Gerardo, the profe, also knew soo many people there, so we got to meet them all. He also introduced us to some school children playing in a park, and we spent some time with them. This is where the talk about conditioning comes in. These kids are inundated so young with their country’s history, focusing especially on José Martí and then the Revolution. They were able to recite to us a Martí poem and sing a song about his virtues. So from very young, they are taught all this. I suppose, really though, it’s not so different from the U.S.- we are brought up thinking that George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are the most amazing people ever, and throughout the entirety of my schooling in PA I NEVER learned about the negative things that the U.S. does in the world, which is pretty sad.

Coming home, we had our first experience with a grocery store (this is different than the bodega, which I will write about in the next post- this only takes CUCs, also to be explained tomorrow). It was really busy, and to buy rum, you wait in line AT LEAST 10 minutes. Otherwise, it’s not tremendously different.

The last great highlight from the night was meeting Yoyo (Yoyo Valdez, you’re still the best Yoyo). He’s a mechanic, and me, Danny, and Honorio ended up talking to him for two and a half hours. Right now is not the time for me to go into a full explanation of Afrocuban religion, but he worships one of the gods- not that he chose the god, but a “priest” (I’ll explain and use the actual words later) helped him divine which god was his. Apparently, we also can go to this “priest” (babalao) to determine which god would be each of ours if we were to begin practicing the religion. This is all determined through a series of readings with conch shells and what not. So…yeah, I’m absolutely going to do it. Who knows, I’m spiritual and have my own personal beliefs and values, but still haven’t found an established belief system that really works for me- maybe this will be it.

Bienvenidos a Miami

Note from 1/07/09: Sorry it’s been a while, all. Havana is amazing and it’s been hard to make myself sit down and blog instead of experiencing everything. Also, no pictures right now, but I will upload them when I get a chance. Love and miss you all.

Actual Date of Writing: 1/04/09

I’m currently sitting in the Miami International Airport, knowing that within two hours I will be in Havana, Cuba. I’m absolutely stoked to finally be returning, and to know that this trip will be much longer than my first time. It’s been an exhausting trip already; I left Pennsylvania Saturday at noon and it’s now almost 1 PM on Sunday (despite whatever time I actually get around to posting this). The great news is that our flight originally wasn’t supposed to leave Miami until 7 PM tonight, and it got moved up to 1:30 PM.

I figured I would use the time I have before our flight to answer Northeastern’s pre-departure reflection questions…

How does it feel to leave friends, family, and Northeastern behind?

I feel that over the past five years, going between Boston and Pennsylvania with additional trips out of the country has enabled me to adjust well and quickly to new people and places. Based on that, I know that once I get to Cuba and begin to immerse myself in my new life, I won’t be homesick or miss much from the U.S. But that never makes the actual process of saying goodbye and leaving any easier; it’s always very bittersweet. Despite how good I’ve become at going to a new place, it never makes it any easier to leave people behind. One thing that Northeastern has taught me, though, is that with the people that matter, distance isn’t that important. What with co-op and study abroad, you meet people almost expecting not to spend much time with them during your years at school, but also knowing that if you really click, the little time you do have together is much more important than the amount of time- and this is obviously applicable to folks outside of my Northeastern life as well.

Why did I select this program?

Where do I even start with this question? For one, those who know me well are very aware of my penchant for travel into countries that I really shouldn’t be entering (I was debating whether having government permission actually makes this trip less exciting, but it doesn’t!). Second, I’ve been studying Cuba and the Revolution in one form or another since my freshman year in college in Professor West-Durán in his Caribbean Literature and Culture Class. It was the topic of my research last year in Middler Year Writing. And it’s been a personal interest of mine ever since I entered the field of International Affairs. In addition, I speak Spanish and love Caribbean culture after my experience in DR. Finally, I think about the experiences I had the last time I was in Cuba and I think the question really is, how could I not select this program?

Goals and objecctives for studying abroad, what doyou hope to gain?

Definitely first and foremost is improving my Spanish. I was really proud of how well I spoke after returning from the DR, but I can tell that I’ve regressed somewhat since I don’t use it every day (especially without Oscar around to mock my ghetto Dominican accent J). Especially with graduation right around the corner, I think it’s important to have these skills as I’m entering the workforce. Not to mention, I think it makes life so much richer if you can increase the number of people with whom you can communicate, the number of songs you can understand, the number of movies you can watch…the list goes on. This is perhaps a goal that is simulaneously academic and professional, but for me it is intensely personal as well. My whole outlook on the world is wrapped up in the idea of seeing each other for human beings above all else, and what better way to do that than to have a common language and be able to relate, to understand different points of view?

Besides Spanish, my foremost academic goal is to write the best Capstone paper ever. No but really, as I said, I’ve focused on Cuba in different classes throughout my years, and this seems like the culmination of everything I’ve been working towards. I have a couple ideas in mind regarding the possible topics for research, and will keep everyone posted as I work it out!

One final academic goal is to maintain a high GPA. Apparently I’m in the running to be class marshal for the College of Arts and Science, so I want to maintain the same high-quality work here and maybe clinch the position.

Career goals…well, since I’m definitely very into the idea of youth work, I want to explore the possibility here for volunteering with children somehow. Professor West-Durán is helping us to establish connections for volunteering, and I think that working with children and youth in yet another different setting would be very advantageous in terms of getting employment after graduation.

And personal goals? To always push myself. That sounds so broad and undefinite. But whatever the situation is that arises, I want to push the envelope for myself. If I’m afraid of heights, I’ll still climb the waterfall. If I’m nervous to speak to someone in Spanish, I’ll do it anyway. That kind of thing. I think study abroads are the best places to do that, because you’re in it for the experience- you might as well. It’s sort of sad, because I know I don’t embrace that kind of day-to-day living when I’m in the United States, and I really should- no day is promised to us. All the more reason to take advantage of it while in Cuba.

One other personal goal? To look up a geocache here in Cuba (thank you, Tanya). For those of you that don’t know what it is, google it. But it seems like a great way to meet people here (one is in someone’s house) and to interact in a broad way with other travellers and like-minded people.

I guess it almost goes without saying that I’d also like to discover the truth about Cuba. In the U.S., who knows if what we hear is ever true. So I’d like to work here to discover what’s the reality on the ground, and how it affects Cubans. Let’s see how well this works…

On a final note, the Miami airport has made the English-to-Spanish transition really easy- the first thing I saw stepping into the airport was the sign for “Aduana (Customs)”. I can’t wait to start classes tomorrow and get my speaking skillz back. In case anyone’s intrerested, these are the classes that I’ll be taking:

Cuba in the 21^st Century- Instead of an actual Spanish class, we basically have all these different professors and experts come in to talk to us about different aspects of Cuba as it is today- the structure of the government, healthcare, education, etc.

Cuban History Through Film- Self-explanatory

Afrocuban Culture- Focuses on how slaves and their descendants added new dimensions to Cuba culture

Afrocuban Music- Self-explanatory

Also, as a graduating senior, I need to complete my senior seminar requirement, so I’m going to do some sort of huge research project about something that strikes my interest…

One last thought on writing this blog. I am excited, yet at the same time very apprehensive. I know there are alot of people reading this and wondering why I wanted to come to Cuba (meanwhile I wonder why you wouldn't want to come to Cuba). But I feel like I have to help people at home understand what it's like here. It's going to be just like any other country in the world, in that there are good aspects and bad aspects. But I guess sometimes I feel hesitant to write the bad, because I feel like I'm representing Cuba, and I don't want skeptics to seize on the negative things that I say and take their entire opinion from that. So please, keep open minds. Remember, the Cuban government might not be entirely open with their people, but they aren't the only government in the world like that.

One other thing (really, the last thing): maybe I'll meet Cubans who say things that could get them in trouble. I'm going to keep this in mind, and hence I don't plan on putting every single thing on this blog. Therefore, I'm going to keep another word document going about those things, and not post them here. However, for anyone who's interested in reading this, I am more than willing to email it to you upon my return to the U.S. Just let me know.