Shortly, I will post a followup on my last week in Cuba and my bizarre transition back to the United States
thanks!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Another belated 4/23
Today we began our last program trip, traveling three hours or so from Havana to Pinar del Rio city in its namesake province. This trip we traveled with a member of PC’s abroad programs office. So, while she had questions and was interested in the dialogue our tour guide microphone’d through the bus, we had heard it before and enjoyed the scenery more I think. When we got to Pinar del Rio we drove to a horse ranch for lunch. got Cuban lobster for lunch. Now, I know am quite spoiled when it comes to lobster being from Portland and working on the waterfront, and even more so having family who host me for a mean lobster cookout every summer. Cuban lobster is good- there is a lot of meat, and they are very big and not very expensive but I am faithfully partial to the Maine lobster. It has more flavor and a softer meat. We did see a lobster on our first dive however, and I must admit the Cuban lobster wins for looks.
After lunch we got a quick tour of the place. The place is an eco-tourist ranch where hundreds of horses are bred. It was really pretty. On our walking tour we got to try a almond straight off the tree (well, after the seed had fallen off the tree). Then we walked to the spot where they train cock-roosters for fighting. Normally, this is highly illegal (especially gambling which is so often associated with cock fighting). The ranch has a special license because the roosters are used for breeding, and they told us something about how they should be strong and the winners for breeding optimization. Gambling on the fights is still strictly forbidden. It was kind of interesting to see how they were trained, but I never want to see a cock fight to the death. When we got back to the center I opted for a boat ride instead of another horse ride. It was very pleasant.
From the start of this trip we have had some trouble breaking free from the tourist stereotype to the student resident one. It is a constant struggle. At dinner we got to know our tour guide a little more. He taught us a few jokes. He, like practically all of our others, used to teach foreign languages at the University before changing to the tourist sector.
At dinner we also discussed our impending departure date. Diana, the woman from PC, asked us if there was any food we were going to miss especially. Besides fresh fruit and fresh baked bread, there really isn’t much food I will miss here. I will miss so many people, and so much about the culture, but the food is one aspect of the culture for which my love has not ‘ripened’ with time. The fact that none of us really predict missing the food gave us the idea of blogging about things we will not miss, rather than just the things we will especially miss. It is an interesting idea I would like to try if I have time in the next week. We’ll see. Now I’m back in the Pinar del Rio hotel room… which is right above the pool… which is currently the setting of a raging musical night out. It is quite loud and the water in my water bottle is rippling from the bass. Enough for now- enjoy your-selves readers!
After lunch we got a quick tour of the place. The place is an eco-tourist ranch where hundreds of horses are bred. It was really pretty. On our walking tour we got to try a almond straight off the tree (well, after the seed had fallen off the tree). Then we walked to the spot where they train cock-roosters for fighting. Normally, this is highly illegal (especially gambling which is so often associated with cock fighting). The ranch has a special license because the roosters are used for breeding, and they told us something about how they should be strong and the winners for breeding optimization. Gambling on the fights is still strictly forbidden. It was kind of interesting to see how they were trained, but I never want to see a cock fight to the death. When we got back to the center I opted for a boat ride instead of another horse ride. It was very pleasant.
From the start of this trip we have had some trouble breaking free from the tourist stereotype to the student resident one. It is a constant struggle. At dinner we got to know our tour guide a little more. He taught us a few jokes. He, like practically all of our others, used to teach foreign languages at the University before changing to the tourist sector.
At dinner we also discussed our impending departure date. Diana, the woman from PC, asked us if there was any food we were going to miss especially. Besides fresh fruit and fresh baked bread, there really isn’t much food I will miss here. I will miss so many people, and so much about the culture, but the food is one aspect of the culture for which my love has not ‘ripened’ with time. The fact that none of us really predict missing the food gave us the idea of blogging about things we will not miss, rather than just the things we will especially miss. It is an interesting idea I would like to try if I have time in the next week. We’ll see. Now I’m back in the Pinar del Rio hotel room… which is right above the pool… which is currently the setting of a raging musical night out. It is quite loud and the water in my water bottle is rippling from the bass. Enough for now- enjoy your-selves readers!
4/23/10
It is incredible how quickly things flew by as I approached my departure date, may 3rd. One culprit was another weekend program excursion. This trip brought me back to Vinales, which I did not mind one bit. Unfortunately, while we had planned to go to a cooperative, we were unable because ‘we needed to have been invited’. We have had to go through quite a few hurtles to arrange any of our visits as Americans. Our tour guide told us how he finds most Americans he guides (more people travel from the US to Cuba than one might think) want more than just tourist facts from his spiel. He was impressed and appreciative of this fact, but I pessimistically believe he just doesn’t see many Americans tourist- and that the americans he meets are there for non-tourist reasons. I meet a ton of american tourists when working at Becky's Diner and more often than not are content to just hear the same old spiel- and they don't desire variance from the standard guide book write up.
We also visited a town dedicated to eco-tourism (which I found a little strange to be honest) called Las Terrazas. The place is a small gorgeous town where they have tiered the landscape for urban environmental development, but there really is no difference in how the people of las Terrazas live or function as a community compared to the rest of Cuba besides the fact that they all depend on the eco-tourism industry. A highlight of Las terrazas included a vegetarian restaurant (an incredible score that we were very excited about). We invited our tour guide to join us, but he declined saying it would just make him want pork after. Las terrazas also had a swimming hole where we watched some locals dare eachother to dive from the ledges.
We also visited a town dedicated to eco-tourism (which I found a little strange to be honest) called Las Terrazas. The place is a small gorgeous town where they have tiered the landscape for urban environmental development, but there really is no difference in how the people of las Terrazas live or function as a community compared to the rest of Cuba besides the fact that they all depend on the eco-tourism industry. A highlight of Las terrazas included a vegetarian restaurant (an incredible score that we were very excited about). We invited our tour guide to join us, but he declined saying it would just make him want pork after. Las terrazas also had a swimming hole where we watched some locals dare eachother to dive from the ledges.
Monday, May 31, 2010
April 20b 2010
Tuesday, the 20th of April marked my last diving adventure (in Cuba : ( ). Our driver (a friend of the previous one) seemed a bit nervous, and when asked, admitted he hadn’t slept much the night before because he was preoccupied with the idea of crabs crossing the road and of flat tires. In any case, we got off to a much earlier start and arrived about two hours earlier than the previous time, taking far fewer crab lives in the process. The visitors from Presbyterian College brought me an underwater camera p’ my request and I couldn’t wait to go. The first dive, honestly, was a bit of a disaster. Everything had gone so swimmingly (sorry! Pun intended) the dive the week before that I wasn’t expecting such setbacks. First I had a hard time equalizing and had to slow my descent considerably. Then, though I didn’t realize it until I surfaced later, I got a bloody nose during the middle of the dive. My underwater camera wasn’t working for me, and I just couldn’t get into the feeling.
An hour later, after a pick me up of some wheat thins I brought from home which I shared with my diving buddies (they thought they were very strangely colored for crackers,’ but… yeah, I’ll take some more…’) I was feeling a bit more optimistic. Coco told me not to worry- we would take a slow descent and the bloody nose was nothing to be concerned about even if it came back during the second dive. At first my ear killed. I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to dive at all to be honest. But with some patience and time, we managed to go down quite a few meters and eventually made it to the terrace edge. This last dive felt really, really solid. I feel like I can control myself and navigate in and around the reef beds. When we were in a patch reef Coco directed our attention to a large barracuda not too far in the distance. We swam slowly up to it, and it watched us with a wide toothy grin. We got about two meters away and I snapped a picture. Then we decided to move on… I was feeling uneasy because I had the inkling that my bloody nose had come back and I could only imagine the starter course a whiff of that might provide this meat loving fish. After we had swum a bit we turned around to see the barracuda had followed us a short ways. The next scene was pretty hilarious. Simultaneously and as if on cue, Katie, Orlando and Coco all pointed at each other. “Take them, not me!”, they signaled to the fish. It left us alone when we couldn’t reach a sacrificial consensus.
The dives were amazing. I hope my pictures came out and I’m so grateful to have had the camera. When I was younger I would dream of having the ability to fly and to my surprise, diving has given me that sensation. I predict I will thrist for flying…or rather, diving this summer. I am going to look into doing it in Portland. We grabbed a sandwich and some ice cream for lunch on the way home and joked with each other on the ride. I am going to miss a lot of Cubans when I leave this place, but my diving team is definitely high on that list.
An hour later, after a pick me up of some wheat thins I brought from home which I shared with my diving buddies (they thought they were very strangely colored for crackers,’ but… yeah, I’ll take some more…’) I was feeling a bit more optimistic. Coco told me not to worry- we would take a slow descent and the bloody nose was nothing to be concerned about even if it came back during the second dive. At first my ear killed. I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to dive at all to be honest. But with some patience and time, we managed to go down quite a few meters and eventually made it to the terrace edge. This last dive felt really, really solid. I feel like I can control myself and navigate in and around the reef beds. When we were in a patch reef Coco directed our attention to a large barracuda not too far in the distance. We swam slowly up to it, and it watched us with a wide toothy grin. We got about two meters away and I snapped a picture. Then we decided to move on… I was feeling uneasy because I had the inkling that my bloody nose had come back and I could only imagine the starter course a whiff of that might provide this meat loving fish. After we had swum a bit we turned around to see the barracuda had followed us a short ways. The next scene was pretty hilarious. Simultaneously and as if on cue, Katie, Orlando and Coco all pointed at each other. “Take them, not me!”, they signaled to the fish. It left us alone when we couldn’t reach a sacrificial consensus.
The dives were amazing. I hope my pictures came out and I’m so grateful to have had the camera. When I was younger I would dream of having the ability to fly and to my surprise, diving has given me that sensation. I predict I will thrist for flying…or rather, diving this summer. I am going to look into doing it in Portland. We grabbed a sandwich and some ice cream for lunch on the way home and joked with each other on the ride. I am going to miss a lot of Cubans when I leave this place, but my diving team is definitely high on that list.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
22 de Abril
The last couple days have truly been a whirlwind of activity. I am getting very concerned about leaving this place so soon. I feel like a quarter of the time, when I’m smooshed into a crevice on the bus, as I leave the grocery store empty handed, or I see a new tourist checking into the hometel, I can’t wait to leave. But the majority of the time it is just the opposite. Today as I rode a maquina to a Cuban friend’s house it struck me just how little time I have left here in this country. While my list of things to do is not very long (drink a mojito- Check! on the malecon-Check!) I have come to the conclusion that I could stay here for an extended period of time and be happy. My time here is running out! I write this fifteen minutes before midnight, after which I will have exactly 11 days left in my study abroad experience. Of course the fact that we filled out course and program evaluations today did not help to give the feeling of longevity to my stay here.
I feel very guilty for getting so behind on this blog. The girls and I recently hosted a few professors and directors from Presbyterian College (the college who runs this study abroad program). I had a similar experience to the time when I sat in on the intermediate Spanish class. We found ourselves explaining the intricacies of Cuban life and culture to these visiting professors of history. While I certainly do not profess to know all there is to know about Cuba (I am SO far from that reality), I felt, to an extent, that I had gained a more profound understanding of how society functions here and it was pretty validating to explain what I do know to our visitors. They also took us out to dinner which was a welcome break from our unvarying meals. Interestingly, we ended up at one of the restaurants we went to during orientation. It was another serendipitous moment to see just how far we have come from our original naivety.
4/18/10
Yesterday I was walking through old Havana with some of the group. Beautiful ladies- a guy called. We tuned it out and kept walking. ‘Ugly ladies!’ he shouted. We looked over our shoulder… excuse me? ‘See, ‘beautiful ladies’ you do nothing’ he said, ‘ugly ladies you turn around’’. He got us. Kudos for wit.
We went to an artisians market (which was huge). I’d really like to buy and bring home a painting. I find, however, that when I’m at the vendors’ stalls and people are trying to get me to buy their goods, I loose all perspective. Why would anyone want to buy this art that they sell at literally every stall here, I wonder. But when I’m home I’ll wonder, ‘god, why didn’t I buy that art, I’ll never have that opportunity again, for sure! In any case, I’m sitting on it- I’ll go back if I need to buy anything.
We went to an artisians market (which was huge). I’d really like to buy and bring home a painting. I find, however, that when I’m at the vendors’ stalls and people are trying to get me to buy their goods, I loose all perspective. Why would anyone want to buy this art that they sell at literally every stall here, I wonder. But when I’m home I’ll wonder, ‘god, why didn’t I buy that art, I’ll never have that opportunity again, for sure! In any case, I’m sitting on it- I’ll go back if I need to buy anything.
April 15th. written in Cuba posted in the US
Normal routine of class, reading, an adventure at the market and cooking dinner today. I think I am becoming a better cook because we’ve gotten sick of eating just rice or just pasta for dinner.
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