1/27/10

(dr. McKelvey outside with us at the University of Habana)

This morning I was worried I might feel sick again- but I got up and went out with the group anyway. We experimented by taking the bus into town to the University campus, where Spanish classes will be held starting next week. The bus costs five cents per person and is quite crowded! The first time we tried to get on, we failed epically, and where literally halfway out the door when it started driving away. The got on the next one though! The University is so nice- it is very pretty. I’m worried about the classes that I’m taking independently however, previously unbeknownst to me, I will be the ONLY student in my marine bio classes. I am really unhappy about this fact. I feel like all I can do about it now is wait and see how it goes. Then we ate lunch and then were given the assignment of finding a restaurant, market, store, monument and entertainment venue to experience and discover on our own. It was fine, lots of ‘linda’ comments, and whistling- but I’m actually surprised by the lack of machismo. I think it would be a lot worse if the other two girls weren’t more the ‘cuban type’. One is blonde haired and blue-eyed, and the other has curves and is mistaken for Cuban pretty frequently.

Anyway, I still wasn’t feeling 100% so we decided to get back to our hotel. Thus, this afternoon, I took my first ride in a maquina (a “machine”- basically the old American cars that growl their way through the city like the big metallic containers they are). It was so much fun! You wave the driver down, and shortly tell him the direction you are going and he’ll tell you yes, or he’ll drive off, aka, No!. It costs about $1 American to get from the center of the city to the Playa neighborhood where we will be staying. My first Maquina: old Pontiac frame, sea green with white rims, fenders and roof. Old jeep steering wheel. A real light bulb for the internal light, old speedometer that took up a quarter of the dashboard with big white numbers and an old fashioned stereo radio system with a newer radio attached below like a taxi meter would be.
Feelings: Wondering how I’m going to find a routine in this city