Mar 2006

I haven´t gone anywhere except Holguin since I came back from Havana so all I can write about are thoughts, feelings and observations that my time here has given me. And I apologize if anything I saw is a repeat f another blog entry.

Things I´ve learned while in Cuba:
-one bucket full of water is plenty to wash and rinse with (including the hair). That leads me to think about how much water we waste in Canada!
-We were misled...roosters do not only crow in the morning. They do it all night long too! Did I mention that I now dislike roosters very much? I did go to a coq fight last weekend. Couldn´t pass up the opportunity to see one at least once in my life. It wasn´t as vicious as I had imagined. And I wasn´t as upset as I thought I´d be. I was in fact a little numb. I wonder if Cuba is doing that to me? It was interesting though to see and hear the crowd cheer though. They loved it! Animals aren´t worth much in Cuba. But I guess that´s understandable as they have bigger problems. Haven´t seen a dog fight. I think THAT would definatately upset me.
-Baby goats, although very cute, are extremely stupid and Í´m surprised there are any left since they have a lot of trouble crossing the road without getting killed. I was in a car that ran one over and the very next day, I was in another vehicle that almost ran one over. And goat, tastes like beef not like chicken.
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I saw an ad (propaganada) on TV the other day and I burst out laughing. It was an anti-Bush ad (don´t get me wrong, I hate Bush as much as the next sane person) that finished by saying "Thankfully, we live in Cuba Libre" Hd to laugh because Cuba is many things but libre isn´t one of them. The more I stay here the more I want to leave. This place is insane. Everything is controlled. I thought it was pretty bad that people couldn´t leave. Yeah that sucks. And I thought it was a violation of freedom that a cop can just stop as you´re walking down the street for no reason, ask to see your id (a special card which you must have when you leave your house. If not, you risk 3 days in jail) and confiscate a walk-man from you if they feel like it. Yeah, that´s annoying but at least there are benefits. I´ve been to other parts of Ltin America and it´s worse there for the poor. So I thought it sucked but at least they got something for it. But now...I find it crazy. It is illegal for Alex and I to be together since we are not married. The government can summon you and send you to work in another country for 6 months and there´s nothing you can say about it (they´re doing that a lot with doctors and medical professionals). Your house that you somehow managed to acquire with you meager salary isn´t yours. Tomorrow the government can decide that it wants it and it can take it. Like I´ve said, it´s illegal for foreigners to stay at a Cuban´s house. And if caught, the Cuban goes to jail. The governent, in an attempt to save energy, is FORCING everybody to change their refrigerators and tvs and stoves. These things cost about 12 000 pesos. A good salary in Cuba is 500 pesos per month. If yu do the math, it doesn´t add up. The low salaries is why most Cubans are involved in the black market. Everything can be had that way. That´s a way to make ends meet and they don´t feel it´s wrong since they´re stealing from the government. But now that government is cracking down on the black market so things are harder to come by, things cost more, people have less income...and at the same time they have to buy all these expensive things.´Again, I´m all for energy efficiency but this is rediculous!

Speaking of the black market, what aboput those cigars? I´ve learned a lot about cigars while I´ve been here. And yes, you can get real cigars on the street. Of course you can also get bad ones but it´s not true that all cigars sold outside of the stores are fake. Just remember who is pushing that idea and what they lose if you buy from the Cubans directly. And I´m not saying that the reps ayt the hotel who tell you this are lying to you. I think thewy actually believe it. But remember, the government allows these hotels to be here and make money. It´s easy, everybody in the cigar chain gets a small cut to get the cigars out of the factory. That´s how it works. It´s not brain surgery. I´ll share with you what I´ve learned about cigars.

Apparently, the banana leaf thing is a myth. The bad cigars are not banada leaves but cigars made for Cubans. They have these cheap cigars here that they sell to Cubans for 25pesos (about 1cuc) for 25. These get passed off as Cohibas or MonteCristo. Or, another thing that is done, they roll cigars with little tobacco bits as opposed to larger leaves. When you buy a box of cigars, look to see that all cigars are approximately the same color. Check both levels of the box. Tobacco color varies but a box should be all the same color more or less. Apparently, the odor is unique but I couldn´t find out more since it´s difficult to explain how it would be different to someone who knows nothing of cigars. I figure that cigar connaiseurs will be able to tell. Check the cigars by rolling them between your fingers. If the were made with those little bits of tobacco that I mentions abve, they will fall apart at the center. The tobacco leaves should also have some veins (obviously) but not too many. If you buy a box and want to check your cigars, once you light a cigar, put the lit end in you mouth and blow out. Plenty of smoke should come out. If not, the cigars were rolled too tightly. Once it´s burning, a good cigar should burn pretty much evenly all the way around and the ash should but light grey. Bad cigars will have black ash. The ash should also not fall off easily as the cigar is burning. Anyways, I hope that helps. Just be careful but it is possible to get good tobacco outside the stores.

Another interesting thing about Cuba is the relationship between men and women. I guess things are different here from other parts of Latin America since religion isn´t influencial here. People here don´t tend to get "married". They live common-law although they call this married. They are very liberal when it comes to being with someone then being with someone else when it doesn´t work anymore. So, unlike the rest of Latin America, mistresses are a no no here (or if you do, keep it quiet). Cubans don´t have religion hanging over their heads telling them that they got married and it´s for life (or else they will burn in hell). It also makes for intersting families. Some people here are very white, others darker and others black. All this mixing means that you can have brothers or sisters that look nothing alike.

Cuban couples are also very affectionate with each other. I find it very cute to see couples all lovey-dovey sitting on a park bench. In young people, that´s not too surprising but when the couple looks like they´re in their 50ies or 60ies, it´s cute! Of course, like I said above, this could be a new couple.

I´ll be leaving the island soon. Next week I´m going to Havana and then on to Mexico. Alex starts to train (cycling) on April 3rd. I´ll be looking for work in Mexico. If I don´t find any, expect me back home shortly. If I do find work, then I´m thinking of coming for a visit towards the end of the summer. I have to say that my idea of Cuba has, not changed, but become more 3-D. What I thought of Cuba before is still true but now I just have more insight and understanding, which is why I don´t ever want to live here. It´s not the difficult living conditions or the transportation problems. It´s the fact that the government must control everything and everybody that drives me crazy. If it weren´t for that, this would be a beautifulk place to live. I do plan on coming back for a visit (or many visits) but I now know that I could not live here, not at this time anyway. I´ll keep all of you posted, probably from Mexico.