| Hotel Havana Libre, Tuesday, April 5, 2005, 7:20 pm | | | | Pedro and I walked through the old town and of |
| Yesterday I had to sign up for my Spanish course at | | | | course along the Malecon (the seafront boulevard) |
| the University of Havana. The Campus of the | | | | and saw the beautiful Plaza Vieja and the Plaza de la |
| University is an astoundingly beautiful collection of | | | | Catedral where a mass was being held for the |
| classical buildings and a Cuban tank graces the | | | | passing of Pope John Paul II. |
| entrance to the library. | | | | This was very interesting, since Cuba is a Communist |
| At 9 am all the foreign students, about 40 of them, | | | | / official atheist country and there are much fewer |
| met in the Edificio Varona and we were shepherded | | | | Catholics today than before the Revolution. Actually |
| by various professors into a very antiquated lecture | | | | much of Cuba´s religion is a mixture of |
| hall. (By the way, of the 5 or 6 washroom stalls in | | | | Catholicism and Santeria (religious practices of the |
| the women´s bathroom, only 1 or 2 have toilets | | | | African slaves). Regardless of religiousness, Cuba has |
| in them, no toilet seats, and no running water in the | | | | declared a 3-day "duelo nacional" (a national mourning |
| sinks. Again a sign of rather run-down infrastructure...) | | | | period for the Pope) and the mass was attended by |
| There they told us about the program, but only in | | | | hundreds of people. |
| Spanish, which was okay for me, since I speak | | | | Pedro and I then had a nice meal in the "Barrio Chino" |
| Spanish, but about half the group was completely | | | | (Havana's Chinatown) for 5.60 CUC (less than US$6) |
| lost. We then had to do a quick written placement | | | | for 2 people and 2 vegetarian meals and soft drinks. |
| test to assess our existing Spanish skills and then the | | | | After a nice dinner he again flagged down a local |
| bureaucracy began. | | | | private car driver and gave him about 1 CUC for |
| We found out that we needed the following | | | | picking us up and dropping us off at my Hotel. At |
| documents: | | | | midnight I dropped into bed, exhausted. |
| - a copy of our passports | | | | However, at 4 am this morning I awoke with major |
| - an official copy of the hotel guest card and/or a | | | | intestinal problems. Apparently my Chinese meal had |
| copy of the licence of the private Casa Particular | | | | not become me so well and I had serious digestive |
| - 200 CUC (Convertible Cuban Pesos) in cash for a | | | | issues emanating from both sides of my body. This |
| 2-week course or more for other courses | | | | morning I realy felt rotten and I ended up using my |
| - 40 CUC for changing our tourist visa to an | | | | own medical kit for the first time and took some |
| academic visa (in fiscal stamps which we had to | | | | Immodium. |
| obtain abuot 5 km away) | | | | I was unable to eat breakfast, but I made my way |
| - 2 passport photos | | | | to the university where at 9 am our classes started. |
| - 25 CUC in cash to expedite our academic visa if we | | | | Surprisingly the placement test had put me into the |
| are in town for only 2 weeks. | | | | level of "perfeccionamiento", the highest level and the |
| I linked up with a bunch of foreign students and we | | | | level of Spanish in my class was indeed very high. |
| headed off together on our quest to fulfill the Cuban | | | | The class consists of 7 students, a young woman |
| desire for Burocratismo. We first obtained cash at | | | | from England, a young female medical student from |
| bank at the Hotel Havana Libre, then got the | | | | Denmark, a middle-aged female doctor from Finland, |
| passport pictures done (to be ready for pickup 3 | | | | a young male law student from Sweden, a young |
| hours later), then searched for the other bank on | | | | woman and man from Norway and myself from |
| Calle 23 that would provide us with the 40CUC | | | | Austria/Canada. |
| stamps for the academic visa. With extremely long | | | | Obviuosly there is a very heavy Scandinavian slant in |
| lineups everywhere, this took us about 2 or 3 hours. | | | | my class and it seems everyone in the class is a |
| Then we got really hungry and we were approached | | | | hobby sociologist, political scientist, environmentalist |
| by a local "Jinetero" (restaurant tout) who promised | | | | and historian. We asked some rather tough questions |
| us a complete meal with main dish, salad and side dish | | | | about Cuban life, the political system, the economic |
| for 6 or 7 CUC. We walked with him, only to find out | | | | hardships, the double economy, the situation of |
| that the wait at the Paladar (private restaurant) | | | | women and blacks in Cuba, machismo and the |
| would be about 45 minutes to even sit down, not | | | | situation of the environment. |
| including food preparation time. | | | | Some of these questions made our female professor |
| So we walked up Calle 21 and a private restaurant | | | | feel extremely uncomfortable and it seemed like she |
| owner approached us for a meal and we gave in and | | | | was squirming under the barrage of probing political |
| came inside. It was a beautiful colonial villa, except | | | | and sociological questions. She got very defensive a |
| that the guest room with is obligatory 3 tables and | | | | few times about the Cuban system and only after |
| 12 seats was in a dark small dingy room completely | | | | we discussed the good and bad aspects of European |
| without windows. | | | | and Canadian societies did she loosen up a bit and |
| However, we had a delicious home-cooked meal, I | | | | become a bit more open and frank about the real |
| had roasted chicken with rice & beans, salad and a | | | | Cuban life. It seems that to this day Cubans have to |
| lemon soft drink, all for 8 CUC (about 8 US$). 2 of | | | | be very careful about what they say in public. |
| my student colleagues were from Germany and the | | | | For example, she frankly admitted that racism still |
| other fellow is from Toronto as well, but originally | | | | exists in Cuba and to this day it is still a country with |
| from Poland. We had some great conversations and | | | | a lot of machismo. However, she did not admit that |
| it was interesting linking up with a bunch of | | | | Internet access and access to non-Communist media |
| Europeans in Havana. | | | | is forbidden for Cubans, she simply explained it as an |
| After a brief rest in the hotel, my friend Pedro again | | | | economic issue. (Several of my colleagues had heard |
| picked me up in the evening and I couldn´t help | | | | otherwise in their travels in Cuba, simply that a Cuban |
| but tell him about my experience with the Cocotaxi | | | | is not allowed to have access to the Internet). She |
| driver yesterday, who had tried to pick me up, | | | | also admitted that it is not allowed for Cubans to visit |
| despite my clarifications and statements that I was | | | | the tourist areas of the Cayos (e.g. Cayo Coco) |
| married and not interested in any amorous activities. | | | | which is exclusively reserved for tourists and Cubans |
| Pedro explained that sexual relations in Cuba are a | | | | have no access to that area whatsoever, a definite |
| relatively common, easy-going thing and that it is | | | | point of contention among the locals. |
| very common for people to link up for quick | | | | Class ended about 1:20 and my upset stomach did |
| "meaningful overnight relationships". He referred to | | | | not allow me to intake any food. I headed back to |
| the Cuban people as very "passionate and | | | | my hotel, slept a little and have been on the Internet |
| hot-blooded", I guess that explains a couple of the | | | | for the past 2 or so hours (racking up a bill of about |
| advances that I have been receiving so far, | | | | $US 20.00 or s0), documenting my trip. |
| particularly since there is also quite a lot of sex | | | | It´'ll be a quiet evening tonight since I am trying |
| tourism where men (and even women) come to | | | | to settle down my stomach. But I am sure the |
| Cuba to engage in easily available erotic experiences. | | | | adventures and the learning will continue tomorrow. |