Shopping

Sorry for not posting last week, I forgot. This past week I attempted to do some shopping for clothing and things. That was truly an insightful experience. For starters in a lot of stores things are kept behind counters and you must ask for the item to see it. It is not odd for only one size to be there or for things to be made of unknown stretchy Lycra type fabrics. It seemed that very few things were made of cotton like fabrics. I was a little surprised at the prices of many things as well. Shirts cost I would say on average $14 each and were of poor quality. I tried to think of who could afford to buy these clothes, because making only about $12 a month would not leave enough to buy clothing at these prices. It is no wonder that consignment shops full of discarded clothing from wealthier countries are so popular. I once heard here that at many of the rallies and celebrations put on by the state, like Fidel’s birthday or celebrating the triumph of the revolution, give free t-shirts to people. At first my thought was ‘ok so what, who cares about a free shirt’ but now I realize that when clothing is so expensive a free shirt is something that people would want and therefore would go to events if only just to get the shirt. It really does put a question mark on how much the people actually do support the government sponsored rallies and events. Are most people there for the free shirt or there for the actual celebration?

Classes here are starting to get more interesting. We are beginning to discuss topics which are from the first few years of the Revolution. For example how the state implemented new housing initiatives, land reform and education initiatives. One of my professors, Rosa, was thirteen when the literacy campaign began. The literacy campaign basically sent students to small towns and other cities to teach older people as well as younger people how to read and write. She was sent to work in the Oriente province and taught not only the elders of the village to read but also the young children who attended school but often without a teacher. At the time there was a shortage of teachers and professionals, due to the influx in emigration to the United States soon after the triumph of the Revolution. She described a scene where children traveled miles to attend a multi-grade school where many days their teacher could simply not come due to the distance she needed to travel. She did not live in the town and was ‘imported’ from a larger town a few hours away. Therefore although children attended school it was not a guarantee that they would become literate or receive proper education. She described how at an early age teenagers were needed to teach others and to help in agricultural campaigns throughout the island. Today although there are many teachers, there is still a shortage. It is not uncommon to turn on the TV and have one of the few channels having a televised history class or language study course on during the day, for students in Havana school who may not have an actual teacher for the class. What I wonder is how do they ask questions and get clarification on subjects? There is no actual teacher at the school but rather one in a television studio which may be miles away. How can people be properly educated? Hopefully later this week when our group visits what is called Ciudad Libertad, which is basically a city that is a school, some of these questions can be answered.

Cojimar

March 11, 2007

This past week was very eventful. Last Tuesday my Spanish class went to visit our professor at her house. After spending about 1 hour getting there on the public bus, which was an experience, we first took a tour of the town. She lives in a small town outside Havana called Cojimar. It faces the ocean and is where Ernest Hemingway met a local fisherman who later became the inspiration for the Old Man and the Sea. At first the town looks like any average Cuban town. Fairly beat up looking modest homes with small gardens in the front. However as we toured the area I began to notice some homes were more damaged than others. My professor, Ivis, explained that in Hurricane Michelle had destroyed many homes in the area and they were unable to rebuild them fully when a few years later Hurricane Wilma arrived and destroyed more of the town. Along the seacoast the damage was obvious. The entire block of homes which once had a beautiful ocean view were now almost completely flattened. The remnants of the seawall which once helped to protect the town were almost invisible due to the damage. Along the coast there was simply a large patch of land which was scattered with stones and slabs on concrete. Almost two years after Hurricane Wilma the damage was still visible and looked as if it had just occurred. As we continued our tour the pattern of damaged buildings, buildings with faded paint chipping off its sides also continued. Ivis told us of how during the 1994 immigration crisis, when the Cuban government essentially encouraged people who wanted to go to the US to do so from certain locations, people left from Cojimar in hopes of reaching the US. She described that people would basically leave on makeshift rafts, hundreds each day, and hope that some family/friend from the US would pick them up in a boat at some point during their journey. She told us that Cojimar is one of the closest bays to the Florida Keys and therefore many people leave on rafts for the US from Cojimar. That day as we walked around Cojimar I couldn’t help but look out to the ocean, which had five meter waves due to the change in weather, and try to imagine what it would be like to just jump into the water with a raft made of whatever floats with my family and try and make it to the US. Looking at the water and seeing how quickly sea conditions can change, it is incredibly hard for me to imagine doing something like that. Having been in Cuba for almost two months, I have yet to see anyone living in a condition that I would trade for a raft and the ocean. Although conditions in 1994 at the height of the Cuban Special Period were recognizably different than today, in terms of economic hardship, it is still hard to fathom being desperate enough to leave in such a way.

After our tour of Cojimar we met with one of Ivis’ neighbors, an old man who was almost 80 years old. He lived in a modest home with very little modernization. His roof was built of metal sheeting, and his walls were cinderblock. He had a small garden and a pen of probably about 50 goats next to his home. There were chickens roaming freely throughout the garden and inside the home. He was old and weathered and it was clear that he had not lived an easy life. His hands looked hardened my labor and his eyes were deep set and tired. As part of our Spanish class we were told in interview him about his life. He grew up in the countryside in Oriente (the eastern part of the island). His family was not wealthy and they led a very hard life. In 1957 he joined the rebel army which at the time had only a year before started their fight against Batista’s army. He was placed in under the direct command of Fidel Castro and fought side by side with him in the Sierra Maestra. He described ‘El Jefe’ as a strong leader, a nice man, who tended to look out for others. As he spoke it was obvious that he was very proud to have served in the army and had the highest respect for Fidel Castro. We asked him if he personally knew any of the other leaders in the army at the time. He knew some like Camilo Cienfuegos, and described him in great detail as being a man who made everything seem easy. Nothing seemed to be hard for him. As the man continued to speak about his life it became obvious that he was deeply affected by the triumph of the revolution in 1959. He explained how the ideas of the revolution changed the country and how proud he was for the opportunity to fight for the change. He showed us photos of him in his military uniform at a young age, as well as a certificate from Fidel Castro. It was incredibly interesting to talk to him about his experiences during the revolution and get his view on what it means to him. We all think it was a rare opportunity to meet someone who had not only fought in the revolution but who personally knew great leaders of the time.

As we left to go back to Havana, I couldn’t help but try and think of how few people alive in the US that could say that they have fought for real change within the country. There are people who have fought ideological battles in Congress and hold rallies which sometimes promote change, but I could not come up with a case where radical change occurred due to a struggle of the masses and military battle.

This past week we also started to have Salsa lessons with dancers in the National Modern Dance Company. We take our classes in there rehearsal space that the National Theatre of Cuba. They are extremely nice and try very hard to understand that Americans just don’t have the same internal rhythm of Cubans. Our first class consisted of basic movements which were slowly complicated throughout the hour. Let’s just say that Salsa is a lot harder than it looks. I was very impressed by the ease that our instructors danced Salsa, especially since they claim to have not had Salsa classes. We shall see how we progress in the next few weeks.

Las Terrazas

March 5, 2007

In the 1970s there was a small community in the Piñar del Rio province in the Western part of Cuba that developed in a biosphere reserve named Las Terrazas. This past Saturday my culture class visited the small now touristy area. The small village is made of small homes built on terraces on the side of a mountain and initially was built to be self sufficient although it never gained the status. Today the village relies on tourism for its lively hood. What is most interesting about the region is that the village was built with respect to the nature around it. Trees will be part of the buildings are open ventilation and cultivation of plants is encouraged. The main attraction to the village is its eco friendliness. Before we left I was very excited to go since the concept of eco tourism interests me. However I was surprised when I arrived and saw that the village totally relies on tourist revenue. It was different than I had expected. Here in the middle of mountains was a small village completely protected in the woods which invites tourists in basically to show them a good time. There were numerous bars, boating docks, trails, restaurants, and a small hotel for tourists to stay at. There was even a small zip line in order to show people an aerial view of the village. The whole thing seemed like a good idea in concept but has in my opinion turned into a village built only for tourists and has lost the initial ideas behind it. The area is far from self sufficient as it had once aspired to be. It is sad that a beautiful place can not be simply lived in but needs to be exploited in order to survive.