Cuba: One month to go!

It’s been a long time since I’ve written, and a lot has happened since you last heard from me. I’ve tried to pick out some points to share. Some are updates on things I wrote about previously, some are exciting pieces of news, and some are random musings. It’s always hard to choose what to write about here, so if there’s anything particular you want to know about, you should leave a comment/send a message and give me some inspiration.

1.

Our trip west:

From October 20-27th, we traveled to the western part of the island. We saw Las Terrazas, Viñales, Pinar del Rio and Maria la Gorda. The western part of the island is much greener than Havana or the eastern provinces, and it was beautiful, especially in Viñales. In Viñales, we went horseback riding. We paid seven convertible pesos for a ninety-minute ride. When we paid our guide, we tried to tip him one peso per person, but he accepted only half of it, saying, “We certainly don’t want to be poorer, but we also don’t need to be rich.” That was an eye-opener. Viñales is very much in el campo, the countryside, and the communities there are significantly poorer than in Havana or other tourist destinations. However, I found the socialist and nationalist sentiment to be much stronger there than in Havana. There are pro-Castro and anti-Bush/imperialism/capitalism signs outside every house, and there seemed to be more political participation and awareness. Municipal elections were taking place, and we visited a polling place. The women in charge there informed us that they were one person short of 100 percent participation. To be honest, I’m of the opinion that Havana is not socialist. But when our campesino horse guide refused our money, it was a very humbling reminder of what’s supposed to be happening in this country.

2.

La perrita:

A few people have asked for an update on the puppy I wrote about in one of my earlier entries. After a couple weeks of peacefully existing in the bathtub of one of our rooms, la perrita was discovered by the hotel staff. Luckily, we were able to find her a home just a few blocks from our professor’s house. In the few days before she was discovered, we had been thinking about names for the puppy. In the end couldn’t come up with a significant, meaningful name before we had to give her away. She arrived at her new home nameless. Yoanna, the little girl whose responsibility she became, squealed with delight when she saw her, and then promptly named her Princesa. The irony kills me.

Last week we checked up on Princesa. She’s huge! She used to fit in my tennis shoe, but now she’s the size of a big miniature pincer. Her ears, which used to be small and floppy, now stick straight up. They’re huge. She’s actually pretty ugly. So ugly that she’s really cute.

3.

My 21st birthday:

On the 29th of last month, I turned 21. It was fairly anti-climactic. I had a wine and cheese party with a dress code. It was a very classy affair. I had my first alcoholic drink!

4.

1,2,3,4 I Love the Marine Corps!:

We finally met some other Americans. Who are they? The twelve U.S. Marines stationed here to guard the U.S. Interest Section (our pretend embassy). A group of students from my trip went to the Interest Section to interview some of the diplomats, and they met a few of the Marines. They really wanted to hang out with us, and they invited us to a party at their house. Cuba is the only “non-fraternization” Marine post in the world, which means the Marines stationed here aren’t allowed to develop any kind of relationship with any Cubans. The twelve Marines here right now are friends with each other and with the diplomats working in the Interest Section, but they don’t have interaction with anyone else. They’re our age, and I think they’re pretty tired of hanging out with the diplomats, who are all over thirty.

The following Saturday we took them up on the party invitation. The Marines’ “house” turned out to be a compound. They have a swimming pool, a tennis court, a volleyball court, and a sixty-inch flat screen television that receives American cable channels via satellite. Walking into the compound was like walking into the U.S. I might go so far as to say it was like walking into a frat house in the U.S. The open bar suggested to me that the beer was on Uncle Sam. Thanks for filing your taxes!

Being at that party and interacting with the Marines was an introduction to the reverse culture shock I’m expecting to experience when I get home. Everything was so American—maybe by “American” I mean “excessive.” I’m still processing the whole experience; maybe I’ll write more about it later.

5.

The Internet:

Do you know how lucky you and I are that we can communicate this way? If you’re reading this, you’re probably at least a little bit like I was until I arrived here—you take the Internet for granted. I know, I know, you don’t like to admit it, but you do. How convenient is it that you can look up movie times or bus schedules with just the click of a button? If you’re completely directionally incompetent like me, you may or may not have downloaded the Google Maps desktop assistant to save you driving time, frustration, and embarrassment in all those times you “forget” which way is north. I won’t even talk about online library catalogs or Match.com. But how about e-mail?!? How wonderful is that invention?!? Let’s be honest: we both know that you have avoided calling someone you don’t really want to talk to by sending him/her an e-mail instead. And you’ve hardly thought twice about it, right? And what about keeping in touch with people far away? How nice is it when your relatives send you an e-mail, just to say hello? (Be careful they’re not just avoiding talking to you on the phone!) Constant, dependable (and now wireless!) Internet has changed your life.

Last week, I spent too much time researching and writing about Internet access in Cuba. I have a lot to say about the subject, so instead of writing about it here, I’ve posted my paper online. I’m not particularly proud of this paper—it’s definitely not the best thing I’ve ever written, I’m not sure that I’m actually arguing anything, and a few of my sources are less than objective (like the Miami Herald, for example). However, it should give you an overview of the Internet situation here. If you’re interested, you can read it here .

6.

Field work:

Now that my research paper is finished, I can move on to my second project for the semester. Over the next month, I’ll be researching paladares, or the private restaurants Cubans run out of their homes. I’ll be conducting interviews with owners and diners and observing the restaurant scene. I intend to conduct my field work as what anthropologists call a “participant-observer,” which basically means that I intend to eat.

By doing my fieldwork on paladares I’ll be learning about government-sanctioned private enterprise in this socialist country, where “illicit enrichment” is illegal. I’ve done some research on paladares, and have learned that during the “Special Period” (a euphemism for the severe economic depression in Cuba following the fall of the Soviet Union), the regime legalized 124 categories of private enterprise. Private restaurants were on the list of permitted businesses. They are still legal today, even though the “Special Period” is over and Cuba is making an economic comeback.

The majority of paladar patrons are tourists. Paladares charge in Convertible Pesos, which means their owners have access to the more valuable of Cuba’s two currencies. Many paladar owners are doctors, lawyers, or other government employees that otherwise have no interaction with tourists and thus no access to Convertible Pesos.

Because owning a paladar could potentially be very lucrative in Cuba’s expanding tourist economy, the government has imposed strict regulations on the restaurants. Owners must pay heavy licensing fees and monthly income taxes that can nearly eliminate profit, and the state can revoke a paladar’s license without justification. The laws concerning paladares are in place to prevent what the government calls “illicit enrichment.” I’m trying to stay objective, but based on the research I’ve done and the meals I’ve eaten in both government restaurants and paladares, I’m inclined to say that the state is not as concerned with discouraging capitalism as it is with quelling the competition for tourists’ money. Cubans have told me I “think too much like a capitalist”—maybe that’s what’s happening here. However, I suspect that the state would prefer all tourists to eat in government restaurants, where all their money goes directly to the state.

We shall see.

7.

My newest friend in Congress:

On Saturday afternoon I enjoyed a mojito on the patio of the Hotel Nacional with Jim McDermott, one of Washington State’s representatives. My friend Jacob’s aunt is a latinoamericanista who specializes in Cuba. She’s spent a lot of time here and knows a lot of people, including a member of McDermott’s entourage named Sarah. Jacob’s aunt suggested to Sarah that she give us a call during their stay, and she did! On Saturday afternoon four of us met Sarah, Jim, and two others at the Hotel Nacional. They bought us drinks and talked with us for an hour and a half or so. Jim (am I allowed to call a congressman by his first name?) talked to us about the purpose of his stay in Cuba (he’s looking into Cuba’s AIDS programs), about his work to end the embargo, and about his efforts to bring Castro to Seattle. Mostly, though, he wanted to hear from us.

He asked each of us to tell him the most profound thing we’ve learned so far. I talked to him about Cuba’s two-currency system and the racism I’ve seen here, two themes that still have me completely bewildered. I sat next to him and talked to him one-on-one for twenty minutes or so while the Jacob, Laura, and Danny chatted with Sarah and the other two men in her group. I was impressed with how interested he was in the things I was telling him. It was completely flattering to feel like I was teaching him something. He had never seen a Cuban peso, so I showed him one and gave him a quick explanation of its value inside and outside of Cuba. He asked me to exchange some money for him, since he collects foreign currency. I gave him a bill of each denomination, so he got to take home all of the national heroes in his wallet. We talked about the importance of studying abroad in developing countries and how doing so would change my life. It was a really wonderful conversation. When he left, he gave me his card and took my e-mail address to add to his not-junk mail list. I’m hoping he won’t easily forget the college student from Seattle who he met in Havana.

That’s what I have for now. Hopefully, you’ll hear more from me soon. I expect to be making many discoveries in the next month, and I’ll try to write about them as soon as I can.

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