Lessons in Havana

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I’ve been in Havana for the past week, learning Spanish, and much more besides.

Cuba is a country which has long fascinated me. It is somewhere which really does look unique in the modern world. Given that Mr Castro does not look in good health, it seems to be about to undergo some change or other pretty soon so I think now is the time to come and see.

I’ve managed to get three weeks off work (yay!) and have booked a Spanish course for my first week, and then I’m going to travel freestyle for the other two.

I arrived by Virgin Atlantic’s new direct flight from London. OK flight. I had a window seat, but it had no window so I missed seeing the Bahamas.

Immigration was as good as could be expected. The Cuban’s kindly do not stamp your passport (in case you want to visit the USA later). Future travellers may like to note that stating my accommodation as the most expensive hotel in Havana was sound advice. I pre-booked my course and my first week via a UK-based company and would have had difficult questions if I’d put down the address of my home stay.

But it did take an hour to get my luggage off the carousel!

I’m staying in a private house in Miramar, a western suburb of Havana. The taxi ride revealed that Cubans really do use old American cars. And horses and carts - on the motorway!

I arrived at the address which had been booked for me. After introductions, the owners told me that there was no water, due to a leak (quite common here apparently) so they’d arranged for me to go and stay with their friends a couple of streets away instead.

Geraldo arrived in his clapped out pre-1990 Lada to take me the two streets to his apartment.

The next day, I got up at 7am. Cuban bedrooms do not conventionally have windows, so I had to look at the clock to find out if it was day or night.

My language school is only five minutes walk from the house. I’m getting one-to-one lessons for five mornings. My teacher is called Débora and is a little kooky, but very enthusiastic. I’ve been finding the Cuban accent difficult to get used to and have also been struggling to regain my levels of last year. I suppose that’s hardly surprising when I haven’t spoken any Spanish for twelve months...

The school is mainly full of German, Swiss and Dutch students. I had lunch with Thomas, a German, originally from Leipzig.

We had a very interesting conversation about his upbringing in East Germany (he was 22 when the “wall” fell) and contrasting that with what we’ve seen of Cuba today.
He felt that East Germany was a country where no one starved and there was basic free healthcare and education. Crime was low, there was no unemployment and the state looked after people’s basic needs.

However, it was also somewhere where you could not criticise the government. People knew what they could and couldn’t do or say. What’s more, force was used to suppress descent. It was not until the collapse of the system that we found out just how extensive the police state was.

He says he got annoyed when telling people he was coming to Cuba and them spouting stuff at him about “Revolution”.

That evening, I read “Granma”, the “Official Organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba”. Together with “Juventud Revelde” (“Rebel Youth”), these are just about the only papers allowed in Cuba. They display a very narrow view of the world.


Granma on the 29th October 2006 contained:

• ”Reaction” by the World’s media to pictures published the previous day of the ailing Fidel (including the Earth-Shattering “New Pictures of Castro” from the BBC)
  
• The re-election of President Lula in Brazil
  
• Evo Morales just about to nationalise hydrocarbons in Bolivia
  
• The head of the Cuban Parliament visits Belarus (and spouts some new “friendship” initiative)
  

The TV news featured

• News about more bombs in Iraq
  
• Some stuff about the ongoing negotiations between the UN and Iran over its nuclear programme
  
• A very long article about Cuban doctors providing Health Care to Haiti and Bolivia
  

There was not necessarily anything factually incorrect in that, but there is a most definite agenda there which I was to see time and time again over the next three weeks:


*Fidel is great (and don’t worry, he’s still alive and will be back with us soon)
*There is now a “tendency” towards left wing governments in Latin America and Cuba is part of it
*We have relations with other countries (even if they amount to nothing more than some boring meeting between politicians and even if countries are other “international pariahs”)
*The USA is Evil
*Cuba is doing great stuff in the world with its medical aid programmes (whether the country can afford it is never asked)


My friend Jan spent a couple of months in Cuba earlier this year (as a medical student) and advised me to bring soap and pain killers as these are in short supply. I gave them to my hosts and they were well received.

The following day was Halloween. I only noticed that evening when I wrote my diary. They certainly wouldn’t celebrate an imperialist “Yanqui” festival like that here (unlike in Chile - see A short time in a long country)! But my day turned out to be far more interesting than Halloween!

Débora is very nice, but definitely loca!

My class was supposed to finish at 11, when she had her next student (a Swiss girl called Lisa). I was told to stay in my seat and she took a class with both of us together. I felt rather embarrassed as Lisa was paying for one-to-one and didn’t seem to be getting much chance to speak. Lisa said she didn’t mind and I was too scared to say no. But I later found out that Débora got into trouble for it.

Anyway, I’d previously agreed to go with Débora to near her house to get my hair cut. I was definitely up for getting to know locals better so was keen.

Over lunch, I visited the local Cadeca to buy my first Pesos Nacionlaes.

Now, it’s relevant to explain a bit of background information here. There are two currencies in Cuba. Firstly, you have Pesos Nacionales (sometimes know as “Pesos Cubanos”) which I will denote as “Ps”. This is what local people earn if they work for the government. Then, you have Convertible Pesos (CUC - doesn’t stand for anything as far as I can make out). These are fixed as 1CUC = 24Ps. Until 2004, US dollars were commonplace and pegged at 1CUC = 1USD, but now USD are banned as a currency of use. 1CUC is now fixed at USD1.08 and furthermore if you change USD at bureau de change, you get whacked by an extra surcharge.

Terminology gets really confusing. Local people will talk about “doláres” and mean CUC. “Peso” or “Peso Cubano” will sometimes mean Ps or CUC, you have to guess from the context.

If you buy something in Ps, you will pay very cheap prices. If you pay CUC, you are likely to pay the same prices you’d pay in Europe or even more. However, apart from very basic items, there is not much you can buy with Ps. This applies to local people as well as tourists and Cuba is becoming divided by who has access to CUC and who does not.

Well, at 2:30 pm, I met Débora and we took the bus (or guagua as they call it here).

This is quite a big deal actually. Bus routes and timetables are not published and are a bit impenetrable for tourists. There is an etiquette at bus stops where people do not stand in line, but ask who is next for a particular bus. We caught the “P1”, which took us from Miramar, under the tunnel to Vedado. The bus was really packed!

Débora’s flat is in a large block. It is very small and is basically one large room with a mezzanine floor and a spiral staircase. It has no window at all.

She has a computer in her flat. It belongs to a university where she also teaches and is currently working towards a PhD.

The computer was donated by the British Council and Débora says she’s happy that Britain is now a friendly nation to Cuba (unlike in the days of pirates like Francis Drake)!

She’s using the computer to write a book to teach Spanish to foreigners. She showed it to me and I was able to help her with renaming files and tried to sort out some problems she was having (I couldn’t due to a dodgy lock down).

My hair cut cost only 5Ps (Yes, that’s about 10p!) and I gave a 1Ps tip (hey, that’s 20%!).

Débora lives with her son Cristóbal. He’s about my age and is divorced.

I took the guagua back to Geraldo’s house.

The contrast between Geraldo’s and Débora’s houses is very striking! Geraldo is ex-army and has a very nice apartment in a nice area of town. At 62, he is retired and lives a nice life. Somehow or other, they can afford a maid for eight hours a day, six days a week.

Each evening, Geraldo has been asking me questions about World politics. It’s been difficult for me because this is a subject that interests me, but I feel frustrated for several reasons.

Firstly, my Spanish is limited. I lack so much vocabulary and grammar. Secondly, I am a guest in his house (albeit a paying one) and feel uncomfortable if conversations become too heated.

Mainly, it is because (without wanting to be patronising), I know I have had access to a much wider range of information and opinions than he has through Cuban state media. Even if we broadly agree on a subject, there are always the “yes, buts”.

And lastly, I am aware that this is not a democracy. I should not assume that, just because I am a tourist, I should not be careful what I say.

Tonight, Geraldo asked me about Iran’s nuclear weapons programme, which has been in the news much of late. I was amazed that he completely buys the line that the Iranians are only interested in civil nuclear power and have not desire to develop the atomic bomb.

That evening, I just went to my room to watch TV quietly. A whole day’s Spanish has left me unable to form basic sentences, let along complex political arguments!

The next day, I had a good lesson with Débora. Her teaching style is all over the place but she’s fun. She tells me that she can tell I speak French from the mistakes I make and the words I try to use.

That afternoon, I went back to Vedado to go into Habana Vieja (old Havana) with Cristóbal and his friend.

I was chuffed with myself for getting the guagua on my own. Arriving at the bus stop, I asked for “ultimo” and someone identified them self and the person in line before them. Later, someone else came along and asked for “ultimo” and I was in the chain. This was fun, I felt like a real Cuban!

We waited 25 minutes for the next P1 and when it arrived it was totally jammed and I couldn’t board, but at least I was first in line by then.

When the next bus arrived, I squeezed on. You have to board at the front and exit at the back. It was difficult to push to the back in time for the exit. I was lucky to have a Cuban lady behind me who also needed to get off at my stop to do the talking as we barged our way through. With all the waiting, I could have walked in less time!
Cristóbal was waiting outside the apartment block. Cubans spend lots of time sitting outside their houses, watching the world go by.

We met Teresa, his friend and caught a “Taxi Cubano” (also know as a “Taxi Colectivo”). These follow set routes and you have to flag them down. If you look like a tourist, they will try to rip you off but I let Teresa do the talking while I paid the 10Ps each charge.

I asked especially to go in an old American car. Cubans seem puzzled why tourists find them so fascinating. On the roads, you will actually see more Ladas and Japanese cars. Nowadays, you see some smart modern cars belonging to the new rich in defiance of the blockade.

We had a pleasant walk around Habana Vieja for a while. We had a coffee and looked at a photographic exhibition with some ludicrous prices. It was the first time I’d been to anywhere really touristy in Cuba, but paradoxically I was spending a lot of time with real Cubans.

We returned quite early to the house. Cristóbal is an artist and has been having fun with Photoshop on his mum’s PC. He had taken a picture of Teresa and enlarged her breasts, which he finds very amusing.

I took the guagua back. It was even more packed this time! It’s amazing that you can see a bus which looks totally full and squeeze even more people on. I could see no way of getting to the back and had to put each foot on either side of the wheel hub. At this point, the heavens opened and it chucked it down with rain. It was quite a surreal experience.

I had to leave by the front of the bus. It’s not allowed (supposedly) but I just didn’t know how I could have got to the back.

For me, travelling on the bus was an nice adventurous holiday experience; but ordinary Cubans have to do this every day and I’m very glad I don’t!

I was very glad I’d brought my rain poncho. I had to wade through ankle-deep puddles to reach Geraldo’s house.

There, the electricity had gone out because of the storm. I was able to lend them my head torch which they thought was marvellous. They couldn’t believe I’d been on the guagua by myself and we bonded over laughing at that.

Things to avoid saying in Cuba:

• ”Papaya”. In Spanish, it does indeed mean the fruit, but here it also refers to female genitalia. People will understand you, but they’ll snigger! ;-)
  
• If talking about someone’s mother, don’t say “Tu madre”. Say “Tu mama” instead. Madre can be used elsewhere, but “Tu madre” sounds like you’re just about to insult someone’s mother.
  

The following day, I found out that my friend Janette, from London who was due to travel out for my second two weeks can’t now make it due to a family crisis. I feel bad for her that she can’t make it, but confident enough that I can manage on my own.

I’d received a text from Janette and then had to go online to read her email. This proved difficult as the only place in Miramar I could get it was in a commercial centre quite some way away. Internet access cost CUC2.50 for half an hour. That’s expensive for Cubans! The terminal I used was Linux/Firefox (due to the blockade, there are no legal copies of Microsoft products in Cuba).

There was a slow connection. Back home, Geraldo showed me an article in Juventud Revelde blaming the blockade. Apparently, all access is via satellite as Cuba is not allowed to plug into the high-speed cables which pass near its shores. However, I wonder if the government, which bans satellite TV for ordinary Cubans would want much more access than there is already. Satellite TV and Internet can be found in hotels and very touristy areas, but not many other places. I guess too that it probably suits the government if they control all satellite net access (they can keep a closer eye on what people are doing).

Cuban TV is very earnest and worthy. They have only four channels. One of them is an educational one, over half of which deals with the “revolution” in some form or other. You also have many educational science and language programmes. There is not much which is “fun”.

The next day was my last day of lessons. I quite like it that I’m just about the only native Anglophone in the school. I’ve been a bit stand-offish though as I’ve wanted to avoid the “Language School Culture” where you meet interesting people, but end up speaking English all the time. Most of my fellow students stay in hotels, not home stays and to me that seems wrong if you have come to learn a language and discover a culture.

I was fortunate to meet Kath, the owner of the language company I booked with. Apparently, I’m the first of their customers they have sent to this school. She’s going to ring me when I get back for feedback. Meanwhile, she gave me a contact for a home stay she uses in Santiago de Cuba.

Now, in Cuba, “home stays” are quite common. In fact, it has nothing to do with language schools at all. In the 1990s, the Cuban economy, which had been propped up by the USSR for so long, was about to collapse. The government brought in some limited reforms, among which was opening tourism and starting the “Casa Particular” (“Private House”) scheme. If you have a spare room, you can register your house and tourists can come and stay. I don’t know of any other country where you can do this so easily. It’s a great way of getting to know a country!

I rang Sofía in Santiago and booked a few nights there. I’ve already booked my bus (“10-12” hours they say) and so now I don’t have to worry about finding somewhere to stay when I arrive late at night.

For my last full day in Havana, I walked all the way to Habana Vieja from Miramar. I passed by the main cemetery (the “Necropolis de Colon”) in Vedado. This has some amazing looking tombs. It is something of a tourist attraction but when I mentioned it to Débora, she thought it macabre. Cristóbal pointed out that she had a lot of friends buried there.

As I’ve spent most of my time in Miramar up to now, I’ve not been much bothered by the famous jineteros (husslers) which are quite a problem for tourists in Cuba. My first experience was a security guard at the cemetery who gave me an unsolicited explanation of the tombs for one minute, then demanded CUC1 (an enormous amount for so little). I gave him 2Ps.

Jan had given me some presents to bring to the two elderly women who owned the casa particular where she stayed earlier this year. It is also in Vedado. It was near the intersection of two grand boulevards but is now quite a seedy area. I must have looked a bit conspicuous as a lone male walking around as I was asked if I was looking for a “chica” (for the first of many times in Cuba!). I stated the names of Jan’s hosts and they told me it was the house on the corner and informed me that one of the ladies had since died.

María and Blanca are two sisters. It was Blanca who answered the door and it took a bit of explaining as to who I was for it to register. She remembered Jan very well and was pleased with the savoury snacks made by Jan’s mother which I had brought. She told me her sister had died suddenly of a stroke in August. I promised to return before I left Cuba as she said she would write Jan a letter.

I then walked down La Rampa, to the Malecon (promenade) and the Hotel Nacional. La Rampa has lots of old 1930s cinemas and the Hotel Nacional is one of the landmarks of Cuba. The malecon is very picturesque with waves crashing over the barrier onto the road.

I drank a very expensive Mojito at a ramshackle seafront store and watched Havana go by before catching a taxi back to Miramar.

I had a long conversation with Geraldo that evening. In the army, he specialised in forensics and travelled a lot for conferences. He visited Yugoslavia, Hungary, the USSR, East Germany and even West Berlin and Vienna.



It is interesting to see the world from others’ perspectives and the Cuban one is an interesting one.


*The NATO interventions in the former Yugoslavia were US imperialistic “divide and rule” and any international coalition was a façade.
*The decline of Apartheid in South Africa is attributed to Cuban military assistance in Angola.
*JFK, a hero in most parts of the world is a villain here because of the role in Playa Girón (the Bay of Pigs invasion). I didn’t dare to ask about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
*A lot is talked about assistance to Ethiopia in the 1980s. This helped prop up the vile Marxist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam


Cuba has undoubtedly been treated very badly by the USA since at least the 1890. I won’t go into the detailed history, but you can read about it here.

We talked about how the USA’s empire was probably in decline now and what might replace it. I mentioned China and Russia. He said he could not imagine any world power being worse than the USA.

He knew a lot about the war in Iraq, but nearly nothing about the war in Chechnya and nothing about the Uyghur people in China.

Geraldo likes dogs and has an Afghan Hound which he has travelled to Mexico to show. He was saying how dog packs are equal, except for the leader. I joked that this was like Cubans and Fidel and he laughed but agreed.

I asked him what he thought would happen when Fidel dies. He said it would make not difference as Fidel has set up a system and that anyway, it is the Central Committee of the Communist Party which runs things. He didn’t agree with my suggestion that the regime here needed a charismatic leader to stop it collapsing.

He was proud that, since the revolution, there have been no student demonstrations in Cuba (unlike most countries in the world). The explanation: students here are for the revolution.

We also talked about Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia (which I visited last year). Geraldo is enthusiastic at the “revolutions” which are happening there. I have read a lot about these movements but didn’t feel I could fully express the counter arguments.

The revolution has been good to Geraldo. He has retired early and has a very comfortable standard of living in a nice flat in a nice part of town.

The time I spent in the house was a very interesting one indeed. Eloisa cooked me the most delicious food and the family made me feel welcome.

I found out that I must have been a good guest too, as I didn’t bring any prostitutes back to the house! In the three years since Geraldo’s been a Casa Particular, many of his guests (apparently Italians, Mexicans and Swiss) have done this. I couldn’t believe how lacking in respect people could be...

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Photos

Ordering a taxi
Cristóbal does his best on the Malecon.

The commander-in-chief orders!
At the Karl Marx theatre, Havana.

Jose Martí
Hero of Cuba's wars of independence. A great poet and thinker. Was killed in his first battle. Very much revered, you see his name and face everywhere you go.

The Russian Embassy
Like, what else could it possibly be??

Old American cars
You really do see them all over the place!

Lada
You see even more of these!

New Chinese busses
Replacing the old American School ones...

Great meals!
Very typical Cuban food: rice, chicken, fried beans and a salad involving avocado. I had fantastic meals at the first house I stayed in.

Sterilising a toothbrush
Leave it in the sun for a couple of hours. Ingenious!

Necropolis de Colon
Huge and very fascinating cemetery in Havana.

Necropolis de Colon
Fantastic ornamentation!

Art Deco Havana
This building is used by the government, so is in good nick.

The Malecon
The stunning promenade in Havana.

El Che
This curiously doe-eyed version of the famous photograph of Cuba's greatest revolutionary hero is at the bus station in Santa Clara. He is now buried here, near the site of the decisive battle he won.

Bendy Buses (Cuban Style)
Very typical site. These ingenious contraptions were introduced during the "Special Period" of the early 1990s.