el primero de mayo

So today is may 1st, were basically halfway through our program, and today is international workers day. Aka labor day for everyone in the world except the U.S. because they believe it is associated with unions and socialism...lame. We woke up at 5 this morning to go march in the parade which is through plaza de la revolucion. There are hundreds of thousands of people marching through the parade. We marched with our school, casa de las americas, which is one of the most renowned instituitions in latin america so it was really cool to get to be a part of that. We had flags from countries all over the world, mine was Granada, and huge banners that had like 10 people carrying them at least. Music was everywhere, cuban flags, these huge stars that were painted were in front of us and were massive pieces of "plastic artwork". The announcer had sayings like "viva cuba libre!" then the crowd responds "viva!" "viva fidel y raul!" "viva!" "viva la revolucion!" "viva"!! it was all really cool and we were chanting along just like all the other cubans. Tourists also loved taking our pictures because we were international with our flags from all over the Americas. When the national anthem started playing, EVERYONE was silent, with the exception of those singing along quietly. It was an amazing site to go from music and people yelling and dancing to silence and people standing upright quietly humming the national anthem of Cuba. Cubans take so much pride in their nation it is truly amazing and it was an amazing day to be a part of regular people celebrating themselves! Its only ten in the morning now but the parade goes on all day, we were one of the first groups to march apparently (Even though we couldn't see the front of the line!). Until next time, viva!!!

The Best Way to Lose Weight

Come to Cuba. Everyday, we are hungry. The best way to describe Cuban food, is similar and far an few between. Not to say it is their fault because the embargo, more correctly known here as the blockade has allowed extremely limited options for the Cuban people especially with food choices. Our house mom makes delicious food, but it is repetitive. For breakfast we have a scramble of eggs with some tomatoes and other bland vegetables, bread, guayba (guava), pineapple (if its available), coffee, juice usually made by Maria (our house mom) herself, ham and cheese. The cheese here is that waxy kind that is not very good which is disappointing since cheese is one of my favorite foods. For dinner we usually have rice, black beans, vegetables, some sort of meat, juice again made by Maria. Dinner is usually my favorite because there is always a slight variation with what we have. For lunch we are on our own, which means buying certain meats from street vendors and usually eat them on bread or with rice. I usually buy ham sandwiches which is the backbone of Cuban meals. However, these meals come around every 5 hours or so. I am used to the luxury of having fast food, cafes and other sorts of food places at my disposal at any hour of the day. It was hard to adjust to feeling hungry for the majority of the day. Usually my two roommates Desiree and Sarah and I have a snack between lunch and dinner which is a beer and ice cream because it fills up our stomachs and is cheap. We also spend tons of time walking. We walk everywhere, or ride the bus somewhere then walk everywhere around there. Plus we live on the 14th floor or so and I HATE the elevator because it is the slowest creepiest jankyiest thing I have ever been in, So i usually walk up 14 flights of stairs 4-5 times a day. Besides the lack and variation of food, everything else in Cuba is very rich. It is rich in rum, music, art, and conversations. We make new friends every time we walk down the street. People stare here; we are these huge spectacles. It gets a bit repetitive. I am hoping to improve my dancing here because the Cubans are phenomenal dancers. My roommate and I went to Casa de la Musica, a very well known music club where live music plays every night, and there were a bunch of university students there. They were incredible dancers, and the guys just push you around the floor and spin you and its just really fun. I still need to figure out the style of dance though, the women here are great dancers as well and the way a cuban man and woman move together across a dance floor is seamless and so fun to watch. I'm off to go get a snack, but honestly I see now, more than ever, why Americans are ridiculously obese.

viva la revolucion!

Today we watched a movie about the history of the cuban revolution and then proceeded to go to the museo de la revolucion. It is really incredible learning about the revolution from the Cuban perspective instead of an American one. Honestly after that day I saw Fidel as an incredible leader; he gave so much to the people of Cuba and bettered many lives of those who were oppressed. 97% of Cuba is literate, the highest rate in Latin America. They have free health care, and education and the people here seem happy. Many people across the globe revere Fidel, like Nelson Mandela. Castro helped free the Angolian people. It is interesting talking to the people here about capitalism and such things, we told them they wouldn't want McDonalds here because it would ruin their culture and the guys told us "Why cant we decide that for ourselves, we don't know how it is, why not just give us the chance to try it and see if we like it or not?" I have never thought of it that way. Yesterday a group of black delegates led by Barbara Lee came to Cuba to discuss the measures of the blockade. So perhaps soon you may all have the chance to come visit. 

On a side note as we were touring old havana the other day my roommate Desiree got pulled over by the police (who are EVERYWHERE) and got asked for identification. Here all Cubans must carry a form of identification because they are not allowed to associate with tourists especially not Americans since the police view this as them bothering us. Jiniteros/ Jineteras are very common here, they are prostitutes or anyone who tries to swindle you and get some money from you. So the police patrol very heavily making sure the Cuban people are not "bothering" the tourists. The guys we hang out with could be thrown in jail just for talking to us. So my roommate Desiree got pulled over for being a Cubana and being with the Americans. She was let of the hook since she had her Casa de las americas card (our identification while studying here) and they apologized for bothering here. But its all really interesting being here. Everyone STARES at you like full on stares, they also know everything we do and who we are. I enjoy meeting people here and it is seriously full on spanish immersion all the time which is a bit intense since Cubans speak really rapidly and with heavy accents. However, were learning bits and pieces here and there and have picked up some slang. Got to go grab some mojitos with new friends before dinner, but I will write more later. Chao!!

The voyage to the forbidden land

After a 15 hour trip where only seven were spent flying we landed in Habana around midnight. Cuba is on eastern time so were 3 hours ahead. Many people were interested in why I was in Cuba. When getting our bags in the airport the lights went out, also they sell birds in the airport? We were greeted by our teachers and some of the men who work at the casa de las americas (where we are studying in cuba). Our luggae was loaded into a moving van, and then we waited for around 45 min for a bus to pick us up. Right when leaving the airport there were around 6 billboards with che, bush and how the we are the real terrorists and even slogans for protecting the ozone. It was like quintessential cuba. Our casa is on the topmost floor of huge building overlooking the malecon(oceanfront) which is blocked in by a huge wall. The first day in Habana was exhausting and exhilirating. We went to habana viejo which is a really beautiful part of the city. It is where the spanish colonized cuba and so there are many grand buildings and bright colors. Everything is run down with the exception of a handful of nicer places. When walking around we interacted with many of the locals including a group of kids. We chatted with the kids for around ten minutes and our guide geraldo had the kids recite poems and a little girl danced for us. They also told us what they wanted to be when they grew up and some answeres were doctora, biologia, and many lucha (fighters). Now you know i dont like kids but these kids were absolutely adorable and all the little girls came and gave us hugs and kisses on the cheek. Another street guy tried to sell weed to a few of the kids on my program while our professors were there and then asked to be my novio, i graciously declined. But this is Cuba, many girls have already had guys wanting to marry them and take them to the united states. Its been one day!!! I hollered at a transvestite in habana and we took pictures with her, she was quite the sassy one, and then she tried to charge us for it! After walking around habana vieja we were tired and sweaty so we decided to buy some beers and go for a dip in the ocean. Theres no beach where we are so instead you hop over the cement barrier down onto another platform and jump off that platform into the ocean. Then to get out you have to pull yourself ontop of the platform thats covered in slippery algae and coral. I got a few cuts but it was worth it. Swimming was my favorite part of the day. We met locals and chatted with them about various things, when leaving the malecon some street musicians came to sing to us, we told them we had no money but they still sang, so me and 3 others danced in the middle of the street by ourselves and the 75 year old singer showed me some SWEET dance moves, man he could shake it. Let me tell you this guy got down better than anyone i knew. When we left they tried to charge us 10 CUC (equivalent to ten dollars)! The people are definitely trickster and if not careful you can lose a lot of money spending one day in the city. That night we met up with some of the guys we met on the malecon and went dancing. We bought some of the cuban rum and headed over to this random building where they had speakers blasting cuban music. The guys got into a line and started to bust out these dance moves that were honestly amazing. Dancing with them was hilarious, they spin you all over the place and are soo friendly and fun. The people here range from blonde hair and white skin to dreads with dark black skin. It is an incredible mixture of race and culture. I think we are going to go dancing again tonight...i'm exhausted now and i know this writing is probably incoherent but there is so much to write about just from one day! i hope so post pics soon. Until then...chao

Night before Departure 3/29

So I have dreamt about going to Cuba since highschool when  Nina gave me a newfound love for the Orishas. Ever since college it has always been the place I want to go. I leave tomorrow morning and it is a little surreal to me that this is actually happening. I have absolutely no idea what to expect. I am sad about the people I am leaving behind and missing spring quarter in Davis since it is always fantastic; but I am also excited to have this once in a lifetime experience. I can only hope it will be close if not better to all the fantasizing I have done. I hope to keep this blog somewhat updated, however I've been informed that Cuban internet is not the most reliable. Anyways for more information just shoot me an email and maybe we can even skype?! if it works.... I will miss you all and try to keep you posted. Castro here I come.... AYYYYYY!!!