I’m safe and alive in Havana! It is currently 82 and
beautiful, but I’m inside writing this blog for my fearless readers if I have
any. In lieu of writing a big, coherent post at this point, I thought I’d just
throw out some observations I had from the first few days (so, instead, a big,
rambling post.) Feel free to ask me any questions and I’ll try to respond to
them as soon as I can! I can respond to Facebook message, e-mail, comments,
whatever. As a prefatory note that might clarify some things, Cuba has two
different currencies: CUC, the convertible tourist currency, and CUP, which is
the national currency (also known as nacionales.) The CUC is worth 24 CUPs and
is equivalent to one dollar. Most things I would buy in a store or cover
charges are CUCs, but bus rides and street food are in CUPs. You have to mix
and match to get the best value in different situations.
These are my observations over the first few days…
-
We’re staying in the Western edge of Miramar,
which is a mostly suburban district about 25 minutes from center city (for
those from Newton playing along at home, think Center to Copley.) We’re staying
on 5ta Av (pronounced Avenida Quinta,)
which is a major block including the Malecon and a number of upscale
embassarial residences. The neighborhood includes the hotel we’re currently
using the incredibly expensive Wi-Fi in, but also some much more run down slums
that give us more of a sense of what it’s like to be Havanan.
-
I’ve seen dozens of stray dogs in Havana, which
at first made me pretty anxious – one of the big things people emphasized to me
before leaving was that rabies was a problem. I’ve calmed down a bit, though,
because it seems like Cubans basically treat them like communal pets. In Old
Havana, there were a ton running around, including some with tags and
immunization histories. It’s less formal out here in Miramar, but they’re
mostly friendly.
-
The embargo is not as airtight as you might
think. I was expecting virtually no American products – maybe the occasional
humanitarian item or two. There’s Coca-Cola products and Johnnie Walker
everywhere, and the peanut butter our director gave us is from North Carolina.
People typically drink the Cuban knockoff, TuKola, but that’s more of a price
concern. Our program director’s son (who’s a hipster philosophy major at the
University of Havana) loves Cat Power and John Mayer. Go figure.
-
The easiest way for me to explain to Cubans who
speak English how Havanan Spanish sounds to me is that it’s the same as my
English (specifically mine) sounds to them: fast, underenunciated, and
basically unintelligible. This has a 100% success rate so far.
-
Everyone I’ve met has been very, very funny.
Cholera jokes are surprisingly common.
-
Internet is not readily available, and most Cubans
don’t own a computer. But nothing’s blocked – a couple UH students explained to
me that they could have Facebook, but the internet’s too damn slow for them to
put in the effort. Still, people have seen YouTube videos and a few of the
students starting singing “Bed Intruder Song” with us while drinking last night
-
Running in the morning has given me a little bit
of a window into parts of the city I wouldn’t otherwise see. I’ve been able to
explore some more rundown neighborhoods, but I’ve also been able to see the
Monday morning ration lines – which are incredibly long. The city’s different
in the morning.
-
Rolling blackouts are a thing. We went through
one at dusk – we were thrown by being submerged in almost complete darkness,
but no one on the street seemed to care.
-
Real Cuban coffee (and from reports, tobacco) is
absurdly strong. I also can’t find a consensus on what I should call it when I
want coffee, particularly the strong, small cups that seem to be the specialty.
Some just call it “expreso,” others, “café cubano,” and others “colada.” This
along with the parade of slang I’ve learned is getting to me.
-
I’ve heard “Gangnam Style” at least once a day
every day since I’ve gotten here. It’s inescapable. But also Rihanna.
-
I think one of the cracks I got the most before
coming to Cuba is that I better get used to eating beans and rice.
Surprisingly, as a foreigner, that classic Cuban dish doesn’t seem to be the
cheapest staple, but rather hamburgers and pizza. I’m dead serious. A
hamburger, which at Cuban portions is a full meal (think Southern,) is about 2
CUC; a pizza at a nacional money stand comes in at a cool 15 CUP max (about 60c
USD.)
-
Cuba’s beer selection revolves around the two
major nationally produced beers: Cristal, which is a lighter beer with a
fantastically deceptive name, and Bocanero, which is supposed to be the darker
beer. They’re more or less the same, though – they both hover around 5% ABV.
Weirdly, the foreign beer I’ve seen the most is Beck’s.
-
Speaking of – alcohol seems to be, on balance,
cheaper than food. A liter of Havana Club rum is 5.20 in CUC at the local gas
station or supermarket. A jar of peanut butter is 6 CUC at the supermarket. You
can figure out where this leads.
-
I already know some Cuban drinking games. Get
ready, Hendrix.
-
One of the people I met was a delegate to the UN
from the International Democratic Women’s Federation, and another was one of
the top songwriters in the country. We
seem to be in a pretty solid position in terms of access.
-
One of the things I was most excited for was
seeing a city that didn’t have advertisements – something that seems totally
impossible in the US and represents a completely different way of living. I
realized, however, that this was probably not the case with recent economic
liberalization. It seems to be a yes, but kind of thing; there are actually no
advertisements outside of stores, but stores do have them. Still, no
billboards, no bus advertisements, no flyers. It’s kind of crazy.
-
Che is actually a national symbol. Your local
beret-wearing 14 year old isn’t that much of an asshole.
-
I align pretty closely with the Cuban professors
politically. This should not surprise anyone.
NEXT TIME: Probably a more focused post! I will probably
either write on my read on Cuban nightlife and dating or the hassles of getting
around. Or some combination of the two.
