Post on 06-Apr-2018
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July 2, 6:48 AMBack on a Sleep Schedule
Another day has begun. It isa special one because itmarks the beginning of my lastweek in Cuba. It is good tofeel better, and my frame of
mind is much more positiveagain. I am writing whilesitting in front of the singlefront room window, writingand watching the street cometo life a bit more slowly on aSaturday. Breakfast will be abit earlier. No problem. Iawoke at about 6:20. Idecided to take a shower, eventhough I took one last night.I want to feel as good as
possible for the three-hourbus trip to Cuba's secondcity.
I have more CUCs andhope to find gifts foreveryone back home.Let's see if there'sanything I can do tohelp get breakfast onthe table
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7:18PMDifferentWorld,SameUniverse
TheexcursiontoSan@agowasprobablythemostextensivevisualexperienceofthetrip.Thebusridetookusacrossalmosttheen@re
north/southwidthofCuba.Somuchofmostofthispartofthecountryispoorfarmland.San@ago,itself,isabustlingcityofabouta
millionpeople.RidingaroundgavemeasenseofSanFranciscoifithadbeenbombed50yearsagoandmostofitleunrestored.
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Plentyofmoneyseemstogointoextollingthevirtuesofthe
Revolu@onandhonoringitsheroes.NowifonlyCubawould
investmoreinitspeopleandtheirfutures.
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ThetombofMar@andtheSpanishfortwesawwereimpressive,though.Iwasthrilledtoget
picturesofalighthousethatstoodadjacenttoarestaurantwithpossiblyoneofthebestviews
intheworld.Iwasalsoabletofindpresentsforthefamily,sothatisbehindme.BuyingKa@e's
presentremindedmethatIwillmissbeingwithheronherbirthday.
Wereturnedat6:30,andIwasinformedthatIhadanemailfrom
home.Itwasgreattohearabouthowthingsweregoingathome,even
ifthedetailswerespoZy.Irepliedlongenoughtosuggestsending
anothermessageonTuesday.Thatwillbreakupthelastweekhere.
YouthserviceintheChurchbeginsin30minutes.Weareonstage
again!Moretocomebeforeturningin
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11:05PM
Onascalefrom1to10thisdayratesat10onwhatWillSmithreferredtoinMeninBlackasbeingonmyweirdsh*tometer.Bulletpointsfollowtobrieflysummarize
BustriptoSan@agothroughlandsthatcouldeasilybemistakenforruralVietnam;
StopataRomanCatholicChurchinanoldcopperminingtowninthemiddleofnowhere,who'spatronsaintisbedazzledinyellow;
StopatRevolu@onSquare,wherethePopeheldoneupfourCubanmassesin1998;LunchatarestaurantoverlookingtheCaribbean,
whereSirPaulMcCartney'splacesengs@lloccupiesaframedspaceonthewall;
PhotosoftheyetunnamedlighthousenearanoldSpanishfort;
WatchingthechangingoftheguardatthetombofJoseMar;
Inthesamecemetery,avisittothegravesiteofafoundingmemberoftheBuenaVistaSocialClub;
Returntripthatincludedtwoimpromptustopsatroadsidestands(theCubanswantedmangoesandcheese)andalegi@materainstorm(thoughwewereinthebusthroughoutit);
Eveningchurchserviceforyoungpeoplewhichincludedseveralnonsensicalpantomimes,ofwhichIpar@cipatedinone,andasongin
whichalargeintegratedcirclewasformed;
Aertheservice,allwalktothecity'scentraltheatertocatchwhatwasleoftheHolguinSymphonysperformance(wesatdownin
ourbalconyseatsforjust5minutes,thenjoinedeveryoneinastandingova@ontheconcertbeganat8:30,andwedidnotarriveun@l
aernine);
Returntothecompoundwithhalfofthegroup(theotherhalfstayedbehindtotakeinaplay,Ihope).
Ihadsomedeliciousicecream,tookanotherquickshower,wroteinmyjournal,andnowhopetoturnineventhoughtwointheplay
grouparemystudents.Bytheway,formonths,IthoughtthemeterlinewasaGeorgeCarlinism.
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July 3, 7 AMIndependence Looms
Happy birthday, Katie!
This has the potential to bea bad day. I keep remindingmyself that I won't have to
endure any more Sundays inCuba after this one, but Istill am not looking forwardto it. I do hope we get achance to get out and playsome baseball. I'll even takesome ftbalif I have to,though I will probably lookfor some way to take awalk instead. Church won't
be over before noon, thenthere is lunch. It lookslike it will be as hot asever. Just get throughtoday, then it's Monday, the
next day will be amessage from home,Thursday and Friday aresupposed to be thedays of working in the
garden, then it will beSaturday: going home
day. Independence Day,delayed.
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1:22PMOvertheHump
IfeelthatI'moverthecrestandheadedtowarddaysthatarenowclosetomyreturnhome.Eventhoughtheservicewasextralong,
endingat12:20,Ihadmuchlesstroublemakingitthrough.Theaernoonisbeginning,andwehavefinishedourlunchofpulledpork,
bakedyucca,riceandbeans,andmangojuice.Therearenoplansun@l4PM,whenwearesupposedtobegoingtoaplaygroundfor
sports.IwillseeifIwillbeallowedtowalktocentralcitytoseeaboutwhethertheaforemen@onedmuseumisopen.
Theextrachurch@meatleastgavemyiPodachancetocharge.PerhapsI'llreadwhilelisteningtosomemusic...
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6:56PMNoWalkinthePark
Well,mybaseballskillshavecertainlydeteriorated.
Aertwoerrorsinarowintoday'sgameIwas
movedfromsecondbasetofirstbase,muchtothe
pitchersobviousdissa@sfac@on.Aerbeingcaught
betweenonthenextplay,Ipromptlymovemyselftotheouieldanythingtoavoidaninterna@onal
incident!Ididredeemmyselfsomewhatbyscoring
thetyingrunonthelastplayofthegame.WhenI
gotbackIwashedmylearmandappliedIcyHot
rightaway;mytendini@s,aswellastheshoddy
baseballequipment,givemeplentyofexcuses.
Thetwohoursuptoourleavingtheparkseemed
longerthantheywere.Ihopethattheeveningisn't
ashard.
10:52PMLong,ButGoodNight
So,dinnerwassupposedtobeinarestaurantand
weweretoleaveexactlyat8PM.Weleatabout
8:20,walkedtothesamepizzaplacewegaveour
businesstotheothernight,orderedandfinallyate
some@meaer9PM.Allinall,though,itwasa
goodnight,circlegroupnotwithstanding.IjustfinishedthefirstdraofmythankyouleZerto
ourhosts.I'llhaveAlexorTomcheckhowbadmy
transla@onissome@methisweek.Timenowto
brushmyteeth,haveacolddrinkofwater,splash
wateronme,andturnin.
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July 4, 7:12 AMWhole New Meanings to
Independence Day
A quick thought from lastnight: after this I mayhave my own personalIndependence Day
celebration on July 9, theday I came home to theLand of the Free. It wasnot a good sleep. I firstwoke up a little before 1AM to the sounds of achild's screams. After thesecond, it sounded morelike those of celebrationthan distress. That would
make sense because todayis kind of an IndependenceDay for schoolchildrentheir first Monday ofsummer break.
Next I remember wakingup before 3 AM. Fromthat point it was thestruggle to get back tosleep. I drifted in and out,until suddenly it was justbefore 7 AM. Breakfastwill be soon; and then we
supposedly have a day ofheavy labor, getting cementup onto the roof.
The street outside ourfront room seems to betaking some extra time towake up, as well. Iwonder if it's related tothe kids vacation. A
street sweeper justpaused in front of thewindow to put some ofthe curbside debris, smallstuff, into a dustpan andthen into the cart.
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Ihaveseenmorethanafewofthese.Itrevealeda
parallelbetweenCubasaZemptstofind anyworkfor
peopleandourownDepressioneraWPAprojects.
Thisaernoonwearescheduledtotakeanother
hourlongbustriptovisitaQuakerchurchinaquaint
liZletownwithmuseumselsewhereinHolguin
Province.Iamcurioustoseewhatpassesforquaint
today.
Ihavereachedthehalfwaypointinmyjournal.GladI'm
morethanhalfwayhome.
1:02PM
Middayshowersaremixedblessing,butnecessary
today.Aerfourhoursofhelpingmixcementfor
supportsandflooring,itwasagiven.Weareahalfhour
away(orwhatever)fromleavingontodaysexcursion.I
showered,shavedandbrushedmyteethinreverse
order.Iputonrequiredlongpants,whitecargopantsI
plannottowearagainun@lthedayIleave,andalongsleevedomnidryColumbiashirt.
Wereceivedwordthatourmee@ngtomorrowwith
youngcommunistswillincludearankingmemberofthe
CommunistParty.Ourtripleadersareveryexcited
aboutthis,sayingitisafirst.I'llhavetopayclose
aZen@on,asIaminchargeoftomorrow'sblogentry.
Thatwillbeachallenge.
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10:32PMBayamo
TheaernoonjourneytoBayamowasapleasantone.Thetowns@llhadmorethanitsshareofunfinishedwalks,butthehistoric
centerwasnicerthanmostofwhatI'veseensofar.Aerashortpresenta@onbyalocalserenadinggroupandsomedancing,wetooka
walkthroughtheshoppingarea.Dinnerincludedshreddedbeef,riceandbeans,andtheusualsalad.Thehighlightsformewerethe
musicalperformers,threeincrediblytalentedwomen,andthepineapplesodaIfinallydecidedtotry.Excellente!
Wereturnedatabout9PMandhadacirclemee@nginwhichwemainlydiscussedtomorrow'smee@ngwiththeyoungcommunists.It
soundsliketherewillbeliZleinthewayoftransla@ng,whichcouldmeanatotallywastedopportunityformeandpoten@almissteps
bythestudents.Theywanttohaveadialogwithoutourusualtranslator,whichIthinkisbothnaveandriskyontheirpartandthatof
thetripleaders.
Ohwell,onestepata@me.NowImustprepforbedsothatIhaveabeZersleep.Thiscouldbetough.Iamalreadyswea@ngprofusely.
Happy4thofJuly!MypersonalIndependenceDayisnowfivedaysaway.
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July 5, 7:02 AMRestless
There was another nightwhen the only solid sleepI got lasted until 2:18 AM.
I got up and went to thebathroom, hoping I coulddrift right off again. Whatactually transpired wasmore like the night before,drifting in and out until6:18 AM. I hope thisdoesn't become my sleep
pattern the rest of theweek.
Today's goal will be tostay as active as
possible. It sounds likeit may be a lightworkday at best.Hopefully I can get
some more moneyexchanged, do someshopping, and visit themuseum before lunchor after our meetingwith the youngcommunists. I alsohave to keep mentalnotes on the others sothat I can mention
them in my blog entryhome.
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SideBarTopInven8onsinMyLife8me
Iwasbornin1957,thesameyearthatSputnikwaslaunched.Thiscoincidencemademethinkaboutwhatthemostimportant,ifnot
necessarilythebest,inven8onshavecomealonginmy8me.Satellitetechnologycertainlyhastorankhigh;itistheheartandsoulofall
communica8onsweusesomuch,fromTVandradiotowirelessandcellphones.
Personalcomputersandtheiroffspring:laptops,tablets,slates,etc.havemadecommunica8onopportuni8esexplode.This,coupledwith
theadventoftheInternet,hasalsomadeouraccesstoinforma8onalmostomniscient.
OnepersonalfavoriteisMP3technology.Is8llmarveloverthechangesI'veseenstar8ngwithvinyl,movingtocasseeandTracktapes,
thendiscs,andnowtoplayersthatholdtonsofmusic,videos,textandmore.
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1:55PMOppositeSidesoftheTable
Wehavearrivedandhavebeenusheredintoathirdfloor,aircondi@onedroom.Wesitatalargetableoppositeadozenorsoyoung
communistsandadultrepresenta@ves,includingonefromtheCentralCommiZee.FranisgivingaratherlongreviewofhisexperiencewasCuba.Heislovingit.
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Ques@onandanswersummary...
Tom:Canyouprac@cereligionandbeamemberoftheparty?Answer:Yes,theCommunistPartyispoli@calversusphilosophical,a
shifromoriginalMarxism.
Myques@on(deliveredbyBrinton).Answer:Medicinewouldbemostimportant,theeconomycouldalsogrow;butthepresidentcan't
endtheembargo.
Ques@onfromtheCommunists:Whatmo@vatesustocometoCuba?Dominiquesresponse:ToseethetrueCubaformyself,and
whiletherewouldn'tbeprofoundchanges,moralrespectoverthatbasedonmaterialworthisimportanttotheCubans.
AnothergirlstoodtotalkaboutwhatitmeanstobeaCubanyouthoftheRevolu@onandfamily.
Alex:Whathavebeenthesuccessesofthegovernment?Answer:Educa@on,health,culture,SocialSecurityandthateachdaythe
countrygetsstronger.Accordingtotherepresenta@vesandCubanstudents,libertyandfreedomareimportantforthepeople,asare
socialequalitywithoutdifferencesamongpeopleandthecountry'swillingnesstoreachouttoothercountries.Cubadoesn'tofferwhat
ithasextra,onesays,butratherwhatithas.S@llanotherstudentsaysthatthishasbeentheintentfromthestartoftheRevolu@on.
Whenthestudentswereaskedwhattheywantedtodoforliving,mostsaidtheywantedtoworkininterna@onalrela@ons.Others
includedcarpenters,doctors,orsecurityworkers.Thisseemstoshowaproblemthegovernmentwillhaveinconvincingthenext
genera@ontobeinvolvedinagriculture.
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Next,oddlyenough,camea
musicalnumber.Wethenallcame
togethertomingleforseveral
minutes.Fransaidlaterthatthis
wasbyfarthemostsuccessfulexchangeofideasandques@ons
hehadeverseen.Thankgoodness.
Iwasworriedaboutusnotveng
theques@ons.Thanksagainto
Brintonforaskingmyques@onfor
me.
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6PMJustAnotherDay
9:05AMAshortandworksession,includingpain@ng,varnishing,rearrangingrubble,andpeelingabushelofmangoes.
1:55PMThestartofthesessionwhereideaswereexchangedbetweenourgroupandseveralyoungcommunists,overseenbya
memberofthena@onsCentralCommiZee.
4:05PMAsurprisestopatachurchmembershomeforaBiblereading,singing,asnackandahome.
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YearsfromnowIwillbegratefulfortheexperienceofthisday,butrightnowI'mfeelingabitused.TheEvangelicalthinghasnow
wornoutitswelcomeforthisagnos@cIreallythoughtgengthroughSunday'smarathonwasthelastIhadtogetthrough,soIdidnot
appreciateanotherhourplusinacrampedroomofabout25people.ThegoodnewsisIwassingrightinfrontofafan.Thebadnews
isthatitwaspushingaverystrongsmellofsomekindofsmokedmeatinmyface.The15minutewalkbacktothecompoundcouldn't
comesoonenough.Westartedbackanhourandahalfaerthevandroppedusoffwithnowarningorexplana@onaboutwhatwas
goingon.
Tonight'sblogentryhasnowbecomemoreofachallengethansomethingtolookforwardtobecauseI'mgoingtohavetomakesureI
putitallinagoodlight.Tomhadagreatwayofdescribingourlateaernoonexperience.Hecalleditadrivebyevangelism.Chalkone
upforBuddhaBoy(mynewnicknameforhim).HopethereisanemailfromhomewhenIsitdowninfrontofthecomputer.
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Sidebar:TopThreeThemesinCuba
Therearebasicallythreethingsoneseestravelingthroughthiscountry.ThereareseveralthatextolthevirtuesoftheRevolu8onandits
leaders.WhenyoudrivejustaboutanywhereyoubecomefamiliarwiththefivewhomthegovernmentwantreturnedfromaU.S.
prison,Finallyseenlesso[en,isthedictumtoproducemoreanduseless.I'mactuallysurprisedIhaven'tseenthatonemoreo[en,
basedonmyshortstay.Maybeeveryonealreadygetsit.Thereareafewplaceswithoutreusablerefuse,eitherontherooforinthe
yard.
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9:46PMSoulCleansing
Ijustfinishedmyblog.It'llgooutwhenthenextInternetconnec@onismade.Thishappenslessfrequentlythanwater
outages,itseems.Ialsosentanotherseparatemessagehome,againreques@ngmorenews.Iamsurprisinglycalmabout
notreceivingamuchan@cipatedmessage.Ialsofeeloverall,havingtakenashortbreakinthisentryforsomeofNana's
incredibleicecream,twoAlevePMcapletsandaheadsoakinginthecoolwatersoftheshower.
Lightsoutis48minutesaway,butImayendupturninginbeforethathappens.FornowIguessI'llgojoinaconversa@on
goingoninthekitchen.