January 27th

We had our Spanish placement test that everyone has been freaking out about all week. There were three levels of difficulty to the test, and we were told to do it all to the best of our ability. I realized how much a lack of knowledge of grammar can hamper your test taking skills – mixing up prepositions and articles and tenses can impede your ability to do well. All the same, I still left a few sections completely blank, not being able to remember certain rules about the language. I didn’t mind so much, because if I had to push myself to remember it, then I obviously didn’t know it and it would do me well to relearn it.

There is so much walking in this city. If there was one problem to be had with our location, it would be that it’s at least 15 blocks from the university and a good ten blocks from a central part of the city. The only things close to us that aren’t close to the UNC residents are the Malecon and the Fundacion Ludwig. Still, the quaintness of our neighborhood and the comparatively not-so-luxurious accommodations of our digs allows us to be Cuban elitists vis a vis the UNC students.

To get back on subject, I say that there is too much walking because between 8:30AM and 3PM, I walked to the university, walked back from the university, walked to the university, walked halfway back to the residence, walked back to the university, and then walked back to the residence. I would say that in that time alone I easily walked three miles, but I can’t complain too much because I get to immerse myself more in the Cuban culture.

I finally got money from my Amigo Card, which is a deceptive name. Not many banks take it here, and even when they do, there’s yet ANOTHER charge to change money over. They get you coming and going here. I finally got to gorge myself on some food though – I ate a sandwich from a nearby stand, then got a Cuban pizza, and drank some Malta, the molasses flavored cola that is made by the beer company. The only problem was that I KNEW I was getting screwed on prices – while everything was only one convertible peso per item, that equals 24 national pesos. A sandwich or pizza usually only costs 10-15 national pesos. But most Cubans know they can get away with ripping off tourists and travelers, and I’m no exception. So I naturally went and changed 20 CUC to national pesos and received 470 national pesos. I feel insanely wealthy holding a wad of bills that large, and the funny thing is that although it was all in twenties, many establishments can’t break a bill as large as a twenty.

I worked out today at a gym that is located under one of the Jewish temples in Havana. It was Spartan and older, but it did the job. I feel like after my digestive battles, I’ve lost ten pounds, so I’m looking to start putting that back on. Plus it was only a one peso entrance fee (CUC peso, not national).

I finally used the internet tonight in the Hotel Melia Cohiba, which was definitely awkward. It is Cuban decadence, with elevators, escalators, marble, and wifi access in the lobby. Their computers are located in the smoking room, with a huge walk-in humidor; the whole room smelled like old wood and cigars. Unfortunately I didn’t have a way to bring my pictures, so I just had time to catch up with a few people and see what was going on in the States (hooray for UT being ranked #4 and prepicked for the Final Four).

We ran back to the hotel to put on our red shirts that our University of Havana student guides had requested we put on before we went out tonight, and headed towards the university. About half a block away, we realized that there were hundreds of people in this square, listening to this musician. We found one of the student leaders and we created a human chain as he wound us through the thick crowd of students and around to the side of the stage. After he flashed some credentials, we realized we were going to the very front of the stage, on the other side of a gated partition, with another group of students in uniforms with red patches on their arms (the Young Communists?). Our group combined with the UNC students created a little splotch of red at the front of this sea of students listening to some live music comprised of classic Cuban salsas, sons, and rumbas.

Naturally, we started dancing and singing along, and it was an absolute blast getting caught up in the music, although I’m not sure how the Cubans have the energy to dance nonstop. I wonder if we were allowed up front in all red as a special gift from the University of Havana, or if they were more than willing to have all the American students up front in Communist Red in order to kind of show us off and use us. We lost ourselves in the whole thing though, and when the music had ended, we all joined in the final call and response shouts. “VIVA FIDEL!” “VIVA!” “VIVA LA REVOLUCION!” “VIVA!” “VIVA JOSE MARTI!” (It’s his birthday tomorrow and this whole thing was kind of for him) “VIVA!” “PATRIA O MUERTE!” “VENCEREMOS!” After this staple closing of any Cuban event, everyone started leaving, but in the same direction. We followed, but on a parallel street in order not to get lost in the crowd. While our student guides took us one block too far and we got stuck behind the new speaking podium, the crowd had walked en masse to Jose Marti’s grave where they read some of his speeches and remembered his achievements.

That was essentially the end of the night for me, around 12:15AM, as I was absolutely dog-tired. I reflected on how often these large public events are voluntarily attended and how often they’re obligatory (while I think tonight’s event was voluntary and fun, the march on Tuesday was most definitely mandatory). Still, it blew me away how much fun the Cubans have. They are always ready to have a good time, as evidenced earlier in the week with Alexei, and are unequivocally bound by their patria. Despite any shortcomings of their political system, the pride for their country that links all of them together is amazing; it is felt rather than seen.