Cuba - day 1

There's no way to understand Cuba in 8 days, and even less so from the travel notes of someone who's been there for 8 days, but i'll try to tell you all i know...


AIRPORT

even before passing passport control i have already had 2 interesting conversations.
first i've started talking to some guy who was utterly from California (i tactically pick into people's passports and overhear conversations). Here I must mention that the US is Cuba's enemy No 1. Sometimes it seams that Cuba's mere legitimacy is defined as an opposition to this "imperial, capitalist satan", which has been going on from day one of the revolution. For many Cubans the daily struggle, the queueing, the shortages - are all a little bit worth it, just to give the US the finger. Cuban relationship with the US is probably as complex and controversial as the one of Israel with the Palestinians. Not surprisingly Arafat was Castro's dear friend and was depicted in his struggle as the Salvador Allende of the middle East, whereas Israel is the evil oppressor, not necessarily because of what it does to the Palestinians, but rather because it is unquestionably identified with its big brother (guess who). Any attempt to argue that every little country needs a big country to hold its hand, just like Cuba needed the USSR to breath, and that Israel in a way has more things in common with Cuba than with the US led to changing the subject...
The Cuban favorite mantra is: "however fucked up our system is, we will always have our superb free health care and our outstanding free education". and indeed, Cuban doctors are all over the place, saving tsunami victims and vaccinating children in Zimbabwe. In the post-Soviet era, the venerable compañero (comrade) Chavez is even supplying Cuba with oil in exchange for its famous doctors. I will talk more about the education later.
back to my story about the dude from California - who was in fact a med-school student in Havana... every 7 minutes in Cuba you witness a paradox materialize...

The second interesting conversation was with an Iranian delegation of scientists, taking a vacation under the pretense of attending some scientific convention - on the Caribbean beaches of course. Straight away they assured me that the ones who make the wars are only the politicians, and that we should be friends. They told me that Teheran is abundant of women who dress in a western manner, and is by all means a cosmopolitan city.

With so many interesting people to talk to, by the time i got to the border control officer i was the last one left in the waiting hall...

Already at the passport control i have first approved that saying "I was born in the USSR, you know" works wonders in a plethora of situations.


HAVANA


My next interesting conversation was only minutes away!
The taxi driver is your ultimate guide to the life in Cuba. My taxi driver was a resigned Software Engineer, he wore a tie and had quite a decisive perspective. At first i started a smalltalk about the ubiquitous Soviet Lada cars and the American antique Fords and Oldsmobiles from the 50`s. After 10 minutes i made a strategic pause, held my breath and asked "¿but what do the Cubans really think of it all?...". another great think about your taxi driver apart from being a university graduate is being used to silly tourist questions. Also it wasn't as bad as i thought, Cuba is far from being George Orwell's 1984, and people do speak their minds in their privacy. " well, you see, we have really good education and free medicine..."

also that night i went out, watched a superb flamenco show in a restaurant, danced salsa with a local guy in front of another restaurant (most locals that earn 10-15 EUR a month cant even afford a beer, so they stand outside of the restaurants and listen to the music). eventually i managed to flee home with only that guy's address scribbled on the back of the boarding pass i still had in my pocket.

Cuba is incredibly safe, and drug and violence free. You can walk around by yourself in the worst of the neighbourhoods until at least midnight. they are so used to their own gorgeous mulatto girls with minimal clothing and maximal make up that some righteous foreigner is nothing exciting. at the same time most of the streets are very dark, because of both power shortage and ancient street lamps, and even the central park - the tourist hub located between the major city hotels is barely lit, but nevertheless crowded at all times.

so i made it home safe.


day two is going to be particularly painful, but indispensable. ooh, it still hurts!

stay tuned...