I'm in Cuba!!!

It’s strange to think that I am a mere 90 miles away from the United States yet feel like I am worlds away. It’s difficult to organize my thoughts and experiences because already in the few days I’ve been in Habana there is so much to tell. I suppose starting from the beginning and trying to sort through the most significant moments will be the best way to go about doing this.
We arrived on Sunday afternoon in a tiny plane. My roommate Aidan and I nearly cried as we flew over the country, I have never seen anything as green and lush as the land below. We shared the plane with Cuban Americans who were visiting family in Cuba. We talked to some of them on the plane and it was interesting hearing what they had to say. One woman told us how important it is for the people in Cuba to have relatives in the States who send money, she said its nearly impossible to live with any sort of comforts without that money (Bush has made it more and more difficult for Cuban Americans to send money back and I wonder what effect this has.) This experience alone suddenly made everything I have studied in the last year and a half become a reality.
Since we were coming from the United States our plane landed at this huge 1970’s Soviet hangar (European tourists get to go to the newly constructed terminal). Shanti scared the shit out of us the night before by telling us that when going through Cuban customs they might ask all kinds of questions and its really important we answer them clearly and correctly. Of course, once we went through customs all I got asked was, ¿Eres Japonésa o Chinesa? “Are you Japanese or Chinese?” (Already another girl in our group, Tiana,is known as “La China” in our barrio). When we were getting our bags we had to get carts, the kind that you usually pay $3 for in US airports. When we asked how much it costs the security guard replied, “Where do you think you are? The United States?” Perhaps, if anything, that will be the quote to define the trip, or at least until we become fully accustomed.
I want to describe the surroundings but I feel like I don’t have the words or the poetics to do it. I guess I can only try my best. Imagine the greenest green you have ever seen and then image it covering an entire city. Add dashes of bright orange fruits, pink and yellow flowers, and the mellow brown of massive trunks of trees lining the streets. Then imagine the most exquisite mansions you can, with details only a true artist could draw from the wood. Imagine pillars and spacious porches, huge open windows and heavy doors. Imagine these homes with peeling paint, laundry strung over the cracked marble floor of the balcony, mold and moss growing in the corners. Children running up and down the stairs and men sitting shirtless in the windows, smoking a cigarette. This is Habana, more specifically our barrio, Vedado. Its only about 6 blocks from the Malecón, where Habana meets the Caribbean and waves crash over walls soaking the people who congregate there to find out what’s happening that night. It’s the most beautiful yet strange place I have ever been.
What more, what more? There’s so much! Something that is entirely new is this noise men make when you walk by. It’s almost like a “tsk tsk” or a hissing sound. This is usually accompanied with “ay, linda” and some mumbled words you can never quite catch. Although it is a bit degrading you don’t feel threatened and sometimes someone will be particularly poetic with their compliments and you can’t help but say thank you as you walk by. There is an openness and kindness on the streets. When Aidan and I found ourselves a bit lost a man asked, “Hey, what are you searching for?” And when we replied, “La Universidad” he politely explained how to get there. Even the women who give you the universal, “don’t fuck with my man” look will warm up if you just say hello as you pass.
More at a later date. I have all these thoughts and I haven’t even touched on the people I’ve met, or the food, or my Spanish class, or Habana vieja, or even politics. I can’t wait for the next 4 months.
Also, I discovered that rum and Ren do not mix Even one drink in the evening will cause me to kneel over the toilet the next morning. OH! Also, we bought a case of cigars to split amongst everyone. They’re good but I would only want one every so often. I will admit though, the image of Fidel in the 60’s looking like a badass with a fat cigar in his mouth raced through my mind as I sat out on our balcony and puffed away, and I was content.