El Hospital, Varadero, Habanarte, La Playita y El Bosque
Last Friday I went for a run along the Malecón before dinner. My friend Bryn fell during our first week, cut her hand, and had to get stitches. I have been running on the Malecón often, but on Friday I completely wiped out. Maria - the woman who lives with us in our residencia - has told us many times that we need to be careful on the Malecón because it's slippery and dangerous, but I never thought anything would happen to me. The surface of the Malecón is very rocky and uneven in places, because it hasn't been resurfaced for many years. Unfortunately, I tripped in one of the worst areas and all of a sudden i was flat on my face. I had to walk all the way home scraped and bleeding. One of the cuts on my knee was pretty deep, so I decided to go to the hospital in case I needed stitches. I was also worried that without stitches, I wouldn't be able to fully enjoy Varadero.
It was a bit challenging trying to communicate everything perfectly with the doctors, but Bryn came with me and we did a pretty good job. The doctor cleaned all of my scrapes thoroughly and we couldn't help but laugh as he applied four different brightly colored liquids on the scrapes. I still have red dye on parts of my body. He and the other doctor decided not to give me stitches, because the cut was irregular and they didn't want to risk infection. However, he bandaged my knee up tightly and told me that I should come back every day to have it redressed. I told him I was going to Varadero the following day and asked if he could give me supplies so that I could redress it myself. He explained that he was not allowed to give us the supplies, but after a few moments he told us he would give them to us if we hid them in our pockets, because he could lose his job if someone saw them. After we stuffed our pockets, he took us to another office and explained how I should redress my knee each day.
In the end, we all decided that the salt water would be good for the cut and I was able to swim in Varadero. The particular beach we were at wasn't ideal for snorkeling, but I'm sure I will have another opportunity. The water was clear, warm, and shallow though, so we spent hours just floating in it.
View from the bus on the way to Varadero
We passed through some beautiful countryside on the bus trip from Havana. A few of us are interested in trying to hike or camp, so we asked our program director if he knew of any places we could do this. Apparently, the province to the West of Havana called Pinar del Río has mountains with great hiking. We're hoping to go camping in that area sometime soon.
The hotel we stayed at was an all-inclusive resort. The meals were buffet style and all-you-can-eat. There were tourists from around the world staying there, but it felt nothing like Cuba because there wasn't really any cultural exposure. It was nice to be at the beach, but we all agreed that if we were coming to Cuba for vacation, we would rather not stay in a resort like this for a whole week.
I was very happy to hear that the resort had billiards, because I have yet to see one pool table in Havana. However, billiards meant two pool tables in an outdoor area that were very old and in very poor condition. The water damage was visible on the felt and I thought I was going to get splinters from the cues. Nevertheless, Liz and I managed to play one game that went on for far too long.
There was a big arts festival happening across Havana this week called Habanarte and I was able to attend two performances. On Tuesday, a few of us went to a contemporary dance performance (a tribute to Cuban choreographer Lydia Cabrera) at a theatre called the Mella just a few blocks from our apartment. The theatre itself is very cool and feels like a retro cinema. I thought the performance was impressive if not a little strange. The set and costumes were elaborate and I really enjoyed the music, which was mostly electronic instrumental. On Wednesday, we went to see a jazz group called Juan Manzano perform on one of the stages at the Teatro Nacional (also where the National Ballet performs). This show was really incredible and we went with three of the Cuban girls who take classes with us at Casa de las Américas. Their names are Ingrid, Patricia, and Ana Gabriela. Ingrid's stepfather was the cellist in the jazz band.
Ingrid is 25 years old and speaks almost perfect English. In addition to taking English in school, she began speaking fluently when she became best friends with a British exchange student that lived with her family during her senior year of high school. Ingrid is brilliant and motivated. She is currently completing the two years of servicio social required of all Cuban citizens who graduate from university, technical school, medical school, nursing school, art school, or teacher's training. She studied communications at University of Havana, currently works at Casa de las Américas, and is in the process of applying for scholarships that would allow her to attend graduate school in England. Patricia is 20 years old and is studying visual arts at University of Havana. She is currently completing her social service at Casa de las Américas while she is still in school, which is uncommon. Ana Gabriela is 21 years old and has a degree in Art History. She is currently finishing her social service. All three girls are extremely bright. Ingrid and Ana went to one of the best secondary schools in Havana. They are excellent people to have in class, and we learn a ton about Cuba when we spend time with them outside of class because they are so open and inviting to our questions.
This Saturday we ventured to Miramar, which is a neighborhood west of Vedado. It is known for its bigger homes and mansions, as well as it's nice hotels. We went to one of the many playitas in Miramar, which are rocky road ends (usually with concrete jetties), that one can snorkel, dive, or swim from. There was a variety of people at the playita we went to including scuba divers from the nearby diving center, families, and groups of middle school aged boys. We were happy to discover a suitable place to swim that is closer than the beaches to the east.
Liz, Bryn, Jessie, Naomi, and Me
We had plans Saturday night to meet Ingrid, Patricia, Ana, and a few other Casa employees at a bar called Espacio, but there was a giant thunderstorm accompanied by a blackout, which prevented us from doing so. On Sunday, however, we met up with the girls and walked through El Parque Almendares, which is situated in a forest on the river called Río Almendares. The forest was absolutely beautiful - I don't think I've ever seen such a green forest. After walking through the park, we walked through the neighborhood called Nuevo Vedado (New Vedado) to a large and very famous cemetery called Necrópolis de Colón. Ingrid's boyfriend came with us on the expedition and he told me all about how Nuevo Vedado was the neighborhood where all of the wealthiest Cubans lived before the revolution, and who fled to Miami after Castro came to power.
Patricia, Me, Ana Gabriela, Bryn, Ingrid, Liz, and Jessie
This week marks the end of my first month in Havana and I am finally starting to feel at home and at ease in the city. Little things that were once complicated and overwhelming are getting easier. I feel confident getting around by máquina and the accent is getting easier to understand every day.