KUBA-2004

**the night before my flight my friends ben, rupert and i had our last night of fun while i was in montreal. we continued are second night of good times and just hung out all night and had some beers. i had to be up 4am to get to the airport due to a 7am flight. i managed to get to sleep around 2:30am and woke up at 4am called a cab and headed for dorval international.

march 5th, 2004

today has been so so incredible. i left montreal this morning on my way to havana, cuba. the flight was okay and i managed to get a little sleep on the plane due to my activities the night before, that morning and me getting 1 1/2 hours of sleep. waking up was so unreal. i opened my window and looked out while we were flying over the ocean. we were still around 30000 ft in the air and the color of the water was amazing. the prettiest green/ aqua blue i have ever seen. i will never forget that. never seen anything like it. the whole ocean was this color. unreal. up until then it hadnt hit me that i was on my way to cuba. then the island appeared and seeing it from the air was pretty spectacular. i wish i was able to have taken a picture however my disposable camera was down below in my bag. seeing the island from the air sent so many thoughts through my head."i am technically not supposed to be doing this" this is it. its finally here. living in the us i didnt get to learn anything about cuba so this was unknown territory which made it so fascinating. seeing the island from the air ruled. the airport in havana is very very small. it was kinda funny but i didnt expect it to be that small due to havana being a capitol and its the only major city. as soon as we arrived to the gates i saw alot of green uniformed people around. turned out to be goverment workers/military. i didnt really have any problems crossing the border except for a bag of almonds and trail mix i had. customs just made me throw it all away. bummer. oh well. walked outside to the island known as cuba. i caught a cab into the city and in the cab was someone who was on my flight. his name was thomas. older gentleman about 40yrs of age and was pretty familiar with havana. half way into our cab ride he gives me his phone # in havana and tells me to call him so we can get a beer. that was my first taste of warm hospitality. what i experienced today was insane. i knew it would be rad and had heard about how warm and outgoing people are here however i diidnt expect it to be like this. the cab ride was nice. havana is by far the most rundown city i have ever seen but yet still very alive. interesting. the streets were completely fucked. alot of motorcycles and mopeds. the buses were just spewing out thick black smoke as well as most cars. there is no way to escape that. i arrived at the home i was supposed to be staying at and went up. as soon as i walked in i met juan orlando who i had aranged to stay with. the first words out of his mouth were "come in and sit down. drop your bags" i really cant find the words to explain it. the vibe here is so crazy. there house is your house. well i left my bags there because my room wasnt going to be ready until around 7 that night. so i decided to go out and start checking shit out.
habana vieja is very run down and everyone is out having fun in the streets/ alleys. oh ya! i forgot something. when i arrived in the airport today i found a bathroom for obvious reasons and there was no toilet paper. i was warned about that but didnt think it would actually be that crazy. not in an international airport. i was warned so i did come prepared and brought a couple rolls of t.p. there is really nothing here so far that reminds me of back home yet the people here are 100 times happier. and cheerful. the people i have met so far. well while i was walking i stopped to check out my map and was approached by someone. for a second i was cautious due to me being in a new unfamiliar place and i was just sitting there looking at a map. well his name turned out to be anzo. someone who i will never forget. the first thing out of his mouth was "what are you looking for". i told him and he said "come on" and from that point on i spent the rest of my day with him and his grrlfriend julian. i was looking for a vegi restaurant and anzo took me to one. he wasnt vegie and actually didnt know much being vegie. i think he thought it was probably strange however he still took me to this restaurant. then!! he actually payed for my food. what the fuck!! it was so crazy. unreal. i have never felt this warmth with people. not in the world i am used to at least. this dude bought me food and we only knew each other foor 20 mins. after food we went to get some mojitos(my first mojito-the right place to have one) continued our night and then they got a cab for me and i went back to habana vieja. there is such a huge language barrier however it hasnt stopped anything. my first day in cuba has been so much more then i imagined. i am in ah. i got back to my house that i was staying at and juan told me there was a mistake and his rooms were filled. he had called someone while i was out and arranged for me to stay somewhere else and then walked me down to this place. so tonight i am staying with a very mind petite lady named martha and her husband roberto. roberto must be at least around 75 but that didnt stop him from walking about 10 blocks to come and meet juan and i and take me back to his house. so unreal. again someone else who is super warm and outgoing and extremely friendly. i want to stress that. its the first time in 25 yrs that i have seen and felt something like this and i wasnt even here for 1 full day.

march 6, 2004

i was woken up this morning by roberto. breakfast was waiting for me on the table. on the table there was a plate of fruit and a pitcher of fresh squeezed oj. what a good thing to wake up to. 2 of the fruits i had never had and have no clue what they were called and was to shy to ask due to the extreme language barrier. i ate and then caught a shower. once i was ready i payed my rent and caught a cab over to anzo and julians house where i had arranged the night before to meet them. we sat at their house for awhile watching some bootlegged movies. anzo had told me last night that he would find me a private house in central habana. well that what he did. this cute little old lady whos name i forgot is letting me stay at her house. i have it all to myself. i have know clue where she went or is going. i met her, we talked for about 10mins tops, and then she gave me her keys and took off. again nothing but incredible hospitality. people go extremely out of their way to help others out. so i dropped my bags off at my new house and went back to anzo's. they live only 1 block away. sweet. well anzo and julian had to go to the hospital due to anzo's grandfather being ill. anzo's brother(whos name i forgot as well) walked around with me checking shit out. we walked around the university of havana. the main entrance is so spectacular. to get up to the entrance you have to walk up about 80-100 stairs while the entrance and alma matter statues tower over you. we couldnt get inside due to the university being closed. from there we walked down to la playa-the beach- and sat on the ledge of the malecon(main street that hugs the coast) it was pretty cool because you can see the whole city and the coast. it was actually pretty weird staring straight ahead and knowing that the us is only 90 miles away. damn!. 90 miles but yet these two places are completely opposite of each other. complete opposites. if you could drive there it would take no more then 1 1/2 hours. so crazy. after the beach we walked through china town and went to the bar where anzo, julian and i were the night before and again we got mojitos. after our drinks were done we walked through the blistering sun back to the vegi restaurant i ate at yesterday. the weather here today is beautiful and very very warm. about 29 c was the temp and its the first day in months that i have worn shorts.
we then went to some place where i checked my email and from there headed home where i am now. today was a very good and i am looking forward to tomorrow.
i had a thought today about cuba and western markets. when these markets start bringing there business and the disease known as capitalism to cuba what is known as cuba today will be completely gone and that doesnt seem to fair.

march 7th, 2004

sitting in the coast of havana on the malecon. its another beautiful hot day here. to the left of me on the rocks are a bunch of kids jumping off the rocks into the ocean. actually its not really rocks but one big rock type formation. there is no sand whatsoever. at least as far as i can see. the water and rocks are completely covered in garbage. napkins, straws, cups, cans cover the coast of havana. i woke up this morning and was about to take a shower when i realized that it wouldnt be much of a shower. the water just trickles out at random intervals and there is no hot water at all. not that its needed here. when i do use the water(sink, shower, toilet) i have to turn on the main water switch and then the water comes out of a huge steel barrel in the bathroom. who knows what lingers inside there. it looks clean but who knows. water sitting in a metal container is probably not that good. i know i wont be showering that much soo its okay. the toilet that is in my house has no toilet seat and is extremely close to the wall which makes for interesting poops. ha. it would have been more interesting if i wasnt prepared and didnt bring toilet paper. im lucky. there is none here whatsoever. every toilet i have used so far has no TP. on the main road(malecon) which hugs the coast and the edge of the city is an extremely busy road. every minute or so cars will drive by honking their horns. i gather that they are citiizens who are trying to make some $$ by being taxis. their cars ahve no signs of being a taxi except driving by honking. after the beach i walked along the coast and came across the "US Interests" building which was guarded with armed military. walking by i was told no photos and later in the day when i was walking back from my journey i stopped across the street from this building and was whistled at by one of the guards and could tell that he wanted me to keep moving. i walked some more and then went and bought some postcards and wrote a couple messages. i walked back home and then met up with anzo for a little bit, hung out, and then called it a night. i forgot to mention earlier while i was writing my postcards i met someone walking by with a guitar. we sat together for about 30 mins talking. he let me play his guitar and then he played himself. he was very good and was in a band that played cuban music. i gave him 2 picks which i had in my wallet which he was very happy about and then he showed me the pick he was using so i understand why he was happy. i was actually surprised he still used his pick seeing how destroyed it was however if thats all you can get then thats all you have. its nighttime here in havana. tonight there is a full moon over havana and its a sight to see.

** i still remember the moon. it was big as shit, the skies were completely clear. i dont know how else to explain it except that it was the shit most of the streets are dark due to only half the street lights working. tonight the moon made the night. it was so beautiful and also helped out alot while walking around. walking the streets here whether its night or day you will always here salsa music. on every block someone has music blaring. i realize that today i got hit hard. i sit here with a massive sun burn. i also remember this sunburn and i dont think i have ever been this burnt. it was pretty bad. the last 5 months i have been in the cold, to very cold, to snow so sunblock didnt come into my mind at all. which means i didnt bring any. i need to get some asap. then while i was walking all day my left foot hurt. tonight i discovered that there is a huge blister on my foot which i need to tend to. i still dont know about the quality of the water which means i need to be careful in regards to my wounds.

march 8th, 2004

today i am pretty much out of commision. i have a very severe sunburn and i dont have anything to help soothe it and went out this morning to try and find something but couldnt which didnt surprise me. then i have my feet which are completely destroyed from my walking. by the looks of them i think i may have athletes foot or something. so i will stay indoors and do some reading. shit! as i lay here reading i just realized that my whole house is infested with these tiny bugs. i dont know if they are small ants but whatever they are there is alot of them. i guess i just have to make due. i just went to eat at the restaurant i have eaten at the last 3 days. its the vegetarian restaurant which is about 4 blocks from my house. the price is extremely good. i pay between $2-$3 for a cup of fresh juice, salad and usually rice, beans and spaghetti. the price is good however the food isnt the best. the salads are usually turning brown, the spaghetti is just noodles which are not cooked to well and the rice is very plain. then the place is covered in flies which are sitting all over the food and hovering over you as you eat. again you make due. ha! well the water in my house stopped working tonight. not that i use it that much due to the cleanliness of it but i use the toilet. hopefully this doesnt last long. i have no clue whats wrong with it.

march 9th. 2004

i just woke up and still have no water. i am a little worried and there is nothing i can do because i have no clue how to get ahold of the lady rented me this place. shit i dont even know her name. i feel at the moment like i got kinda burned and its kind of a bummer. i payed her money beforehand so im in a no win situation.
so i am sitting here thinking about my cleanliness and the cleanliness around me. i just read my travel book and it talks about scabies and other weird parasites which is starting to bum me out. the place i stayed at the first night was actually pretty nice and this place doesnt compare to it at all. like i said i already paid for my whole stay. fuck. its almost mid-day and i havent left my house yet. i have to go to the bathroom and have had to for the last hour however the water is still not working. the last day or so i havent done much due to my sunburn. the only thing to do was sit and be in thought. i am glad that i made this trip and have no regrets however i think my next couple trips it would be cool to have someone to travel with. some friends.
as soon as i finished writing this my day actually turned into a good interesting day. anzo came over and as soo as i told him about my water he went outside and hit a switch and my water started flowing again. right then my spirits went up and i was able to wash up a little and go to the bathroom with no stress. anzo left to go to the beach with some grrl although he has a grrlfriend. bummer. poor julian. i was invited to go with him however i declined due to my day planned out with sight seeing and going to the museum of the revolution.
ha. my day didnt go as planned though. i started walking towards the museum hoping to catch a cab. 5 mins into my journey i was yet again approached by a older couple asking me where i was from. its so so crazy how much i stick out here. seriously everyone knows i am not from here. people will either approach me directly or just stare at me. iits pretty crazy. i have never felt this before but its not a bad thing. so the couple i just met were teachers at the university of havana. she was a history teacher and he was an english teacher. they insisted i walk with them. i explained that i was going to catch a cab due to my sunburn and not wanting to be in the sun. they insisted i still walk with them and we can walk in the shade. so i accepted and walked with them through central havana. the gentlemen knew good english due to his studies and on our walk stopped and bought me some peanuts and then gave me a coin with che guevara on the face. we walked through the streets for about 30-40 mins when his lady friend left us to go to the pharmacy to get her father some medication. the gentlemen insisted i continue on with him so that i did. i went with him to his house where i was invited in for some coffee. he was a very nice man and his english was fairly good. he showed me around his house and took me to a make shift shrine in his house. i am not sure what exactly it was but had something to do with afro-cubanism/ religion. on the shrine there was some sort of liquid fragrance. he oured some into his hand and rubbed it on his forehead and insisted that i do the same so i did. we were then served coffee from his sister and sat and talked for awhile. he tried to give me some gifts(coconut, cigar) but i politely declined due to having to come across the border back home. he lit up the cigar and we sat and smoked and then went outside and i took some photos. after the photo session he insisted we go to the bar, drink some mojitos and smoke the rest of our cigar. i accepted and went this bar where we sat for about 1 1/2 hours drinking and smoking. it was pretty nice.

** i dont think normally i would have been allowed in this bar due to me not being cuban. there are places where cubans go and then there are places where the tourists go. cuba operates on the cuban system and the tourist system and they are quite opposite. i was allowed in this bar due to me coming with a cuban.

from the moment the gentleman and i met he kept telling me "you are cuban. not canadian, not american. you are cuban" almost everyone i have came across has had the same attitude."we are brothers""you are in cuba. you are cuban" its been interesting however with some of these people it seems like there are strings attached. today for expample. when we were at the bar it was left up to me to pay the bill which i didnt mind due to the experience. i dont know if this was his full intention and i truly hope it wasnt however right before i actually left he proceded to ask me for a dollar for some milk and was persistent about it. i declined due to me being strapped for funds and traveling. hanging out with him was nice but then when the $$ was brought up it was kinda weird. i am traveling and am on a budget. i understand where he is coming from just seein how things are here however i hope he understands where i am coming from. having said that today was another good day and an interesting experience. i didnt get to do what i had planned which is okay because i traded it for this experience which was good. tomorrow i plan on doing the museum. the people of cuba truly amaze me. so so warm. earlier today when was eating at the restaurant i always do i went to use the toilet and on the ground there were bits and pieces of paper and receipts laying on the ground. you could tell that this is what people used here for toilet paper and then just threw it on the ground. fucking crazy. back home even take toilet paper for granted. when walking through the streets you have to watch every step you take to make sure you dont step in shit seeing how it just covers the streets here. 99% of the automobiles here are older then i am. you dont see new cars here unless they are taxis and even that is very little. even to police drive old old russian cars. if the cars arent old 50s chevy's they are old 50s russian cars.
-about 95% of the music and movie cassettes here are all bootlegged. on any given street you will see someone fixing an automobile. if you are driving and your car breaks down then you get out and fix it. there are no tow trucks to help you out and it seems like mechanics are hard to come by and when/ if you do i am sure most people cant afford it. most streets are either filled with potholes, half paved, or covered in garbage and dog waste. thats if you can see through the black fumes from the autos. if you are not in ah. the you are not in cuba. ha ha. i came up with this one. no one has computers here therefore the internet is pretty much unavailable unless you go to some places and pay for it and the prices are usually set up for tourists so the cuban people wouldnt really be able to afford it. and they are also hard to find.

march 10th, 2004

its been a long day and i am pretty worn down. my back is starting to bother me and the sun sure wears you out. i awoke earlier this morning due to having alot planned out with my day. i washed my feet over the tap and walked down to a little vegie/ fruit market on the side of the street. i bought some carrots, cucmbers, bananas, and a pineapple. it was so cheap. everything ended up costing me $3 at the most and so far the bananas and carrots have been great. yum. from there i walked a couple blocks to a supermarket where i was looking for some peanut butter but there was none to be found. i bought some water, sent some postcards off, and walked home to drop everything off. i then headed towards habana vieja where i was going to go check out the museum of the revolution. while i was walking through the streets i hear a "ameri-ca!, ameri-ca!" i look up and its the fellow i spent most of my day with yesterday. funny because yesterday i was supposed to do the museum and got sidetracked hanging out with him. i couldnt let the same thing happen today. he came running downstairs and insisted i come up "for 1 minute" which i knew wasnt possible. i couldnt refuse so i followed up the stairs to the house he was at. his mother was there who happened to be 90yrs old. it was crazy hearing she was 90. she didnt look it at all. she was walking around and even puffing away on cigarettes. unreal. i met his sister again and stayed at their house for about 30 mins where i was served more coffee. cubans love their coffee and they ecspecially love making coffee for their guests. i was set to leave and again like yesterday was hit up for $$. again my budget didnt allow for this. i stuck to my NO and kept to it. i said my goodbyes and left walking towards the old city. i hadnt been down here yet. the old city had people everywhere. its where most of the tourists stay and visit so the streets were packed. i walked until i came upon the old presidential palace also known now as the museum of the revolution. it is here where there are old tanks, planes, US bombers/ US U-2 spy plane which were shot down by cuba and the boat the granma which brought fidel castro and che guevara from mexico to cuba in 1956 during the revolution. right as you pay and walk up the main stair case which is this huge marble structure there are all of these huge bullet holes in the walls. these bullet holes happened during the assault on the palace from the revolutionaries. the museum tells the story of the cuban people taking back their land from the spanish & us imperialist. its filled with pictures, clothing, documents, and weapons etc etc. i am so glad i got to go and check this place out. i was there for about 2 1/2 hours reading and looking. i took a few pictures and then left. there was a middle eastern restaurant near by which i wanted to check out so i did and had some falafel with pita and hummus. a nice little afternoon snack. after eating i went to the capital so i could take a picture and then headed home which is where i am now. i am looking forward to going home. not that i am looking forward to leaving cuba but i am looking forward to being with my friends. thats really it. for the last week i havent had one person to talk to. a full conversation is what i am craving. i miss that. i am enjoying myself and have enjoyed my travels.
-these thoughts are mine tonight. my thoughts are divided by the sea, this island is inhabited by me
i walk these streets tonight with a head full of thoughts, the moon is full and bright and somehow i feel lost
i count the days upon my return then everything will be fine, theres so much on this trip ill learn, the memories are all mine the filth that blankets this street, tells the story of triumph and defeat, still the people continue to carry on, making the most of it until its gone, the sun is daily and very alive, is this what makes their culture thrive.

march 11, 2004

today i woke up and tried to get some water. my water ran out sometime yesterday and i couldnt get any last night but was able to get some this morning. i cleanes myself the best i could and got dressed. took a walk to the market to buy some more vegies and fruit. i bought about 10 bananas for about $.25. so crazy. and they are actual bananas grown without fucked up shit. i brought my groceries home, peeled and ate a couple carrots then headed out for the day. i was only about 3 blocks from my house when i met 3 dudes who were in their house listening to bob marley. i was asked "do you like bob?" and i responded "yes" and was then invited in. one of the dudes name was pablo. he sported a head full of dreads and was sporting the marley shirt. he knew english fairly well. one of the other dudes went and bought some rum and we sat there listening to some bob marley, the police, and beethoven while at the same time giving ourselves a little buzz. i was told today that in madrid spain there was another terrorist attack.

** president of spain at the time was blaming on the basque region. turns out that through later invesigation it was the basque region and was actually al queda and a week later was elected out of office and the people put in a socialist. fuck yeah!!!!

since i have been here i have no clue whats going on in the world. i havent seen any news papers or magazines around here. information is very very limited here. the cuban people get free medical and schooling but when i was talking to pablo he told me they how they have no freedom in cuba. the cuban people can not leave cuba. its against the law.

**its actually a major major crime. if you leave you do not want to come back.

well it was time for me to leave. i said my good byes and walked with my buzz to the palacio de la revolucion. here there is a huge statue of jose marti and a huge tower which is 5 sided. if you were to view the tower from the air looking down it would look like a huge star. the tower is similar to the monument in dc. its the highest point in all of havana. i cost some money to go inside so i passed. surrounding all of this is nothing but goverment buildings. there is the ministry of national security, ministry of communications, and the ministry of defense. all of these places are crawling with armed guards. the ministry of national security has a huge metal mural of che guevara(about 9 stories big) and a huge ass cuban flag. i stayed here for a little bit and took some pictures and then i caught a cab home. i then slept for a couple hours to try and get rid of the buzz i had, woke up, went to get some food and now here i am. i forgot to mention earlier when i was walking to the plaza i had to use the bathroom. i asked a female security guard if i could use their bathroom and she let me. well after i was done and walking to the street she asked me for my passport. which i didnt have. she didnt speak any english but i could understand what she was saying. i then understood her asking me where am i staying. i told her that i didnt have my passport and this is where i was staying. i think she wanted to know the address but thats something i dont even know. i was a little nervous for a second but then i continued on and everything was okay.

**from what my travel book said is that when you walk around you should have your passport with you. oopps. its nothing major.

march 12, 2004

so here i sit in my private house. i am actually really stoked out right now. i think i may have got the (i)nc job. fucking hell. this fucking rules hard. i am really excited about this.

**while i was in cuba i was working on getting on 2 tours. the (i)nc and anti-flag. well there were times that i was in cuba stressing about this issue. i had nothing planned and really wanted these tours. it was either tour or get a job somewhere. my communication was very minimal with the outside world and was totally stressed because i thought it may hinder me getting the tours. so it all worked out and was the shit.

today i woke up and walked down to cubana air due to me wanting to try and switch my ticket to come back a day or 2 early. well that didnt happen which is fine. i realize when i get home i have alot of shit to do. ha ha. no worries. after trying to switch my tickets i went to the super market and bought some more drinking water. i then went to check my internerd and cruised back here where i sit. the afternoon i went and sat outside listening to my headphones just taking in the sun. a gentleman i met a couple days ago at the market was walking by and came up to me with his 2 friends. this dude had told me he was actually going to ubc(university of british columbia) to study for a couple months. anyhow we sat outside talking for awhile and then they asked me what i was listening to. we started to talk about hip-hop and they knew about all the underground hip-hop(or somewhat underground) in the US. it was amazing talking to them know how hard it is to get music here if any at all. they were pretty stoked because most of the names they had mentioned i had it on my headphones. so we sat there for a good hour or 2 and they took turns listening to there favorite songs. they said that actually last year the roots played here in havana and common, talib kweli, haverplayed here as well. thats the shit that these groups have actually all played here. fuck yeah!! i would have thought that to be impossible. thats pretty cool. i then had asked these dudes if they had heard of assata shakur.

**assata shakur has been living in havana cuba since 1986 after escaping a prison in the US where she was serving a life sentence in a highly disputed trial. she was a black panther in the 70's and was part of the FBI's COINTELPRO. so she now lives in cuba.

they said they had and that she still lives here in cuba. wow. thats one person it would be great to meet and talk to. i have 5 more days here. ha ha. i really shouldnt be counting and it seems like thats all i have been doing recently. i am just looking forward to getting home and going out on tour.

march 13, 2004

i sit here kinda going crazy. i am thinking again about going home. this hasnt been a bad trip at all. i am so glad that this has happened to me. i do think it would be different if i was with someone i could talk to. share the experience. every other trip i have been on i can always keep in touch with calling cards and internert. i have used the internet here its just kinda expensive and slow. i am not stoked about not having any sun tan lotion. i screwed up big time on that one. you cant get it anywhere here. this has for sure been a learning exzperience and something i will always remember. thinking about growing up in the culture/ society that i did. here i am writing about all of this convient/ comfortable shit. the internet etc etc sitting in a country where they dont have any of that shit. fucking pretty crazy. i just had my 2 day cleanse which consisted of washing my feet and wash my other parts with a baby wipe. i am a very lucky person. shit everyone i know is lucky for where we live and what we have. we take it all for granted. most of the people i know including myself can go to sleep on a compfortable bed. the bed i have slept in for the last 8 days is completely fucking destroyed and is taking a toll on my back. she has slept on here for how many years? another interesting thought. the whole vegi/vegan lifestyle. i am one who advocates a vegan diet however here in cuba it would be extremely hard to be due to the resources and money. it is easy for to live a vegi/ vegan lifestyle in our culture due to how accessible these foods are. here it is not possible. we at home mass produce animal products and there you dont see that. you realize how fortunate you are sometimes. we need to become more aware of this and not take shit for granted. its also interesting because the US has made cuba how it is. the US always having the upper hand. over the whole world for that matter. this world is pretty weird.
i am looking forward to getting to play my guitar. i am really stoked for the way things have gone for me lately. just with my travels. assata shakur-la honda(spelling) i am not sure if the spelling is correct but la honda is assatas name at the moment from what i have heard here. cool. well today and tonight was one of the better nights of the trip. funnest night so far. i met some extremely real people.
i went to the beach earlier to do some reading. it was starting to get pretty windy so i moved and walked to some park where i sat for awhile. after i was done i was walking home and walked by this grrl and boy. as i walked by they whistled to signal me. i stopped and the grrl looked at my book and was stoked to see i was reading w.e.b. dubois. she didnt speak english to well but they had stopped me because of the book i was reading. her name was dorei and his name was alexei. they then asked me if i listened to hip hop and i again i had my headphones with me so i showed them what i had. the language barrier was there but we were doing okay communicating. they told me about a hip hop gathering tonight. we couldnt find a pen to write down our info so we then went back to alexei's house where he got his friend who knew english to help us communicate. we all agreed to meet up so we could go together. we walked to my house so they could see where i lived for when they came to get me. they left and i went to eat back at the same restaurant and my food was very very good tonight. i went back home to wait for dorei. she arrived and looked amazing. she is very beautiful person. i thought that the moment i saw her. she had her dreadlocks up in a hair wrap. i am not sure if she was but she had mentioned rastafari a couple times. anyway she picked me up and we began our walk. she actually brought a english-spanish dictionary with her so we could talk better. her english and my spanish werent the best but we were doing okay and were able to communicate the best we could. it was kinda funny. we would stop and look up words and start laughing. well we walked for awhile talking and we then came to the house to meet alexei. when i walked up there was a grrl who said "an ak press shirt. odd" ha. well this was alexei's friend. i met 4 people at this house who were from the US going to school in havana. it was very random but nice and exciting. we all walked down to this park together since they were going as well. thats why we met them there. i was pretty stoked. the park was pretty far from where we were but it didnt matter cause i was with some cool ass people and had people to talk to. we walked for about 30mins and came upon the park where the gathering/ show was taking place. it was huge and filled with tons of trees towering above. we had to walk down this stair case into the park. it looked amazing. it was dark out and to think of if it was light out it would probably be so pretty. we paid and all went in. 2 dudes were on stage rapping. everyone rapped in spanish which makes sense and were all good. it was nice to hear the beats and rock out with everyone. it was so much fun. the sound was good and everyone there ruled. sucha good vibe. you could tell these people were all real and fucking awesome people. a little underground hip hop scene in havana. yeah. afro-cuban people are so incredibly beautiful. everyone was about having a good time. most people there had there hair dreaded up and most grrls were wearing head wraps. there was one grrl who got up on stage and sang with some group and was so amazing. someone had brought their child with them and they were on stage dancing. after the hip hop was done some grrl got on stage and started dj'ing and everyone started dancing. people were passing around rum so i took a couple shots and we danced until they shut the thing down which was pretty early. after the music was over we all left anf there was a big group of us walking home. about 20 people or so. i got to meet more people. this fellow sam (who was from maryland and was in havana studying international development) and i talked about cuba and the situation here. it was nice to talk to someone who has seen this first hand and has also seen the US first hand. i would talk to other people as well and sam would help with the translations which ruled. we walked home and we all sat and chilled a street for awhile and it seemed like the night was pretty much done so i headed home.



































march 14, 2004

i havent done much today. I went and bought some water then headed to the beach and watched the ocean for awhile.. i was just outside reading and was approached by 2 japanese grrls. they were japanese exchange students but i am not sure where they were going to school. they flew in from mexico so i am assuming they are from the states. they had just arrived and forgot to get a guide book and all they had was this little map so they stopped and asked me some questions about the area. where to go? what to do? i did the best i could with advice. it felt good talking to someone again and helping them out since people have helped me out recently. i just went out to eat and am still amazed about how warm and outgoing everyone is. i will definitely come back and i hope sooner then later. however it would be nice to return with someone. here i am a total outsider. everyday i get numerous people who stare at me but its not a negative stare. its more curiosity. people here are very interested in me which makes sense with my blonde hair and fair skin. i am not from there. i am looking forward to being able to put a sticker on my map for the island of cuba since now i have been here.

march 15, 2004

last night as i was going to sleep i heard ryan adams "so alive" song coming from someones house. it was so weird because i just recently got into him and i like him alot. crazy seeing how this is havana cuba. i think what it was is someone was probably switching stations on their radio and picked up a signal. i guess if you have a short wave radio here you can pick up some stations in miami.
just came back from eating again at my usual spot. the only place i eat at. the food tonight was pretty good. i ate alot. ill make a little note of this just to make a note but the table clothes and napkins at the restaurant are all dirty. they dont really wash them. maybe they do but maybe at the end of the day and re-use them. just an observation. earlier today i spent most of my time at the beach. i went to the market this morning and bought some more vegies. i must not have spent more then $1 for about 10 bananas, 3 cucumbers, and a pineapple. after the market i came back here and ate my fresh pineapple which ruled and then went to the malecon. i watched the ocean all day. i met a father and his son who were armenian living in cologne, germany. i had seen them eating at the restaurant the night before so we sat on the malecon wall and talked for awhile about life, cuba and fidel castro. him and his son took off a little while later and i sat there listening to my headphones. a little while later i see a fellow with long blonde/red hair walking along the malecon wearing a "fuck nazism" tshirt. i told home "nice shirt" and he stopped and talked. his name was simon and we was from aberdeen scotland. this was his second trip to havana/ cuba. both times he has left the city and traveled around the country. we sat at the edge of the water talking some. simon actually used to be a singer in a political metla band in scotland who had played with napalm death in the past. he worked in a needle exchange/ drop in center and that was his occupation. we talked about the current world situation, cuba and when you are talking about all of these things you can not do it without also talking about the US and our current bonehead bush. ha. well i wouldnt go as far as saying "our". we then went up the hill to some nice restaurant over looking the coast and simon treated me to a mojito. a good mojito it was. we continued our talks and he was flying out that evening so we had to end our meeting. we exchanged contact info. simon and i both agreed that our trips wouldnt have been a success if we didnt do it alone. there are tons of people who have made this trip and tons who havent so yes i am glad that i did. my experience has been somewhat survivalist. you fend for yourself. not having water, not having food, the heat, my infested house with ants, the dirt everywhere, and the fumes everywhere. i could go on and on.

march 16, 2004

i leave in 2 days. it will be nice to get home and be with friends. i have been gone for the last 1 1/2 months to cali, nyc, montreal and now here so it will be nice to be home. its going to be nice to cook food and do some baking. i havent cooked or baked in almost 2 months. cant wait! my back has taken a little beating from the bed i have been sleeping on so its going to be nice to start streching again everyday and actually have room to. i havent streched in awhile due to my travels and here in cuba at my place there is no room to lay down and the floors are covered in bugs. oh and then there is the guitar. its going to be nice to play. the weather in rva is probably going to be pretty nice which will mean alot of time spent outside and some fires in our firepit out back. justin is living with us now so that will be nice to get to spend more time with him. i havent done that in awhile. my day so far has been pretty good. earlier today i went to the supermarket and stocked up on some water so i wont have to later. i came back home to put it in the fridge and then i headed out to the malecon. today has been the hottest day so far. i hadnt yet walked all the way down the malecon to the castlelike fortress at the edge of the harbor. so thats where i went. i sat on the wall and watched some dude fish for about 1 hr or so. the water was such a beautiful color. very caribbean. aqua-blueish-green. so i sat there catching some rays from the sun and saw my 2 armenian friends who i had met yesterday. he was taking his son to the beach. it was such a perfect day for the beach. everyday i have been here its been total beach weather. next time i come i need to bring sandals, and sun screen. although the beaches around here arent really swimming beaches due to the rock formation and the garbage that covers them. the water is so amazing looking. i walked to the end of the malecon and checked out the havana harbor and then headed back the direction i came. picked a spot on the wall and sat there again. i was looking down into the water and saw the most amazing colored fish swimming around. they were a dark blue and and swimming right below me. rad!. cuba seriously rules hard as shit. i am definitely coming back here very soon. next time i come back i want to go snorkeling as well. this is the perfect place for it. the whole coast that i have seen is pretty much a big coral reef. the colors are extremely intense. i must say i am in love with the carribean.
went to get some dinner tonight and when i walked outside it was raining. not extremely hard. this is the first time its rained since i have been here and its not a heavy rain just a light little drizzle. i have one more meal here in cuba after tonight. it will be nice to get some different foods in me however i am going to miss how cheap the food is here. ha ha.

march 17th, 2004

woke up this morning with an extremely sore back. so sore that i couldnt get back to sleep. i cant wait to sleep on a level surface. this bed is fucked. what a bummer that this is all people really have. this is my last day in the republic of cuba. so tonight i went to my regular dining spot to have my last meal. i had brought about 10 bottles of vitamins with me from back home to give to people.

**due to the sanctions by the US its hard to find basic shit as vitamins/ medicine/ asprin etc etc. so before my trip someone gave me about 10 bottles of vitamins to bring and give to people. i cant believe shit is this fucked up. all due to power and money. complete complete bullshit.

i was going to give them to all of the people who have been serving me food for the last 12 days. well when i came up to the restaurant it was closed. it looked as if it was going to be closed for awhile. that happens here in cuba from what i hear. just because something is here one day doesnt mean it will be here the next. what a bummer. the people that worked at this place ruled. i am very fortunate that i was able to eat here for the last 12 days however. things would have been different for me if i had to kinda fend completely for myself by cooking and shit. i mean i can cook and shit however being vegan would have been a very tough thing. this restaurant made it that much easier. so tonight i ate the rest of my provisions that i had brought with me. this consisted of a bag of sesame sticks and a bag o peanuts. dinner is served. i was going to save this for the airport tomorrow but since i have no food right now and will have food tomorrow on the plane i ate it all. tomorrow night i will treat myself to a nice dinner in montreal.

march 18th 2004

i am flying back home today. i took a cab to the airport which turned out to be cheaper then when i arrived but the same distance. about $15 cheaper. interesting. i arrived at the airport, went through customs, and waited for my flight. at the airport i bought myself a little cuban flag as a little memory of my trip. this trip has been so so incredible. i cant believe that now i have been to cuba. 2 months ago, 1 year ago, shit 5 years ago who would have thought that i would go to cuba. not me. i just decided to go about 1 month ago and it all came together in that time. i am still tripped out by the whole thing. i got to experience a world completely different then what i am used to. completely different from the west. still a commmunist country and one of the last holding on to the idea of communism. a country that is not consumed by material goods like we are back home and elsewhere. one of the smallest countries in the world and is being bullied by the biggest empire in humanity. since the fall of the USSR cuba has been on its own which is amazing and pretty unreal.

a couple notes before i forget:
-i gave some of my socks and t-shirts that i had to the kids i met. they had asked for them so the last day i told them to meet me at the park where i met them and i gave them my shit.

-the other day seeing 4 kids on the bikes hanging on to each other while the one in the front was hanging on the back of a bus and they werent going to slow. never seen anything like it. ha ha.

-200 pesos is about the average wage here in cuba. this is about equal to $8US or so.

-all the dogs here look completely beat up. most walk around with major limps and none are fixed.

well that was my trip. if anyone ever has the chance to go to cuba i recommend going before its to late. to late meaing that sometime in the near future i think cuba will become just another disney land attraction or so. this will happen and the way things are in our world its going to happen very very soon. it happened just 150 miles away 2 weeks before i arrived. this was the removal of the president(jean aristide) of haiti. the US was a major player in the haiti situation. since i have been back from cuba i have actually went onto the state department and white house website and read articles regarding cuba and there you can read yourself plans/ documents with what the US wants with cuba. one thing that is amazing about the cuban people is they are a very prideful/ nationalistic people. che guevara is everywhere. their pride/ nationalism isnt arrogance like ours is. in the US we have the attitude of "lets go get em" and "everything is ours". when this spreads to cuba i think that the people of cuba have a chance again to stop their country from getting taken over. i think the pride of the cubans will help them alot. i personally dont have much to be proud of with the US. however the people in cuba have so much to be proud of. they are one of the last countries that still havent been taken over by this disease known as the capitalism/ free market(whatever you want to call this). this love for a country i have never seen and i am glad i got to see it.