Hello From Cuba – Part 4 – Bureaucracy Galore –
Hello From Cuba – Part 4 – Bureaucracy Galore – The University Of Havana
Yesterday I needed to register for my Spanish course at the University of Havana. The Campus of the University is an astoundingly pretty sequence of classical constructions and a Cuban tank graces the entrance to the library.
At 9 am your entire overseas scholars, approximately 40 of them, met inside the Edificio Varona and we were shepherded by using a variety of professors into a very antiquated lecture hall. (By the method, of the five or 6 washroom stalls within the womens loo, simplest 1 or 2 have bathrooms in them, no toilet seats, and no operating water within the sinks. Again a signal of distinctly run-down infrastructure…)
There they informed us about the program, but basically in Spanish, which became very well for me, considering I communicate Spanish, but approximately part the institution was completely lost. We then needed to do a fast written placement scan to evaluate our latest Spanish capabilities after which the paperwork started out.
We came upon out that we necessary the next documents:
– a copy of our passports
– an reliable copy of the hotel guest card and/or a duplicate of the licence of the inner most Casa Particular
– 2 hundred CUC (Convertible Cuban Pesos) in money for a 2-week path or extra for other courses
– forty CUC for changing our tourist visa to a tutorial visa (in economic stamps which we needed to attain abuot five km away)
– 2 passport photos
– 25 CUC in cash to expedite our academic visa if we are in town for most effective 2 weeks.
I related up with a number of foreign students and we headed off in combination on our quest to meet the Cuban choice for Burocratismo. We first got funds at bank at the Hotel Havana Libre, then were given the passport graphics executed (to be capable for pickup three hours later), then searched for the alternative bank on cabo san lucas yacht rentals Calle 23 that could grant us with the 40CUC stamps for the tutorial visa. With really lengthy lineups world wide, this took us about 2 or three hours.
Then we acquired pretty hungry and we were approached via a regional “Jinetero” (restaurant tout) who promised us a finished meal with important dish, salad and facet dish for 6 or 7 CUC. We walked with him, simplest to find out that the wait at the Paladar (private eating place) may be approximately forty five minutes to even sit down, now not such as cuisine instruction time.
So we walked up Calle 21 and a individual restaurant proprietor approached us for a meal and we gave in and got here inside. It turned into a desirable colonial villa, except for that the visitor room with is vital three tables and 12 seats was once in a dark small dingy room absolutely with out home windows.
However, we had a scrumptious homestead-cooked meal, I had roasted chicken with rice & beans, salad and a lemon gentle drink, excited about eight CUC (about 8 US$). 2 of my scholar colleagues were from Germany and any other fellow is from Toronto as properly, however firstly from Poland. We had some noticeable conversations and it was once thrilling linking up with a gaggle of Europeans in Havana.
After a short relaxation in the inn, my chum Pedro lower back picked me up within the night and I couldnt guide however tell him about my knowledge with the Cocotaxi motive force the day past, who had attempted to decide on me up, regardless of my clarifications and statements that I changed into married and no longer curious about any amorous sports.
Pedro explained that sexual kin in Cuba are a notably undemanding, basic-going element and that that is very straight forward for worker's to link up for instant “meaningful overnight relationships”. He observed the Cuban folk as very “passionate and sizzling-blooded”, I wager that explains about a the advances that I have been receiving so far, specifically due to the fact that there is also exceedingly various sex tourism wherein men (and even girls) come to Cuba to have interaction in really conceivable erotic stories.
Pedro and I walked due to the historical the city and of course alongside the Malecon (the seafront street) and noticed the alluring Plaza Vieja and the Plaza de los angeles Catedral where a mass was once being held for the passing of Pope John Paul II.
This turned into very attention-grabbing, on the grounds that Cuba is a Communist / legit atheist us of a and there are a good deal fewer Catholics in these days than formerly the Revolution. Actually a lot of Cubas religion is a mix of Catholicism and Santeria (spiritual practices of the African slaves). Regardless of religiousness, Cuba has declared a 3-day “duelo nacional” (a country wide mourning duration for the Pope) and the mass became attended by hundreds and hundreds of people.
Pedro and I then had a pleasing meal inside the “Barrio Chino” (Havana’s Chinatown) for five.60 CUC (less than US$6) for two of us and 2 vegetarian meals and smooth beverages. After a nice dinner he once again flagged down a native personal motor vehicle driver and gave him approximately 1 CUC for deciding on us up and shedding us off at my Hotel. At nighttime I dropped into bed, exhausted.
However, at four am this morning I woke up with substantial intestinal difficulties. Apparently my Chinese meal had now not turned into me so well and I had serious digestive themes emanating from equally sides of my body. This morning I realy felt rotten and I ended up the use of my very own clinical package for the primary time and took a few Immodium.
I turned into not able to devour breakfast, yet I made my method to the institution in which at nine am our categories began. Surprisingly the position take a look at had positioned me into the level of “perfeccionamiento”, the top stage and the level of Spanish in my classification became certainly very prime. The classification includes 7 students, a young female from England, a younger female medical student from Denmark, a middle-aged feminine general practitioner from Finland, a young male legislation pupil from Sweden, a younger lady and man from Norway and myself from Austria/Canada.
Obviuosly there may be a truly heavy Scandinavian slant in my class and it looks absolutely everyone in the class is a passion sociologist, political scientist, environmentalist and historian. We asked a few slightly challenging questions on Cuban existence, the political technique, the financial hardships, the double economic climate, the trouble of adult females and blacks in Cuba, machismo and the crisis of the ecosystem.
Some of those questions made our woman professor sense highly uncomfortable and it appeared like she was squirming underneath the barrage of probing political and sociological questions. She acquired very shielding a couple of instances about the Cuban manner and best after we discussed the nice and bad aspects of European and Canadian societies did she chill out a chunk and turn into somewhat more open and frank approximately the proper Cuban life. It appears that to at the moment Cubans have got to be very careful about what they say in public.
For illustration, she frankly admitted that racism nevertheless exists in Cuba and to nowadays it's far still a country with quite a lot of machismo. However, she did no longer admit that Internet access and entry to non-Communist media is forbidden for Cubans, she easily explained it as an economic element. (Several of my colleagues had heard another way of their travels in Cuba, surely that a Cuban isn't really allowed to have get entry to to the Internet). She additionally admitted that it is absolutely not allowed for Cubans to discuss with the tourist spaces of the Cayos (e.g. Cayo Coco) which is exclusively reserved for tourists and Cubans have no get right of entry to to that arena whatever, a certain level of competition some of the locals.
Class ended about 1:20 and my dissatisfied belly did not let me to intake any nutrition. I headed back to my hotel, slept somewhat and had been on the Internet for the previous 2 or so hours (racking up a invoice of approximately $US 20.00 or s0), documenting my travel.
It’ll be a quiet night this night considering the fact that I am seeking to cool down my belly. But I am sure the adventures and the learning will hold day after today.