Finally
Sorry I am a fool who forgets, not his friends but his passwords.
Here is some stuff that I have written so far expect more…
I apologize for the delay. After days of processing I think I’m finally ready to write my first update. Cuba is amazing. I have been here for well over a week and a lot has happened. When I first arrived we were met by some of the administrators of the program at UNIAC (Union of Artist and Writers). After a long drive from Jose Marti airport we were dropped of at our home stay. The first night was hard I kept thinking and rethinking about what I was doing here feeling unsure about myself. My host family woke me up to boiled eggs with coffee with mad milk. Breakfast is small and I don’t mind because I usually don’t eat breakfast at all. My host family is cool. I live with a small family mother and son. The mothers name is Maria. She is short, thick with red hair and always wants to feed me. The sons name is Maurisio, he his as tall as me but bigger. Every time he sees me he always smiles with a thumbs up and a wink. They live in a small apartment on the top floor, which is the fourth. My room is small, compared to everyone elses, but comfortable. It ‘s equipped with a shower, kitchen, closet, desk, bathroom and showerhead. I have gotten use taking cold showers.
Orientation was so slow. It was an organized mess of knowing the streets, dinners and mojitos. The craziest part of orientation was going to club Havana. It was a social club for the elite that had been shut down during the revolution but now it has reopened for rich tourist and diplomats. We mostly spent time on one part of the beach that was designated for the club. Me and Unique celebrated getting blacker. After Orientation I finally had free time. I met up with a friend of Thanu’s, Javier. He is so dope. We have been chilling and talking for the most part. He has been showing me Havana little by little. He tells me since I’m Thanu’s boyfriend that he is responsible for making sure I have a good time here.
Besides chilling out, drinking rum and going to different party’s I have started do work as well. I have a Spanish class, which I need because my Spanish is still horrible. I also have a film class were we look at the history of Cuba through film and aesthetic, my favorite. I’m also in an ethnography practicum taught by Margaret. These classes have been dope so far. My project hasn’t started yet. I have been researching with though and I have met with my tutor who is also really amazing. He is a really old school editor who has worked on so many Cuban and Latin American films. He is really excited about my project since his great grandmother was a slave.
Even though all this stuff has happened in the first week I think I’m I feel a lil homesick. Cuba is amazing but I miss my peoples and I miss home. I also miss Thanu too. It’s also been hard since my Spanish is not great. Cubans speak mad fast and swallow there words. I know it will take time to learn but at this point I feel fustrated. But all is good. The weather is amazing. I managed to catch a cold though by leaving the ac on. The group has been all right. I almost kicked dan berg though but I walked away. We were all out for the first night in one big group at café G and 23, it’s like the union square of cuba. So were chilling and I’m off to the side just scoping the place out, dude comes up to me and says “Whats wrong this isn’t Brooklyn” what a fool, he apologized after. I’ve haven’t really chilled with the group yet, its not intentional though. It’s just hard for people to get in contact with me because I’m never home. It’s so weird not having a cell phone or easy internet access. I feel like I lost an arm. It’s also been refreshing to. I have had to become more organized and conscious of time because of it. I hope that I keep this habit. I wonder what campus has been like. Is there any drama or is all good? It’s crazy being away from Hampshire and so necessary. I think that I feel good overall about my decision to be here I just hope that I do good work. I love you all. Yall should holler back.
5 months ago