Hello From Cuba – Part four – Bureaucracy Galore –
Hello From Cuba – Part four – Bureaucracy Galore – The University Of Havana
Yesterday I had to check in for my Spanish route at the University of Havana. The Campus of the University is an astoundingly amazing collection of classical homes and a Cuban tank graces the doorway to the library.
At 9 am the complete foreign scholars, about forty of them, met in the Edificio Varona and we were shepherded by way of varied professors into an exceedingly antiquated lecture hall. (By the approach, of the five or 6 washroom stalls in the womens bathing room, only 1 or 2 have lavatories in them, no bathroom seats, and no working water within the sinks. Again a signal of extraordinarily run-down infrastructure…)
There they informed us approximately the program, yet simply in Spanish, which used to be k for me, on account that I talk Spanish, but approximately half of the neighborhood was once fullyyt misplaced. We then had to do a rapid written placement experiment to evaluate our latest Spanish skills and then the bureaucracy commenced.
We determined out that we wanted the subsequent paperwork:
– a duplicate of our passports
– an legit copy of the hotel visitor card and/or a duplicate of the licence of the confidential Casa Particular
– two hundred CUC (Convertible Cuban Pesos) in cash for a 2-week route or more for different courses
– 40 CUC for changing our tourist visa to a tutorial visa (in fiscal stamps which we had to reap abuot five km away)
– 2 passport photos
– 25 CUC in revenue to expedite our instructional visa if we are in town for basically 2 weeks.
I associated up with a group of foreign pupils and we headed off collectively on our quest to fulfill the Cuban preference for Burocratismo. We first acquired dollars at bank on the Hotel Havana Libre, then acquired the passport snap shots finished (to be capable for pickup three hours later), then sought for any other financial institution on Calle 23 that may give us with the 40CUC stamps for the instructional visa. With incredibly long lineups anywhere, this took us about 2 or three hours.
Then we obtained in truth hungry and we were approached with the aid of a regional “Jinetero” (restaurant tout) who promised us a total meal with leading dish, salad and area dish for six or 7 CUC. We walked with him, merely to find out that the wait at the Paladar (personal eating place) might be approximately forty five minutes to even take a seat down, no longer adding nutrients preparation time.
So we walked up Calle 21 and a inner most restaurant owner approached us for a meal and we gave in and got here inner. It was once a lovely colonial villa, with the exception of that the visitor room with is mandatory three tables and 12 seats was once in a darkish small dingy room utterly with no windows.
However, we had a delicious domestic-cooked meal, I had roasted rooster with rice & beans, salad and a lemon smooth drink, keen on 8 CUC (approximately 8 US$). 2 of my pupil colleagues had been from Germany and the alternative fellow is from Toronto as well, but at the start from Poland. We had some considerable conversations and it became unique linking up with a gaggle of Europeans in Havana.
After a temporary rest inside the resort, my friend Pedro again picked me up inside the night time and I couldnt assist but tell him about my sense with the Cocotaxi driving force the day prior to this, who had tried to decide me up, in spite of my clarifications and statements that I was married and not considering any amorous things to do.
Pedro explained that sexual family members in Cuba are a highly undemanding, easy-going component and that that is very original for men and women to hyperlink up for rapid “significant overnight relationships”. He pointed out the Cuban of us as very “passionate and sizzling-blooded”, I guess that explains about a the advances that I had been receiving so far, fantastically for the reason that there is additionally particularly loads of intercourse tourism in which males (and even females) come to Cuba to have interaction in without difficulty to be had erotic reviews.
Pedro and I walked through the antique town and of route alongside the Malecon (the seafront side road) and noticed the fascinating Plaza Vieja and the Plaza de l. a. Catedral wherein a mass used to be being held for the passing of Pope John Paul II.
This was very fascinating, considering that Cuba is a Communist / reputable atheist kingdom and there are tons fewer Catholics this day than ahead of the Revolution. Actually a lot of Cubas faith is a mix of Catholicism and Santeria (religious practices of the African slaves). Regardless of religiousness, Cuba has declared a three-day “duelo nacional” (a nationwide mourning era for the Pope) and the mass become attended by way of loads of other people.
Pedro and I then had a pleasant meal within the “Barrio Chino” (Havana’s Chinatown) for five.60 CUC (much less than US$6) for two americans and a couple of vegetarian meals and soft beverages. After a nice dinner he once again flagged down a local exclusive car or truck motive force and gave him approximately 1 CUC for deciding on us up and losing us off at my Hotel. At nighttime I dropped into bed, exhausted.
However, at 4 am this morning I awakened with best intestinal trouble. Apparently my Chinese meal had now not develop into me so properly and I had extreme digestive problems emanating from both aspects of my body. This morning I realy felt rotten and I ended up utilizing my own medical kit for the first time and took some Immodium.
I turned into not able to eat breakfast, however I made my way to the collage where at 9 am our instructions began. Surprisingly the situation experiment had positioned me into the level of yacht charters los cabos “perfeccionamiento”, the very best point and the level of Spanish in my classification become certainly very excessive. The elegance involves 7 scholars, a young lady from England, a young feminine medical scholar from Denmark, a center-elderly girl medical professional from Finland, a young male law student from Sweden, a younger girl and guy from Norway and myself from Austria/Canada.
Obviuosly there's a truly heavy Scandinavian slant in my magnificence and it turns out each person within the magnificence is a interest sociologist, political scientist, environmentalist and historian. We asked a few as a substitute not easy questions on Cuban lifestyles, the political device, the financial hardships, the double economic climate, the crisis of women folk and blacks in Cuba, machismo and the location of the environment.
Some of these questions made our feminine professor believe rather uncomfortable and it regarded like she changed into squirming under the barrage of probing political and sociological questions. She received very shielding about a instances about the Cuban gadget and basically when we mentioned the great and unhealthy components of European and Canadian societies did she relax a section and turn into a touch greater open and frank approximately the true Cuban lifestyles. It turns out that to these days Cubans should be very cautious about what they say in public.
For instance, she frankly admitted that racism still exists in Cuba and to at the present time it is still a country with quite a lot of machismo. However, she did now not admit that Internet get admission to and get entry to to non-Communist media is forbidden for Cubans, she in simple terms defined it as an fiscal issue. (Several of my colleagues had heard another way of their travels in Cuba, absolutely that a Cuban isn't really allowed to have entry to the Internet). She additionally admitted that it shouldn't be allowed for Cubans to seek advice from the traveler spaces of the Cayos (e.g. Cayo Coco) that is solely reserved for tourists and Cubans have no entry to that edge in anyway, a specific element of rivalry the various locals.
Class ended about 1:20 and my disenchanted abdomen did no longer allow me to intake any nutrients. I headed returned to my hotel, slept a little and have been at the Internet for the earlier 2 or so hours (racking up a bill of approximately $US 20.00 or s0), documenting my experience.
It’ll be a quiet night time tonight due to the fact I am looking to calm down my abdominal. But I am confident the adventures and the finding out will maintain day after today.