Hello from Cuba (6) - The Student Experience and Political Insights
Hotel Havana Libre, Friday, April 8, 2005, 3:21 pm
It is such an amazing experience to live the life of a student
again, after 15 years in business, 2 business degrees and
at almost 40 years of age (okay, soon Iīll be 39.....). No
regular Internet access, no cell phones, no business appointments,
just interactions during the classes with the professor and
my co-students. And after class, of course I try to immerse
myself as much as possible in Cuban culture, speaking Spanish
only. (I have actually started noticing that when I speak
English now I am starting to mix in Spanish words.....very
very strange.)
The Lonja Office Building.
For me this is absolutely fabulous. Yesterday we had a particularly
great day. There were only 4 students in my class yesterday
and the other 3 were from Scandinavia (Finland, Sweden and
Norway) and we had this amazing exchange among all of us,
including the professor, about different cultures, different
lifestyles, recreation, perception of other cultures, customs,
laws, societal circumstances.
I have never had much contact with Scandinavians and I asked
some rather naive questions about the long hours without daylight
during the winter (after which the suicide rates shoot up
in spring) and my colleagues talked about the fabulous summers
in Scandinavia, when itīs light from 4 am in the morning until
11 pm at night.
And I find myself sharing a lot of things about Canada, my
chosen home country and I find that I am a lot more proud
of my Canadian connection than my original Austrian heritage.
Here in Havana, where there are students from all over the
world, studying Spanish (Europeans from all different countries,
Canadians, Brazilians, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese etc.) I
feel at home and the atmosphere reminds me very much of the
environment in Toronto, where we have people from more than
100 different cultures. And itīs great to hear from people
from different countries that Canadians are generally well
received everywhere. I figure Canadians generally know their
place in the world, we know we are a pretty insignificant
country and there is a certain humility that goes along with
that....
Industrial landscape in Havana.
At any rate, the student experience is fabulous, and my Swedish
co-student and I in particular share a lot of idealist perspectives
about the world. He is young and plans to study international
law and human rights in Sweden and has a real interest in
social justice and I have a feeling we will spend more time
exchanging ideas and viewpoints.
Today we watched a video, a famous Cuban movie called "Fresas
y Chocolate" that deals with a multiplicity of topics, first
and foremost the intolerance and militant attitudes against
homosexuality in the early 1990s. But the movie also has socio-critical
undercurrents, eg. women marrying men to have a comfortable
life (money, a house and car), not because they love the person;
women not working and making money by reselling all sorts
of underground goods (or sex), oppression of freedom of speech,
intolerance in general of alternative lifestyles and opinions.
Apparently, this movie was a groundbreaking movie in that
it changed Cuban attitudes in the early to mid-nineties and
society has apparently become more open-minded in the meantime.
Museo de la Revolucion
Freedom of speech still does not exist here and I have noticed
with everybody that they are definitely watching what they
are saying. I was also told that the "Comites de la Defensa
de la Revolucion", local political neighbourhood organizations
(in existence to defend and protect Communism) in every area
of the country and city, keep a reasonably close eye on the
population.You have to be careful about what you say to whom.
Complaining openly about political conditions in the country
to this day is not at all advisable. There are no newspapers
that carry critical editorials and there are no official means
of complaint against the regime.
Comite de la Defensa de la Revolucion.
On the other hand, Fidel
Castro has been giving 4 to 6 hour long speeches ("intervenciones")
every Thursday for the last few weeks and he is talking about
some coming reforms that will apparently liberalize economic
conditions somewhat. Apparently retirement pensions and government
salaries are supposed to be increased, and the national currency
is supposed to rise against foreign currencies. I have not
yet figured out if there will be liberalization of private
enterprise, but it sounds like there are some significant
changes to come, and local people wait hungrily for news of
future developments and many of them watch the entire 5 hour
long speeches.
Itīs a truly strange country, and itīs so unique, not even
close to anything I have ever experienced. But you definitely
get the feeling that you are part of history
here, that the country is on the cusp of some significant
new changes......
Interesting and useful books about Cuba:
Related Articles:
"My
Post-Cuba Reflections: Appreciation and Balance"
"Cuba
is Calling - Why I selected Cuba as my language study destination"
Hello from Cuba (1) -
First Impressions"
"Hello from Cuba (2) - Rain
in Vinales"
"Hello from Cuba (3) - Hiking
Vinales and Exploring Nature"
"Hello from Cuba (4) - Bureaucracy
Galore - The University of Havana"
"Hello from Cuba (5) - Another
Mind-Twisting Experience"
"Hello from Cuba (6) - The
Student Experience and Political Insights"
"Hello from Cuba (7) - Fun
and Recreation"
"Hello from Cuba (8) - Bicycle
Rides, Camellos and Cannon Shots"
"Hello from Cuba (9) - Havana
Neighbourhoods"
"Hello from Cuba (10) - A
Country Excursion"
"Hello from Cuba (11) - Inside
a Cuban Home"
"Hello from Cuba (12) - Contrasts
and Contradictions"
"Hello from Cuba (13) - Exploring
Downtown Havana"
"Hello from Cuba (14) - Field
Trips and Interviews"
"Hello from Cuba (15) - Getting
ready to say 'Goodbye, Havana'..."
"Hello from Cuba (16) - The
final day"