Another update from Jacob in Cuba!

Hello all,

I am still safe and sound in Cuba!  This is the part of the semester where the fun takes a back seat to academics.  This past week I had three papers, two tests, and one presentation where I taught the entire class period, just over two hours, entirely in Spanish.  I also finished a Cuba song/rap in Spanish that has been in the works for a few weeks.  Even though I may have lost a few hours of sleep, I am happy to have all of those things out of the way.  Now, I just have my final papers for all my classes, but they shouldn’t be too difficult.  Even when going on “Monk Mode”, as my mom likes to call it, I still managed to see/do some incredible things.

            A few days ago, I had my first dream IN SPANISH!!! It was not an incredibly extraordinary dream, but it meant a lot to me.  I usually don’t remember audio when I dream, so it was even more exciting to have audio in Spanish.  The dream, if you are curious, was basically exploring how we could have gotten back to the other side of the island if our plane was delayed even more coming back from Baracoa.  We ended up hitchhiking and riding in the back of banana trucks, but I don’t remember if we ever made it all the way back to Havana.

            That day, we had a private tour of the Cuban medical school in Havana.  The campus was more a palace than a school, and we learned that it was originally a training facility for monks.  After the tour, they let us sit in on a presentation about Ebola, and we watched a short documentary on a treatment facility.  Plastic sheets line the walls and floors of the entire building, the doctors and nurses were basically wearing hazmat suits, and the patients are not even allowed to contact each other.  They also mentioned their efforts to prevent the social/emotional alienation of the patients, which I think is really important.

            The following day, I had a few more firsts in Cuba.  I called and ordered my first pizza from one of the only delivery places in the area, and I also won my first game of dominos that same day.  There is a group of guys in my neighborhood who always play dominos on a corner nearby, and they have been showing me tips and tricks over the past few weeks.  I played with them for about an hour and only won once, but I was also able to follow the conversation and make some jokes.  I can feel my Spanish getting better, and I am so excited to spend another semester practicing and learning in Chile. 

            Weird sightings of the week:
-A man carrying a plastic whiffle ball bat in one hand, and a huge machete in the other.
-A guy waiting at the bus stop, casually holding his pet FALCON!

-A woman over 50 years old wearing a graphic tee with the words “I brought sexy back”

-A hilarious “fast-food” place called SuperBurger.  They used a modified logo from Burger King, the exact menu photos from McDonalds, and food that did not resemble either chain.  My first Cuban fast-food experience! 

            I also learned that my Myers-Briggs type (a test to measure physiological preferences in how people perceive the world around them and make decisions) is ISFJ, which is pretty cool because apparently that is the same type as Mother Teresa.  We have a girl in our group who LOVES to talk to people and figure out their type, so she analyzed me when we were talking one evening. 

            I met two important people today: first, I met a Cuban anesthesiologist who really wants to learn English.  I offered to teach him English for free if he finds a way for me to shadow him at work.  We exchanged contact info, so we’ll see what happens with that.  I also got the business card of one of the best conga players in Havana, so I am going to call him on Monday and try to set something up.         
               Last but not least, I went to a Rumba dance lesson last Wednesday.  We learned all about the different types of Rumba, the religious and musical history, and even some of the dance moves.  It turns out Rumba dancing is right up my alley – it’s all in the knees, shoulders and elbows!

As always, I miss and love you all.

bss (just learned the texting shorthand for besos),

Jacobo