I will be on holydays during 2 weeks. Yeppa!!! :-)))))
Moreover, July has some other official holydays so, don’t worry : if for the moment I am out of reach it doesn't mean I have disappeared and I keep on thinking of you all!!!
Have a nice summer!!!
Debora
Monday 2 July 2007
Sunday 10 June 2007
Saturday 5 May 2007
Sunday 25 March 2007
Monday 19 March 2007
Tuesday 6 March 2007
Too integrated
When you are a frequent traveller you always get to a point where you don’t get surprised anymore by the funny things happening around you. When people approaching you suspiciously, ask you “do you want potatoes?” or “in need of cheese? White one?” as if they were selling drugs and you think it’s a normal black market deal; there it is when you’re becoming too integrated. I could tell you that I had a lot to do and luckily it is a part of the truth, but my silence in this blog is also due to this side effect of the adaptive faculty that enables a human being to flourish wherever he or she happens to fall. But let’s try to be a child (or an anthropologist, others would say) again and be surprised by the normal life of 12 million people in an island lost somewhere in the Caribbean’s far away from advertisement, deep into propaganda, music, patriotism and dream.
Piropo, among other sports such as baseball (beisbal), domino, chess (quarrel with Cubans if you don’t consider these 2 as sports ;-), dance and volleyball, is one of most spread national hobbies. In this case we are talking mainly of a male activity and, being Italian, I have to say that if there would be a Piropo’s world championship Cubans would be at the lead. So, let’s try to take inspiration from a TV program I saw a few days ago and define what a good piropo is. Being optimistic we could say that it is a practice thought to sustain female self esteem through male voiced periphrasis or rather a social practice male specimens express to simulate courtship and gain points (no matter if for themselves or in the eyes of their peers) through induced smiles. Well, here are some examples: 2 girls are going out from a museum, the boy: “What will we do? Pieces of art are escaping the museum!”; a girl in the street after the rain, the boy throws his t-shirt on the puddle to let her pass; and then: boys on their knees in the streets, old men reassuring a woman that they would have chosen the same dress, and finally tons of “que Linda”… well I am talking of the good piropos!
Shopping is not a sprint sport as in our experience, but rather an endurance one: you go to a shop looking for A, they have tons of B you don’t need now, but you ignore wherever B will ever be back again so you buy B, even tons of B if you’re a nervous person. You go to another shop, always looking for A, you may find C or a piece of information pushing you closer to A discovery. So you go further. Looking for A, item you need. You finally arrive where A has been said to be, but it’s not there anymore or if it’s there you just miss a coin of the good money (remember the double currency system) to buy it. Are you ready for another game? Definitely Murphy was a bipartisan jurist!
What else could I say? That there are dozens different types of wonderful Cuban music and I am still far from being able to recognise them all: rumba, son, trova (with or without feeling), timba, cha cha cha, mambo, danson, conga, tumba francesa, fusion… but unluckily the most heard now by the youngsters is the commercial raggueton (I encourage Brussels crowd to ask Alvaro and Vittorio for a munequitos’ demonstration of how to dance raggueton!).
Now, I am finally settled in my little house: a studio in a little tower (to exorcise any princess’ childish delusion) with a small cosy terrace pretty well situated at the heart of Vedado (forbidden…because from there you could easily gain the old town) neighbourhood. I get along very well with the land lady that offers me eggs I still haven’t understood if legally acquired or not. Moreover, thanks to Flora (sigh-sigh!… she’s leaving too soon!) I got to know some normal Cubans and now I have the confirmation they exist I’m eager to discover more.
Many friends are coming to visit me: Federica who’s now in Buenos Aires for a master, Vittorio, Alvaro and Julien, already back to their work in Brussels, and Mauro and Francesco scheduled for Friday. Thanks to them not only these 2 months have passed incredibly quickly, but also I can enjoy things money can’t buy such as olive oil or depilation wax! In spite of these material losses I like being here: it is pretty sure and cultural goods are affordable, you just need to adapt and get integrated. Just be careful, not too much!
Piropo, among other sports such as baseball (beisbal), domino, chess (quarrel with Cubans if you don’t consider these 2 as sports ;-), dance and volleyball, is one of most spread national hobbies. In this case we are talking mainly of a male activity and, being Italian, I have to say that if there would be a Piropo’s world championship Cubans would be at the lead. So, let’s try to take inspiration from a TV program I saw a few days ago and define what a good piropo is. Being optimistic we could say that it is a practice thought to sustain female self esteem through male voiced periphrasis or rather a social practice male specimens express to simulate courtship and gain points (no matter if for themselves or in the eyes of their peers) through induced smiles. Well, here are some examples: 2 girls are going out from a museum, the boy: “What will we do? Pieces of art are escaping the museum!”; a girl in the street after the rain, the boy throws his t-shirt on the puddle to let her pass; and then: boys on their knees in the streets, old men reassuring a woman that they would have chosen the same dress, and finally tons of “que Linda”… well I am talking of the good piropos!
Shopping is not a sprint sport as in our experience, but rather an endurance one: you go to a shop looking for A, they have tons of B you don’t need now, but you ignore wherever B will ever be back again so you buy B, even tons of B if you’re a nervous person. You go to another shop, always looking for A, you may find C or a piece of information pushing you closer to A discovery. So you go further. Looking for A, item you need. You finally arrive where A has been said to be, but it’s not there anymore or if it’s there you just miss a coin of the good money (remember the double currency system) to buy it. Are you ready for another game? Definitely Murphy was a bipartisan jurist!
What else could I say? That there are dozens different types of wonderful Cuban music and I am still far from being able to recognise them all: rumba, son, trova (with or without feeling), timba, cha cha cha, mambo, danson, conga, tumba francesa, fusion… but unluckily the most heard now by the youngsters is the commercial raggueton (I encourage Brussels crowd to ask Alvaro and Vittorio for a munequitos’ demonstration of how to dance raggueton!).
Now, I am finally settled in my little house: a studio in a little tower (to exorcise any princess’ childish delusion) with a small cosy terrace pretty well situated at the heart of Vedado (forbidden…because from there you could easily gain the old town) neighbourhood. I get along very well with the land lady that offers me eggs I still haven’t understood if legally acquired or not. Moreover, thanks to Flora (sigh-sigh!… she’s leaving too soon!) I got to know some normal Cubans and now I have the confirmation they exist I’m eager to discover more.
Many friends are coming to visit me: Federica who’s now in Buenos Aires for a master, Vittorio, Alvaro and Julien, already back to their work in Brussels, and Mauro and Francesco scheduled for Friday. Thanks to them not only these 2 months have passed incredibly quickly, but also I can enjoy things money can’t buy such as olive oil or depilation wax! In spite of these material losses I like being here: it is pretty sure and cultural goods are affordable, you just need to adapt and get integrated. Just be careful, not too much!
Tuesday 30 January 2007
Soroa
Hola everybody!
I finally moved to Vedado a safer neighbourhood, a nicer place to go out in the evening and definitely closer to my office. Nevertheless, I’m still “semi legitimate” but as they say here to make it out you have to go through the left side and being a socialist country the left is the best choice!
These week-ends were dedicated to Old Havana (Habana Vieja) a treasure unveiled also thanks to Victor, the colleague in charge of tangible heritage, who led me and Giselle through architectural night tours. Another activity has been a Sunday trip in a guagua (still moving Cuban bus) to Soroa falls and “prehistoric” mountains (please have a look at the picture here below: you’ll understand why I put the semi-comas): an anthropological experience in itself that kept me longer jumping in the bus than walking in the nature.
Something I didn’t expect is racism. Sure, Cuba is a melting pot and everyone has a member of his or her big family that has a different skin colour, but a “negro” remains a “negro” and if they think so they say it loud and clear. So, during the same trip in a multicoloured guagua, I have already been reassured by a pale lady who participated in the alphabetisation campaign in the ‘60s, “that next trip will be better as surely there won’t be so many Negroes”. Some pretend that this issue is only a matter of social class and education, others that this phenomenon is rightly due to the fact that every problem was treated like an income one and there hasn’t been a true public debate on racism. Surely saying this kind of things openly it’s not a taboo like in Europe (where we can be as racist as them if not more) even if it seems that ten years ago it was worse and that now the conscience of the problem is arising.
I also met some expatriates and I still don’t know if the strangest are them or the Cubans. It will be enough to say that for example a Scandinavian arrived the same day as me has visited almost all the discos of Havana but she has never been to Habana Vieja or has never visited anything whatsoever. Anyhow, going to a disco can be a narcissistic experience and you kind of wonder how many “most beautiful girls in the world” may a Cuban have seen in his life. It’s also true that discos are the domain of jineteras/os (girls looking for sugar daddies or gigolos eager to impress some not always young European ladies with their dancing abilities) so it’s not patent prostitution like we know it in Europe, but it’s neither all normal people you see there. There is another event I am waiting for that seems more representative of Cuban people: the book festival, I’ll tell you next time.
Cuban one is not a violent society like many others in Latin America, but everyday life is like a game: if you have to purchase something the aim is to avoid being extra charged for your stranger’s appearance. The difficult, or unfair others would say, part of the game is that sometimes they have the right to overcharge you or make you pay with a different money (and not only in the museums, but in taxis, restaurants, shops…it always depends). But I’m starting to win some games and now I can get a cab like a true Cuban!
Concerning my job, I am now in supporting the regional coordination of the UNESCO offices in the region and soon (I do hope so) I will help in 3 other projects, 2 regional and one Cuban: one on AIDS and Culture (to help SIDA prevention and anti stigma sensitisation through theatre and cinema for ex.), another one on indigenous movies and documentaries (so that indigenous people can be actors and owners of their image), and the third handicraft gender and identity (to help women of Trinidad, a world heritage town, to develop handicraft more modern in design and of a better quality for tourism in order to improve their income and give them a mean to express themselves and the identity of the town).
Keeping on looking for a bottle of olive oil I tell you goodbye and to the next update!
Hugs,
Debora
I finally moved to Vedado a safer neighbourhood, a nicer place to go out in the evening and definitely closer to my office. Nevertheless, I’m still “semi legitimate” but as they say here to make it out you have to go through the left side and being a socialist country the left is the best choice!
These week-ends were dedicated to Old Havana (Habana Vieja) a treasure unveiled also thanks to Victor, the colleague in charge of tangible heritage, who led me and Giselle through architectural night tours. Another activity has been a Sunday trip in a guagua (still moving Cuban bus) to Soroa falls and “prehistoric” mountains (please have a look at the picture here below: you’ll understand why I put the semi-comas): an anthropological experience in itself that kept me longer jumping in the bus than walking in the nature.
Something I didn’t expect is racism. Sure, Cuba is a melting pot and everyone has a member of his or her big family that has a different skin colour, but a “negro” remains a “negro” and if they think so they say it loud and clear. So, during the same trip in a multicoloured guagua, I have already been reassured by a pale lady who participated in the alphabetisation campaign in the ‘60s, “that next trip will be better as surely there won’t be so many Negroes”. Some pretend that this issue is only a matter of social class and education, others that this phenomenon is rightly due to the fact that every problem was treated like an income one and there hasn’t been a true public debate on racism. Surely saying this kind of things openly it’s not a taboo like in Europe (where we can be as racist as them if not more) even if it seems that ten years ago it was worse and that now the conscience of the problem is arising.
I also met some expatriates and I still don’t know if the strangest are them or the Cubans. It will be enough to say that for example a Scandinavian arrived the same day as me has visited almost all the discos of Havana but she has never been to Habana Vieja or has never visited anything whatsoever. Anyhow, going to a disco can be a narcissistic experience and you kind of wonder how many “most beautiful girls in the world” may a Cuban have seen in his life. It’s also true that discos are the domain of jineteras/os (girls looking for sugar daddies or gigolos eager to impress some not always young European ladies with their dancing abilities) so it’s not patent prostitution like we know it in Europe, but it’s neither all normal people you see there. There is another event I am waiting for that seems more representative of Cuban people: the book festival, I’ll tell you next time.
Cuban one is not a violent society like many others in Latin America, but everyday life is like a game: if you have to purchase something the aim is to avoid being extra charged for your stranger’s appearance. The difficult, or unfair others would say, part of the game is that sometimes they have the right to overcharge you or make you pay with a different money (and not only in the museums, but in taxis, restaurants, shops…it always depends). But I’m starting to win some games and now I can get a cab like a true Cuban!
Concerning my job, I am now in supporting the regional coordination of the UNESCO offices in the region and soon (I do hope so) I will help in 3 other projects, 2 regional and one Cuban: one on AIDS and Culture (to help SIDA prevention and anti stigma sensitisation through theatre and cinema for ex.), another one on indigenous movies and documentaries (so that indigenous people can be actors and owners of their image), and the third handicraft gender and identity (to help women of Trinidad, a world heritage town, to develop handicraft more modern in design and of a better quality for tourism in order to improve their income and give them a mean to express themselves and the identity of the town).
Keeping on looking for a bottle of olive oil I tell you goodbye and to the next update!
Hugs,
Debora
Friday 19 January 2007
Friday 12 January 2007
well arrived
Hello everybody!
here I am and here are the first vicissitudes:
- They didn't know I was supposed to arrive right now
- My supervisor is on holyday
- I have an official visa so I cannot live in normal people houses, only in those managed by the State for diplomats… I let you the pleasure to guess the price. For the moment I am a semi regular host in a “casa particular” located in what seems to be not one of the best neighbourhoods of la Havana. If I stay in an official house I can have guests, while if I am in a private one in theory I couldn’t… the dilemma is getting worse!
- They gave me the stipend only today. As the PNUD official say it seems that up to date I had a “mala suerte particular”… and don’t tell me you don’t speak Spanish!
- My visa is 1 entry
- My credit cards are useless (if you’re coming to Cuba bring cash or visa)
- Opening a bank account is not recommended; apparently its only function is to take a pretty commission when you finally decide to close it. Anyhow everything works with cash; cards are to play games on the street!
- The right to a mobile is 110 USD!
But I am chronically optimistic and this would seem too much of a “cahier de doléances” while I am pretty happy and excited about this experience. So:
- You can see Ocean waves breaking up against Malecon :-)
- If this is winter I don’t dare to think about summer!
- My supervisor arrives on Monday and yesterday evening we had a New Year cocktail at his highest Director’s house (it’s not honorific, this flying Dutchman is really one of the tallest person I’ve ever met, and I already have a very good impression about him).
- These are wonderful, kind and very respectable people.
- If I wasn’t in this “particular” (=private) house I couldn’t get to know real Havana! Anyhow criminality is very low and the worst I could get through in these streets full of running kids is a dirty ball on my white trousers! Moreover the landlady and the family are very honest and kind (and they cook well!)
- Well, I’ve been paid isn’t it?
- I’m trying to get a multiple entries visa
- Even if they steal me all the credit cards I don’t loose a coin! Lololol
- I will rediscover the pleasure of cash under the mattress or the touchable reality of UNESCO’s safe
- I surrendered and bought a mobile line, here it is: 00 53 52 94 38 07
Everything is very fine!!!
Kisses from surreal socialism,
Debora
Thursday 11 January 2007
Bene arrivata
Ciao a tutti!
ebbene eccomi qua! E vi illustro le mie peripezie:
- Non sapevano che dovessi arrivare proprio proprio ora
- il mio supervisor e' in vacanza
- ho un visto ufficiale, quindi non posso avere accesso alle case per comuni mortali, ma solo a quelle per il corpo diplomatico... vi lascio immaginare i prezzi (per ora sono irregolarmente in una casa particular che pare non sia in uno dei quartieri migliori). Se sto in una casa ufficiale posso ospitare amici che mi vengono a trovare mentre se sto in una privata no... il dilemma si complica!
- mi hanno dato lo stipend solo oggi (pare che, come dice quella del PNUD, fino ad oggi abbia avuto una "mala suerte particular"... e non mi dite che non parlate lo spagnolo!)
- il mio visto vale solo per 1 entrata
- le carte di credito che ho non se le fila nessuno (se venite a Cuba solo contano i contanti o al limite la visa)
- mi sconsigliano di aprire un conto in banca, pare serva solo a farsi fregare i soldi quando decidi di chiuderlo e cmq qui tutto funziona in contanti, le carte servono per giocarci!
- il diritto ad avere un cellulare costa 110 USD... lololol
Ma siccome sono affetta da ottimismo cronico:
- si vede il mare che spumeggia sul Malecon! E se questo e' l' inverno non oso immaginare l'estate...
- il supervisor arriva la settimana prossima e stasera si fa un brindisi dall'altissimo direttore (non e'un titolo onorifico ma la ppura verita' su questo flying dutchman che mi ha fatto un'ottima impressione) per l'anno nuovo
- sono belle persone degne e gentili
- se non fossi in questa casa "particular" non potrei conoscere alla vera Havana! Comunque la criminalita' e' bassissima e il peggio che mi possa succedere in questo quartiere pieno di ragazzini e'una pallonata infangata sulle braghe di lino. Infine la padrona di casa e la famiglia sono molto gentili e onesti (e si mangia bene!).
- beh.. alla fine sono stata pagata no?
- sto cercando di far cambiare il visto per averne uno multiple entries
- anche se mi fregano tutte le varte di credito che ho non perdo nulla! lololol
- riscopriró il fascino dei soldi sotto il materasso o il gusto tattile della cassaforte dell'UNESCO
- ho comprato lo stesso la linea del cellulare, eccolo: 00 53 52 94 38 07
Insomma va tutto benone!!!
Besos dal socialismo surreale!
Deb
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