Anti-Cancer drugs and the Cuban Medical System

I hope that the Cuban economy benefits from this new partnership, and that many people are also helped:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/05/12/americans-could-soon-be-thanking-fidel-castro-for-their-revolutionary-cancer-drugs/?tid=hp_mm&hpid=z3

Pathways to Cuba

I saw this interesting article today, and it made me happy to see that the doors are opening for visitors from the US to travel to Cuba. With the proper regulatory framework in place, I think that the presence of Americans will not ruin the island any more than Canadians or Europeans, who have been visiting freely all this time. I do worry about economic exploitation, but perhaps we can trust that the Cuban people also care about this and will take measures to protect their own country and socialist identity.

A number of people I met there said that we were the first Americans they had ever met, and they were pleasantly surprised. They had been told by the [tourists from white non-US countries] that we are all rude! I hope that this is soon to change. I would like to see us cleaning up our image around the globe with sensitive traveling and ethical (non-exploitative) investment:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-32485823

Letter to the Next Traveler

So, you want to go to Cuba.

Here are some things to be sure you pack in your suitcase with your other items:

·         Full bottle of shampoo to leave for the hotel maid, Tylenol and other toiletries work as well

·         Toilet paper for the bathrooms (and never flush it down the toilet)

·         Nice camera and journal

·         Small things to give to cab drivers and people you meet (simple things from the drugstore or Walmart like soap and toothpaste)

·         Walking shoes

·         Shoes you can dance in (not flipflops)

·         Tea, if you drink it

·         Granola bars or other snacks, especially if you are vegetarian or have dietary restrictions

·         Bandaids

·         Anything you might need from the pharmacy or drugstore

·         Leave room for bringing back paintings or musical instruments or whatever interests you

Expect to spend some time riding around Havana in style. Always tip your cabbie. Oh, and it is OK to ride shotgun.

                Money: Expect to spend about as much money as you would normally spend in a place such as Las Vegas. For example, you will have some meals which cost around $5 but you will also have meals that cost more than $15. In some places, drinks are $1 and in others, they are $6. For the economically minded: look for places off the beaten path and ask around for places that are less touristy. Listen to the people on the street who are holding the menus and go to those restaurants that have good prices and food you want. Live music cover charges range from $5-10 usually and tourist places are higher than that. Cover charges usually include one or two drinks. 

Image of the patio at the Hemingway House outside Havana. Relax in the beautiful gardens away from the city.

                Behavior: Walk slowly and look at people. Talk to them. Don’t complain if your AC doesn’t work or if the menu doesn’t include the food you wanted. Ask nicely and smile. Stop being self-conscious. Go with the flow. At shops, check the bill and count your change. Say something if it is not right. Tip everyone who helps you at least one peso. Ask locals to find out what is going on and where. In other words, basically the opposite advice as one might give to you if you were going to New York City. 

                Personal: Write in your journal every day. Write down notes about the photos you have taken so you remember which plaza/monument/street corner you were on when you took the picture. I took a tiny notebook just to write down where I was when I took photos. 

Don’t just consume: make memories.

CUBA 2014: Local minima and local maxima

               I had a very introspective high point on Saturday morning in Veradero. I asked for a wake-up call at 5:30 and took my cappuccino to the beach with my camera to take pictures of the sunrise. It was magnificent. There were fisherman preparing their nets, there was the evening security staff (who you normally never even notice because they are not really meant to be seen) changing shifts, there was a man named Rafael cutting coconuts and he gave me one… In Cuba, there are these tiny birds – kind of like finches, I suppose, but they sing with voices that make them sound huge and beautiful. It is a very tropical sound, and it was the only sound besides the waves that I could hear. The sunrise reflected on the water in such a way as to bathe the ocean in sparkling pink and orange. The air was cool and fresh. As someone who loves people, but needs time away as well, this was the morning that I really treasured after a week of constant movement and conversation. 

     Fisherman leaving the harbor at dawn to catch fish. The color of the ocean is just amazing here.

                                                 My kind of breakfast: coconut and coffee.

                My low point was realizing the situation of the Cuban people because of their structural disadvantage. As a nation, Cuba has been blocked from participation in the global economic system, and within the country, individuals are deprived of freedoms which are part of our taken-for-granted value system. One could never describe the people as powerless or lacking in agency, I just find it very sad that the government has left them in such a difficult state of poverty. On the flip side, I have never met a group of happier, more generous or kind people who live in a world free from crimes against each other. I guess this is part of the magic of Cuba. Once you have connected, it causes you to want to return and ask more questions, dig more deeply, discover more.

                           One of countless windy, mysterious streets to explore in Habana Vieja

                Understanding Cuba means letting go of certain media directed ideas. One of these is the perceived link between poverty and crime. We must be very careful when extrapolating our cultural biases and problems to other places, and this is one of those places. Another is the low skilled Cuban immigrant stereotype. The Cuban educational system is exceptional and there is an abundance of overly educated and underemployed Cubans. Third is the idea of oppression. Cuba is a place much more complicated than a dichotomized view of oppressor and oppressed or of democratic and undemocratic. There is much more going on in this system and to think of it as simply communist or “third world” is to misrepresent its complexity and to fail to comprehend its richness. 

                                                            Saying goodbye to Havana

                I have covered some of the cultural biases of our own locality in my first posting on culture shock. Learning from the Cuban people has taught me a lot about hospitality, kindness and generosity. It has taught me how to speak from my heart instead of my head and that two languages are better than one if you want to express yourself. It has also made me realize, again, and I never get tired of realizing it, how very privileged Americans from the US are by their simple birthplace and how undeserved that truly is. There is no legitimate entitlement to our birth privilege or prosperity. This realization is humbling.

Here is a google earth tour (if it works properly) of some of the key places we visited in Cuba:

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!searchin/gec/Cuba$20trip$202014/gec-member-centric-locations/bIQyoej3Keo/KYCrgmsHqPEJ

I really have not added any fancy details or even descriptions, but some good places are pinned and the map itself has thousands of images that you might enjoy.

CUBA 2014: What were you doing in Cuba?

                We were studying the Cuban educational system at the Centro de Estudianos Martianos. That is not the study of Martians, it is the study of the Cuban National Hero and Educator José Martí. José Martí, we learned, introduced the concept of popular education to the Cuban people. His philosophy on experiential learning, critical pedagogy and lifelong learning were adopted by Fidel Castro and disseminated broadly during and after the Cuban Revolution. Martí’s work was well ahead of his time, as he had the radical idea back in the late 19^th century, that women and people of all nationalities and ethnicities should have equal access to public education.

                 Memorial to José Martí with flowers for the May 19th celebration of his life.

                In the Centro, the words of one person will forever speak to my heart. Here are some translated excerpts and I only hope I do justice to the intended meanings:

“I used to live with the rhythm of my society and fight against the enemy – a difficult vision and difficult life that many have not resisted.” 

                “This is an idea that I had all these years:

                We thought at the beginning and were convinced that we would have new growth – but it is very difficult. It is easier to have political power. When I was young, I saw [political power] as though it were gold – this is just foolishness. To think that it is easy to change economic structures to create a new society for people who have different ideas. Those people [foolish people] think that. How can they be reached? The problem is in education. If it does not change, then you cannot change society. The revolution will last forever. Any [outside] country cannot destroy the revolution. It persists, it destroys from the inside. The fundamental idea of the revolution [should be] education… we need more educational tools to avoid reproducing a system without freedom.”

Statue at the CEM. José Martí, they say, was like a tree. Although he was diminutive in size, as soon as he started talking in front of his classes, he would grow and grow and fill the room. 

                We also study the way that career development and career training is systematized in Cuba. For example, there is a specific branch of the educational system devoted to adult learners who are changing careers or are interested in progressing in their career. They attend an evening university which is named “Workers and Peasants Faculty,” an interesting name which does not convey university status in my mind. Usually a student will further the career path that he or she is already taking (based on an elaborate system of testing and tracking during primary and secondary schooling). With the permission of their boss, though, some students are able to actually switch careers, provided that they meet the academic requirements of the new career choice. 

                One big problem in Cuba is the movement of so many people from their trained careers into tourism. Because tourism is the primary source of economic flow into the country, the government provides an incentive for working in the tourism industry: $25 per month. Therefore, many skilled workers and academics move into the tourism industry (driving taxis, hosting at hotels and bars, working as tour guides or security personnel, etc.), abandoning jobs which are needed for a functioning society. Additionally, by becoming part of the tourism industry, individuals have direct access to tips, which bring in more than their base salary and which they would not be able survive without receiving.     

      

                According to one of our guides, doctors are the primary export of Cuba. Well educated and trained doctors are sent abroad to practice medicine, since the doctors are Cuban nationals, a large part of their income is given to the government. A doctor in Cuba makes about $40 per month. Healthcare is free for everyone. By many accounts, the medical system is very advanced and very good; however, medicine and supplies are very difficult to obtain due to the blockade. Because of this, local remedies and traditional medicine are common. 

                                 The José Martí Museum and memorial at the Plaza de la Revolucíon

                Everywhere I went, I learned. From the Center to the Museums and even during downtime from the local people, I was like a kid in a candy shop of knowledge. I am having a hard time imagining a moment when I was not learning something or seeing something that caused me to think in a new way or to understand people in a way that I had not understood them before. Granted, I can learn anywhere. I also love people. And, I have a desire to work in developing countries where political issues are sticky and toilets are rare, if they exist at all. So, my predisposition set me up for a great learning experience. 

                If I had all the time in the world, I would photo-document the locations of all the José Martí memorials in Cuba and create a "Where's Waldo?" style game with them using Google Earth. Perhaps in the next life...

CUBA 2014: Culture Shock? A pleasant surprise, really.

                I fit in well with the people that I met in Cuba. Whether this is something that would last over time, or whether I was just lucky, or perhaps it was a façade because I was a “rich tourist,” I do not know. But I met the kindest and warmest people and had a wonderful time. This was partly because I went out of my way to interact with locals and ask questions. The people that I met seemed to really enjoy talking about their lives and sharing with me places to go and do which are off the beaten path. I even had a number of them invite me to come back, offer to find me a Casa Particular (which is local housing for foreigners rather than a hotel), etc. I was impressed by the hospitality. Perhaps if you live in the Mid-Atlantic, you will understand why I found this so enchanting; compared to us, the Cuban people are so very friendly and kind. There are plenty of good people here, but in terms of laying out the welcome mat, Cubans show us that we have a long way to go. 

                          Being a tourist in Habana Vieja with a local cover model from Nat Geo

                The Cuban style of dress is very similar to trends in the United States. The young men and women could have stepped out of any US university campus or mall. Additionally, there is an abundance of musical talent, and this is apparent in many of the local restaurants, street corners, discotecas, clubs, bars, even the hotel lobby. To make extra money (and especially in the lucrative tourist peso, which is worth 24 national pesos), people of all ages will use their talents to market CD’s, artwork, crafts, etc. You might pay $10 or $15 for an original painting (oil, acrylic, you name it), which for the locals is a month of wages. The further from the tourist path you are, the more likely this money will circulate among the local population rather than getting siphoned into the socialist bureaucracy. So I felt good about buying the few things I did buy for my kids and family and actually wished I could have bought more. If you go to Cuba, leave room in your suitcase for music, books, paintings, carvings, and instruments – handmade wares that are pretty much a steal if you compare them to prices back home. They might stop you in customs on the Cuban side if you buy too many, though, because they think you are reselling them. So, be reasonable and not extravagant. 

                A note to the future traveler on culture:

To be careful of – the dual economy means that you are much richer, freer, more privileged and more powerful than anyone you meet. So be very careful of your presence and how it affects those you are interacting with. Crime is very low in Cuba – almost non-existent – because of the careful surveillance and constant control of people’s behaviors. While in Cuba, be respectful of the fact that there are many questions that the locals are not able to answer (by law) and which you really should not be asking (also by law) and no one should flaunt their freedom, money or possessions in front of others who do not have access. Downplay your affluence and don’t act either rich or spoiled. It will only ruin your trip and isolate you from your potential friends and experiences. It may also make you a target for manipulation. Be smart and considerate when you interact with others.