When it rains...

When it rains…

Monday morning starts like all mornings; at seven for breakfast and getting ready.  Then a walk to our history class housed in the International Institute of Journalism (I am not sure why, but it is a classroom they found for us and directly across from the UNC residence and closer for us)  Today was the first history class Raul taught.  While it is very interesting, a three-hour class is still pretty hard for me to sit through.  And the first hour was very hot and stuffy.  Luckily the room a joins a large balcony, so breaks from class are very nice and helped me refocus.  Raul is an incredibly nice guy and intelligent teacher.  However, when it started to rain, my attention was out the window…

When it rains…

Today was also the day of an important group meeting on the mistakes tourists can make and the tricks people use.  It was important for the group to hear all as one, as people have already started to make friends and deal with things.  Our coordinators were smart to let us experience some of it on our own so we could relate better to their advice today.  However, it is discouraging for us to know how hard it is to make good Cuban friends here.  You see we do live in the city and tourists are easy targets.  So the people that are easy to meet can sometimes try to scam us or can become our friends, but are often the type of friend that liked to be paid for and do what the tourists can do.  It is much harder to make genuine friends only interested in friendship, because a. it takes longer for them to warm up and b. people work all day long and then have to feed their families, so they aren't just hanging out waiting to become our friends.  The whole ordeal makes sense to me and I respect it.  I still hope to make those friends that are not in the 'tourist' industry, its just will take a much longer time.

When it rains….

…eat fried chicken.  Yes, Kelly McKinnon, Chad, and I went to buy more notebooks  after class then found lunch which was huge pieces of fried chicken and banana chips for about 50 US cents.  We discovered a new park with a huge beautiful raised platform/ gazebo and enjoyed out lunch.

When it rains…

…read a book on the porch.  The prospect of more rain does not make it the best option for exploring the city or getting some of the other afternoon activities done.  So, I had some quality reading time on the porch when we got back.  I love feeling the wind go crazy and watching the rain from the rocking chairs we have.  However, the staff always thinks we are a bit strange when it is windy and cooler and we still sit outside in a t-shirt and shorts.

When it rains…

…get your sweatshirt.  So I finally realized it was a little chilly and came to get more bundled to enjoy more wind and reading.

When it rains…
…sit around with the windows open and have great conversations.  I think that is what rainy days are for-the great conversations.  There is good enough cover above our room that having the windows open during light rain is fine, as long as the wind is not blowing it directly toward us.  We had a lot of good bonding time in our room with some of our friends today and the hours just went by.  During our conversation at the mention of Che's name, the double doors to our room blew open!  Some may think it was the way the wind was acting up…

When it rains…

…eat dinner and talk so more.  A great dinner with more group bonding was followed by another hour of Joe, Kelly, and I talking at the dinner table.  We may have continued had we not been asked to leave so the staff could finish cleaning.

When it rains…

…go see the sea.  I had been itching to go for a walk, and Kelly agreed.  The staff of our residence at this point thinks I am even crazier for going out into the rain at night.  In truth it wasn't raining much at all, but the wind was great.  We ended up down by the Malecon (the sea wall) and watched the storm at sea.  The waves were breaking far off the coast, but we would get huge waves near us and all of the sudden one would crash up into and over the wall.  The waves and the crashing became a symphony.  (I may have gotten mildly wet…)  The waves would 'shout' and hit us and we would shout back.  It was moderately violent, but magical.  And it being me of course there was dancing around and singing (but carefully, as it is VERY slippery-when wet) and then rating of the waves that smacked over the sea wall.  Most important was the craziness of the wind and the way I could lean into it and it would keep me standing.  

When it rains…

…ice cream cravings?  So we finally decided to leave the Malecon after about 45 minutes and come back to the residence for more socializing and serious changing out of the sea salted clothing.  However within a half hour of being back our coordinator Marguerite begins to mention her desire for some chocolate.  We knows its getting late, but we finally decide we have to go and try to see if we can run and get ice cream or an éclair from the French bakery a few blocks away, before it closes.  

The wind has picked up as three of us set off on our journey.  Which really became quite a journey as the craving and frustration grew.  Truthfully it was quite comical, with power outages affecting what was open, and then the selection of what was open not having chocolate things, and the rushed speed, and the wind pushing me along.  Finally after about a half an hour the movie quality adventure, ended with ice cream bars and some guys thinking we were Canadian.  Also with about a pound of dirt on my feet and legs.

When it rains…

…it's a full day in Havana.  Never know what to expect, even from myself.

When it rains, it pours…  not exactly in the literal sense today.