Today went a bit better than yesterday. I talked to Pepe and he said it's fine if I want to do things with Madison or by myself. I can go around by myself during the day and if I want to walk to meet up with Madison or whomever at night he is okay with that.
This morning was a bit annoying--the director of the Spanish program at the University said that I can't change to the advanced-level classes because they're all full, but other people from my class were able to change yesterday and didn't come to intermediate class today. I only went to intermediate class because my professor told me that I needed to give it another day, but obviously that wasn't true. At least she went with me to talk to the directors twice and finally they said that it might be possible to change on Friday.
This morning was a bit annoying--the director of the Spanish program at the University said that I can't change to the advanced-level classes because they're all full, but other people from my class were able to change yesterday and didn't come to intermediate class today. I only went to intermediate class because my professor told me that I needed to give it another day, but obviously that wasn't true. At least she went with me to talk to the directors twice and finally they said that it might be possible to change on Friday.
Class today was more interesting than yesterday because Madison and Brittany were in my class and the activity was talking about our home countries with the other students. We talked to Fabian from Germany and Toshi (sp?) from Japan. Fabian lives in Frankfurt and said that the best places to visit in Germany are Berlin and Bavaria. In Bavaria, he says, you can get a traditional breakfast of pretzel, sausage and beer. He asked a lot of questions about the United States, especially firearms. Toshi likes the traditional music of Japan but not the modern pop music. He also said that he likes the traditional theatre there and was really surprised when I asked if it was kabuki theatre. I guess not many people have heard of it. Then Fabian (who is a medical student) said that there's a condition called kabuki in infants in which they can't move their faces, and so we guessed they called it that because of the masks used in kabuki theatre. Another interesting fact we learned is that the national bird of Cuba is the tocororo, whose feathers are the same colors of the Cuban flag and who can't survive in captivity. As you can see, class today was fun but I still really want to change because while I learned about other countries, I didn't actually learn any new Spanish.
For lunch we ate at Casa del Perro Caliente which is close to the busy corner of La Rampa (Avenida 23) and Calle L. Hotel Habana Libre, Cine Yara and Coppelia are also on that corner. The hot dogs were very cheap and pretty decent there.
Madison and I did a little shopping and exploring around the area before going to the conference. I got a ring made from shell for 1CUC ($1 USD). The same professor as yesterday presented today, but this time on basically how the Cuban government is structured. I tried to pay attention and be interested, but it was hard because it basically was just a whole bunch of acronyms. It's interesting that in the minds of the Cuban people the US government and the US people are kept so separate--we haven't encountered anyone who was unfriendly toward us for being American, and in a lot of places in the world that definitely isn't the case.
After the conference Madison and I went shopping. She bought a leather purse and flip flops (or chancletas, in Cuban dialect) that were really pretty. We also changed money at the Cadeca and used the internet. Afterward, the whole group (minus Duane) went to Old Havana to celebrate Lauren's birthday. We ate at a really nice restaurant called Los Nardos.
I sat with Madison and Pepe and we had a lot of fun exchanging stories. We all split bread and pitchers of sangria and pina colada, and we had really tasty dishes there. The atmosphere was fun too--the waiters took a selfie on my phone before taking a picture of the group of us and there was a pianist who took requests. The one I remember most was him playing the Phantom of the Opera. I took some pictures in Old Havana after our meal but they didn't turn out too great since it was dark. When we go back there this weekend I hope it doesn't rain because I want to bring my better camera and take a lot of pictures!
After dinner we took maquinas to return to our houses. When I got home I found out that Bryan is sick with a fever. I gave Lute one of my two bottles of ibuprofen (with the embargo it can be really hard to get basic OTC meds here) and I hope it helps him feel better. Poor kid.
Anyway, I need to go to bed because Madison and I are going out tomorrow night and I need to rest up.
xoxo, xenophile
For lunch we ate at Casa del Perro Caliente which is close to the busy corner of La Rampa (Avenida 23) and Calle L. Hotel Habana Libre, Cine Yara and Coppelia are also on that corner. The hot dogs were very cheap and pretty decent there.
Madison and I did a little shopping and exploring around the area before going to the conference. I got a ring made from shell for 1CUC ($1 USD). The same professor as yesterday presented today, but this time on basically how the Cuban government is structured. I tried to pay attention and be interested, but it was hard because it basically was just a whole bunch of acronyms. It's interesting that in the minds of the Cuban people the US government and the US people are kept so separate--we haven't encountered anyone who was unfriendly toward us for being American, and in a lot of places in the world that definitely isn't the case.
After the conference Madison and I went shopping. She bought a leather purse and flip flops (or chancletas, in Cuban dialect) that were really pretty. We also changed money at the Cadeca and used the internet. Afterward, the whole group (minus Duane) went to Old Havana to celebrate Lauren's birthday. We ate at a really nice restaurant called Los Nardos.
I sat with Madison and Pepe and we had a lot of fun exchanging stories. We all split bread and pitchers of sangria and pina colada, and we had really tasty dishes there. The atmosphere was fun too--the waiters took a selfie on my phone before taking a picture of the group of us and there was a pianist who took requests. The one I remember most was him playing the Phantom of the Opera. I took some pictures in Old Havana after our meal but they didn't turn out too great since it was dark. When we go back there this weekend I hope it doesn't rain because I want to bring my better camera and take a lot of pictures!
After dinner we took maquinas to return to our houses. When I got home I found out that Bryan is sick with a fever. I gave Lute one of my two bottles of ibuprofen (with the embargo it can be really hard to get basic OTC meds here) and I hope it helps him feel better. Poor kid.
Anyway, I need to go to bed because Madison and I are going out tomorrow night and I need to rest up.
xoxo, xenophile