Life in Cuba was at times very difficult logistically. Without wireless internet or data, and costly phone plans, coordinating or completing simple tasks is difficult. For various reasons, long lines and bureaucratic nightmares made trips to hospitals or banks long excursions. At first, I romanticized the crowded buses and yelling “Ultimo” to figure out who […]

Why do people travel? Is one reason more justified than another? Who is judging you when you are abroad? As I have been writing this research paper theorizing on these questions in the Cuban context, I have found it to be a struggle to place myself inside the research. In a number of ways the […]

As I reflect on my entire experience in Cuba, I find it incredibly difficult to choose one anecdote or one theme to elaborate on that could serve as an explanation of my time here. Unfortunately, readers, I don’t think it’s that easy. I don’t think I am able to sum it up in 300 words, […]

Cuba is as filled with ruins as Greece. No, there is no Coliseum or Parthenon, but all around the country, there are ruins of projects started with the hyper-excitement following the triumph of the revolution, or ruins of a wealthy colonial past existing no more. Ruins are as much a part of the Cuban landscape […]

We are at a unique point of the trip where I am finally feeling settled, and completely comfortable living here. I noticed this the other day as I was walking back from Toscana, my favorite restaurant here in Havana. The entire staff there knows me personally, knows what I order, what I am doing here, […]