A Cuban friend told me a joke, one of many which the Cubans made up during the Special Period. This was a time of great hardship and desperation,  when the economy took a nose dive due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and  it's economic aid. And of course there is always the U.S. economic blockade, now in its 40th year. The joke goes like this:

 Maria: Carlos, I've been thinking about our situation and I've come to the  conclusion that Cuba is really the Garden of Eden.

 Carlos: What? Are you crazy?

 Maria: No, really, look...we have no clothes, no food, no money,  nothing, except this apple and we have this bearded guy telling us that  we are living in Paradise.

 I visited Cuba earlier this year for the first time and made lots of friends.
I had so much fun that I was making plans for my return before my plane hit the ground back in the states. The following are some excerpts from my travel diary of my second trip this year. I thought that I would share a few of my experiences with you, my gentle reader so that you may have the opportunity to get another view of Cuba, one that will seldom if ever be seen in the mainstream media.
 Carmen, Clara and Ariadna are three Cuban students. When I first met them something just seemed to click and we quickly became very close. We began to see ourselves as three Cuban sisters and a North American brother. I have made their overall health and welfare one of my primary concerns in life.
I dedicated this trip to bringing a couple of Macintosh computers and a printer to Havana and teaching them how to use the technology.
 Bob is a university student at Cornell and Seth is a philosophy professor at Merrit College in Oakland , California, whom I happened to meet while waiting for the plane in Cancun, Mexico.
 

Wednesday, December 29, 1999
 We  found a taxi today and finally got out of Havana.  The taxi was an old bucket of bolts held together with clothes hangers and spit. The original motor had died decades ago and was replaced with a Russian six cylinder diesel tractor engine. I was amazed that it got up to 40 mph without the wheels falling off and when the speedometer hit 50, I was afraid.

    We reached Pinar del Rio (90mi) about noon and were dropped off at Carmen's mother's house. I was taken aback as I walked into her home. The extreme poverty was a bit difficult to experience. The door to the house was falling off it's hinges. Parts of the building seemed to have come from other structures that had disintegrated long ago. The source of electricity were a few bare wires hanging from various places, with fragments of ancient electrical fixtures badly attached.  The bathroom had long ago lost its original plumbing and was basically reduced to a room with a few drains. A 55 gallon barrel and several buckets were the main water supply, so bathing and toilet functions required a very creative and Spartan approach. It appeared as if someone had the home constructed of discards from the dump by a person possessed with a mind set on making booby traps. I felt repulsed and fascinated at the same time.
    The fact that this home was kept clean and I hadn't seen a single cockroach the four days that I was there was a testimony to the hygienic acumen of her mother. Without the aid of detergents, appliances or even simple cleaning tools she basically kept the entire house clean with a rag, stick and bucket of water.

Thursday, December 30
 Today we walked over to Clara's  house and demonstrated the computer I had brought her from the U.S. Their home was even more poverty stricken than Carmen's place. It could have been a perfect movie set for Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath." The home was constructed of rough sawn boards nailed to posts set in the ground with a partial cement and dirt floor. The "kitchen" was a couple of planks laid across two saw horses and a Primus type liquid fuel  stove for cooking. There was no hood vent for the stove, they just opened the windows when they cooked and the fumes eventually made it outside. Cooking a dinner had the overall effect of everyone smoking a pack of cigarettes.
 The major difference between poverty in Cuba and the U.S. is that the children of these families are becoming lawyers, doctors and other professionals as a result of the principal design of the system, not in spite of it. Also, these families have access to the same health care and education as the rest of the population at no cost to them. Cuba is a third world country like many others, but unlike those other countries the government here tries to spread the rewards of the economy to the entire population.

         Doctor and Carmin's mother at Pinar del Rio health clinic

Friday, December 31
  Carmen and I went to her tia's (aunt's) house to celebrate the new year. Cubans don't celebrate the New Year in large gatherings like we do in the U.S., but in small close family get-togethers. Her family butchered a pig and broke out the rum and beer. I danced with most of the women in her family including her abuela (grandmother). They were all good dancers. Her cousin and Aunt couldn't get enough, they continued to pull me back out of my chair for yet another salsa. Towards the end of the evening I was beginning to feel like a soldier doing a forced march in the military. The dancing area on their back porch was standing room only and when another six people arrived we knew it was time to leave.

Saturday, December 1
 Well, its New Years Day and time for another fiesta (party). This time Carmen's prima (cousin) Yanisa, came along. Both of them looked so lovely together I thought we would need a police escort. But this is Cuba and beautiful women (of which there are many) think nothing of walking alone on the streets at night dressed in the most sexy outfit they can be poured into. Many women have repeatedly mentioned this fact regarding the sense of security they feel while alone on the streets, even late at night.

This time the disco crowd was twice the size as the cabaret audience and more rowdy. They were already into a hot disco/salsa when we arrived. We found a table and began to warm up. The two hot mujeres who stole the show from the exotic dancers the night before appeared with wide smiles and immediately picked up where they left off. I bought them a couple of colas and they gave me a short dance lesson. I felt someone pinch me from behind and caught a glimpse of a young woman as she disappeared into the crowd. I didn't think much of it until it happened again ten minutes later, so this time I pinched her back. The third time, she came by and stopped in front of me, so I asked her if she wanted to dance. She gave a nod and the real latin dancing began. This lovely mujer was a chapter straight out of "The Last Tango in Paris" She instantly wrapped herself around me like a love struck boa constrictor. I think she could have easily made a marble statue blush. Carmen and her cousin recovered from their shock and they counter attacked. They began to hassle my "Tango" partner for entering their turf. After successfully removing the invader from their midst, they took a greater interest in their North American guest. Yanitza and I were evidently dancing too erotically, for Carmen finally pried us apart. She apparently felt that I had succumbed to my own failings and was presenting a terrible example to her fellow Cubans. Like a revolutionary commandante, she ordered a tactical retreat and dragged me off the dance floor. I yielded under protest. As we departed I gave the two disco queens a hug on my way to the exit. It was a very entertaining evening.

Sunday, January 2
 Bob and I walked over to Clara's house and got a tour of a tobacco farm from her cousin, a compansino (farm worker). Upon returning to Clara's house we found that Ariadna and her friend Rodrigo had finally arrived around 1:30. We  had a delicious lunch and then drove out to Viñales and took in the sights. Viñales is a picturesque valley with very unusual land forms that reminded me of watermelons cut in half and laid on a table with the cut side down. We got lost on the way back to Pinar del Rio and experienced the Cuban version of men giving and taking directions badly.
 The evening ended with my head throbbing from one too many glasses of corn wine and beer. This in itself was bad enough, but as I fell into bed and anticipated a merciful siesta my hope faded fast with the constant drone of my compañeros (friends) in the bed next to mine. After an hour of trying various methods of blocking out their conversation I realized that neither of my companions had any concern regarding the necessity of rest for their guest. As I tossed and turned my sleepless suffering continued and I could see why sleep deprivation was an effective form of torture.

Monday/Tuesday, January 3 & 4
 After returning from Pinar del Rio, Ariadna, Clara and I had dinner together. I spent the rest of the evening entering data on the laptop computer and helping Clara with her term paper which was due the next day by 11:00.
A hard core procrastinator, she hadn't written a single word for the paper as of 4:00 and had less than 18 hours left to deadline. We worked until 2:00 a.m.  and then hit it again from 7:00 to 10:45. Ariadna was supposed to show up at 10:00 for a computer lesson this morning, but that usually means an hour (or more) which I call "Ariadna time". It seems like no matter what hour she commits to, it's always an hour later when she finally shows up, if at all.
 Today she was not feeling well, which has been a problem for quite some time. For the last three months she has gone from a respiratory infection and cough to sinus infection to athlete's foot and now loss of appetite and abdominal pain. I am very concerned about her symptoms, as they indicate a suppressed immune system. I prescribed a vinegar and water foot bath twice a day and 1% Lamisil cream for two weeks for her athlete's foot infection. I gave her 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract in a gelatin capsule and some papaya for the upset stomach. Ariadna, Carmen and Clara all have basic nutritional deficiencies. Their diets are almost completely devoid of vitamin C and other essential nutrients. Getting any of them to increase their fruit and vegetable intake has been a difficult up hill battle. Carmen is developing dental caries between her front teeth. I gave her a special dental tool for removing plaque from her gum line and instructed her in the use of dental tape. If she uses those two tools regularly each evening before bed she will have healthy teeth the rest of her life.

Wednesday, January 5
 Today I went with Bob, Seth and some of Bob's friends from the U.S. to the beach. We started out as a large group and it became apparent rather quickly that no one had given any thought to the problem of transporting seven people from the city to the beach, when only four could fit in any one taxi. Our group was confused and disoriented. It might have been somewhat amusing, except that seven people crisscrossing a busy street in downtown Havana during rush hour in a careless manner almost had tragic consequences. When we did find a couple of taxies the students in my car only had money in large denominations, for which of course, the driver couldn't make change. It was another example of men behaving badly.
 After arriving at the beach we walked along the shore and I took in the natural beauty of Cuba's famous beaches. Seth began talking about the tragic consequences of prison life in Brazil and how the prisons are so crowded that the convicts have a lottery every day and kill the winner to reduce the population of their cell. I was struck by the irony of a group of affluent, well educated students and a professor of philosophy strolling down a lovely beach during their vacation and talking about of all things, the morbid existence of unfortunates as a trivial form of amusing themselves.
  We found a nice spot with some shade and a nearby volleyball court where a Cuban national team was practicing.  I stripped down to my bathing suit and went for a delicious swim. Seth met a couple of Russians who had done quite well on the Russian stock market before it crashed and were enjoying the fruits of their capitalist conversion, by vacationing in Cuba. One of the Russians asked Seth about the rumor he heard that most Americans could not travel to Cuba.

 "Yeah, it's true" Seth replied, "We are all here illegally."

The Russian laughed.

 "Your government prevents you from visiting Cuba? I thought America was supposed to be a free country"?

He laughed again and found it amusing that America has switched roles with the former Soviet Union when it came to freedom of travel.
 In the afternoon we became fast friends with the Cuban volleyball players, joking about each other's sex life (or lack of it) and describing a little about how, with who and where we lived. One of the Cuban men was a comical, quick wit, very handsome and could upstage Eddy Murphy with a little practice. I continue to find the Cubans to be a lively and fascinating people.
 In the evening we discovered a new problem facing the struggling Cuban economy, when we walked over to our favorite restaurant around the block. The place was totally plugged with patrons. More people, enough to fill the place again were waiting for a table. The owner was completely overwhelmed and disoriented with his good fortune. He promised us a table shortly, but any fourth grader doing the math would disagree. It was an encouraging marker, one of many subtle signs I have noticed that the Cuban economy is on the rebound. I wished that I had the opportunity to be his partner when his restaurant was in the planning stage. I could be realizing my retirement now, rather than  in the distant future. I would also be in jail when I returned to the U.S., because our "free country" forbids Americans to invest in the Cuban Economy.

Saturday, January 9
 I was a bit upset last night. Ariadna had once again made an appointment to meet with me and failed to show up at all. Clara and Carmen have been spending most of their time partying and going to the Disco. The result was that I found myself hanging around the apartment alone day after day with two computers and a printer. I have become very disappointed with Ariadna, Clara and Carmen's performance as students of the Macintosh User Group that I wanted to start here in Cuba. After consulting with Seth about the problem, I presented Carmen and Clara with two options; either drop out of the Macintosh User Group or sign a contract with me to study the computer for four hours a day until I leave.

They signed the contract.

 Since Ariadna hasn't been around for a while I left her the following  note on her computer before Carmen and I left for Pinar del Rio this morning.

Dear Ariadna,
 I am very disappointed with the performance of the three of you as students of the Macintosh User Group. I feel that you have all shown disrespect not only for me and my efforts to provide you with the opportunity to learn and use this technology properly but to your fellow citizens as well.
 As I wrote in the first file installed on the computers that I brought;
 "..I hope that you use this computer wisely for the benefit of all Cubans."
 The fact that these computers have been sitting on the shelf for most of the week  is evidence that this equipment is not being used for the benefit of all Cubans. Also, I really don't appreciate your making several appointments and then not keeping them. I didn't come thousands of miles at considerable expense to sit in an apartment waiting for a student who doesn't have the respect or appreciation to show up for a computer lesson, or a "friend" who thinks that I have nothing better to do. If you are too busy to study on the computer with me that is fine, I can arrange with Ranero to have another student take your place. If you are too busy to see me as your friend, that is also fine, I understand that you are a busy person.
 Your behavior and the fact that Carmen and Clara would rather spend all their time playing during the day and disco dancing at night, than take advantage of this opportunity is very strong evidence that I made a grave error in selecting the three of you as the core working group for the Macintosh. I am sorry that I let my friendship cloud my thinking. I should have gone through Ranero's office and let him select three students based on merit rather than friendship. I can see now that you really don't have the time to seriously participate in this user group.
 I left a message with Ranero at the University expressing my concern and have requested that he select three students from the Computer Studies Department as replacements for the three of you. If I don't see an immediate and dramatic improvement in all of your preformances I will be selecting some new students early next week and extend my stay in Cuba to implement this program.
Best Regards,
 Dudley

  We were going to visit Carmen's mother and celebrate her grandmother's 75th birthday.  We took another taxi to Pinar del Rio and arrived at noon. I was a bit tired, since I found it hard to get a good night's sleep the previous night. Seth brought a novia (girlfriend) home from the disco he and Bob attended and I experienced the sounds of a real life Cuban-American novella  (soap opera) for several hours. The sound effects beat any program on prime time TV. I took a nap to catch up on my sleep so I would have enough energy to last through the birthday party and the disco planned for that night.
 The birthday party was a lot of fun. It was really great to hang out with Carmen's family. Not having a wife or family of my own, it was nice to share family life with others and experience the joy and fascination that only children can provide.
 The disco crowd later that night was even more huge than the  week before. The occasional whiff of urine told me that refreshment sales were up and the rest rooms were either over taxed or they still hadn't installed a light bulb in the toilets and people were using the bushes. Within minutes of arriving my "Tango" partner from the previous weekend appeared and to my surprise Carmen didn't chase her away, so she stuck to me like glue. The two show stealing, wannabe exotic dancers, whom I now call the Dynamic Disco Duo appeared and began bouncing me deliciously between them like a basket ball in the final seconds of a Nicks' game. It's amazing how popular you become when you buy a few drinks at a Cuban disco. My Tango partner's name is actually Katiuska which is also the name the Russian military gave their surface to air missiles. Carmen told me that a lot of Cubans went to Russia from 1960 to 1989 and evidently traded more than tractors and sugar. I made a date to meet with Katiuska the next day for an interview. I wanted to find out more about her, far away from the roar and throb of a rocking disco. I found her to be a very intense and colorful character. We agreed to meet at 1:00 p.m. the following day at Parque Central in Pinar del Rio. She gave me a big kiss before she left.

Monday, January 10
 Around 4:00 a.m. I awoke to what sounded like someone dragging a metallic object down an iron fire escape. As the sound became louder and more rhythmic, I realized that it was the springs of Bob and Clara's bed groaning with their ecstasy. I was happy to hear the good news of their blossoming relationship. I was also beginning to feel like a Priest at a Playboy penthouse party.  A sad sense of lonliness began to creep into my heart as I proceeded to contemplate my situation. The house I originally rented to have computer classes had become a  soap opera. My "computer students" were  too busy to attend the classes I had prepared for them during the day and were only concerned with partying in the evenings. Everyone seemed to be having a good time except me. I was not a happy camper.
    I later got into an argument  with Seth  on a minor matter and Seth offered to leave the apartment immediately if I would give him a refund for the rest of the week's rent he paid for. He then stormed out of the apartment.

Then an interesting thing happened.

 Ariadna's parents stopped by to say hello. I gave them an Earth First! T-shirt from the U.S. and my poison pen letter for Ariadna. They told me through our communication technique of mime and broken Spanish that Ariadna had been very sick this last week. She had been chosen by the University to represent the Cuban Students Federation in an upcoming conference with six hundred American students. She was burning the candle at both ends trying to prepare for the conference and the result was her immune system was beginning to shut down. They were very concerned about her health. Her cough had gotten worse and she was taking antibiotics. I cringed with horror at the thought of my letter adding to her suffering just when she needed my help the most. Sitting there, I suddenly realized  how angry and mean spirited I had become. I knew that if I really loved my Cuban sister I would make destroying the letter I had just given her mother my very next act. Tears welled up in my eyes, as I carefully took the letter from her mother's hand while we were talking and tore it up. I felt very sad that I came so close to hurting her.
  A few hours later Seth returned and said in a diplomatic tone;

 "Do you still want to do this refund thing? The girls tell me that everything is OK. Do you want me to leave, or is it all right if I stay here"?

The words came out of my mouth before I had a chance to think about it.

 "It's fine with me, do whatever you like."

Everything was suddenly back to normal, no, actually, better, I think we all learned something.
 Later in the day I finally got a chance to see Ariadna, after a whole week. She seemed to have gotten better and was her old cheerful self again. I immediately started off on the wrong foot, by mentioning that I felt she didn't respect me when she failed to show up for her last appointment.

 Big mistake.

 Her deep, dark brown eyes suddenly focused on mine with such intensity that I felt like a rabbit facing an angry panther. I knew I was in trouble when she began to repeat very slowly in a precise and menacing tone the exact words of my accusation and the muscles in my face began to twitch. Seth got up in the middle of his breakfast and decided it would be a good idea to go hide in the other end of the house.
 Cuban women value, demand and get respect above everything else. I was about to learn the hard way that to accuse one of them (especially Ariadna) of not respecting you is similar to charging them with a capital offense against their family and country. I will spare you any further description of the event, only to say that it was not nice.

 I went downtown later to run a few errands and found Odalis and Osvaldo, my landlords in the apartment cleaning the place up when I returned. Odalis asked me a few questions in Spanish and to my amazement I actually felt that I understood what she said. I responded and it seemed that she understood me and I was further surprised. My efforts to communicate with anyone up to now have been confusing and frustrating. Our conversations went on for about an hour, until I realized that she was actually speaking real Spanish in complete sentences. She was also making a sincere effort to communicate. I discussed my thoughts with her and she said that the source of my difficulty was that most people around me were not speaking Spanish, but Cuban slang. Many of the actual words Cubans use are not found in a Spanish dictionary. She called this slang barbarismos, or barbaric words. It was very refreshing to finally realize what the problem was. After that moment I began to rapidly understand more of what was being said in a Spanish conversation. It was a very liberating sensation.

 Around three o'clock Ariadna actually showed up for an appointment on time, a first in over a week. We started work on her computer when the phone rang. It was Katiuska. She called to say that she didn't want to come to Havana but would like me to come back to Pinar del Rio. She said that I could stay at her parent's place. Ariadna interrogated her for a few minutes and then told her that she had better take care of me, or she would go to Pinar del Rio and beat her up. She handed me the phone and I suggested to Katiuska that we meet at two o'clock at the Parque Central again. When I got off the phone Ariadna had a few things to say.

"You are my brother and I'm very worried about you and this woman Katiuska. I don't know her. She seems very naive.

"I understand your concerns Ariadna" I said, But I need exposure and material to write. I want to meet Cubans in all walks of life and Katiuska is a very colorful and interesting character.  If you meet her and don't like her for any reason then I will stop seeing her. I value your opinion and friendship above all else"

 "O.K., you can do what you want, but you should leave your pack and money at Carmen's house and walk over to Katiuska's. Have a look around, it could be dangerous. I feel like you are going to be fed to the wolves."

Wednesday, January 12
 Carmen, Clara and I went over to Ariadna's for dinner with her parents. For the last several weeks the Cuban government has used the Elian Gonzoles situation and his father's lawful demand for his return to showcase their system of free education, free health care, social welfare and their high level of professional integrity in these public services. Cuban TV has been broadcasting special televised coverage of these assemblies in the National Government Palace. They have not only used this event to demonstrate to the world how deeply they care for their children, but have strengthened their national solidarity as well. We were watching the program when they interrupted it to announce that a federal judge in the U.S. had just handed down the order to return Elian to his father in Cuba. Evidently the judge was not too happy to learn that a couple of Elian's American cousins had been arrested recently for strong arm-robbery. We all started cheering and giving each other high five's and hugs. I mentioned to Ariadna that I had speculated with Seth a few days earlier that the Miami Mafia and Anti-Castro Cubans would try offering Elian's father a lot of money, maybe a few hundred thousand and a car to apply for asylum once he arrived in the U.S. to pick up his son.

 "You are on the right track but the bribe was a lot more" She said.

 "The Miami Gusanos (worms) have offered him two million  American dollars so far, if he doesn't return to Cuba with Elian."

 It really amazes me that the American foreign policy towards Cuba for the last forty years has been basically determined by a bunch of Anti-Castro losers and the Miami Mafia. As a result of this arrangement the U.S. has committed one stupid blunder of foreign policy after another towards Cuba. Like some deranged Frankinstein monster, the U.S. stumbles through history,  while Cuba, like a ballerina schooled in the martial arts, flys like a butterfly and stings like a bee. While the rest of the world dances and romances with our Latin cousin, we in the U.S. must remain hamstrung by ridiculous mean spirited laws written by near cadavers like the racist Senator Jesse Helms.

Friday January 14
 Seth has been helping the students with the Microsoft Word program a lot the last two days and made some suggestions for the User Group.

 "Dudley, here is a list of commands and steps that I put together so that  the students can do a paper in an academic format. I also think that it  would be a good idea to install a folder on the desktop with these and  other steps that would be a quick reference."

 "That's great Seth, it's nice of you to help out."

 "Quite all right, I might as well make myself useful and put my teaching  background to use"

 "I'm really glad to have you join our team Seth."
 
 

    Ariadna arrived around 6:00 while we were getting ready for Clara's birthday party. I immediately got on her case about a reference book I asked her to bring the next time she came.

 "Ariadna, did you bring the Microsoft Word book I asked you for?""

 "No"

 "Why?"

 "There is already one here."

 "Where?"

 "Here in this box."

 "Show it to me."

She picks a reference book out of the computer box.
 

 "Where does it say Microsoft Word on it?"

 "Well, I thought that's what it was."

 "Dudley, are you angry at me or something?"

 "No"

 "Well, loosen up then. Your social skills are backward. You've got  everything wrong. You should ask me how my day was first, then  interrogate me."

 "Thank you for that. I know I'm a bit short on my social skills. I think  that I'm not getting to see you enough and I'm acting out my frustration  by nagging you."

She smiles and says;

 "Have I told you that I love you."

 "Not lately, it's been a while."

 "Well I love you very much."

 "I love you too, you are the best sister I've ever had."

Ariadna reaches out and squeezes my hand and tells me in a low voice;

 "I want you to be careful tomorrow, you know-Katiuska."

 "You know I will"

 "Promise?"

 "Promise."

 Later, the mujeres preparing dinner find that we are short on cooking oil and Seth goes next door to borrow some more, with Carmen acting as a backup interpreter. The neighbor not only gives them the oil, but proceeds to churn out a stream of snacks and other appetizers for the entire party. I left a five dollar bill with the cleaned dishes, but she returned it. Clara's birthday party was a great success. Odalis the landlord showed up with her cousin Odelkis. I had fun pulling them out of their chairs as they dragged their feet protesting, claiming they couldn't dance.

Saturday, January 15
 I'm back in The Parqe Central in Pinar del Rio. Katiuska finally showed up a half hour late with her cousin and a friend. Apparently the word got out that she was hanging around with some  foreign guy and the family was getting concerned. We took a taxi over to her house and I met her parents, who immediately took a dim view of me anywhere within ten feet of her. I also noticed that we were getting many concerned stares and frowns as we walked to the market . When we got to the market place she hit me up for a buck. I had been warned that some Cuban women who are jineteras (jockeys, fair weather friends) would lead their foreign "boy friends" around getting them to buy things like shoes, clothing, cosmetics, etc. I was very concerned that our relationship might head in that direction. I definitely did not want to contribute to her developing bourgeois consumer values or see me as her personal bank account. I was willing to give her the opportunity to show me that she was a good woman and not a jinetera. With the dollar I gave her she bought a head of cabbage, a kilo of bananas, two kilos of tomatoes and a malanga. She actually had two pesos left over. I was happy to make a contribution to her family. As we began to walk back to her house she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and I immediately began one of my standard lectures on the evils of smoking in broken Spanish. She ignored my lecture and lit up anyway. I then told her that if she wanted to be my friend she would have to quit smoking. She paused for a moment, gave a resigned sigh and threw the cigarette away. I am curious to see how far we can go with our friendship and whether it will come to an abrupt end in the next five minutes.
 We returned to her house with the groceries. After lunch we all sat down and watched TV. I showed them some photos I had of my house, roommates and travels over the years. Her parents actually seemed to warm up to me when I showed them the pictures on Nicaragua. In 1987 I sailed to Nicaragua in my boat with medical supplies for the victims of the CIA backed Contra War. I was a member of the San Francisco Peace Navy, a group of sailing war protesters at that time.
 It seems that Katiuska was telling the truth when she said she was a ballet student. Her mother confirmed that she has been enrolled in the ballet school for the past three years.
 We later went over to her cousins house and I took pictures of her whole extended family, cousins, aunts, uncles, babies of cousins, etc. I used up an entire  roll of film. Hanging out with Katiuska is somewhat uncomfortable and also fascinating. It reminds me of when I heard someone say that the Chinese symbol for danger and opportunity was the same. I left her house after another hour and went back to Carmen's to take a nap and get ready for the disco.
 Well, it's now nine thirty and the time has come for the last disco in Pinar del Rio.
     I escorted Carmen to the disco via taxi and we found Katiuska soon after we arrived. She was under dressed as usual, wearing a very revealing halter top which I would swear was nothing more than a lace see through bra. There must be a high rate of nervous breakdowns in the police force here, because some of the women in Cuba are very risqué in the amount of clothing they cover their bodies with. To determine which women are advertising and which are just trying to keep cool must require nerves of steel and analytical skills equal to that of Sherlock Holmes. The way fashion is these days I will never be sure what the difference is between an evening gown and underwear. It being a cool night, Katiuska soon became chilled, so I wrapped her in my jacket and put my arms around her to help her warm up. We did a kind of hug,wrestle, disco for about an hour until it became obvious that she was developing a cough and not feeling well. I took the opportunity to give her another lecture on the evils of smoking. I then advised her to go home. Katiuska said that she wanted to come to Havana the day before I left to see me off. Her request surprised me as I assumed this would be the last time we would see each other for a long time if ever again. I tried to make her wear my jacket to stay warm on the way home, but she refused. I gave her a two dollar bill for a taxi and a good-bye kiss.

Sunday, January 16
 I met Katiuska at noon (she was only 15 minutes late this time) once again she was poorly dressed for the weather with only shorts and a small halter top. Fortunately, I had a shirt that I brought as a gift and put it on her.  We then walked over to Carmen's house to borrow some long pants, so she wouldn't be cold the last few hours we were together. Carmen gave her a one piece outfit that really made her look very attractive, actually...too attractive, but then with Katiuska's looks and ballet dancer's body, anything you put on her is going to make her look  too attractive, short of a burlap bag for a dress and mud for makeup. I had a feeling I was in real trouble if I went outside with her in that outfit. Fortunately, Clara invited us to her house for some lunch and we all walked there together.
 Clara's mother prepared us another delicious lunch and after we finished, personally thanked me for bringing her daughter a computer and spending the time to teach her how to use it.
 The Cubans appear to have a very strong, unified and resourceful family centered society. They use the family structure for many purposes, from material resource allocation and distribution to peer review. The fact that the streets are safe most of the time, violent crime is very low and school violence is almost nonexistent, is a tribute to the positive and enduring qualities of this social structure. I don't think  the fact that  Katiuska and I have been seen up close by five separate families in the last two days is any accident. In a way I feel our behavior and relationship is being examined under an inter-family microscope.

Monday, January 17
 Yami looked up from her computer as I passed by and said;

 "I really appreciate your helping us learn to use these computers. You  are like a father to us."

 "I would rather be like a brother to you. "I replied.

She laughed.

 Carmen has once again left a glass of juice next to her computer and I get on her case by saying her name and looking at the glass of juice with a scowl. She immediately grabs the glass and apologizes. It is against the computer lab rules to have any food or drink within two feet of any computer. She later puts her laptop away improperly by leaving part of it hanging beyond the shelf. I repeat her name again, scowl and say:

 "Esto segundo tiempo, uno mas y tus muertas." (This is the second time, once more and you're dead.")

 I make a cut throat gesture, dragging my index finger slowly across my neck. She mimes a fake pleading for mercy and puts the computer farther back on the shelf. Then she starts singing and dancing Cuban disco, very well actually. Yami laughs some more. Then I remind Carmen that I am writing about all my experiences in Cuba, which I intend to put on the Internet. She then starts pleading for real, that I don't write about her silliness. I feign an offended look an ask:

 "Tu pregunta un escritor no escribe?" (You dare to ask a writer not to  write?)

Yami laughs harder and protests for us to stop, because her side hurts from  laughing too much.

Tuesday, January 18
 Today around 9:00 a.m. Osvaldo helped me move to Odalis's aunt's house, or the Casa de Cinco O's  (House of the Five O's) as I call it, because Osvaldo, Odalis, Odelkis, Oralkia and Osvaldito live there. They wanted to rent out the casa particular I was staying at. My five day extension had run into another rental contract they had previously arranged. I was a bit apprehensive about moving into close quarters with four adults and a child with my computers, printer and other electronic gear. After we moved everything over to the house, I settled in and began to admire the rich colors and patterns of the tile work in the house and the Victorian doors and molding. The house was built with a great deal of care and thought by highly skilled craftsmen in the late 1920's.
 Odalis prepared a nice lunch for us after I returned from a trip to the bank and Habana Viejo (Old Havana). We talked about the difficulties they experienced last year with power, water and food shortages. We also talked about nutrition and prevention of disease by simple techniques, like hand washing before eating.
 Carmen and Yami showed up for their computer class at 3:00 as scheduled. I have really begun to feel like things are finally going well.
 We took a break after four hours of studying and Carmen sat on the couch in my cramped bedroom/computer lab. I laid my head in her lap and took a nap while she read the latest edition of Granma, the official newspaper of the Cuban government. I dozed off thinking how I was really beginning to enjoy this vacation and volunteer teaching job.

Wednesday, January 19
 Carmen and I went shopping for a few gifts to get our friends before I depart. I really hate the ritual of giving and receiving a token gift, unless I know for sure that the person really needs it. I guess the decades of Christmas consumerism and holiday shopping mall madness in the U.S. has finally taken it's toll. Carmen is still a little suspicious that Katiuska could be a jinetera and wants to do a background check on her the next time she visits her mother in Pinar del Rio. She said that prostitution is a serious problem in Cuba. I agreed and said that I came to Cuba to help solve some of their problems, not create more problems. I also mentioned what I had told Ariadna, that if they didn't think that she was a good woman then I would stop seeing her.

Thursday, January 20
  Early in the morning of my final day in Havana I went to the Universidad Pedagogica "Enrique Jose Varona" with Odelkis, the prima of Odalis who is a professor of art there.  She gave me a tour of the University and showed me the house and grounds of the former fascist dictator Batista and the underground tunnels he used to escape to the Airport when the revolutionaries had him surrounded. After the revolutionaries captured the estate they immediately dedicated the property to become the site of a future university.
 The campus has it's own hospital, daycare center, primary and secondary schools. It also is well stocked with fruit trees and an organic vegetable garden.

    After the tour I returned to Odalis's aunt's house. I was feeling a bit sad that Ariadna and Maydi would not have the time to see me off before I returned to the states. I turned Ariadna's computer on one last time before putting it away for her to pick up the next day and found the following message:

My dear friend Dudley,

I decided to come to see you after my French class since it seems that my duties as a student are absorbing all my time. I hate to say this, but I am not feeling very well. I am so sad. I want to say that I am sorry, I never thought that I would be so far from you during your stay in Cuba. I always thought about it as a time of sharing everything together, but as you can see, my dream has vanished.
 I want to thank you for being so patient and loving.Though we have spent very little time together, I have enjoyed every minute that I have been with you. I have learned a bunch of things from you. I really appreciate that. Thank you ever so much for putting your knowledge at the service of my country. You can be sure that I will share everything that I have learned with other Cubans.
 Feel free to visit my country and home whenever you want to. Persons with your heart are hardly ever found. I thank God for making our ways coincide. I feel very privileged to have you as a friend, brother and teacher. Thanks a million. Thanks for caring so much for my health. It is much better now. Thanks for your valuable advice and help. Thanks for being my friend.
You have a special place in my heart.
Te quiero mucho.
Ariadna

Dudley Lewis is a resident of Santa Cruz, California who collects donated medical instruments and computers which he takes to Cuba each year and gives to students at the University of Havana. Persons interested  in making a donation in either of these categories can call: (831) 471-9220 or E-mail him at <dudley@cruzio.com> His web site with this and other stories can be found on the Internet at: <http://members.cruzio.com/~dudley/index.html>