Two Worlds Part 2

8/3/2019 Two Worlds Part 2

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/two-worlds-part-2 1/22

June 27, 11:35 AM Heavy Labor

For future reference, ittakes 13 Americans and sixCubans about 2 1/2hours to move a 90-yard

pile of rubble 200 feetand load it into a truck.That's what we did this morning. It was definitely hard labor. It was fairly well-orchestrated,considering the numberof participants, limited

space and languagebarriers. It was alsosomewhat dangerous with a storm of flyingbricks, concrete and moreall around.

After the truck was

loaded we all had to

push the truck to try

and pop the clutch and

get it started. It

resulted in the truck being stuck on an angle

across the narrow

street outside the

church , needing a tow

to complete the job. If

we had been staying

under the radar, this

crazy scene certainly

blew our cover.





10:24PM‐‐OpenDoorPolicy

Butfirstmorebaseballterms…

Conectar =connect

Tiro=throw(noun)

Turno=inning

ThisaEernoonwetookalongwalktoahoteljustoutsidethecity.OurhostshadarrangedtoopenthepooltousandsevenguestsfortheaEernoonandhavedinnerbythepool.OnthewaywedetouredtoseethefreezeIhadmenNonedyesterday,whichincludedthelikeness

ofCastro.ItstandsoverthetombofHolguin’sheroofthelate19thCenturyRevoluNon,CalixoGarcia.Wewereaskedtowaitacrossthe

streetwhilethehostinchargeaskedforpermissiontocometowhatturnedouttobeasmallmuseum.Weweretoldwecouldcomeover

aslongaswedidn'ttakeanypictures.Whileadocentexplainedthefreezeingreatdetail,guardskeptanobviouswatchonus.AEerabout

30minutesweconNnuedonourpilgrimagetothepool.

AboutanhourandahalfaEerleavingthecompoundwearrived.Mostswam,andweallwaitedquiteawhilefordinner.Itconsistedof

saltpork,verycrispy,caramelizedporkskins,cucumbersandtomatoes,blackbeansandrice,frenchfries(“Oneofthesethingsisnotlike

theother…”ranthroughmyhead)andlimonlimesoda.Thepopularbrandseemstobewhattranslatesto"BlindMountaineer."oone

seemedtoknowwhy.





Iwassurprisedthatweretracedourstepshome.Itwasge`ngdark,andoneneighborhoodinparNcularwasverypoor.Itoccurred

tomeatthispointthatthereisadifferencebetween“poor”and“bad”neighborhoods.SNllIcouldn'thelpthinkingthatIhave

neverseensomuchpovertyinsuchalargearea,definedasmostofHolguimandwhatIhaveseeninroutetothecoast.

Iwasalsostruckbyhowpublicpeople’shomelivesare,especiallyatnight.Withinteriorlightsonecanseeanythinggoingon.Back

homewhatgoesoninthehomeisseldomvisibletooutsiders.Iresistedtheurgetotakepictures,manyofwhichwouldhavebeen

verypowerful.



Wewereinformedintonight’scirclethat

tomorrowmayendupbeingadaywith

liletodo.Thethoughtofdayslikethat

makemeabituneasy,asIhavenoNced

thebusierdayshaveeasedsomeofthe

separaNonpainsIhaveexperienced.I

alsoworriedbecauseIfearIwillrunout

ofmusicandvideostooccupymymind,

aswellasreadingmaterials,thisjournal,

andthebodywash.Fallingasleepmay

beabitchallengingaEerprocessingall

this.

(Notetoself:observed

developingbehaviorofone

ofthetripleaderswhois

developingintoaself‐styled

spiritualist.Afewofthe

studentsareappearingtobe

fallingunderhisspell.We’ll

see.)



11:30PM‐‐SNllmorebaseballterms

Thesearefromoneofmystudent’sOxforddicNonary…

Campo=pitch

Coger =catch

Batear =bat(verb)

Jarro=pitcher

Contagioso=catching

Base=base

Onelastentrytogetme

closertoamidnight

bedNme;itworkedlast

night,andoneofthe

church‐dwellersis

watchingTVratherloudly

inthediningroomjust

outsideourbedroom.

Sorrytohavelearnedthat

baseballseasonhasendedinHolguin.Ohwell,

somuchforseeinga

gameinthecity’s

beauNfulstadium.Iwill

trytogonow,havingjust

takenabathroombreak.



June 28, 7:03 AM A Full Night’s Sleep

Yes, I've only been up forhalf an hour. I think I might have awakened briefly earlier but drifted back and actually got up after thesun did. Hopefully this will be a good sign for the day.I'm not even worried thatthe outside bathroom

provided no water, although I will be curious to seehow that gets resolved. I did a few of the stretching

exercises Alex taught to me yesterday, hoping to both stay flexible and to add another step to my routine.

The street steadily

becomes more active

with the ascending

number of pedestrians,

bicycles, motorbikes, and

trucks. Since I've been

writing not one car has

passed. The only thing

less common has been

rain. A few drops at the

hotel pool is all I've

felt so far.



1:40PM—AnAdventure

Wespentthemorningdoingvariouswork.IhelpedwithpainNngwallsinthechurch.IenjoyedworkingwiththeyoungCubanwho

likestheDetroitTigers,andtheNmewentbyquickly.Atlunchwewerepresentedwithapreviewupcomingevents.BySundaywewill

havecompletedtwomoreexcursions,includingtheSanNagotriponSaturday.Iamworriedlesshavingbeenononelongerbusride.I

alsorealizethistripwillbeamuchbiggerdealforoneoftheGeorgeSchoolstudents.Hewasgiventheaddressofhislatefather's

parents,whodon'tevenknowheexists.

Inabout15minutesIwillbeginmybiggestadventuresofar,maybeever,whenIchaperonethreeofthegirlsinourgrouptothe

InternetCafé,armedwithnothingmorethan30CUCs.



10:10PM‐‐TheMoonandtheStars

IhadnotthoughtaboutitunNlitcameupincircletonight,butthemoonandstarsarethemostpreciousthingswhenoneisawayfrom

home.Themoon,thestars,andthesunaretheonlythingsthattrulyconnectus.Asitwasexplainedthisnight,wecanexperience

thematthesameNmewithoutrestricNons,evenifoneofthelovedonesisinacommuniststateandtotallycutofffrom

communicaNonswiththefreeworld.UnNlnow,abriefsessionontheInternetwithafewstudentsandreadinganarNcleaboutthe

deathofactorPeterFalkweremyonlytenuouslinkstohome.Beforeyouask,whythePeterFalkstorywasinGranmawasbeyondmy

comprehension,aswell.

Ididn'tlearnmuchmoreatalltodayexceptthatthePisburghPirateswerecurrentlytwogamesabove.500.Ifoundthisoutbetween

e‐mailaempts.HavingfinallygivenuponusingHotmail,Iswitchedtomymail.comaccounttosendaquickmessageaskingfor

updatesonanythingIcouldthinkof.IsentthemessagetoKaNe'sworkaccount,Greg’sschoolaccount,andmyassistantMarie.It

seemedtobesent.We'llseethenextNmeIgettothecafé.

Bytheway,thetripintotownwaspleasantandunevenul.IwillbesuretovisitthemuseumIsawonthesquare,foritcontainedold

phonographs,radiosandjukeboxes.TheonlyslightglitchcamewhenIwasaskedformypassporttopurchasemyNmecardatthe

Internetcafé.IexplainedthatIdidnothaveit,butthedeskmanagerjustshruggedandgavemeacardanyway.AEerweallgotonline,

westoppedforicecream.Ihadalemón‐limesodaanddetouredacrossthecourtyardofourneighborSanJoseonthewayback.Inall,

itwasanicehourandahalf.

Another“circle”ledbytheresidentspirituallater.I'mbecominglesspaNentwithhisgrandioseposturing,beyondtheyogaposiNon.

Anywayitwasgenerallyagoodday.ItwillbecompleteifIseethemoonbeforeturningin.



June 29, 7:06 AM The Heat of the Morning

I woke up for good at about6:30, although I rememberwaking up in a sweatsometime earlier. I didn't dare

check the time, just turned over my pillow and drifted back off. No moon sightinglast night, but I will keeplooking. I suspect “Jesus and his disciples” (Tom and the converted students) wenton to the roof the nightbefore to see the moon. Wewill have to have a talk,because if they did, Tom is not being up front about it.

For the second morning

in a row the outside

bathrooms provided no

water, so I used the

inside baño . The city

supposedly provides

water for these every

three or four days.

Before turning in, I got

some more baseball

translations. I will

enter them later today.We work with the

fabled 500 cement

blocks.



12:08PM‐‐20Steps,500Blocks,FiveTons

Themorningwasspentmovingmostofthe500cinderblocksfromwheretheyweredeliveredtotheareainwhichtheyweretobeused.

SevenofusworkedwiththeCubanswhoaredoingtheskilledlaborpart.WesystemaNcallyloadedwheelbarrowswithfiveblocks,

movedthemto20stepstoakindofpyramidwewereconstrucNng,andreturnedformore.Withonlyabout40blocksleE,we

esNmatedwehadredistributedaboutfivetonsofblocks!Wefinishedinaroundtwoandhalfhours,likeyesterday.

(Ihavetotakeabreaktonotethemusicthatisplayinghereinthefrontroom.Carlos,“thetrickster’s”CDisthatofaCubanarLst‐‐

progressivebutlistenable.TheLtleis“Pianissimo"byEmilianoSalvador.Notetoself:lookforit.)



8PM‐‐TheBellsofSanJose

Thebellsoftheancientchurchacrossthestreethavejustfinishedtolling.WehavereturnedfromabusyaEernoon.Wewerefirstdrivenbythehusbandofthechurch

pastortoameeNngwithrepresentaNvesofElInsLtutoCubanodeAmistadconlos

PueblosinHolguin.Thisstate‐sponsoredprogramwasdevelopedtopromotethe

countrytoforeigners,especiallyAmericans,andwhyweshouldworktoimprove

ourrelaNons.Themostnotablewaysseemtobereleasingthe“CubanFive”and

endingtheembargo.ThemostinteresNngpartoftheconversaNondealtwiththe

State’sencouragementofthepeopletobecomefarmersinordertoincreasefood

producNon.WhenIaskedwhateffectthiswouldhaveonaendanceatuniversiNes,

IwastoldthatthereissNllplentyofneedforotherprofessionalsandthatfarmers

couldfulfillpost‐secondaryaspiraNons(butnotinsuchunproducNvepursuitsas

thoseofferedinthehumaniNes).HavingseenthemodesofavailabletransportaNon,

IwonderedhowthefarmerswouldgettotheuniversiNesfromtheruralareas.

AEerwordwewalkedashortdistancedownthestreettoanorphanage.Wewereall

entertainedbyaprofessionaltroupeofplayersthengiEswereexchanged.The

orphans,agedeightandup(includingonementallychallengedmaninhis30s),

weredelighted,andwetalkedwiththemforawhile.



ItwasalsoithasalsobeenahotdayandIhadto

moveoutdoorsduringtheperformanceatthe

orphanageover30bodiesinthe10x10roomwas

toosNflingandIfeltIwasgoingtopassout.Timefor

moreagua!Irecoveredwellenoughtojointhe

othersonanothershortwalktoapark,manyofus

throwingfrisbeeswiththechildren.veryone

enjoyedthebreak,fewermoresothanme,whowas

abletoconnectwithseveralofthechildren.

OnthewalkbackwestoppedontheSquareandhad

Cubanpizza.Wewereinvitedtoordertwopieces

andadrink.Wewereamazedtofindthepieces

were10inch‐roundpies!Seeingthefirstsetarriveat

thetableforcedthecancellaNonofseveralseconds.Iexchangedmineforanotherboleofcoolwater.

Thebellsofthechurchofseguedtooneofourtrip

leadersplayingguitar.LaNnAmericantunes(yes,in

Spanish).

Morebaseballterms…

Ponche=hit

oveno=ninth

Robosegunda=stole2BDosboleto=double(“two‐bagger”?)

Blanqueda=shutout(“whitewash”?)

Terreno=field



June 30, 7:05 AM Settling In

I seem to be into a routinethat is working for me. I briefly stirred a couple

times in the dark, but I did not get out of bed until 6:30. I watched about a half-dozen music videos,then I decided to write a short entry. Today is a day off with an excursion to a small fishing village on thenorthern coast. It sounds like a good day for picture

taking, as one vista will beone of the first thatColumbus saw at the end of his Atlantic Crossing.We are scheduled to leave

this morning to visit a

school for blind

children in Holguin and

a Friends’ church. The

day is to include some

time on the beach,

lunch, and dinner. It

should be interesting

to see a small town.



4:30PM—HighSun,LowWater

I'msi`nginthecourtyardoftheQuakerchurchinGibara.FranandIhavestayedbehindwiththreestudentswho

didnotwanttowalktothebeachaEera21/2hourwalkingtourofthetown.ThewalkincludedasNflingsunand

strongseawindthatmadethewalkseemsomewhatliketheBatonDeathMarch.Death,infact,seemedtobethe

themeoftheday.ItstartedwithaviewofaCubanfamilycelebraNngoverclearlydiscernablepartsofafreshly

slaughteredcalfandendedwithacemeterywalk.TherewaswaterservedatlunchandIdownedthreecups.IwasplanningincasethatwasallIsaw.Mysmall,nearlyemptycanteenofwarmwaterseemstobeallIhaveleE,and

wearenotscheduledtoleavebefore8PM.Idon'tlikemyodds.





6:20PM

Thedinnerlineintothechurchcafeteriahas

begunwithoutme.Theodorsarewaytoo

overwhelming.Ididgetsomecoolwater

earlierandamtryingtopacemyself.Iwasalsogivenacoupleoflemón‐limesodatohelp

withthenausea.ThediarrheaIhadthis

morningreturnedalilewhileago,butat

leastIamfeelinglesslikeIneedtovomit.IfI

canmakeitthroughthebusridebacktothe

compoundtherewillbesomestronganN‐

nauseamedicinewaiNng.Therideoverwasa

bitlikearollercoaster,though.

Ididn'taddanythingaboutthismorning'svisit

totheschoolfortheblindinHolguin.Like

mosteverythingwe'veseenhereitwasheld

togetherwithducttape(noteven)and

determinaNon.Thedirectorimpressedme,

andIknowshedoesherbestwithwhatshe's

got.

Mosteveryonehasmadeapointofasking

howI'mdoing,butIcan'thelpbutfeelabit

isolatedandlonely,nowoutsideofevenmore

interacNons.Theservicewillbehardtoget

through.MaybeIcanbeexcusedandstayin

theeveningbreeze.



10:12PM

Isurvivedboththeserviceandbusridebacktothecompound.Thisserviceevenincludedabout20minutesofourenNregroupdoingaQ/AsessionwiththecongregaNon.Thebusridemayhavedonemoregoodthanharm

becauseIwasabletosecureafrontrowseatinfrontofaircondiNoningturnedupalltheway.Bytheway,thevan

driver’smainjobisdrivinganambulance,whichexplainshisdriving.

Wearrivedbackatthecompoundat9:30.Iwaspleasedtoheartherewouldnotbeacirclegroup.Iwould've

optedoutanyway.ItooktoanN‐diureNcsandbummedachocolateproteinbaroffofoneofthestudents.AEerI

closethisentryIwillgotothebathroomoncemore(hopefully)andfeeluptoanotherfulldayofworktomorrow

(also,hopefully).



July 1, 12:09 PM

It was the hardest nightsince I've been here, and today has not been much

of a picnic either. I wokeup several times throughout the night,starting at 2 AM. I was sohot I had to switch

positions—head to feet—anything to get more fromthe fan. At breakfast I only had three dry, really dry, pieces of toasted buns

with some honey on them.We worked this morning. I painted windows in thesanctuary; the fumes didn'thelp.

Lunch is soon. I'vebeen told that soup is being made just for meto eat. A group went tothe bank to exchangecurrency. I should have gone. More walls are going up, and I'mfeeling closed in again. I think the illness has made me revert back tothe first days of utterloneliness.

I did finally assertmyself to use thechurch’s e-mail tosend a message home.Katie's birthday is Sunday, and I thoughtI should try to send something now in caseMarie has to forward it.





Itishothereinourdormroombutnotas

badasitwasinthesanctuary.Iputmywater

boleinthecoolerthismorning,andthe

coldwatertastesgood.

2:05PM

TheaEernoonworkshiEshouldbestarNng

anyNme.I'mjustlookingforlilethingstodo

beforeIgobacktopainNngdoorsand

windowswiththinwhitepaint.Thewalls

conNnuetocloseinoutback.

6PM

Feelingabitbeer.Tookanhourbreaksi`ngonthestepsinfrontofthemainentranceof

thechurchoppositeSanJoseanditspark.

Thepeople‐watchingwasincredible!owit's

offtodinner.

10:40PM

Ihavejustreturnedfromashowerandnow

feelphysicallyasgoodasIeverhavesinceleavingMiami.I’mgladtoknowmymalady

wasshort‐lived.Itdoesn'tseemtoohotin

thedorm,soIshouldbeabletogetagood

night’ssleep.Tomorrowisthedaytripto

SanNago.Tonightendedwithanotherleader‐

ledcirclegroup.Theseseemtobege`ngto

bemuchmoreforTom’segothananything.

Ohwell,weallneedourstages.

Documents

Two Worlds Part 2