Havana, Oh Na Na

Just because my semester abroad is over doesn't mean the fun has to end. In this post, I'll tell you how to avoid reverse culture shock completely and what it's like to visit a land stuck in time.

Song of the Week: Havana by Camilla Cabello (the Daddy Yankee Remix)

It's been just over two weeks since I came back to the United States. It's really strange to hear everyone speaking English, and read all the signs without the 5 seconds it take to translate them from French. It's easy to forget how pervasive culture is in a society. Politics is a huge part of American culture, and so is the media. I haven't been keeping up on the latest sitcoms or comedians, or the all of the new movies coming up this year. My friends are absolutely enamored with John Mulaney, who is apparently the next big thing in comedy. I've never heard of the guy before yesterday. One of the harder aspects of adjusting is getting used to smiling at people again, instead of my usual resting "beach" face. Speaking of beaches, I found a loophole in the reverse culture shock transition. The answer is simply to go on a family cruise. To Cuba.

Cuba is about as far removed as you can get from current American society. Set against the backdrop of the late 1950s, Cuba provided the perfect getaway for someone (me) trying to escape the shock of re-entering America. Although I was only in Cuba for 12 hours, I was able to get a feel of the country and the people. While the country is still under communist rule, it doesn't really feel that way. The people may be struggling economically, but they find their strength in community, and their laid-back approach to life. Sure, you can see the examples of communism no matter where you look, but the people don't seem oppressed. Or at least as oppressed as Americans are told they were under Castro. It was hard to get a read on what the citizens though of the Cuban Revolution. Americans were told it was an event that resulted in a horrible military dictatorship that left us no choice to enact an embargo against Cuba. And then there was that little thing called the Cuban Missile Crisis. However, our guide, a local university student, didn't seem to think the Revolution was all that bad when asked. He didn't seem to have much of an opinion on the Revolution, and just explained that there was a time before the Revolution and a time after it. The enigmatic explanation didn't really answer our question but that was the answer we got.

Due to a winter storm, our boat wasn't able to visit the second port in Cuba, Cienfuegos. Instead we visited Ocho Rios (Eight Rivers) in Jamaica. Along the way, one of the crew members spotted a small fishing vessel in need of rescuing. After receiving the proper authorization from coastal authorities, our captain gave the OK to lower a rescue vessel from the ship, manned with four crew members who had volunteered. The water was quite rough, with swells around 1.5 meters (5 feet), so the rescue was daring, if not downright risky. It took about an hour to get them on board, and they cleared the deck as they were bringing the rescue vessel back onto the ship. The next morning we found out that the people we had rescued were two fishermen from Costa Rica, and they had been drifting at sea for 20 days. It was a miracle that they were still alive and that we had found them before they died of starvation. With Costa Rica over 650 miles away, we were surprised they were still alive. Everyone on board started calling it the Christmas Miracle. You can read more about it here.

Sometimes it's the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination. --Drake

With the New Year approaching, I've been feeling rather reflective. It's been an exciting year for me and I can see why people say college can be the best years of your life. I started 2018 feeling pessimistic, recovering from the flu and emotionally drained after a difficult semester. I ended the year having finished a paid internship, visited 14 new countries and gained a new perspective on life. Thanks to family, friends and mentors, I realized that life has its ups and downs, but it's the good relationships and incredible experiences that make life special. Sometimes life throws you curve balls. Sometimes you hit a home run. But whether you win or lose, it's the fun you have playing the game that keeps you coming back for more. (I just watched Moneyball, so I'm sorry for all the baseball metaphors.)

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Well, that's a wrap! Thanks for reading my blog over the past 4 months! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I may or may not have something in the works, so stay tuned. Have questions about the blog? Want to know more about Cuba? Let me know in the comments!

Until then, I'll keep wandering.