Sending the team off to a first day of work

September 12, 2016

Sending the team off to work, wifi access, teaching English and a kiss on the cheek

Bright and early, our gardeners, clad in hats, sunscreen, and gloves headed out with their host to work in the garden. Kind of like sending kids off to their first day of school.  Next the "maintenance" crew,  including Phil, headed off to work on a sanding and painting project at the Community Center.  Lastly, the sewing and English teachers headed out for their work sites.  Sounds complicated, huh?  The whole schedule had my head swimming, until I realized that these are adults, not kindergarteners, and each team was graciously picked up and escorted by a local team member.  What a difference the intense involvement of the community makes.

After visiting with the sewing circle(I could have stayed there all day!), I had to resume my team leader duties:  getting lunch orders, scouting our dinner restaurant, getting dinner orders....you get the idea.  Suddenly it was time for lunch, and by some magic all the team converged on the Community Center.  Joined by many of our host team members, we enjoyed a simple, but filling lunch and had a short meeting(how's it going? What's for dinner?  Oh, the schedule has changed).

Instead of returning to the hotel for our afternoon break we headed to the silver factory, where the artists make all manner of jewelry and art from old silverware.  Well, so, ok, I couldn't resist, and we will come home with a couple of pieces.  Very hot and tired, and I had a delicious swim before Phil lead a group to the wifi park for attempts at connecting with the world beyond Cuba.  This proved both exciting and frustrating, as not all functions worked, but mostly all were thrilled to have at least some contact with home.  I was stunned to find that I can't access my CU Course dashboard from out of the country, and I am trying to figure out how I will keep up on my course, stay tuned on that one.

At Garnish Restaurant we were served in our own private room,  Ropa Viega(a direct translation of which is old clothes). I will leave the rest to your imagination, but it was delicious, and combined with the best rice and beans we've had, as well as papaya and pineapple, it was very filling.

Our last activity for the day was 2 hours of English teaching.  Suddenly the Community Center was filled with 30 laughing, shouting Cubans of all ages, from 6 to over 60.  It was noisy and chaotic, frustrating and claustrophobic for some, deeply satisfying for others.  Just when I was wondering how much we had accomplished with our challenging 6 and 7 year olds, little Nathan came over to give me a kiss on the cheek, and say "until tomorrow"

Missing all of you

With love from Cuba