Saturday, March 18, 2017

Where I Want to Travel

My daydreams are of Cuba.

This really makes no sense whatsoever. My puny Spanish vocabulary has been overwhelmed by my Thai, and the short conversations I have with the men who work at our barn are chuckle-worthy at best. They show tremendous patience as I stumble through the simple sentence I'm trying to say.

And Cuba is now thousands of miles away--even farther now that we live in Washington. There are other places that I could go that would be as or nearly as exotic. I haven't looked into this cockamamie idea far enough to know the travel restrictions, but I'm guessing they are trickier today than they were last year.

But Cuba is still in my thoughts, I think for four reasons:

First, I was a political science major in college and have a graduate degree in international relations. Though its focus was Southeast Asia, a place I know a whole lot more about, I'm intrigued by how the politics in Cuba affected its people. I should read more about this (recommendations, anyone?).

Second, I love how Cuba seems to be stuck in the past. As a Luddite who eschews most things digital for our children and as a person who doesn't want the latest phone or remote or whatever cool gadget, it seems natural to be drawn to a place that appears to be living in the past.

Third, almost all the pictures I've ever seen of Cuba involve sun and people bashing in the sun. Now that I live in a rainy climate, I'm not overlooking the fact that places with a lot of sun look mighty attractive to me now. Plus, I love hats, so having a chance and a place to wear those sunny-weather, dapper hats is always a bonus.

Fourth, and biggest reason: I want to go with my best friend, who is half-Cuban. Growing up visiting her house, I heard the crazy Spanish flung around by her mother and her sisters, and was told how Stacey's grandmother had a bottle of champagne waiting, for when Castro died. I should know more about their story, how they got here, and I'm sorry to say I don't. But exploring this small country with my best friend beside me, spending hours walking the streets, soaking up a different culture with my very best friend is the stuff of dreams. In my case, my daydreams.

Now I've got to figure out: how can I make this happen? Now that I've yanked my daydream from my brain and put it into words, now that I've written this slice and put my wishes out there in the universe...this seems to be a logical next step. There's got to be a way. Right?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love that you've verbalized and memorialized your dream in writing. Now start making your plan, put in writing and make it happen!

Aggiekesler said...

Ahhhh...Cuba! I can't wait to go one day, too! Hope you get to go soon! :)

Unknown said...

Now that you have defined your reasons you must make your plan. When would be the best time to go? How big does your plan need to be?

Emily Culbertson said...

Not crazy. You mention how Cuba is stuck in the past. I love cars and I would LOVE to go see all the cars. It is weird and sad and cool all at the same time, totally surface comments there.

Diane Anderson said...

It would be such an adventure, especially going with your friend. Go for it!

aileenhower said...

How great that it is possible to travel there now. I would like to go to Costa Rica. I don't know if I'm brave enough, however.

Lisa Corbett said...

Cuba is a popular vacation destination for Canadians. I have never been, but know many who have. They stay at posh resorts. They take piles of daily goods (underwear, socks, toothpaste, etc.) to leave as gifts for the hotel staff...otherwise these things are stolen when the rooms are being cleaned. The items are hard to procure and therefore more valuable than monetary tips. Go to Miami instead. :)

Unknown said...

Cuba has been on my (admittedly long) list of places I'd like to visit for twenty years. I've spent quite a bit of time in post-Communist Europe, and would find it fascinating to see what things are like in such a different culture with the same overlay.

Rose Cappelli said...

Oh yes! Now that it is public, you have to find a way to make your wish come true. You have an excellent rationale in case you need to convince anyone!

Donna Smith said...

I guess I am stuck in the past. It is not a destination I've ever considered. But I hope you get to go someday!

http://mainelywrite.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-jealousy-post.html

Unknown said...

I absolutely loved my three week backpacking trip around Cuba! I'm from the PNW and can totally sympathize with wanting to escape the rain. December was the perfect time to go weather wise.

Check out my Cuba posts here: https://teachingwanderlust.com/tag/cuba/

Heidi said...

I love Cuba. I highly recommend staying at Casa Particulares (bed and breakfast)

https://wordsmithing2017.wordpress.com/

SAR said...

She's in <3