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July 6, 6:48 AM—Tricky Business 

I slept better than expected/hoped for. It is a cloudy morning. There was the briefest of a light rain 

last night, so it's a bitcooler this morning. We had to get up a bit earlier as work today takes us to a hydroponic garden. This activity is one that we will need to be careful aboutmentioning, if we mention itat all, because we aretechnically providing work 

for the state. I'm notcomfortable with the idea and would feel betterobserving than working. We'll see how it goes.

Sleep was moreconsistent. Although I woke up a few times, I seemed to go right back to sleep. My lower back is bothering me, so I will try to do some

stretches before our7:15 breakfast.

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12PM

Wespent21/2hoursweedingthismorning.Ienjoyeditprobablybecauseitremindedmeofworkinginmyyardbackhome.Therewas

aspecial“grownupsmeeBng”whenwereturned,asconcernsaredevelopingaboutthestudents’desiretogoclubbing.Ourhostsare

workingonarrangingaget‐togetherwithdancingatsomeone'shomeorhereatthechurchfortomorrownight.WearenowwaiBngfor

lunchtobeservedaJerwork.Wewillbegoingintotowntochangemoney,dosomeshopping,andgototheInternetCaféoncemore.

Thiscouldbemylastchancetogettothemuseum.

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5:18PM—AVeryPleasantAJernoon

At1:20,aJeralunchofpastaandbread,mostofusheadedintotown.Wefirstwenttothepostofficetotryandascertainthecostof

sendingapostcardtothestates.Tomyknowledgeitremainsamystery.Nextwewenttothebank.Forreasonsunknown,itwasclosedto

thepublicwhenwearrivedaliYleaJer2PM.Wewenttothebankoftheiglesiamember,whichwasalsoclosed.ecausewehada

connecBonwewereabletoenterthroughasidedoorandexchangemoremoney.

ItooktwofromthegrouptotheInternetCafétopickupotherswhoalsowantedtogotothemuseum.Thefiveofusstoppedinastore

tolookaround.ItwasaninteresBngsetup:firstfloorwasfoodandhouseholdgoods(includingsmallappliancesandflatscreenTVs),

secondfloorwasmainlysoapsandperfumes,thethirdfloorwasfullofclothingandshoes.

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AtlastwegottomydesBnaBonofinterest:themuseum.ItcostoneCUCforeachtoenter,plusanotherformetotakepictures.Itwas

worthit!Whilenotthatlarge,itshowcasedanumberofinteresBngdisplays.Themuseumwasarrangedfromprehistorictocolonialto

revoluBonaryperiods,andthelastwasdedicatedtohistoricalmusicarBfacts.TheseincludednotonlytheVictrolasandjukeboxI

menBonedbeforebutmanyotheritemsincludingseveraloldbakeliteradios.Oneoftheportable78recordplayerwasjustlikeoneI

owned.ThedocentaYemptedtodemonstratehowitworked,butshereallydidn’tknow.Ididn’thavethehearttoassertmyselfather

expense.

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AJerworkweshoppedatvariousstreetvendors’cartsandabookstore.Igotacouplemoreitemsformylovedones.ThenitwasBme

toheadback.Onthewaywecheckedacoupleofplacesformynewfavoritesodabutfoundnone.Whenwegotbacktothecompound

wedecidedtogobacktothepizzeriatotrythere.Thewalkthereandbackwasdoneinasteadylightrain.oththeprecipitaBonand

thepineappledrinkwerequiterefreshing.Iwasneverinlessofahurrytogetsomewhereinmylife.

AJerworkweshoppedatvariousstreetvendors’cartsandabookstore.Igotacouplemoreitemsformylovedones.ThenitwasBme

toheadback.Onthewaywecheckedacoupleofplacesformynewfavoritesodabutfoundnone.Whenwegotbacktothecompound

wedecidedtogobacktothepizzeriatotrythere.Thewalkthereandbackwasdoneinasteadylightrain.oththeprecipitaBonand

thepineappledrinkwerequiterefreshing.Iwasneverinlessofahurrytogetsomewhereinmylife.

esidestheregularrequestsformoneyfrombeggars,IambecomingmorecomfortablewalkingthestreetsofcentralHolguin.Mymind

constantlyworking,IconBnuetodebatemytravelstrategyforSaturday.esidestheregularrequestsformoneyfrombeggars,Iam

becomingmorecomfortablewalkingthestreetsofcentralHolguin.Mymindconstantlyworking,IconBnuetodebatemytravelstrategy

forSaturday.

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10:17PM‐‐Unbelievable

ForgivemebutIcouldn'thelpthepun.es,forthe

secondnightinarowwewerevicBmsofadriveby

evangelism.Unlikeyesterday'sevent,however,I

foundthisonetobemuchmoretolerable.Itwas

hostedinasmallhigh‐riseapartment—post‐revoluBon,project‐style—thebarefurnishingsdrove

homethepointthatthepeoplehereshare

whatevertheyhave,evenifit'snexttonothing.I

viewedthiseveningserviceasmoreofacommunity

event,andthehourorsopassedrelaBvelyquickly.

WhileIwriteIamagainenjoyinganeveningsnack

ofcoconuticecream,possiblythebesticecream

I'veeverhad.EarlierIreceivedmessagesfromboth

KaBeandMarie.IaskedmyassistantifmyschedulewouldallowaseconddayofftheweekaJerI

returned.KaBesharedsomeheadlines,thebestof

whichthatthePirateswereinsecondplace!Well,

myicecreamisfinished.It’sBmetotakeAdvilPM

tabletsgiventomebySusan.Theyseemedtohelp

mesleepbeYerlastnight,soI'lltrythemagain.

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July 7, 7:33 AM—Last Work Day 

Today’s schedule, as of last evening, was a shortwork session to move a 

 pile of dirt into position for a truck to take away and a session of summerschool, which doesn'tbegin until 4:30. Haven'theard anything more aboutan activity for tonight.

This day actually began atmidnight. Today is Fran's birthday, and our hosts decided it would beobserved at the very startof the day, consistentwith one of the moreinteresting Cuban customs. So there wewere at 12:02 AM, singinghappy birthday and eatingcake in front of a hugebanner that read 

 “Felicidades , Fran” complete with a depiction of Spiderman (for noapparent reason other than it was colorful and athand). I will be curious to see what this day really involves.

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1PM—HoYer,et

ItisturningouttobeanotheroneofthehoYerdayshere.It

wasevenhotfortheCubans,asevidencedbytheheavilyunbalancedpedestriantrafficintheshadysideofthestreet.

Agroupofusspentanhourorsodowntownbeforelunch.

Someboughtmoretchotchkes.Ionlygotanother pinitaand

begantogetlesspaBentwiththoselookingforahandoutor

wanBngtosellmecigarsandsuch.Ialsoboughtapostcardto

sendhome.Ididsojusttohaveonepostmarkedfromhere

andtoseehowlongitwouldtaketogethere.AlexandIare

headedtotheDHLofficetosendcardsshortly,soIwillgeta

secondwalkintotown.

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11:26PM‐‐LawnChessUndertheLightsWewenttoaparkabout15minutesawaybyfoot.Thekidsdanced,thenacoupleof

themstartedalawnchessgameinthepark—anothersurrealsetofevents.Ihopetosleepthroughthenight,thoughIknow

tomorrownightwillbethemostchallenging.

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July 8, 6:51 AM—T-Minus One Day to Home

As I write I am watching a USA vs. Cuba volleyball 

 game. Surprisingly we are uptwo sets to one at this 

 point. I slept rather well last night. Just one more to go! “Summer school” session begins at 9 AM. Oncethat's over we're supposed to have the rest of the day to ourselves. We’ll see. Weare supposed to be at theairport tomorrow morning by 7:30 AM. We’ll see. I would like to end the visit as itbegan, with a climb up thehill overlooking Holguin.

The view, no doubt,will be quite differentthan it was two weeks ago.

7:24 AM USA wins 3-2, taking the thrilling

last set 15-13!

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11:45AMSummerschoolhasjustended.ItincludedasendoffforourgroupinwhichwewereeachpresentedwithagiJofasmallship

model.Itwasalongmorning,butitwasthelastone—justonemoreaJernoon,evening,andovernighttogetthrough.GiJsarebeing

handedoutbysomeinourgroup,butIplantosimplyleavemostofmyclothesandmysneakersandwatershoesbehind.Iwillbesureto

runmy“thankyou”leYerbyAlexorAshleytomakesureIdidn'tsayanythingtoostupid.

IwillputthefinaldraJinoneofthejournalsIboughtandleaveitwiththehosts.I’mnotsurewhatwillhappenaJerlunch,besidesarrangingwhatstaysandwhatcomeshomewithme.

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4:35PM

Onceagainwe’reofftothetopofLoma.AJerlunchIgotthe“greenlight”totaketwostudentswhoalsowantedtoscaleLomadela

Cruz.WetookourBmeascendingthe437steps(carefullycountedonthewaydown)withthetwoaskingmanyquesBonsaboutthe

ColdWar,Cuba'srollinit,andtheimpactoftheembargo.ItwasfuntodoaliYleteachingtosucheagerstudents,ifonlybriefly.

TheviewwasevenmorespectacularthanthefirstBme,enhancedbybothamorefamiliarperspecBveandanimpressivethunderstorm

thatstrolledthroughthevalley.Wepausedforanother limon‐limesodaatthesummit’srestaurantthencarefullysteppedbackdownto

thestreet.OnceattheboYom,wereturnedonanothercallethatranparalleltoLibertad.Itofferedsomedifferentscenery,includinga

weddingrecepBonandsomeinteresBnganB‐graffiBgraffiB.

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DuringourclimbIwasagainaskedwhatImissedmost.eingawaythese16daysIhavedefinitelyseYledontwothings:my

family,whichItendtounderappreciate,andreadyaccesstoinformaBon—thattwo‐headedmonsterthatitis.Ihavenotfound

myselfwanBngformuchelse,exceptdrinkswithice.ThelastaJernooninCubaisalmostbehindme.

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WhenIgotbackIwasinformedthatthegroupwouldbegoingintotheSanoseChurchCourtyardtowatchvariousstreetperformers

thenreturnforabarbecuedinner.Itsoundslikethat'stheonlythingontonight'sagenda.Noproblem!

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8:35PM‐‐PaganPlayinFrontofaCatholicChurchina

CommunistCountry

The“meter”Ispokeofjustoverloaded!Wewalkedacrossthe

streettotheSanosecourtyard.Therewewereentertainedby

agroupthatwasre‐enacBngaGreekdramaaboutthegodsand

goddesses.Alloftheperformerswereinelaboratecostumes,all

inaterracoYaredhue,andallmovingwordlesslyinsuperslow

moBon.I'veneverseenanythinglikeit,buthowmanyBmescan

Isaythataboutthistrip.

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WhenIreturn,every

conversaBonIhaveaboutmy

experiencewillincludea

recommendaBonthatwe

considerCubansasbeingCubans

firstandforemost.Unlessone

hasdirectBestotheParty(a

smallminority),CubansidenBfy

withherheritage,culture,and

family.Theyareaproudpeople, justasweareasAmericans.

They'realsoawareofthe

importanceoftheir

independence—somethingwe

takeforgrantedbecauseitwas

acquiredsolongago.

Ihopetheembargoends.

AlthoughIdonothavehigh

expectaBonsthatlifewillbecomemorecomfortablefor

mostCubansevenifitdoes.

Wehadadeliciousdinnerthatincludedbarbecuedporkandtamales.Itwasagreatlastdinner.CirclegrouponemoreBmein19minutes...

Circlewastolerable.AttheriskofbeingnarcissisBc,IwantedtogetdownonpapermycontribuBontothe20‐minute“minimeeBng,”so

hereitis: