Dreaming of Cuba

I'm headed to Cuba tomorrow. Cuba. The country that has been under a U.S. embargo since the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. It sits 90 miles from the United States and yet is a world away.

I'm taking a group of students to see just how different it really is. The main focus will be to learn about higher education in Cuba, but we'll naturally learn about its history, culture, politics, music, art, food, and whatever else we can. We've been reading Julia Sweig's book on Cuba as a primer. I also have a stack of other books that I've collected and tried to read as much as possible.

Here Sweig talks about her book with South Carolina's favorite son, Stephen Colbert, and explains the importance of U.S.-Cuban relations and what the future between these two nations should look like.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Cuba/US Trade Relations - Julia Sweig
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

Reading and learning as much as possible about Cuba is good and all, of course.

But, there's really no substitute for being there.

I've learned this truism in my other travels. My first trip out of the country was to another communist country, the U.S.S.R. in 1988 as a high school student from Utah. I've pulled out my journal from that trip and I'll be curious to see what comparisons there might be between the two experiences.

This is a unique time to go to Cuba. Who knows what's around the corner for this country. The Obama loosened regulations for academic travel last year, which is what made this trip possible. However, this could change back. The Castro regime can't last forever, right? What happens after Fidel and Raúl are gone? More of the same? Or will it open up?

So, we are taking advantage of this window of opportunity. If the restrictions are put back in place, we wouldn't be able to return. And if Cuba opens up and a McDonald's pops up on every corner, then we couldn't return to this Cuba either. I can go back to Russia, but I could never go back to the Soviet Union. 

Like my Soviet trip I plan to keep a journal and I had hoped to blog it here so others could follow along. However, I've learned that Internet access is expensive and slow so I won't be in touch for about 10 days, but I'll certainly upload some thoughts (and lots of pictures) when I get back.

Hasta pronto...

Filling Your Life with New Tunes...

I get stuck in ruts. Musical ruts. I listen to same stuff over and over. It's comfortable. I know what's coming, what's next.

Sometimes this serves a purpose. For example, when I was writing my dissertation I had certain playlists on my iPod that I would use as background inspiration. My favorite was the complete Led Zeppelin collection. What better way to pump yourself up than with "Black Dog," "The Ocean," and the "D'yer Mak'er"? Around the time "Kashmir" came on (my favorite Zeppelin song ever) I knew I had been cranking for a while.

Other favorite playlists included Talking Heads, Dave Matthews Band, and U2, and of course the Beatles. Perhaps I hoped listening to all these great lyricists would rub off on me.

So, treading the trodden trails of your old favorites is wonderful and all, but sometimes you need to break out and try some new music. A couple weeks ago I attended the UU Coffeehouse concert, not out of interest in the band (which I had never heard of), but as something to do on a Saturday night with the kids. Much to our delight, Storyhill, was, well, a delight. (My kids especially loved noting that one of the singers looks just like the dad of one of their friends.)

Then on another weekend I made another wonderful new discovery thanks to the UU Coffeehouse series, this one held at the Columbia Museum of Art: Andy Friedman. He's been on a continuous loop in my car for the past week. Oops, there's that rut again, but I can't get enough of his song, "Roll On, John Herald":

Same with "Idaho" and "Going Home." And the lyrics of "Down by the Willow" are pure poetry.

Then this morning a friend posted on Facebook a song I'd never heard of by an artist I'd never heard of accompanied by another (apparently famous) artist I'd also never heard of, commenting that she could listen to the song on repeat for hours. I have to admit, I agree.

It's always good to discover new music. It's always good to get out of those ruts.