I am now settling into my new home in Cardenas, a
room in a dorm located on the church property. Cardenas is a city that sits
right next to the world famous Varadero Beach. The first thing I did once I got
here was to paint the walls a new color. In Cuba, your selection of paint
colors is very small, only about 5-6 options. So I chose verde, which turned out to be a kind of olive green. Again the
satisfaction of being productive here outweighed the disappointment of not
being able to select from all the colors of the rainbow. This being said, I
have become the master of going with the flow. In my first month here I have
slept in 9 different beds. I don’t know what I will be doing next week, or even
tomorrow, but instead of letting that get to me I have learned to embrace it. I
go where I am needed. This has turned into my answer to the question of what I
am doing while I am here, I go where I’m told.
I
have finished reading my first book here in Cuba, and I must admit that it’s
the first full book I have read for leisure in a very, very long time. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, by
Donald Miller, is a story about stories. Donald is faced with the task of
turning one of his books into a movie, something that may sound easier that it
actually is. In a paragraph explaining what makes a good story, he says:
A story goes to the next level with two key
elements, and both of them have to do with the ambition of the character. First,
is the thing a character wants must be difficult to attain. The more difficult,
the better the story. The reason the story is better when the ambition is
difficult is because there is more risk, and more risk makes the story question
more interesting to an audience. The greatest stories are the ones in which the
character’s very life is at stake. There needs to be a question as to whether
the character will make it, whether he will defeat the enemy or the enemy will
defeat him (Miller, 156).
In
my case, my life is not at stake at all. Cuba is an extremely safe country
where violence is looked down upon. The thing that may be considered at stake
is my quality of living. Adapting to the challenges that the Cuban people face
everyday has been my biggest task, one that I have become accustomed to and
embraced fully. One of the locals asked me if I have enjoyed my time in Cuba so
far and I responded with an honest and enthusiastic “of course I have.” He
responded to that by saying that I must like suffering; because how can you
love a country where day-to-day life is its own challenge. My answer was that I
don’t like suffering but I love culture, and this is a place where there is no
lack of culture.
On
another note I want to talk a little more about Itabo, the mission that I
talked a bit about last post. This complex is a perfect example of how the
Cubans have embraced sustainable agriculture and practices. Plant crops include
green beans, cucumber, black beans, sweet potato, coffee, potatoes, mango,
guava, plantains, papaya, star fruit, chili peppers, herbs, pumpkin, and
regular and green onions. Animals include chickens, turkey, beehives for honey,
rabbits, and soon will include a pigpen with a methane treatment plant to
match. This project is the dream of Gerardo and Bishop Griselda. Construction
started in 2004 and is nearing completion. This church is a model that will be
followed by many other Episcopal churches on the island.
This blog post is sponsored by Maria & Fausto
Tamayo, Rev. Joan Phelps, Bob Hooper, and Harry Elliott. Thank you all for your
support. If you would like to sponsor one of my blog posts please follow the
donation link to the right of this page.
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