"El ultimo" and awkward situations

On Saturday AL was feeling sick. Since we had eaten the same exact thing I wondered what was giving her such bad problems. Our friend Yeni said that maybe it was the heat because that can cause similar problems. Either way I had a private dance lesson.

After that I went to go exchange money at the cadeca. In Cuba, people are used to waiting in lines and in this case it was no different. There is even a term they use to describe the last in line. You are "el ultimo". As I was standing there, an older cuban lady asked me if I had lines like this in the US. I said no and she laughed. Then, I described the oddity of seeing cops on the beach. The lady said they were in the mountains too. A guy standing nearby chimed in with a joke that Cuba had 2 million people and 1 million were cops. Both Cubans laughed at the joke.

Since AL was out, I went out with the dance group to Palenque. Palenque means a hideout for runaway slaves, but here it was a dance performance. To get there we took a private Cuban cab. You know how you hear about old ass American cars in Cuba? Well a lot of those are private taxis. So we got into an old American car and Hermes passed around some rum that they sell in containers like juice boxes. Rum in juice box containers. I love it. Innovative. Because sometimes you don't want a bottle.

At Palenque they performed folklorico, rumba, and salsa. I got to see the performance of Eleggua done by someone in full costume. Let's just say there was a world of difference between the stuff I was doing and what this person was doing. As I watch the dances and learn more and more about Santeria I become more and more a henotheist. I respect the other gods, but follow only one. After the performance people just started dancing salsa and there were some amazing dancers there. One off the things I really loved about Cuba is that people of all ages dance. It's cool to see grandmas dancing. Young or old, fat or skinny, everyone dances. This is something Americans really have a problem with. We are so inhibited. I think it has a lot to do with our puritanical backgrounds. The only time many Americans feel comfortable dancing is when they are trashed.

After the performance was finished, I decided to take everyone out to eat. I could only do this because AL and I saved a lot of money, we'd been budgeting, and things are relatively cheap in Cuba. The ride back was in another old American car where we dropped people already in the car off at various locations. We ended up going to the paladares that AL and I got up from when we were with our biker Danny. Hilarious, but I didn't mind eating with these guys.

In a relative sense, AL and I have a lot more than most in Cuba. Even I make more in a day than most make in a month. But when you are generous with people they start asking for more and more. For example, one of the dancers had a backpacks with numerous holes and asked me i I could help him out with a new backpack. I was going to send everyone a care package of things they needed but it would be cheaper for him and us to get a backpack here. Plus, he needed it now. So I kicked him down 10 CUCs to get a backpack and he was happy. But after we were done walking back from dinner he asks me if I can leave my Keen's sandals with him. Now I like this guy but I wasn't about to give him my Keen's. In a relative sense, I'm doing very well compared to him. But in the US, I don't get a big ass paycheck. I explained to him my situation and told him no. It was just weird though to be placed in that situation.

When I went back to our casa AL was sitting reading the last Harry Potter. Good book when you're under the weather.