Mon Dec 23

Just to finish off on Monday evening … we had a great lecture from a fellow named Marc Frank who is an American who has been living in Cuba for over 20 years. He was very insightful about the changes going on in Cuba today, of which there are many. He felt that the most significant change was that both Cuba and the U.S. were allowing more travel and individual contact. Cubans are no longer restricted from going to the U.S., and Cuban Americans are no longer restricted from going to Cuba (although we non-Cuban Americans still are restricted). Mark felt that this interchange would continue to increase pressure for change in Cuba, and hopefully one day enable normalization of relations between the two countries. His book, which just came out, looks worth reading, called Cuba Revelations.

Then we had dinner at a local restaurant, La Guardia, recommended by a friend of Missy's. It was very funky in that it was the top floor of a totally decrepit building. You walked up several floors of empty rooms with plaster coming off the walls, only to arrive at the top to a lovely restaurant.
We were joined by one of the couples on the trip, Jay and Jane, and their son, Steven, who is close in age to Missy and Marina. The funniest part was talking with another California family at the restaurant. They had entered the country illegally, not on a license, but just coming in through Mexico. They seemed a bit on edge about it, but preferred to travel independently rather than join a group. Since we were having fun with our group (and somewhat noisily so), and they seemed a bit lonely (being anxious to talk to us), I found it all a bit amusing.

 -- Donna