January 1, 2024

I have some problems with packing. It stumps Jacqueline (my partner) because I am typically on top of things, but I can’t pack a bag. I freeze, and I push it off. I’m like Kevin McCallister, who needs someone else to pack his bag. I hadn’t completed packing until 12:30 am. I took a 40-minute nap and was off to the airport. 

I never really felt any concern about taking this trip until I boarded my plane in Miami, which was departing for Havana. I was vividly paranoid about finding the group as I didn’t understand how large the airport was. Thankfully, the airport was small, and a group member, (redacted), immediately saw me. She speaks Spanish well, I do not, and she got me a Cuban SIM card. This alleviated the other, more minor concern I had, which was having the ability to check in with Jacqueline. Verizon charges $2.05/MB for data, and I knew to turn off my cellular connection before I landed. So, at this point, any worry I had vanished within two hours. I was ready to immerse myself in the Cuban culture. 

I got to know (redacted) well as we had several hours together before the rest of the group arrived. She reminds me of my friend back home, Christine. 

On the bus ride to Vinales, I noticed several things different from what I’m accustomed to seeing.  Many people walked on what I’d classify as a country road. Our bus was driving at around 70-80 kph and close to these pedestrians. I was scared for the people and surprised at how normal this was for them. 

I also noticed that house doors were wide open. Many homes looked like the shotgun style you would find in New Orleans. And both the front and back doors were wide open. Lastly, there were several little pop-up bars in front of homes in small neighborhoods. I thought that was interesting and wondered how many people could patronize those businesses. 

January 2, 2024

Today was amazing. I feel like I learned so much from visiting the private farm owned by the Hernandez family. In the morning, we took a town road to the beginning of a dirt pathway. From here, we rode horseback to a tobacco farm. On the way there, we took a scenic route that was about a 30-minute trip. Tucked away in a valley was the farm. The journey to get to a home and place of business was interesting and provided a unique perspective on a way of living. When I think “remote” in the U.S., it never crossed my mind that remote wouldn’t have a paved road to get you there.

The predominant crop yielded from the farm is tobacco. It was fascinating to learn that cigars with rings go through a mechanical process where they are produced in bulk. Those are finalized through a chemical process rather than fermented naturally. These are the cigars that the government will sell. This farm will send 90% of its tobacco to the Cuban government in exchange for 2500 Cuban Pesos ($100~ USD) annually. The remaining 10% can be kept or sold by the family. The yield that remains will naturally ferment, and rings will not be put on them. 

Doing the mental math, we realized the family could make significant income within that 10%, especially since they diversified their offerings with coffee beans, honey, and rum. The government takes 100% of the rum, but 10% is given back and nicely bottled for resale, while 80% is taken of both honey and coffee. With all this detail, I got to thinking about what the family would do with this surplus in income. Where does that wealth get spent inside Cuba? Perhaps it gets spent on international travel? Then I reflected on what the typical US Citizen spends their money on. I wonder, for those with surplus income, is it spent on the efficiencies in an industry? Specifically, because companies produce more, is that why we buy more? Simply because the product exists, and there may be social pressure to acquire new stuff. It seems like a lot of manufactured (literally) “wants.” 

What is most interesting to me was understanding how the government regulates agriculture. It shocked me and my classmates how much the government took. 

January 3, 2024

I did not go biking this morning but learned that the bike tour business used to be run by the state but is now privatized. This happened post-COVID. At this current time, the government takes 10% of the proceeds. 

I keep thinking about the money situation here and what industry I would choose to start a business in. Logically, I think I would target a sector that is taxed the least while still having an upside for scalability. 

In the early evening, we met with an instructor who taught us how to salsa dance. I was very impressed with the instructor's teaching. She started by setting a very high bar and got us to move quickly and make all the moves throughout one long song. Afterward, however, she broke down step by step and let us build on our knowledge. I took this mental note as an effective way to share information with an audience. I found this fascinating and thought it was odd that I don’t have any memories of being taught other skills this way. 

The night concluded with a pig roast, which was excellent, and we rang in Malia’s birthday at midnight. I asked her about what her favorite birthday was that she ever had. She shared it was probably right now. I thought that was pretty cool.  

January 4, 2024

(redacted) gave some candy to a child on the street. It was a nice moment. It then had me thinking that the child doesn’t know if (redacted) put something unsavory in that candy. Kids in the U.S. are told, “Do not take candy from strangers,” and here we are. 

This has me pondering the U.S. perspective on trusting strangers. Should we be more trusting of others? Or is it better to be cautious of your surroundings? 

This is an existential question. On the one hand, you have a very prepared person who is taking fewer risks but who is always considering the worst in people.

On the other hand, you have someone who trusts society at large and does not immediately go to the worst-case scenario when interacting with strangers. 

To be honest, I’m envious of the level of trust. I wish that I wasn’t so cautious. I don’t think that I’m necessarily different than most Americans in this thinking. This may be a significant cultural difference in trust levels and perhaps mindset. 

This also has me considering re-evaluating my favorite genre of podcasts and Netflix documentaries, which typically deal with business corruption.  

Last thought. My buddy Dom and I have this saying for when things in life get complex, “the happiest people in life are hot and dumb.” The idea is that attractive people typically navigate life more easily and that “dumb” people are oblivious to situations around them. Another, more palatable, saying could be “the happiest people in life are trusting.”

I look forward to sharing this experience with him.

January 5, 2024

Today, we had the privilege of learning from Miguel Coyula, an urban planner and professor. I enjoyed the classroom setting. It felt nostalgic because even though I’m wrapping up a master's degree, being an online student, I haven’t regularly sat in a classroom to learn since 2008. It was a fun feeling. 

Mr. Coyula shared many pieces of cultural and academic information with our group. There were many interesting facts and realities that he shared. Here are a few:

-       Havana built the 7th railroad in the world (1837)

-       His monthly salary in 1993 was $2

-       An economic crisis occurred in 1993 and was called “The Special Period”

-       Men (65) and women (60) have different retirement ages 

-       Not a lot of Cubans can afford a meal in a restaurant. Only tourists. So, business can’t thrive. 

Then, there was a much-needed explanation of the effects of the embargo. This is the information from his presentation that I’m still contemplating. 

He clarified that the Embargo doesn’t prohibit the transaction of exchanging goods with the U.S. entirely. Instead, Cuba must pay in advance for goods from the U.S. He shared a profound statement, “Embargo betrays the credibility of the country.” Reflecting on this, it does. The opportunities that Cuba has compared to other nations are somewhat limited. An example of this is the inability to drill oil. There is oil in Cuban waters, but it can’t be drilled because Cuba cannot have any machinery with more than 10% of American components. Oil is an economic driver for the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada, Iraq, and other countries. My undergrad degree was in economics, and my brain is deeply wired to think as an economist. The economic inefficiency left me feeling gutted. An opportunity to raise a country's GDP is squandered because of the embargo. 

Next, we visited La Rosa de Ortega, an Airbnb host. The feeling I experienced when hearing Julia, the business proprietor, speak was humbleness. This visit was fascinating, and the property itself was beautiful, but I most enjoyed the way I felt while I was there. 

She also practiced some concepts I’ve learned about management throughout my master's program.  

In terms of leadership, she shared that she genuinely takes an interest in her employee's personal lives to make them feel appreciated. This was not lip service. It seemed genuine. She shared that this was important for talent retention. When asked how many employees she has, she very quickly answered 23 employees. This made me physically smile. I often think about the hypocrisy in leadership, stating that they care about their employees but how they provide rounded numbers of their workforce.

Another topic she covered was accessibility. Specifically, she recognizes that the Havana locals typically cannot afford to stay or eat at La Rosa de Ortega. So, she opened up the pool on the property to the local community so that they, too, could access the property in their neighborhood. 

A few interesting facts and realities:

-       Cubans can only own one property each  

-       To have a larger property, two properties next to each other can be purchased, typically with a family member or spouse

-       You can turn those two properties into one property under one person’s name, and then that frees up the other person to acquire their property, for a total of three properties between two people 

-       Business owners need various permits if their casa offers other services 

-       After all taxes are taken, Julia estimates she keeps a little less than 50% of revenue.

-       Revolico is similar to Craigslist and is where Julia finds her employees. Right now, she has a medical doctor working for her as a masseuse. 

-       In a question, I asked, “How do you determine your price on Airbnb?” Julia admitted, “I don't know how to price. We try our best and often test different prices.”

January 6, 2024

Oniel Diaz, a consultant, visited our casa today. Our conversation with him relates to the work I perform and am interested in. This made it the conversation that I have enjoyed the most thus far. I recorded our entire ninety minutes together to listen to the conversation again in the future. Learning about Oniel’s experience forming a consultancy that assists Cubans in creating businesses and entering the private sector was great. I plan to form my own consultancy, serving various industries within the start-up niche. 

I was curious to learn how he gained credibility as a private-sector consultant. He shared that he published content that helped get folks the valuable information required to form their small businesses. He also shared that he took a semi-political approach by criticizing the government and gained a following. With this, he offered solutions that increased trust and ultimately led to his first clients. 

I plan to connect with Oniel once I’m back in the U.S. I want to figure out a way I can provide him value and where I can perhaps gain some more experience consulting. I want to take that experience into my current career and the future consultancy that I form.

January 7, 2024

There was a time in my life when I refused to miss a single Philadelphia Eagles game. I used to call it “fandom,” but it was primarily one of the many perfectionist tendencies I exhibited throughout my life. I was a “completionist.” I would have to watch not only every episode in a TV series; if I missed what someone would say, I’d have to rewind until I heard the content with accuracy. Beyond consuming media, I had extreme difficulty with writing. I estimated that it would take me three times as long as an average person to write a paper. I used my partner, Jacqueline, as my control as her academic pursuits overlapped with mine. I enjoy writing, but I would spend too much time tweaking words to achieve perfection. 

I understand that perfect does not exist. The world is subjective, and perfection can’t exist because the evaluation criteria aren’t finite. 

I’m writing about this because I don’t care that I won’t be able to watch the Eagles game today. This is something that, in the past, would have eaten me up.

I spent a year working in an incredibly abusive work environment. I don’t make strong accusations lightly, and I didn’t realize how messed up my former VP had me until I began working in a “normal” environment. I’m not even working in the healthiest of environments right now, which highlights the significant issues with my former leadership. 

A component of the one year I spent in the abusive environment was that I had no time to be a perfectionist. I do not classify this as the abusive part. This is the start-up life part. While I was there, stretched as thin as I ever had before, I recognized a positive change in my life. I recognized that I no longer had time to be a perfectionist. It was almost as if I was in a perfectionist boot camp. I would say that my perfectionist tendencies were noticeably reduced within six months. 

Now, a year from that moment, I’m realizing my additional progress. Today, I’m feeling very grateful because even after the pain I went through at BMT, I can tie that experience to something very positive in my life. I’m pleased about this personal growth.

January 8, 2024

We’re driving on the bus towards Trinidad right now, and I enjoy this travel time. It feels like I’m by myself because everyone around me is either asleep or enjoying their solo time. My alone time is something I cherish. 

I was journaling, independent of this journaling, which is something that I do on occasion. I enjoy getting my thoughts out of my mind and onto paper. Well, a note in my iPhone. 

The general theme behind my writing was that I’m not satisfied with my current living situation. I place a lot of value in being around kind and non-confrontational people. While it’s ignorant to paint in broad strokes, I’ve never acclimated back to the northeast demeanor after living in Houston for seven years. My move to Houston was jarring, and then I adapted. My move back to the Philly area was surprisingly jarring, and close to eight years later, I still haven’t acclimated. I’ve known for years that I don’t enjoy living where we live. I’ve conversed with Jacqueline about this many times. But something I was putting together just now is that I’m immersed in two different cultures of people: the Cuban people and Americans from Denver. I haven’t had any of the stressful situations or interactions that I experience multiple times a week back home. At this moment, this is something I know that I need to act on. I hope that I do. 

After this realization I wrote about on the bus, we stopped off at El Lagarto and had lunch on the bay of Cienfuegos. It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.

January 9, 2024

Today, we met Nancy Benitez, a local architect and historian. We learned the origins of Trinidad. Something that I found interesting was that the Spaniards who moved here were caught up with appearances. That is why they made their homes lavish, and the city looks stunning. Once slavery was abolished, these transplant Spaniards ultimately grew poor, and many left the city. 

Later in the day, we visited a sugar cane plantation at San Isidro de los Destiladeros. The appearance of status and credibility was present here as well. On the property, there were towers. Each owner had their own, and the taller your tower, the greater your status. Since you would need a taller tower to see the enslaved people on your larger property. The person who would operate the tower was tasked with the job of shooting enslaved people who tried to escape the property. Learning this was jarring.  

Earlier in the day, we ended our conversation with Nancy at Plaza Mayor. She had shared that many of the fences and benches came from Philadelphia as the American city was a trading partner. Later on, I will search for what Philadelphia received in exchange. It's likely sugar, but perhaps there are physical structures only a few miles from my home.  

Here are some facts we learned from Nancy:  

-       In January 1514, Trinidad was the third Cuban city founded by Spaniards 

-       At Trinidad’s peak, beginning in 1740, there were fifty-six sugar mills

-       1850 was the last year for the slave trade 

-       Trinidad fell into crisis by 1860, as the sugar mills were shut down 

-       In the second half of the 19th century, the wealthy began living a poor life 

-       The city was preserved over the years, and in 1988, Trinidad became a world heritage site

-       The 1990s were complex in Trinidad because of “the special period”

-       Between 2011 and 2016, the private sector created one thousand rooms inside of their homes and fifty-six restaurants 

-       A significant issue is that the educated youth of Cuba tend to immigrate elsewhere 

-       A common path to the U.S. for some Cubans is Cuba to Nicaragua to Mexico to U.S.

January 10, 2024

I had an insightful conversation with (redacted). I’ve been in Cuba for ten days now, and I did not have clarity regarding how the Cuban people generally feel about Fidel Castro. I found this embarrassing and needed to understand. (redacted) shared with me that, generally speaking, many people saw him as a “father figure.” She shared that his charisma was noteworthy, and he could convince people of his vision with ease. Many people were “intoxicated” by his words. Sharing this, she did not outwardly criticize Fidel. I’m not sure if it was implied, and it may have been. However, this opened up a conversation about her distrust of the current government. This was a theme from those Cubans we met in our travels thus far. She shared that tax money is put into the pockets of politicians, and they go away on vacation with it. Sharing that a politician was caught on video in Spain, living luxuriously. I assumed that this is contrary to the notion that the government portrays that all people are equal. However, it is impossible to believe in equality. Cuban citizens live off $30 per month, while some government officials have the funds to travel. 

Another thing (redacted) said stuck with me. I asked why solar wasn’t more prevalent in Cuba. She said that you will find solar around Havana, but the problem is that once things break in Cuba, they don’t get fixed or replaced. This concept was a huge takeaway for me. She continued and shared that the reason why there are trash piles all over Havana is because garbage trucks would break and not get fixed. So, there are fewer garbage trucks to take care of the trash that accumulates. 

This just put a lot into perspective for me. The value of a single item is so much more critical if the resources are not available to replace it once it’s gone or damaged. 

January 11, 2024

Today is my mom’s birthday. I thought about her while we visited Insurgente, an afterschool community for the youth of Havana. The founder, Sandra Sotolongo, focused on educating the youth about sustainability. She had an eco-classroom and lessons for the kids about cultivating herbs and vegetables. It reminded me of a Montessori education, and others compared it to that. I recognized that my mom, who’s retired, would love to be around kids and teach them anything for a few hours daily. 

Just before this, we went to “El Cafe,” which shocked me. If there is anything I think the Philadelphia area can boast about, culinarily, it’s sandwiches. I believe they have the best sandwiches around. El Cafe was surprising. I wasn’t the only person who loved it, (redacted) ordered a second sandwich while we were there. 

Speaking of (redacted), one evening, the guys were hanging out on the roof and we had a great conversation. I forgot to capture this in a previous entry. (redacted) shared something that (redacted), (redacted), and I found funny. I also found it insightful. We were discussing politics and economic policy. (redacted) had shared that he likes Trump “because of his short-sighted economic policy with China. He thinks that China will be better off because of it.” I really enjoyed that comment and our time on the roof.

January 12, 2024

I gained a lot of perspective today as it relates to entrepreneurial opportunities in the U.S. as compared to Cuba. We visited Tostonet, an IT company that sells and fixes computers. Ultimately, they help Cubans get the internet into their homes.

The complexity of Cubans having a working computer that connects to the internet is more significant than I realized. There are many issues with software rights, and Tostonet “finds a way” to jailbreak these issues. The phrase that Cubans always “find a way” has been repeated by many people over these two weeks. 

An additional perspective that a few entrepreneurs have echoed is that it’s dangerous to grow. Private sector business owners must fly under the radar and make it seem like their business is not threatening the Cuban government's ideology.

A few other interesting notes were that student discounts of 50% off are offered to college students and that Tostonet employs 15 employees. The owner flies to Mexico monthly to get computer parts. This is mostly done to fulfill a unique demand that a customer's computer requires. 

There is so much friction to get a Cuban entrepreneur online that we do not face in the U.S. It goes to show how some industries could never exist in Cuba due to their infrastructure.

January 13, 2024

Tonight was a great send-off. I had a wonderful dinner and better conversation at El Cocinero. I talked with (redacted), and (redacted) and I won’t describe the details for their privacy, but it’s a conversation that I’ll never forget. 

After dinner, we went to a festival to see jazz music. (redacted) said we should attend but underplayed how incredible the experience would be. We had a section to the side stage where we could all be together comfortably and see the performance up close. 

On the way back home, we walked along the Malecón. It was a lovely walk. At one point, (redacted) pointed out one of the state-owned hotels. It was a tall building, but only the bottom few stories had lights on. The top three-quarters of the building was completely dark. This brought me back to the lecture from Miguel Coyula. He mentioned how, in Panama City, their architecture is for show. Their tall, beautiful homes and hotels were vacant, and at night, you could see just that as only a few lights would be on. This was precisely what (redacted) pointed out here in Havana. I connected this observation with a conversation I had with (redacted). She mentioned that the government spends most of its money on hotels. But why invest in luxurious hotels when there isn't demand from tourists? I wonder if this is for show for all the tourists that enter Cuba. Or perhaps, for anyone who searches Havana online and sees these beautiful hotels 

My takeaway is that things aren't always as they seem. Sometimes a lot is invested in the perception of reality as opposed to creating a better reality. 

January 14, 2024

Today is a mixed bag of emotions. I’m excited to get back to a routine but sad to separate from a group of people who I’ve come to enjoy. It’s said that shared experiences form the strongest bonds. I tend to agree, especially when those shared experiences were unique and novel for all of us. All the memories I’ll maintain from this life experience are rooted in these relationships. 

I look forward to getting home for a few reasons. The humidity in Cuba was oppressive. I kept it to myself, but it was a lot, especially since it would affect my sleep. I would wake up multiple times a night and could feel the cognitive effects of this with each passing day. I caught myself calling my roommate and friend, (redacted), by the wrong name, (redacted). Embarrassing, but more importantly, it was rude of me. I decided to go to sleep early two nights to catch up on sleep. 

It will be nice not to fight mosquitos in the bathroom each morning. The study abroad office at school asked, “What am I most concerned about for my study abroad trip,” and I answered mosquitos. They were a problem, but not as bad as I thought.

An abnormal thing I'm experiencing is that time has moved slowly here. Every day has felt like two days. This is not a complaint, it's been fantastic. I love the perception that this trip was longer than the two weeks I’ve been here. I genuinely hope time continues to move this slowly once I get back home. 

Ultimately, my biggest wish for this experience is that the group stays in touch. This was a wonderful life experience, and I’m so happy I was selected to attend.