A Cuban Reflection
Part 3, reflecting on an amazing trip. *this will be short and sweet
10:05p and I arrive back home. It's always an amazing feeling to land on home soil. The trip is still sinking in. The reality of it all, the memories made, and that it truly was a historical trip, it's all still sinking in. This was the first time American triathletes have competed in Cuba, and the first time U.S athletes have competed since we revitalized diplomatic relations between our countries.
My flights home were flawless. Going through customs was easy. I made it through through with all 25 of my cigars. *the law in Cuba states you can only bring out 23.
One of the hardest things about coming home was being highly connected again. It truly was an incredible feeling to be 100% disconnected for 6 days. I thought I'd never say this but I was afraid to open my Facebook. It felt overwhelming.
I woke up Tuesday on a mission to catch up, and that I did. I got caught up on work, caught up with family, my besties, and my special guy Fred.
I got hit by a nasty cold Wednesday, that I am still fighting a bit today. But it allowed me to recover, reflect, and catch up even more. I can't believe it's already been a week. Life goes by so fast. It reminds me to make the most of every moment and not let life pass me by. A quote I heard before my trip was "Say YES to Life!" and I will continue to live that.
To summarize my trip.
-Havana is amazing and I hope that if you have the opportunity to go you make it happen. It was cheap to be there. Flights will cost you about $1K or less, and you can eat/sleep for $45 a day. The people are wonderful, the music was marvelous, the culture fascinating, and the cars were incredible, minus the awful black exhaust. And that architecture though! The architecture of the buildings is stunning and beautiful. It saddens me that a lot of it is falling apart.
-The Malecon (seawall) was different every day. Calm and quiet in the mornings, full (I mean packed) with people one night, breached by the sea another day. It is a great place to walk.
-"Give away as much as possible." Fred. It is common to bring gifts for people. So I packed a nice epicurean board for my casa host. I brought donations for the cycling and triathlon groups. I also brought a few things to give away to people that I met. The most meaningful gift I gave was giving my tri team hat to a little boy. The look on his face was priceless.
-One thing to know about traveling to Havana, is that it is not your typical Caribbean trip. This is a cultural trip. There are no beaches in Havana, and not very many pools. The city buildings are high so when walking around you are not in the sun a lot. If you like to sit at the pool or beach on your vacations, this may not be your gig. This is a place to walk and explore every part of the culture.
My biggest regret of the trip is not being fluent in Spanish. There were so many questions that I had for my host, and the people I talked with. I wanted to know how they felt about their situation, life in Cuba, the laws. I wanted to ask what they thought about the new embargo lifts. Were they happy? They looked happy. Were they afraid? Worried? Some said they were. I wanted to be able to truly ask where to eat, and what to do from a local's perspective. If you know a decent amount of Spanish or are fluent and go to Havana, your trip will be significantly enhanced.
It will be interesting to see how things will change in the next few years. My hope is that we can find a balance of our cultures. Havana is amazing and I would hate to see a Starbucks on every corner. When I travel internationally I do not want to see chain businesses, I don't want to see what I can see at home. That is the point of traveling. To explore the unknown. To get outside your comfort zone. To escape the norms of your everyday life.
I can't say enough how out great this trip was. How fabulous the people in our group were. How blessed I feel to have been apart of history and to have had the opportunity to represent the USA. How thankful I am for Barry Siff (President, USA Triathlon Board of Directors, ITU Executive Board) and his hard work of making the race an option for us. For Kara Thompson of USAT for organizing all of the legal work for all of the athletes, and for helping me with specific things. For Leslie of ITU for helping me with registration. For the opportunity to be interviewed for so many stories. *links below. Huge thank you to everyone in our group!
And the biggest thank you goes out to my family, my friends, my clients, and everyone that supports me. You guys carry me through everything and I cannot thank you enough. I hope you know how much you all mean to me and how much you help me. Love you! xoxo
Until next year Havana!
-Jess
Things to remember
-O'Reilly 304
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d5982460-Reviews-304_O_Reilly-Havana_Cuba.html
-Casa Matilde
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147271-d4801041-Reviews-Casa_Matilde-Havana_Cuba.html
-CanBiCuba
http://www.canbicuba.com
Media
ESPN:
http://m.espn.go.com/general/story?storyId=12216218&src=desktop&wjb
Traithlon.com:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2015/01/news/american-triathletes-embark-historic-trip-cuba_111560
USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2015/01/15/usa-triathlon-trip-havana-cuba/21824795/
Kare11:
http://www.kare11.com/story/sports/2015/01/21/minnesota-athlete-to-compete-in-cuba/22091287/
FOX News:
WDIO:
http://www.wdio.com/article/stories/s3679362.shtml