Buena Suerte Cuba. Nos Vemos

My day of air travel out of Cuba began early this morning as I struggled to keep my eyes open in the endless airport check-in line. I had trouble discerning when I was awake and when I was asleep on my first flight, a groggy state of mind that wasn't helped when I opened the breakfast box handed to me by the air stewardess to find a can of SPAM sitting inside, waiting for me to dig in with a spoon. The can remained sealed when the stewardess passed by a second time to collect the rubbish. I'm now on my second flight and more awake, and this seems like a good opportunity to finish this blog with a final post.

My head is still buzzing with thoughts and questions about Cuba. One of the reasons I was originally attracted to visit was to find out how different life and culture are in a country where McDonald's and Starbucks are forbidden. But despite the suspicious presence of a few American products like Coca-Cola on supermarket shelves, this aspect turned out not to be that interesting.

Instead, I'm left wondering about Fidel and the system of government that runs life in the country. What kind of dictator sets up a "Committee for the Defence of the Revolution", with one member living on every block of every city in the country whose job it is to monitor anything possibly subversive or anti-government, and won't relinquish power no matter how old or possibly dead he is, but at the same time puts such a large emphasis on free education and medical care? It's a mentality that defies a simple good / bad label, and I would love to sit down and pick his brain.

Also, having recently worked in Silicon Valley, where entrepreneurialism has been the source of so many companies now driving the American economy, I can't understand the idea behind an economic system which seems to do everything possible to cut off growth. Is this inherent to Communism, or just Cuba's corrupt state of affairs?

Lastly, I'm wondering where the parents are of the child who has been running up and down the aisle of the plane for the last 10 minutes driving me crazy. If they don't calm her down I might have to stick my foot out and put a stop to it myself.

That's all from me. Thanks very much for reading.