I should get lots of opportunity to write, and the sound of the ocean and people playing in the distance on the sand and surf is a wonderful backdrop for what I want to accomplish. I met a woman Jennifer from Kingston Ontario and it seems she is interested in sharing a car for a Havana excursion. She also is intent on exploring everything that is here. She seems to know about the SCUBA resources and the snorkeling here. Jennifer works for the Royal Military College in Kingston and seems to be very knowledgeable on aspects of the Cuban condition. I did some investigation with regards to the various modes of travel. There are mopeds available and a car rental.

I find the money here quite unusual. Tourists only are allowed to use US dollars. Canadian dollars must be exchanged first into US. Then there is a dollar that is Cuban in form, with a UN label, that is worth 5 US dollars. They compare it to Canadian tire money - only good in Cuba. - but as a US currency. I later learned that this information was incorrect, that the UN dollar was in fact "one" dollar in Spanish, and that it is traded at par with the US dollar. I feel somewhat offended that Cubans only trade in US dollars, but I guess I will understand more about this later.

Rum and coke is free. The food is adequate and the room is adequate. I mentioned the World Healing meditation to Sonja the "entertainment" co-ordinator here. She has to get approval from the man in charge, and it does not appear we will have any problem in this regard. This turned out to be an incorrect observation. They will need approval from Havana if they are to make any formal announcements. I can hold the meditation, but I cannot use their offices for telling people about it.

The electricity here serves me well, but the telephone communication is going to be nil. That means my e-mail and connection to the world is going to be suspended for almost two weeks. It feels a little uncomfortable to be so isolated, but that should provide me with the necessary time to do what needs to be done. I suffer from internet withdrawal.

As a first step, I will outline the objectives of this Cuban experience. My intention is to spend time getting information in shape and up to date on the site.

1) Finish roughing in the Diploma Course
2) Write a piece on Accountability - starting with whatever comes to mind
3) Write an outline for the program in Greenwich - maybe this should be done with Howard, or wait a little longer.

4) Consider approaching Convention Centers worldwide and getting their involvement this could possibly be done as a franchised styled event to coincide in every community world wide and designed locally. We could deliver the outline, format, and the opportunity, and let local governments etc. take up the experience. Some thinking need be done here.

5) Think about an approach to Fidel Castro - note that he is organizing for a visit by the Pope in mid January.
6) consider staffing Skyspace
7) Consider trip to Vancouver
8) Plan work while in Toronto between the 8th and 11th
9) Develop overview of all program in process and prioritized:
10) -Peace coin
11) Tickets - Greenwich
12) promotion PPS
13) buying barter company
14) Program - Greenwich
15) Program worldwide
16) mission control with Melissa
17) Work with Matthew Burns
18) Work with Andrew Kirsch
19) Work with Film Festival
20) Co-ordinator
21) schedules
22) develop infrastructure for articles in UN News.
23) Spirituality in the Work place event
24) website design - major thinking required
25) situation with Norman - is it positive - negative or benign
26) Write standard letter for Convention Industry - e-mail access network.
27) Publicity -
28) print
29) Video - commercial
30) approach to Bill Gates / Ted Turner - follow up - it is time.
A lot of work for what others may look at as a holiday.
Saturday Dec 27th
Started the day off with a jog and some exercises. It occurs to me that I can use this time in Cuba to get both my mind and body into shape. Jogging along the wall here is quite relaxing and in the early morning the sun is not that aggressive on my skin. After a jog, shower, exercise and breakfast I organized a car for Monday to go to Havana. I then went to the pool to relax for a few hours and take the sun.

Met two girls from Sweden: Christina and Anna. They are touring the island for two weeks. Christina works for the advertising department of a women’s’ undergarment company. She has the most incredible blue eyes, and she was very open to talking. I invited her to Greenwich in July of 2000, but she did not take it as a serious overture. She did not think it was likely she would be there.

I explored some ideas with regards to the European Common Market and got some perspectives on that. Apparently Sweden is a member of the ECC, but they are not supportive of the common currency. They have been up to Havana, and they are leaving later to-day for Ciena del Fuego . I thanked them for giving me "food for thought" and I went back to my taking in of the energy of the sun.

A short time later I engaged in conversation with Hiba a young girl living in Toronto, from Lebanon. Actually, she was born in Lebanon and grew up in the United Arab Emirates and came to Canada in 1988. She seems very intelligent and is reading a book on "Orientalism" which is, as I understand her to say, an explanation as to why the Americans have created negative "terrorist" image of everyone from the "Arab" part of the world. We discussed a number of ideas. She has just left her job an is entering a new phase of her life working for Anderson Consulting. She is knowledgeable on computer banking systems. We enjoyed chatting for a bit and then it came time for lunch.

The food here is just OK. Nothing to write home about, and certainly nothing to tell the rest of the world about. I went back to my room to get out of the direct rays of the sun and to do some writing.

Dinner time was spent with Dave from Victoria BC and his brother in law Floyd Paulsen and his wife Pat from Trail BC. Dinner was again OK. Made arrangements with Jennifer and her friend Madeline from Montreal to go to Havana on Monday. Had another conversation with Hiba - Gift from God is the meaning of her name.

The power shorted out several times this evening - it gets very dark at night without electricity. Fortunately it did not last too long. I also found out about some snorkeling. I will maybe do some tomorrow morning after my morning exercises.

Sunday December 28th
Writing and not much else. Getting into the pace of things and organizing for Monday’s trip to Havana. Monday December 29th
Got up early with anticipation for a tedious day driving and excitement in the air for what I hoped to accomplish. Wrote a short paragraph for publication in newspapers on www.homeplanet.org. Rushed off to breakfast and Havana. Oooops! Hopes dashed! No car to-day. But while waiting for car met three fellows from England - they are doing bird watching here in Cuba and have a video with them. I asked if we could post their footage on the internet. They said they would consider it. Also, sitting in the restaurant waiting for the last possibility of automobile for the day, a fellow noticed my "May Peace Prevail of Earth" Sweatshirt. Roland Dana who lives in Geneva and is working on a project for Children around the World. We spent a few minutes exchanging quick stories and undertook to work together. His project is beginning in Africa and is working with the wives of the Presidents of the countries requesting 200 hectares in each country. He mentioned his brother is involved with Reuters and that we will see how we can work together. I stressed the importance of our site, and that we are involved in 103 countries. Missing a connection sometimes offers unexpected results. He also knows a friend of Fidel Castro and gave me his name.

The day was heavy with rain and I went back to my cabana to write some more planning to go Tuesday to Havana instead.

I wrote until lunchtime or at least a late lunchtime. After lunch I rented a moped and went East about 8 km to test out the snorkeling. It was pretty excellent even though my goggles kept fogging up. Athe roads were adequate -holes here and there. But the area for snorkeling was excellent. I imagined that I was Scuba diving and it is almost the same - except not the total freedom you feel with the scuba gear on.. I arrived back at the hotel in time to meet Bruno and his wife Jennifer who was in process of organizing a volley ball game. I played for about an hour before getting back to my writing.. I also ran into Doug, this friend of Jennifer’s ( he mentioned a woman who might want a ride to Havana tomorrow. He will introduce us tonight at dinner.

All in all, today was excellent given my original plans fell through. I went over to talk with George at the car rental and he assured me we will have a car by ten in the morning.

Tuesday December 30th Havana
Woke up early and did some writing. By 9 I was over to visit George and pick up the car. Not here yet. Maybe by 10. I said that would have to be the latest. He agreed. Went to have breakfast, and after breakfast decided to check out the other car rental facility. There was an old dirty jeep in front, right beside one that was up on blocks. The announced they did have a car and I could have it. Great. Within two minutes I had Jennifer organized, signed the papers, and put $54 dollars worth of gas in the car. It costs $1 US per litre. So for a discounted (from $55 to $47 because car was old) plus $60 gas + $15 insurance = $116 I had a car for the day. The drive was pretty reasonable and we picked up some hitchhikers along the way. They pointed out some things of interest - "pop" factories orange groves as far as the eye can see, sugar cane fields coffee shop etc. The roads were not as bad as we were led to believe. We scooted along at 100 km per hour and by noon we were on the outskirts of Havana. The road changes from a huge six lane highway to the "pot-holed small streets of Old Havana without ceremony, signs or warnings. Fortunately I was paying attention and I made the transition without damaging the car our any of the Cubans walking on the street or riding their bicycles. There was not much room on the streets as we wended our way between horse driven carts, bicycles, and people just talking. The streets and buildings were worn and in decay. You could see that they were once beautiful as the adornments and architectural structures were quite exquisite. To-day - they needed tending, painting cleaning repair. This was true of the whole of old Havana. We stopped in a Centre and made our way to the Hotel Ingleterra. This is a beautiful old hotel, in excellent repair. I used their telephones and washrooms. After a time we organized a 4 PM meeting with Lic. Livia M Reyes the person that Charles Mercieca had recommended to me. While waiting to see her, we met a number of street people in Havana. Alex, our French accented guide that led us to the Hotel hung around to see if we needed more help, but we assured him we were OK. We enjoyed lunch in the park outside of the hotel and we were immediately joined by Alfredo, a Cuban boxer who had recently damaged his leg in a motorcycle accident. It was mending slowly and he was still on crutches. He had an affable smile and we engaged in conversation with him and his beautiful girlfriend Tuneles. They were happy to receive Friendship pins, and Tuneles was quick to make one an ear ring hinting as well that two would be better than one. I suggested to Alfredo that he would now understand what it was like to have someone approach him as he approached me. I also gave him a Village of Yorkville T-Shirt that I had brought along for special occasions like this. It turned out Tuneles was not his girlfriend, and was not only available, but interested in going where ever I would take her. Not having time, but I did have the inclination to be honest, but not being able to communicate with her with my inadequate Spanish, I declined the offer, and feeling reticent in making that decision..

We got lost on the way to the offices as the main road was not accessible to us because of our lack of understanding of the road system. We ended up driving through the town and meeting a number of local Havana residents, each of whom had a different perspective on how to get to our destination. After circling our destination like a hovering eagle we finally found our way to the street and the building. Behind the back up the building, and surrounded by impressive metal gates was the UNESCO building. I felt I wanted to go in there as well, but the time did not allow for it. They closed at 5 PM. Perhaps next visit.

At 4:30 we arrived at the offices of Lic. Livia Reyes and the home of the Cuban Movement for Peace and Sovereignty of the People. We were led up to the office by Livias’ 10 year old daughter Sandra. To-day was a sort of holiday and she was playing around at her mothers office. She was very well dressed and well behaved. I gave her a friendship pin and also a poster for her room at home as well as some boondoggle to create either a necklace or wrestle. Livia and I then exchanged information and were soon joined by ….. who managed to broaden our communication as she was slightly better equipped with English then Livia. They have a website - http://www.cubaweb.cu/paz/index.html and they have a great deal of information on this site - all in Spanish. But in perusing it, even given my lack of Spanish, it was clear to see that their words carry the same meaning and intent as the words that we use. The main distinguishing characteristic is that we promote "Gandhis’ non violence principles and they accept "Revolutionary" principles. While this is a distinction in process, it does not create for me a reason not to work with these people. We both are experiencing the same root cause problems We both want the same end result. Perhaps by working together we can both understand each others processes better. Certainly the end results desired are more important than the distinction that exists because of process, and ultimately their process will move towards ours rather than the other way around.

It was also helpful for me to listen to Livia update her associate Arelys Tomayo Osorio on who I was and what I was doing here as it identified for me both their level of interest and also the bright mind of Livia that grasped every aspect of what I am doing and hoping to do. In retrospect the meeting was exciting. I am invited back to present to their team next Monday at 1. Her team consists of several individuals who have the attention of Fidel Castro, I am told. Suffice it to say at this point that we will be working together, and that we will have a strong IAEWP Chapter created here in Cuba. I should also note that they have a home page on the internet, that they also have e-mail communication. However, they do not appear to have sufficient band-width to access the internet for themselves. I think that is what she said, but I am not clear on the technical shortcomings but I will find out.

Livia was familiar with the "May Peace Prevail on Earth" ceremonies and had a "Peace Pole" on her desk. She mentioned there is a larger one down in the yard

Livia shared with us some of the work she is involved with and brought our attention to a UNESCO Peace Education Event taking place in November in Montreal. We talked a little about UNESCO, and although she was reticent to characterize UNESCO one way or the other, she definitely warmed up to me every time I shared a frustrating insight or negative experience that I have had with UNESCO. While neither Livia nor …. will not say it, I guess they have experienced a lack of support from this organization as well, notwithstanding their close proximity to the UNESCO offices, and also noting the fact that "old Havana" is dedicated as a UNESCO world Heritage site.

I did not go into some of my experiences in detail, but suffice it to say that it is indicative of UNESCO’s ability and desire to work with NGO’s, when I, an active member of the IAEWP, an organization with Consultative status with UNESCO, and other agencies, who has presented a paper to the Delors Commission on Education into the 21st Century, participated actively in the Vienna Human rights and Democracy Preparatory Conference in Montreal by way of making three interventions at this conference, having presented to UNICEF as recently as June at the Executive Board level in full attention of the Canadian delegation amongst others, actively representing our "peace education" community on a world level, for over five years, not only through our current work on our homeplanet.org site, the fact that I have to come to Cuba to learn about a conference in Montreal bespeaks of one of the major problems we face in the world today in the educational community through the supposed good offices and apparently good intentions of UNESCO and its related functions. I felt excited that this event is going to take place in Canada, and will look at how I can develop a presence at it, since its substance would indicate that it is intended to promote "peace education". I may even go one step further and as Dr. Charles Mercieca has asked me to consider a Canadian venue for a North American IAEWP regional Conference, possibly I can integrate our conference with this event. The possibilities are exciting, and hopefully UNESCO will be open to this possibility. I can see also introducing the "Spirituality in the workplace" network to this event as a next step for them. Realistically this may be another story to tell of how NGO’s cannot work with UNESCO, but we will see what we can accomplish.

I left with them the video "The Last One" several Home posters - one for Sandra and one for each of their offices, some Friendship Pennies (my last two) and several friendship pins. We tried to transfer some information in my computer to theirs, but I ran into the same technical problem that I had at home when I tried to transfer from my other computer info to my lap-top. We suggested that maybe they could have a tech person available on Monday when I returned to assist in the process.

Our two and a half hours together was celebrated with a little drink of Cuban wine that was as sweet as could be. It reminded me of the Wine from Israel we drink at the Passover service. We only took a short drink as we were going to drive back to the Playa Giron very shortly. Peace was toasted in several languages and good wishes extended for the New Year. And we departed, taking ….. with us to help us get on the proper road back to Playa Giron so that we did not have to go through the old Havana and its horrendous roads and traffic. Boy was this a big mistake. I do not mean taking Arelys with us, but rather the taking of a different route. If we found it difficult in finding Livias’ office, I can only say that it took us three and one half hours to find the highway. The circles we went in, (and this may have been Jennifer’s sense of direction, although I thought I was paying attention too) were enormous. Peoples directions to us: like 800 metres turns out to be several kilometres kept us on the road feeling most frustrated. People just liked to give directions - and everybody was most helpful in wanting us to get it right. We just did not seem to connect with the information. We finally found a major thoroughfare that took us exactly where we did not want to go. At our last spot for directions, as we pulled the car to a stop - everything shut down - lights - starter everything. Not panicking, we opened the front of the car with the help of a gentleman who had just given us directions that we did not want to hear. But at close inspection, not only did we find that his directions were correct, but he helped us put the battery in the car in its proper place and he hitched up the wires that had apparently broke loose when we went over that last huge bump. He went to his car to find some rope that he used to strap our battery into the car. We thanked him profusely and went on our way. Shortly thereafter, after making a U-turn onto the main six lane highway we were on our way.

The last two hours were not quite as anxiety filled as we had also had the foresight to put an extra ten litres of gasoline in the car. We arrived home at 1 PM with an almost empty tank, very tired, hungry, and exhilarated from an exciting day.

Wednesday December 31st: World Healing Mediation
I did this ritual by myself. I did not make a major ceremony of it partly because I was prevented from organizing in the community here - their fears were rightly or wrongly founded, and more so the case because I had spent the previous day on the road and it would have been difficult to organize even a small gathering in absentia, given no support from the locals. I did some extra time breathing an developed a new rhythmic beat to my breathing. It felt good, and most certainly I needed to feel better because I missed the full ceremonial aspect of the World healing meditation. The balance of the day was spent writing and as it was New Years eve I thought that I would enjoy the dinner and see how they celebrate New Years here in Cuba.

Dinner was less than exciting, and as I wandered through the lobby I ran into a man by the name of Jose Luis. He seemed to know everybody and he took great pleasure in buying me a drink. And then another. He took me and introduced me to all the beautiful young girls. He and I exchanged words for almost an hour, and to be truthful I did not have any idea what he was saying. But this man’s energy was so strong that I just went with the flow. Another hour went by and I met his son, his nephews, his cousins, and some more young women. After a time he appeared to be out of rum and asked me for three dollars also he could go and get some more rum. He ran off from the hotel to buy the rum at a nearby bar where it was much cheaper. He arrived and he just kept the rum flowing for his friends and entourage. New Years came and went, and the party lingered on as we went first over to another bar and then on to the discotheque. On the way we ran into another group of his friends and bought another bottle of rum to keep us going. I think the rum fuels their bodies here. At Rhumba, the local bar, we met up with Jorge, Magdelena and Rita who came along with us. Rita spoke no English, but we managed to spend the evening dancing and laughing and having a great time. The new year started off with a great party.

Thursday January 1.
A day for relaxing. Rita and I took a moped over to the Caleta Buena and we took the sun for a couple of hours. We later met Jorge and Magdelena and I showed Jorge the homeplanet site on the computer. He was excited by it although I am not clear on what it means when they get excited about it. Since there is no telephone technology available here there is nothing that they can do about it. Jorge invited us for dinner.

A great dinner. Jorges’ house is like a drop in Centre. While we were there for under two hours, at least thirty people dropped by. One just for a drink of water, one to say hello, one to bring some rice for our dinner, one to bring some fish. Several girls just to say hello. And some other friends just to round out their day. Jorge’s family surrounds his house and he seems to be well liked by every one. After dinner we wet off to the disco for another party. I must admit, I am not in shape for this party life. Friday January 2.
Guillermo Valladares Rodrigues came by at 11 to have a chat. He works as a waiter at Caleta Buena we visited the day before. He is a good friend of Jorge and he wanted to talk. Just talk, about anything. He wants to better his life by learning English and will take any opportunity to learn. He also had heard from Jorge about my computer and he wanted to see some of the information that I had shown Jorge the day before. He makes 180 pesos a month - about $8 US. He has a wife and a child that live in Cienfuegos. He seems happy and content but when we talk about the future there is a sense of despair in his voice. And I can certainly understand this at $$8 per month for income. In addition to wanting to learn more English, he realizes that technology is the way of the future but e does not see how to participate. I think I can help him get a computer if Livia will help on this end. I told him that I would explore the possibilities for him.

While updating my information, George from the car rental place came by to let me know a car was available for 3 PM. I was going to drive Rita back to her town about 20 kms away.

This was the first opportunity to test out George’s car - what a disaster. Smoke spewing out the back, almost choking me if I drove with the wind. I managed to get the car over to Jorge’s only to find that Rita had gone back to her home without waiting. Great stroke of luck. I took the car back promptly and got my money back and I went back to writing. An hour later Rita showed up at my Cabana wanting to take me back to "mi casa" to meet her "bambino" her six year old son. I told her that it was not possible because I had to work.

I spent the remainder of the day planning my presentation for Monday, and exploring some concepts regarding Capitalism and Socialism. What is it I know? How do I know it? What does it mean to me? After dinner there was a pretty good show put on by the hotel - I had noticed this family - a three year old boy, his mother, and what I thought to be the grand-mother, but who turned out to be the aunt, they arrived at the hotel together riding the three of them on a bicycle. They were dressed for the party, and the young boy had a great amount of energy and enthusiasm. I followed them up by introducing the boy to the production staff, and they introduced him as he sang a great rendition of Guantanamera. The show was over and off to bed.

Saturday and Sunday
Writing days. .

Monday: Havana
Got up early to see if I could get a ride with the hotel managers who were going in for a year end review of their financials. They were not ready yet and they decided to go in on Tuesday. George’s car not available - other car dealer not available. -taxi driver wanted $190 return. Somehow my friend Didier got the attention of Romero who was driving to Havana this day - no charge - he would take me to the Hotel Ingleterra. I was not certain if and when he was returning, but to make a long story short, he did drive me both ways. A great saving and as it turned out, a totally necessary saving since my card had been maxed out.

|I arrived in Havana with $1 in my pocket. I could not even afford a cab over to meet with Livia. I took one any way and borrowed some money from Livia for the cab - a 53 Chevrolet deluxe - It is amazing how many old cars are here in Havana. I tried to pay the cab with this $20 borrowed bill but the taxi did not have change. I stopped this official" that was coming out of the building next to the office where Livia works. He had a huge wad of US bills. He tried to give me two twenties for my twenty - I said no just give me two tens - he was insulted and stomped off. I did not quite get it. Maybe he wanted me to give the cab driver the twenty? I do not know. I finally scrambled around the corner and got change.

The meeting that I had planned for was not the one that I attended. I had thought that I was to present to several of Livias’ work associates - as it happened, I was presenting to the Vice President of the CM Arturo Espinosa Hernandez. . He was very receptive, and pointed out their process for determining how they moved forward. There are quite a number of opportunities to work together and the philosophy seems to be in line. The construct of world citizenship , while it sounds right to them, it may have some political overtones. We spent about two hours chatting and then Livia and Arelys and I tried to put some files from my computer into hers - again to no avail.

I borrowed another $5 assuring her I would return it, and I went to hail a cab.

The third car that went by was driven by Vincent a Chemical Engineer - he makes 340 pesos per month or under $15. He offered to take me to the hotel for $1. I paid him $2 which was all the loose coin I had other than the $5 I had borrowed..

I arrived at the hotel and began my wait for Romero. He arrived about five minutes after the appointed time and we began our drive back to Playa Giron. Romero likes to drive fast. It was quite a harrowing experience driving on these unlit roads with hundreds of bicycles, the odd cow and horse and buggy, huge buses, and Romero speeding along at 120 kms per hr. Sparing the details, we arrived back in time for dinner, and the closest call of all was the horse right at our very own gate of Playa Giron that we avoided by only the quickest of reactions of Romero on his seldom used brake!

Tuesday January 6
Time spent recovering from "la tourista" which hit me late Monday night. William came by to introduce his son to me and invite me to met his wife tomorrow. Ended the day catching up on some writing. And watching Cuban baseball on TV. Decent amateur baseball.

At dinner tonight, Ann came by to talk. Apparently she teaches children with learning disabilities. I asked her if she teaches breathing. She did not get the relationship. We talked for a while about different aspects of our program, and each idea I introduced, it was as if I was from another planet. Teachers on the front line have been so insulated from new educational concepts in Canada that I can see education moving forward faster everywhere else as they are more receptive to understanding the need for change and therefore for the process of change. In talking later with her I get the sense that she is going to explore some of the ideas that we have on our site. I think back to the problem - how are we going to get teachers to open up and use these techniques. No answer today. They will all come in their own time.

January 7 Wednesday: Learning about Cuba
To-day, my second last day on this island, most of my time was written. At the end o f the day I met with William, and we walked over to his apartment to meet his wife. They live in the apartment of another small bungalow. The room is about eight by ten that is clean, cement floor with two beds - one larger one for William and his wife, and a smaller cot for their son. There is also a table in the room with three chairs, and a four by five by two deep cupboard which contains most of their clothes, which are all neatly folded. In the cupboard is a number of shoe boxes which contain either valuable papers, or what I call miscellaneous memorabilia. Outside the back door is the shower and the kitchen stove. Water is boiling on the charcoal stove. The stove is sort of home-made but very well constructed having two areas where charcoal is burned. Arien, William’s eight year-old boy comes home from playing soccer, has several glasses of water, a sandwich, and does a little homework with the assistance of his mother. He seems to thrive on learning and as we sit in the dim light, me leafing through some of his well worn school text books my mind drifts to my friend Stephen’s boy Matthew who has a computer or two in his room and two hundred toys to occupy his time. Arien wants to finish his homework so he can run next door to watch cartoons on television. Things are different yet they are the same. William and I talk about the various money in Cuba. I had been told that there were two currencies - the US dollar, and the alternative Cuban US dollar, and the peso. It seems these two currencies are not the only currencies here. There is a "bono" which is money that is earned if you work in the sugar cane fields. It is worth about 50 or 60 to the US dollar and I think you earn about that number in a day. There is also a currency "cervantes" or something sounding like that, that you earn if you are a fisherman. These are also not valued very much. Both these currencies are usable in the market place for purchasing food and staple items.

William, since he works in the tourist business, as a waiter, earns the most valuable currency - US dollars - as tips - his monthly wage of 180 pesos is not sufficient to even cover the rent on his small apartment. He basically lives from hand to mouth - and he has a preferred job in this system - waiter - His college degree from the university in Havana, that was supported financially by the government in his younger days does not do him much good here. He wants desperately to learn English in order that he may improve his lot in life. He recognizes that the country I s going through massive change and while asking me thought provoking questions as to what will evolve for Cuba in the future, I can only say that change is a coming, like every where else on the planet. The nature of the change is going to be difficult on all, especially on the Cuban economy as it has to reintegrate itself into the world since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

I have my own thoughts on how this could be done in a more expeditious manner, and it certainly would be different than I see it happening here now.

As I walk back to my hotel I think on what I have learned this evening - I think about what I have learned this past two weeks - on the one hand, the situation here in Cuba is strained, and it could be distracting for my energies. I think then on what I consider my skills and talents and how they could be useful; here. I ask myself what have I not seen. It strikes me that I have not seen people out working. Repairing. Building. It strikes me there is a lot of people waiting for something to take them from where they are to somewhere else. Can this happen? Certainly there are problems here, and many more than I am aware of. I recall William mentioning the Algerians - they come from North Africa he says - they bring guns and corruption - not good people. He also tells me of the cocaine and marijuana that floats around the disco and supports some of the "gangsters" as he calls them. These things concern him and give just cause to his despair - yet he has hope and is willing to work, to learn and to bring up his family to a new world. I am empowered by his dedication and his attitude towards the future. It is people like William and his family that Cuba depends upon, not just Cuba, but the world. I admire and respect this calm unassuming man who I can call my friend.

So what do we need in Cuba? Cement. It is the first thing that comes to mind. The second thing is paint. And tools to work with these materials. Certainly our hotel could use the sprucing up.

What are the problems? Pollution of two kinds - in the air from autos, buses trucks etc. burning unrefined petrol and spewing out tons of "stuff" into the air. The technology for keeping insects under control- I shudder to think how the pests have been controlled and the resultant pesticides in the foods I have eaten. While I cannot taste the pesticide, I feel it as it goes through my system.

A third kind of pollution is in the minds of people who feel despair. Cubans feel trapped on their little piece of land in the ocean. While they know the whole world is out there, a sense I get is that they feel they will never get a chance to experience it: "not in this lifetime" as my friend Arelys puts it. I think of the movie "Waterworld" and make a comparison to this island of Cuba. Some of the parallels are astounding. I am thinking I want to go back and see the movie again as I did not get the full value of the movie when I first saw it. I was trying to see justification for $200 million dollar investment, more than anything else. The theme also interested me, but I was disappointed with the application of the idea..

Thursday January 8th Leaving Cuba
I thought that I had better report the amber that I had stolen from me. I thought it might have turned up through some of my contacts however, I did not want to leave without making a formal report. I thought that making the report would take a lot of time. Boy was I wrong. I told my story to Mirela who took me to Wince who is her support player from the touring company. He took me over to the police station and within five minutes I was finished. In fact it was one of the most informal processes I ever experienced at a police station. They did not even make a note on a piece of paper. But I was assured if the amber pieces turned up that they would get them over to Wince and he would get in touch with me. I was told later that the reason they treated this so lightly was that if they did find the amber that I would have to appear in court and that since I was leaving they basically ignored the issue. While it seems like a waste of time, I felt mildly better just having made the report, and learning this one new slant to their system. I then spent the full day taking the sun, playing volleyball, getting a decent tan and generally having what is generally called "a holiday". I organized my packing so I could hang out around the pool. Paying the $7 for a one minute telephone call that I made to Livia on Tuesday was the second hassle of the day. Fortunately, I borrowed $20 from a fellow Canadian Jim Park who was very generous in his attitude towards the lending me the money. I now had enough money to leave the country as well. The bus was packed and after a three and a half hour ride on the bus, we arrived at the airport. Standing in line is a holiday pastime, and this was no exception. Jennifer and Jim Park and I talked in line, and Jennifer had an opportunity to introduce me to John who is the Proctor and Gamble person that I had heard about. He is investigating the use of the internet and I wanted to get his attention in order to have Norman talk with him. We had a short chat, and I gave him my card. Hopefully he will follow up. We got through another couple of lines and then in waiting for the plane to load I went a bought some cigars for Hiker Mike. I hesitated in buying because I understand nothing about cigars, but there was this fellow that appeared knowledgeable hanging out in the duty free. He selected four of the best cigars for my friend. One cigar was said to retail on Cumberland in Toronto for $89. I bought one for $9. In all I spent $25 US for the four. I hope Hiker Mike will be happy. After a time we finally got on the plane and within a short 2 ½ hour ride I was back in Toronto to learn about the calamitous weather that Canada has been suffering.

Friday January 9th Toronto, reorganizing,
Had a good morning visit with Annika and a catch up with Veronica.

Met with Mark Deacon in the Smart Toronto Offices and we have agreed to maintain the relationship that we had in the past with Walter Stewart. He will think about some level of involvement as well had a number of catch-up telephone calls with Howard, Nadine, Barbara Cryne. Booked a flight out to Vancouver and talked with Michael Dufrane about the event in Nanaimo. Cleared up my internet back mail, and sent off some stuff to Cuba etc. Had an -mail from Hiker Mike to make sure I got some cigars for him. Made me think that his sending the thought reminded me to get them for him. Power of thought energy in action! . I met later in the day with Norman and got an update from him. Many things are not going well. I am not clear on what to do with the situation so I will just see what flows from it. Not wanting to push too hard in one direction or the other. Off to dinner with Hiker Mike and give him his cigars. Helped with some furniture moving, and as I was pretty tired I went home early. Heard from Stephen as he was on the way to a movie that I was too tired to accompany him to. Caught up on each others life a bit - his son Matthew had a skiing accident - broke leg. Some reorganizing and then off to sleep.

A photo of Mitchell Gold in Cuba