On a flight from the Bahamas back to NY then FINALLY to OAKLAND, CA!!!

I am leaving this warm, tropical island full of sandy beaches, shops, and strolling tourists to reutrn to my warm, dry, ,bussing, growing and gritty-at-times Oakland, California. I imagine walking around the lake feeling like an average, normal person. I imagine sitting on some steps in my neighborhood without strangers' stares due to my ethnicity or whistles and smooching noises due to my gender. I have never looked forward so much to seeming like nothing more than ordinary.

The transition to Cuba to the Bahamas was rough for me. It was definitely very exciting to meet up with Lacy, a Social Studies/History teacher at our school, and compare our travel experiences and discuss the implications of the month in Cuba that Miquila had enjoyed (and at other times endured). However, to paraphrase Omari to whom I had described the experience, I was going from being an outsider looking only able to look in to being in a country full of outsiders, and the lifestyles seem to be at opposite extremes.

I will probably never forget when in Cuba, after learning that the average income is about $25/month, Miquila and I were strolling around a mall and noticed a dinner place set of plates and bowls for 4 people that cost the equivalent of over $60. We stood, stared, and wondered how the average Cuban could ever afford something that we Americans would not think twice about purchasing, perhaps multiple times in a life time. It seemed to take but a blink of the eye to be transported to the Bahamas and its streets full of jewelry stores, clothing shops, and affluent foreigners perusing all of this stuff. Our cab driver told us about the million dollar condos being built here, there, and everywhere. I couldn't help but imagine how many homes could be bought and/or upgraded in Cuba for the cost of one condominium on the land of its neighboring island. I saw for the first time in a month McDonald's, Burger King, Quiznos, etc., and it made feel uneasy that I could be in a different country, thousands of miles away from home, and still feel like I was living the typical American lifestyle.

Then I saw a small fruit stand, a rogue business without a sign on the side of the road with just a small woman standing behind a wooden plank that served as a table, and I began to appreciate the uniqueness of Cuba.