I Want To Go Home

7-17-15

I need to get out of this place. As I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, as far as this semester is concerned, my mind has allowed itself to venture a little more than in the prior weeks. I start to consider how nice it would be to have an extended break from these surroundings (it could also have something to do for my jealousy about my girlfriend going to Mexico with her family next week, but that's a different story). Now, this is not something that is even in the rhelm of possibilities, too many other bills to pay, but it is a nice thought. So i relax and let my mind search for far away destinations to find some relaxation. It first flys straight to Cuba. I am greeted by the smell of street vendors in Havana. The sound of a sold out little league game echoes in the distance. I watch beautiful people flow everywhere going about their daily lives in this paradise that they call home. I have never been there, but when I close my eyes I can see it like its my homeland. These images have been created by what Anthony Bourdain has shown me on "No Reservations", much like the majority of my images form the world. I am excited to be living in a time where we are seeing a normalization of relationships between the United States and Cuba. For some, the fear of the events surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis still seem like yesterday. It is sad that disagreements have caused two cultures to be separated for so long. The embargo on Cuba might have been what lured it to me so strongly. I've always had an appeal for rebelliousness and remember being enticed by this mysterious country when i was in Jr. High. Of course it was baseball that truly introduced it to me. The baseball players that defected from Cuba granted me my first view into the Cuban culture. At this time in my life I loved baseball so the idea of a country that produced some of the best baseball players, but had an active embargo with the USA, completely fascinated me. Later, as I began educating myself the different food cultures of the world, I realized that I wanted to see this country for myself one day. The only problem was that I was restricted to by law. This only made me desire it more. This is why I feel so strongly about a place that I've never visited. Someday soon I will witness this paradise and I will know what it is truly like to be home.