This summer, I spent what seemed like most of July in Cuba. I have to say, going back to the country I was born in was nothing short of amazing, emotional, and eye-opening. The moment I set foot on the ground after getting out of the plane, (there’s no connecting bridge to the gate) I was overcome with emotion, joy, sadness, and relief all at once. Describing in detail the feeling that night we landed in Santiago de Cuba. I guess my heart and mind were in disbelief, they thought it was a practical joke. Oddly enough the warm summer breeze I grew up with here as a kid was still fresh in my memory. At that moment it all came rushing back, the Sierra Maestra mountains in the distance at night, the little to no noise of sirens, again that breeze that just feeling it and thinking of it gives me goosebumps even now. Here’s the thing somewhere in my mind, I was convinced that life and circumstance were getting in the way of me going back to Cuba. There was always a “but” and I kept finding an excuse to push back the trip, as well as just plain and simply being not prepared and a little afraid of how I would feel, and don’t even get me started with the political situation 🤦🏾♀️ all these things as well as the lack of growth I had as a person in those times I thought of going. I was simply not “there” yet. Being back home showed me how much I had grown as a person from who I was 4 years ago to who I’ve grown to be at that very moment I set foot in my little island. Let’s be honest here since I am at a point of reintroducing myself in the blogosphere. I grew up mostly alone, it was just me and my accountant mother who worked long hours for little pay in Cuba, and my grandmother. Still, we were better off than most of the people I knew. Then there was my musician father who spent 5 months out of the year traveling Europe, Paris, Italy, Australia, etc. you name it so I learned at a young age to be strong (but that’s another post). Which brings me to the point, when I saw my uncle who was like and is like a second father to me. I was so happy my heart felt like it was going to burst. But at that point, Alonzo had gotten through consoling me from crying. We had been waiting for our luggage for 1 hour and 30 mins give or take, so I was just happy to see a long lost and missed face.
That’s all for not the end of the story but a brief introduction, stay tuned for Friday’s post about all the things we did during our trip and the vlog that will be up on my Youtube Channel soon.
xx -Stephezinho
