Day 26

We are officially below the 100 hours left in Cuba mark!!! Scary and exciting. I have my final meeting with my photo professor later today, then Thursday is class/shoot/prep for final, then Friday is our final critique! I can't believe how fast that went.

I went to Havana Viejo yesterday for a full day of shooting, and learned just how exhausting that can be. I got 4 or 5 new pictures for my final, so that was a success. I also did lots of shopping and now have tons of stuff to bring home. I'm still working on one very specific item for someone, but it's proving to be much more difficult that I expected... I did purchase a beautiful piece of artwork for myself as well as a fantastic piece for Marcy!

I spent some time yesterday reflecting on my time here. It's interesting that I feel practically immune to the old cars, city smog, cigarette smoke and cat calls. I think when I get home it will be another bout of culture shock, but I'm still excited for fresh air and good food.

See you all soon!!!

Day 24

I finally came down with the cold everyone else has been passing around this whole trip. I stayed at the hotel today instead of going to critique, and just woke up around 1. I'm going to be taking it easy and trying to focus through the sore throat. See you all soon! (count down has begun: 139 hours)

Day 23

We are back from our weekend in Pinar del Rio. It was startlingly beautiful there. The mountains were weird. I don't have a very good way to explain them other than they look physically impossible. I will have to show pictures to really show what I mean, but it's bizarre. We also got to visit the world's second largest mural which was painted onto one of the rock faces.

This week is crunch time! We have critique Monday, Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday are all shoot/edit days, then Friday is our final critique! I've got plenty of sunblock, my iPod and fully charged camera batteries. Last push is under way!

Day 21

Packing up again tonight! We are headed out to Pinar del Rio tomorrow morning. We had a critique today in class, and it went very well. My project is really coming together!

We also went on a field trip to see this artist today. It was insane! He does lots of mosaics, and he has covered his entire neighborhood in art. He also constructed this crazy wonderland-like thing in his front yard. It's huge and multi-leveled. You could definitely get lost up there. I took lots of pictures (the touristy kind, not the artistic ones :) ).

I'll post again on Monday, but my internet card is almost gone!!! (Just so you can get some perspective on my internet usage: 1hr of internet = 10 CUC =$13... super expensive!)