Feliz cumpleaños a mi

We’re definitely starting to settle in now. I have a little routine and am getting to know some people very well (even the hotel staff, dad!). At night I’ve been taking it pretty easy just because we do so much stuff during the day, but when I’m feeling more energetic I go out to walk in the neighborhood, hang out in one of the many parks or plazas (SF style…), or, my favorite…, some times we go to listen to music and dance.
On Friday we got a walking tour of Old Havana. We learned some of the history and saw the sights, very beautiful. One of my favorite bits was an old square, Plaza de la Catedral, where Havana’s oldest/only cathedral is. Also, I found some diet coke there!! And, sticking out in the middle of all this colonial architecture there is an incredibly modern building that doesn’t fit in at all with its surroundings, but is lovely nonetheless.
Last weekend, my last unofficial vacation, I didn’t do so much. Saturday I slept in, talked to my mom and dad (yay!), but unfortunately missed my chance to go to the beach with some other girls. Instead I did some hw and got some lunch with some of my classmates at places that take national pesos. All together it was 24 CUPs, which is about $1 in Cuban tourist monies, and a little more than an Amerrrican dollar.
And yes, today is my birthday, turning the glorious age of twenty-one. My friends have been very nice to me today and asking me what I want to do, but I just don’t know. We had a delicious lunch at a paladar (a restaurant run out of someone’s home). It was very not Cuban and very much better than any of the food at the hotel! I’m sure we’ll go out and do a little partying as we don’t have class in the morning tomorrow!
Thanks all for the birthday wishes!

Love,
Camila

(ps- more photos to be added soon!)