A visit to Havana results in mixed feelings about parachuting into a world where the society is structured according to rules which are often not visible to the casual tourist. As outsiders, we are welcomed and catered to, but the system of living in Cuba remains elusively separate – two worlds not unlike the two currencies. The openness one finds in the Cuban people does not immediately translate into knowledge of one another.

As a Canadian, I project many assumptions onto these citizens of socialism: the heroism of Fidel and Che, the hardships of an embargoed country, expectations of a tropical paradise, beliefs in an egalitarian society, yet narratives of an authoritarian state and such a mix of feelings about poverty. On the other side of the glass, I represent the wealth of the first world, the image of the American dream and the capricious interests of the visitor on vacation. As we ride the T2 bus route a fascinating world passes in front of us, the outsiders, one of colour and light, almost as a play with its shifting scenes. When it is over, we go home.