Preparing for the holiday

I have 10 weeks off from university. However, maybe I have to retake an exam this weekend. I can take the exam at home, but I really don't hope I have to retake it, because next Monday I'm in a plane for a 2,5 week holiday to Cuba. I'm really looking forward to it and there are a lot of preparations I have to take before actually going. Today I organized my room. The only thing I have to do in my room is to clean it. This afternoon I also did some shopping and tomorrow's the last part of my holiday shopping. Tomorrow night I'm going to a Joss Stone & Jason Mraz concert and Friday I'm spending the day with some friends at the Efteling (a Dutch amusement park; it's all about fairy tales). So how I'm going to spend the weekend is a big question for me, because I've got no clue if I did the exam well.

So I want to tell something about my holiday to Cuba. I'm going with one of my best friends, but we're doing this journey in a group and it's organized by a Dutch Christian travel agency. We'll spend 19 days in Cuba minus the traveling from and to Holland (our holiday was extended with one day by Martinair and for the return trip we have an upgrade to first class). We start in Havana and then we'll visit the next cities: Pinar del Rio, Bay of Pig's, Trinidad, Camaguey, Sierra Maestra, Santiago de Cuba, Santa Clara and Varadero. We'll travel island-wide so from west to east (which is approximately 1250 km).



It's a very strange country, because it's still a communist country so people aren't allowed to express their opinion about the government unless it's flattering of course. However, Cuban people are friendly and nice. It also feels strange to go on a holiday to a country where people don't earn much (everyone earns the same: $9). So tourists are welcomed in a country with people not having much money. Even though they do get a lot things for free (everyone has the right on one food package a month; there's free health care, education and housing). Tourists aren't supposed to pay with the local peso but to pay with Cuban convertible pesos (CUC). It's a much more solid currency (CUC has the same value as the dollar) and Cuban people rather have that currency than the local pesos. With it they can buy luxury items.
So it feels strange going to a country with people that don't have as much as I have. I can't complain. I do have a student loan and sometimes it's hard not to buy some things that I really want to have but going to such a country makes me aware of how lucky I am to live in Holland and to have so much opportunities.