Waiting for the Barge

Island life is slow and easy: sometimes by choice; sometimes not.  The Barge is our lifeline to the mainland.  Most of our food, supplies, household goods, etc… comes by barge.  

Our car is coming on the barge on Monday!  Yea!  It will take another couple of days for it to be unloaded and unpacked….

The commissary has a note in the dairy department that they are running low on some products because of a broken compressor on the refrigeration unit on the barge.

But what really cracks me up is that I went to “Pizza Hut” the other day to order a pizza.  The worker gave me the menu and said I could order off of that list.  It is not a full Pizza Hut menu, but it probably has 10 different types of pizza and some other products.    So I said I would have a pepperoni pizza.  The worker told me in her Jamaican accent, “Sorry ma’am, we don’t have pepperoni, sausage or ham.”  I laughed and said, “Then, I guess I’ll have a cheese pizza.” Yesterday I heard Pizza Hut is out of cheese…..

Seems lots of people are waiting for the barge tomorrow!  

Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA)

I am finding that working for the Department of Defense as an Educator is an interesting experience.  My colleagues here in Cuba have lived all over the world and have had amazing experiences and adventures.  Some of you may be interested in this as a career option, so I will share some of my impressions.

First, you need to know that DODEA is a federal department under the Department of Defense not the Department of Education.  I have noticed that DODEA schools are not always on the cutting edge of federal mandates.  We were exempt fro NCLB and we have not implemented the Common Core yet.  

There are two types of schools.  Schools that are located CONUS (military talk for continental US… took me awhile to figure that out ) are considered DDESS (Department of Defense Elementary and Secondary Schools).  These are schools located on military bases within the US and it’s territories.  DODDS (Department of Defense Dependent Schools) are schools that are located on US bases located in foreign countries.  

Cuba is unique in DODEA for two reasons.  First, WT Sampson was the first Dependent School on Foreign soil.  The school began in the Chapel in 1931.  It is also the only DODDS school supervised by the DDESS district.  This is done because of the proximity of Cuba to the States.  DODDS schools are divided into a Pacific region and an European Region.  Cuba is not close enough to either to make it practical to be supervised by one of them.  At one point there were schools in Panama and Puerto Rico, so there was a region that included Cuba in Dodds.  

This has caused some conflict (conflict in education – no, say it isn’t soooo).  As it turns out DDESS and DODDS teachers have different bargaining agreements and DODDS teachers are fiercely loyal to DODDS.  This caught our new principal (hired by DDESS from a DDESS school) by surprise.  He put out a email stating that we should have a week’s worth of lesson plans submitted each Monday for review.  I wasn’t thrilled about it, but was dutifully working away on the requirement when …. Stop Hold the Presses…  The local union rep sent an email that under NO circumstances were we to comply with that request.  She had already sent emails to the Union officials and was on the case.  Evidently under out bargaining agreement, the principal can require lesson plans, but cannot specify how and when they need to be submitted.  They are simply to be available to the principal when they request to see them.  First round went to the Union.

There appears to be a fear that DDESS will press their wicked ways on these DODDS teachers.  I am assured by all these veterans that I want to be a DODDS teacher… not a DDESS teacher.

There is now some speculation that with ever tightening budget constraints that CONUS schools may eventually be turned over to the states in which they are located and DDESS may cease to exist.

As a DODDS teacher I will be on probation for two years.  As long as I do my job, I would be able to stay with DODDS for the remainder of my teaching career.  

Cuba is considered a “hardship” placement.  As such I receive a 10% pay differential.. 10% bonus so to speak as an incentive for working here.  Also, after three years in Cuba I would be given an A+ rating for transferring to another school in the DODDS system.  That is one reason people come to Cuba to teach so they can get a better chance of transferring to a preferable location.  

A job in DODDS includes round trip air fare even every year or every other year to your home of record; paid housing including utilities and in most locations a cost of living allowance to adjust for more expensive economies.  In addition I have access to most military services on base including the PX and Commissary.  My dependents and I can utilize most of the Morale and Welfare programs as well (like free movies, craft classes, exercise facilities, etc….).  I also have several options for health insurance with additional eye and dental coverage.  There is a regular retirement and a Thrift Savings Plan (somewhat like an IRA) that the government will contribute to as well.

Some people come to Cuba with the intention of using it as a launching pad to somewhere else in the system.  Other people have been here for 10 or more years.  There is some advantage to being this close to the states.  Many of the people who work here have homes in Florida or Georgia.  Probably the biggest challenge is getting on and off the base.  You must have permission to come here from the Commander and you also have permission to leave.  One of my colleagues just had a death in her family and she had to get paperwork pushed around the base so she could get clearance to fly out.  

There are schools throughout the world.  I have met people here who have taught in Panama, Japan, Spain, Germany, and Italy.  I could possibly transfer from here and go to Japan, korea, Germany, Italy, Belgium, England, Spain, Bahrain, or Turkey…. so I have to decide if this is life for me and for my children.  

W.T. Sampson High School

The school system on GTMO is made up of two buildings.  There is a k-5 building and a 6-12 building.  There are about 220 students total.  The Middle/HighSchool is on a block schedule.  Classes are 90 minutes long with 4 classes each day.  The B school day includes a “seminar” class which is basically a study hall.

The building has four wings that extend from a central courtyard.  Student lockers are outside on the walls facing the courtyard.  All classrooms are accessed through exterior doors.  There are windows up high in the rooms, but the only other windows are by the doors.  All rooms have an air conditioner and a de-humidifier.   Most rooms are equipped with Smart boards and digital cameras.  Otherwise the rooms are very much like any other school room.

HUTIAS aka Banana Rats

Hutias (pronounced hoo tee uh) aka Banana Rats are rampant on this end of the Island.  Regardless of their nickname they are not rats but a rodent more closely related to the porcupine.  American residents of the Island coined the term “Banana Rat” probably because of the long “rat-like” tail they feature and the fact that their feces looks like little brown bananas.  They are nocturnal creatures, but I caught this one hanging out at the school one weekend.  He seemed up for the photo op.  When Natalie and I go for our evening constitutional, we hear the hutia scurrying through the brush and up the trees.  They can be heard jumping from tree to tree.  They make a sound that reminds me of guinea pigs.  

One night shortly after I arrived on base I was taking garbage out to the dumpster.  I was about 2 feet from the opening of the dumpster when I heard the wee wee sound of a hutia and saw one literally fly out of the dumpster… (acutally I think he had a little ninja pose).  This may or may not have also caused me to go wee wee…..   

Critters of GTMO Part Two

LAND CRABS

These critters make me laugh.  They are like three dimensional cartoon characters.  They come out at night and are like the thugs of the neighborhood.  They can get up to the size of a large dinner plate.  They scoot across the streets side ways throwing out their giant claw as they go.

Critters of GTMO Part One

One of the things that has really struck me about GTMO is the wildlife.  It is definitely different from the Montana wildlife.  

IGUANAS

Iguanas are everywhere.  They always strike an impressive pose.  They seem to command respect as if they are THE owners of the base and we are just nuisances.

This next Iguana resides at the base nursery.  He is over three feet long.  Check out the red eyes!

Movies GTMO style!

I went to the movies tonight.  Captain Phillips was playing at the downtown Lyceum.  It is an outdoor movie theater.  Reminds me of going to the drive in except there are movie theater style chairs in front and stadium seating behind that.  There are two theaters.. one in the main “downtown” area of base and one up on Marine Hill.  There is no charge to attend a movie, but you must pay for your treats.  A medium popcorn is 2.50 and a can of pop is 1.00.  

There were about 200 Navy, Marine  personnel, family members and contractors.  You could almost feel the Navy pride in the air as we watched that movie.  My respect for our military grows almost daily.  Some people asked me if I was “scared” to be here in Cuba.  I am pretty sure I am good hands here!

Musings from a night time walk

I took Natalie for a walk this evening.  Our housing area is the farthest North and East on the base (I think).  If you continue past the turn to our neighborhood going north east you will eventually come to the “East Gate”.  This was the point at which Cubans and Americans would travel back and forth in the days before Castro.  Today, less than a mile from my neighborhood, drivers are greeted with a gate and signs indicating that this is now a restricted area.  One day a month they offer a tour of the “East Gate”.  I hope to get to go in December when the kids are here.

As Natalie and I walked we could see the lights that illuminate the fence.  During the day, you cannot see the fence from this distance, but at night you realize that the fence is not that far away.. certainly less than 5 miles.  The terrain is what I would describe as scrub brush, and filled with all types of critters:  iguanas, land crabs, boa constrictors, Cuban racers (another type of snake),  deer, and hutias (pronounced: hoo tee uh)  a relative of the porcupine that they unceremoniously refer to as the “Banana Rat” because their poop looks like tiny brown bananas.  There are also Tarantulas and scorpions.  It is not an easy landscape to survive in.  

During the pre-Castro days 3000 Cubans worked on base.  Today, there is no traffic at the “East Gate”.  Jobs once held by Cubans are now performed by Jamaicans and Filipinos.  

My neighbors report that there are land mines on the Cuban side, and occasionally one will explode.  Detonated most probably by an unsuspecting animal.  These can be heard in our neighborhood.  

So I am reminded that this is a unique place.  It is the only American base located in a Communist Country.  It is the oldest American base located outside of the US.  Tonight I pondered  the future of this base, this country.  I feel I am experiencing history first hand.  

Come on in … the water’s fine

The new counselor and I enjoyed a Columbus Day swim at Girl Scout Beach.  There were about 20 service men and women and one iguana enjoying the surf with us that day.  The water is just a little cooler than the air temperature so it is very refreshing without being too cold.  This beach is known for the wide variety of sea glass that washes up on the shore. Many people collect the glass and make jewelry and other collectibles from them.

The sunset was taken where Guantanamo Bay opens into the Caribbean Sea.  The picture doesn’t do it justice.  Our world is an amazing place!

 

 

Columbus was Here!

Columbus Day, 2013

Today we had the day off from school.  This is one of the advantages of working for a Federally run school.  The base had a base-wide power-outage scheduled for today, so some of the staff organized a scavenger hunt.  We were placed in teams and had to find 20-30 monuments and other items from around the base.  My part of our team had to find about 12 items.  One item we had to look for was a monument to Christopher Columbus.  Evidently Columbus landed here in Guantanamo Bay on April 30, 1494, during his second voyage to the new world.  He was looking for gold and determine rather quickly that the prospects for gold here were not good.  He named the place he landed “Puerto Grande”  which means “large port”.  

A local boy scout recently rehabilitated the monument as part of his Eagle Scout project.  He held his Eagle ceremony today at Fisherman’s point at Ferry Landing which is where the monument is located.