I am now back again in Trondheim, Norway. Shortly after the previous post I departed from Tokyo to meet my mother and sister in Hong Kong. (ANA is amongst the best airlines I have ever flown with, btw.) We checked out HK for a couple of days before we flew to Beijing. Spent som time in smoggy-B before returning to Norway.
I had two complete days in Norway, during which I had time for a fitting of my bunad and just barely had time to get a tourist card for Cuba, before traveling to, indeed, Cuba via one night in Amsterdam.
Cuba was an intense experience. A country like none other I have visited. Censorship, ration cards, stuck in 1959, dual economies, over-empowered police, crazy times. Notable moments include a pimpin' doorman at our hotel in Habana, giggling like a crazy new-born maniac while galopping across Valle de los Ignesios, Viñales and dodging Paloma.
Three weeks later I returned to Amsterdam and met up with my girlfriend at last. We spent nigh on a week in Amsterdam shopping for christmas and having a good time. We also visited Den Haag, and learned some dutch. Graag!
Coming back to Norway, I learned from my little brother in high school that more and more kids at school had gotten the new iPhone 3G. Not for christmas, and probably not for birthdays either. I heard that the price of the iPhone for one year (hardware+usage plan) varies between 6-14kNOK (depending on usage plan). In the lower range, this translates to around €800 or $1000. Guess for how long the average cuban has to work in order to afford such a thing.
Go on, guess!
Ready?
10 years!
I know! Things that cost ten years of pay in Cuba are given quite freely to kids in Norway. <- The f**k.
Now, please go do something useful.
