WoWCubaReflecting on something we’d just seen on Cuban tv the other night about Jose Marti, my husband turned to me and asked who Canada’s national hero was. He caught me off guard, and I asked him if it was obligatory (like national flowers, or birds) that every nation even have a single designated national hero. […]
Cuba has been making advances over the past few years with free public access to digital television. I recall several years ago now when they first began selling the digital tv decoders in Cuban stores, swarms of locals rushed to the local TRD (Tiendas de Recaudacion de Divisa, where they charge in CUC for all […]
If I had my way, I’d spend the entire summer in my home province of Prince Edward Island, Canada. This Cuban heat is insufferable! But due to an unusual set of circumstances entirely beyond my control, that’s probably not going to happen anytime soon. So I usually limit myself to a month or a little […]
Have you ever noticed that the less people have, the more generous and less materialistic they are? I can think of a host of adjectives for the Cubans in my social circle such as gregarious, innovative, hard-working, family-oriented, and selfless. But more often than not it’s their generous solidarity that strikes me as one of […]
Cubans are known for their friendliness. And, in many rural areas, for their honest and hard-working natures. These aren’t always a given, however in the Capital, where, as in any large urban centers in a third world country, there are a certain amount of opportunists out there waiting for you to slip up. Growing up […]
As loyal as a faithful dog, I’d never consider betraying my Cuban husband. So it irks me sometimes when he likes to give his input on how I dress when we leave the house. Here we are in the middle of a stifling hot Havana summer, and on Saturday I put on a sundress, the […]
Although the main reason was to provide our family with winter work, I’m sure that one of the other reasons my father shipped his kids off to Cuba in the early ‘90s was so that we wouldn’t become victims of North American consumerism. Like most of my friends in high school, wearing the right clothes […]
I’ve already told you that my native Prince Edward Island in Canada is not the right place to look for paid sex while on a holiday. And by no means am I condoning paying for sexual favors, much less taking advantage of the poorer economy of this Latin American nation to satisfy your lust while […]
Cultural differences between Cubans and Canadians are many. Many Cubans openly pick their noses. In fact, I think that’s exactly why most Cuban men grow their pinky finger nail extra long; all the better to probe their nostrils with, my dear! The sultry way Cuban women walk, no matter what size or shape their body […]
Some people who’ve never been to Cuba and don’t know how things work here assume that everyone earns the same paltry salary and that there is no class distinction. Au contraire! But how much you earn doesn’t necessarily make you esteemed in everyone’s eyes in Cuba. Due mainly to the circulation of two currencies and […]
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