Personal Article

Cuba

 

Have you ever been to a place that changes the way you think?  I used to think this wasn’t possible.  I thought it was just some stupid thing people put in Instagram captions after their study abroad experience. That changed, however, when I visited Cuba for the first time in 2017.

I, as I’m sure is the case with many people, had always had the impression that Cuba was some wild and lawless place.  I had heard bits and pieces about Cuba and communism in movies and television, but that was the extent of my knowledge.  With this small bit of information bouncing around in my head, I found myself slightly nervous in the weeks leading up to my Cuba trip.  Though the trip was labeled as an “educational excursion,” in reality, it was a fishing trip.  We were set to arrive in Havana, where we would for two days before traveling south to a small fishing village along the coast.

When I arrived, I almost found comfort in seeing that my preconceived notion of Cuba seemed to check out.  The airport was old, sweaty, and broken down, not to mention the armed guards and strange people in lab coats walking around.  After convening with our group for the next 10 days, we loaded into a cramped van and set off for our hotel.  As we drove through the city of Havana, I felt as though I had stepped into a time machine.  The buildings were old, the cars were very old, and I did not see many brands that I recognized.  By the time we made it to the Hotel National in old Havana, I felt I knew it all about Cuba.  Boy was I wrong.

That afternoon we met our tour guide for the next two days, Orlando.  I was surprised to see him wearing a fresh pair of Nike sneakers and nice clothes.  As Orlando began showing us his city and his people, I began to realize that my ideas may have been wrong.  After hearing rumors of an oppressive government and seeing the broken down society I thought surely the people must be unhappy.  To my surprise, I learned that the opposite was true.  Over the next day and a half I learned Orlando’s story, as well as the truth about life in Cuba.  It turns out that most of my preconceived ideas were actually true, and the truth is the that life is very challenging in Cuba.  However, what I did not expect to learn is that the Cuban people are some of the friendliest and most resourceful people you will ever meet.  Additionally, there is a tremendous sense of pride amongst the people.  This took me by surprise.  Orlando told us that due to the government restrictions, it is incredibly difficult to make a substantial amount of money to support your family.  I was most surprised to find out that tour guides and taxi drivers are actually some of the wealthiest people in Cuba (hence the nice clothes and Nikes).  What is even more amazing is that Orlando taught himself English by listening to Eminem CDs.  As we left Orlando and the city of Havana the next day, I wondered if the people in the tiny fishing town would share the same sense of pride and generosity that I had experienced in the city.

When we arrived in town the roads were dusty and filled with strays, and many of the houses seemed to be falling apart.  Nevertheless, immediately we saw children laughing and playing soccer in the center of town, as well as groups of older citizens enjoying an afternoon drink together.  Over the next week I experienced some of the most humbling generosity that I have ever witnessed in my life.  Not only were these people willing to share what little they had, but they were excited to do so.  Each night our group was hosted at a different home for delicious meals.  The owners would sing songs and teach us all about the food we were eating and where it came from.  When the time came to leave at the end of the week, I found myself reflecting on what I had experienced during my time in Cuba.

I often think about the Cuban people and their amazing ability to make light of almost any situation.  One story in particular often comes to mind when I am trying to describe the Cuban people to someone who has never been.  Every day while staying in the fishing village, we had to take an hour long van ride along a dirt road to the flats we would be fishing.  This dirt road had not been serviced by the government in who knows how long and, as I said before, the van was extremely old.  Midway through the week after a long day of fishing we were taking our long and bumpy van ride back to our hotel, when the one of our axels legitimately fell off of the van.  Luckily, there was a second van behind us which was able to take us back to town.  But what of our driver and the van?  A couple hours later back at the hotel we watched a government truck bring our van and our driver to the hotel.  Before long, our driver had his toolbox out in the driveway of where we were staying and began working on the car.  By the time we left for dinner that night, our driver had been joined by some of his friends and the hotel staff.  At this point there was a few chairs surrounding the van and at least one bottle of rum.  When we returned from dinner, I was amazed to see the group of “mechanics” had grown to about 10 people, with an extension chord running from indoors to power a monitor which was playing a soccer game, and at least 5 bottles of rum.  The van was seemingly in pieces and it was already about 10 pm.  Needless to say, I was sure that the van would not be running the next day.  But sure enough, bright and early the next day our driver Julio was waiting with a smile and a running van.  He later told us that they had been up till 3 am fixing the van.  Most anyone I knows day would have been ruined if their van broke down with no licensed mechanic around for miles.  Instead, Julio made a night of it.

There is definitely a lesson to be learned from people like Orlando and Julio who may not be rich in wealth, but have no shortage of happiness.  When I returned to the US, I could not help but feel guilty for all the times I got upset or frustrated over a minor inconvenience.  Ever since I have done my best to learn from the great people I met and to view life in a similar way.  I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to experience the Cuban culture and am longing for the day when I may return.