So yesterday, after an interesting visit to the United States Interests Section (because of the lack of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba, they do not have embassies in the other country and instead the Swiss embassy has interests sections for the two), we were invited by the Americans to a truly American celebration of St. Patricks Day, complete with green beer and jello shots. Curious to see what partying with the Americans in Cuba would be like, the whole group piled into a taxi and headed to Miramar to the Marine house. We signed in and all of a sudden we were in the U.S. It was like your familiar family backyard cookout. There were tables with families sitting and talking, a popcorn machine where the kids were popping up some deliciousness. I’ve got to say the popcorn was probably the highlight of the night as we wolfed down about 4 big bowls of the tasty American snack. There was some disco music playing and the Marine men serving up the drinks. One minute we were in a Cuban cab on a back road in Cuba where there are no streetlights and you can see in to the houses and the people watching the nightly telenovela, and the next minute we were in America, no Cuba to be found.
We ordered some drinks, well, those over 21 did. Apparently we were on U.S. soil where drinking age counts? I guess we’re really not in Cuba anymore. To make it worse, we got to talking with the Marine guys, and none of them knew what was really going on in the lives of Cubans. You would think that after being in Cuba for months you would know at least a little bit about the culture, but they did not. They had been told everything by the American government and that’s it. The Commies are always watching you and the Cubans have enough to eat. Thankfully, some of our group opened their eyes up to the real Cuba, if only for a minute.
It was so weird to me to be in a setting that would usually be familiar to me. But after my time in Cuba that was so different to my life at home but had become my life for the past three months, I was uncomfortable in this new place. The creature comforts that I now found had no significance or joy. Being in the presence of the Americans should have made me feel at home but instead I felt completely out of place. I didn’t want popcorn, I wanted Pelly, I didn’t want green beer, I wanted Bucanero, I didn’t want disco music, I wanted Gente de Zona, and I didn’t want to be with the Americans, I wanted to be with the Cubans. I know this all sounds like I am anti-American or something, and in this moment I was. My eyes had been opened up to another world, that honestly, I kinda liked better. And I wanted nothing more but to get out of this other unreal world and back to my reality.
We ordered some drinks, well, those over 21 did. Apparently we were on U.S. soil where drinking age counts? I guess we’re really not in Cuba anymore. To make it worse, we got to talking with the Marine guys, and none of them knew what was really going on in the lives of Cubans. You would think that after being in Cuba for months you would know at least a little bit about the culture, but they did not. They had been told everything by the American government and that’s it. The Commies are always watching you and the Cubans have enough to eat. Thankfully, some of our group opened their eyes up to the real Cuba, if only for a minute.
It was so weird to me to be in a setting that would usually be familiar to me. But after my time in Cuba that was so different to my life at home but had become my life for the past three months, I was uncomfortable in this new place. The creature comforts that I now found had no significance or joy. Being in the presence of the Americans should have made me feel at home but instead I felt completely out of place. I didn’t want popcorn, I wanted Pelly, I didn’t want green beer, I wanted Bucanero, I didn’t want disco music, I wanted Gente de Zona, and I didn’t want to be with the Americans, I wanted to be with the Cubans. I know this all sounds like I am anti-American or something, and in this moment I was. My eyes had been opened up to another world, that honestly, I kinda liked better. And I wanted nothing more but to get out of this other unreal world and back to my reality.
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