Today we had Christmas dinner (They made chicken, yucca, rice and beans, etc.)
with Christina, Lazaro, Juan, and Theresa, and a friend from the country, whom they call “guajira,” which means “red-neck.”. Always a riot over there.
First we danced salsa. Or they danced, while Jack and I tried not to appear too foolish. Then we ate and ate and ate. After dinner we talked, and the conversation hit a few high points I’d like to revisit.
-First we talked about condoms, especially comparing Cuban condoms to better quality, foreign condoms, and how they never run out because all the foreigners bring so many. We discussed how foreign condoms sometimes come in flavers, and the “guajira” said if the condom were chocolate she would eat it instead.
Christina, who has a 33 year-old daughter, said she still uses condoms with her husband, who is 60. She looked at him and said, “I don’t know him! I don’t know where he’s been!” Poor Lazaro hid his red face behind his hand and at one point even fell off his chair.
-We discussed Juan, Christina’s grandson. His father apparently ran out on them and never sends anything, though he manages a fancy resort in the Dominican Republic. Christina reached behind her and pulled out a glossy brochure of the resort. Juan, entering his teen years, came in and she asked him who was his father. He said “nobody,” then put his arms around Lazaro, his grandfather.
-Eventually, as usual when we’re around, the conversation gravitaded towards Americans, whom they call Norteamericanos, or, imperialistas. Some things they said:
“Cuba is not dangerous like the USA, here you can walk on the streets and not get shot.”
“In Cuba, we spank our children when they get in trouble, in the USA, the parents call the police and have them thrown in jail.”
“In Cuba there are no drugs, unlike the USA where everyone is either a drug addict or a drug dealer.”
“Americans don’t learn history in school like Cubans do. In America, they don’t teach things like how much of America used to be part of Mexico.”
At first, this last statement angered me. I include it because it’s important to realize how many misconceptions Cubans have about us, and, as I learn every day, we have about them as well. This is not healthy on either side, especially for neighboring countries. It’s a sadness that reminds me of the elderly brother and sister whose forgotten offences as children effected a lifetime of silence towards one another. The lost time will never be recovered, but our Christmas dinner shows that, through interaction, healing is possible.
Merry Christmas to you all.
and any movie of the dinosaur vs the army genre. I began praying for peace myself.
