Epicuriosity

It’s half way through our trip so I want to share a few facts we’ve learned so far:

1. Houses are not owned. The government owns everything. If you want to move you swap houses with someone and whoever has the better place pays the other person an agreed upon fee.

2. If the government sees someone has a lot of money then they can, and will, come and take it. Therefore noone flaunts anything.

3. Most people do not own a source of transportation. You can pay a few pesos and catch a ride on a horse cart, on a bike, in a car converted to a taxi or even a giant container being pulled by a tractor. You get where you are going any way you can.

4. Most people make an average of 250 Cuban pesos a month. That’s $8 US dollars. I’ll be thinking of that the next time I pull in a Starbucks.

5. Wherever you work, they feed you lunch. My cousin is fed spaghetti every single day.

6. You eat what’s available. There is no vegam, vegetarian, raw foodist lifestyle. Every meal, no matter what it is, is food. Eat it while there is some to eat.

7. Propaganda about the Revolution is everywhere. Commercials about progress, employment and schools show a wonderful view of life. If only they weren’t all lies. People make more money by raising pigs then they do in the IT industry. Roads and homes are falling apart and people get excited when bread is available.

8. Most toilets don’t flush. When you’ve eaten and drank as much as we have been, you tend to notice these things quickly. Fill a bucket (if there is running water that day) and pour it down the toilet to make everything go down.

9. Bugs are inevitable. When a lizard crawls down the wall next to your bed, you just need to hope you don’t roll over and squish it while you sleep.

10. Cuban people are absolutely the best people I have ever met. Not just because half of Cuba seems to be my relative, but because despite the hard work, tiny pay, sparce food and super hot weather, they rarely,if ever, complain about anything, they greet everyone with a hug and kiss on the cheek and they are enjoying every minute of life. As my aunt says “what other choice do we have?” Of course it was in Spanish so my daddy had to translate.