How Do I Answer the Hard Questions?

You realize that Cuba isn’t a paradise, right? Why did you leave America to come here? When we all wish we could trade places with you, why would you submit yourself to suffering? How does my haircut look? How are the women here in Cuba compared to the other places you have traveled? What, you don’t like hamburgers? Don’t all Americans like hamburgers?

Cubans are very curious people, and all of these questions have been asked of me. Yet, when answering them I must be very cautious and patient in my responses. Sometimes it is best to dance around the answers to attempt to change the subject, but when that fails it’s best to be honest. Honesty is easier to defend and justify than lying. In a country that is so close to the United States it is amazing how far away Cuba really seems. It’s as if you could reach your arm out and touch Florida, yet when you try your arm gets chopped off.

This may seem cheesy but bare with me. You know the scene in movies where the main character looks up at the moon and remembers the people he left behind at home? It brings them a sense of relief because they know the people they left behind can see the very same moon. To me this is essentially a universal symbol for equality. Anyone in the world can look up and relate to the same thing. Yet with this symbol of equality we insist on living lives of inequality. I know that this is something that we cannot control, but maybe we could use this moon to unite and relate to people all around the world. Once we do this it is incredible how much we have in common with people who are absolutely nothing like us. One night while I was looking up at the vast starry night sky in the middle of the country, el campo, this idea came to me. It was a beautiful moon that night.

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As I mentioned in a previous post, Cuban ingenuity is at a very high level. When materials are unavailable, improvise. I have tasted about five different kinds of homemade wines, been offered homemade mayonnaise, used homemade bug spray, and seen homemade car air freshener. When we start talking about machines and tools the inventions are mind blowing. The lawn mower at the church I am staying at stopped working a few years ago. So what they did was rip out the useless engine and blades and replaced it with a washing machine motor and a bolted on machete. And guess what? It works very well. Don’t have a drill? Grab another washing machine motor and attach a bit to the end of it -- problem solved. Need a motorcycle? Take your bike, put a motor on it, attach a water bottle filled with gasoline, and hold on.

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This blog post is sponsored by Margaret and Donald Romanik, Thomas and Virginia Army, Marnie and Robert Muller, and Matthew Calkins. If you would like to sponsor a blog post, or support my mission here in Cuba click the donate button at the top of this page. Thank you all for your support.