By Tyler Wayne Patterson
“Wait, what is fork in Spanish again?” I asked my sister, shocked I could not remember. “Tenedor!” she told me. Oh yeah. I should know that. I’ve been taking Spanish for six years.
You see, I’ve been trying to translate everything I hear, see and think into Spanish to prepare for my travel. I am nervous to be speaking Spanish. But, I anticipate that being forced to speak Spanish will make it easier.
I’ve never really traveled, especially to somewhere so dramatically different than the United States. So, throughout the last few weeks I have googled tips for traveling to Cuba, and mostly found advice for beach-dwelling European vacationers (or, shall I say, holiday-ers?).
What kind of shoes will I need? How much Shampoo do I need to pack, since its recommended I haul all my own toiletries in? Wait, since I won’t be able to stream music, I should download Lady Gaga’s latest album.
But, if Cubans can make it work, so can I. Right?
Internet, I’ve been told, is unreliable, difficult and slow. I’ve spent weeks downloading academic journals to to use for a research assignment. As an example of the unreliability, the cohort got an email from our trip leader celebrating that he could access Lewis & Clark email accounts on Cuban wifi. Just a day later, he followed up with an email alerting us that LC accounts don’t work anymore.
Oh, and, since American credit cards don’t work in the island, I am hauling in thousands of dollars in cash. Euros, to be precise, so I can avoid a high tax on American dollars.
Rationally, I know Cuba is dramatically different than the United States. Yet I can’t really imagine how different it will feel. I’ve been told that the lack of advertising is a shocking surprise for Americans, who are used to accessing enormous amounts of advertising everyday. But I don’t think I realize how much advertising I access. I don’t know what it is like to live without it. I know I’ll be living in Cuba, but I don’t know how it will feel to live in Cuba.
When I come back, I’ll know how people keep connected without texting, date without Tinder and get around without a car. Soon, I’ll know just what luxuries and experiences I take for granted. And I’ll have more of an idea of what it really means to be Cuban.