Cuban National: "Canada? You from Canada?"
Kuli: "No, Alemania (pointing to himself) y Estados Unidos (pointing to me)."
Cuban National: "Estados Unidos!? Ohhhhh! We are friends!!!"
Yes, Cubans are very fond of Americans. This came as a bit of a shock, considering the history of the two nations, and the reputation of Americans being the worst tourists in the world. We had many Cubans approach us, both inside and outside of Havana - many "jineteros" ("jockeys" or hustlers), some locals walking along the beach - all of whom were very friendly. And curious. They asked many questions about the U.S., most of which I had an extremely difficult time understanding due to my terrible Spanish skills, and also because Cubans speak very quickly. It seemed as though almost everyone we talked to had a relative living somewhere in Florida, mainly Miami. Cubans also view Americans as being very wealthy. So many times we had to explain that the cost of living was much higher, and that we had to pay for every service - health care, education, housing (the government gives Cubans their houses/apartments), etc. But even though we are not wealthy by any means, as an American citizen/Permanent Resident, we have the option to make more money by applying for new/multiple forms of employment. In most cases, Cubans don't, and thus have a very aggressive way of selling "gringos*" services and goods. For example, multiple men offering tours will surround the "gringo (tourist) buses" and push their private tours on everyone exiting the bus. I'm positive that the phrase I used most often in Havana was, "No, gracias." Even with the aggressive selling strategies and colectivo drivers yelling "Taxi!" at you constantly, everyone was very warm and friendly.
