[vpcats]

Wow Lulu...that was some dissertation but very interesting and pretty accurate I think. I was born in Cuba and my parents left as soon as they could. My stepfather "escaped" on a boat - in 1961 - so that was popular even then. He used to travel a lot, was well off, but was taken off the plane on his way to Mexico while trying to escape as a "tourist". Then my mother shipped her little girl to the US to a friends house and then, she came a few months later. I have never been to Cuba after that day and neither has anyone in my family. I think to this day, they are still hoping to return soon. May be a shot at that one day soon too but it will take years, years, and more years to rebuild what I've heard was a beautiful, prosperous, rich island. If it ever does I think I want to retire there.
Anyhow...........I am ultra-white, light eyes, and the natural blonde is now covered with gray which is covered with my hairdressers favorite mix depending on his mood. My father (not stepfather) was blond, blue eyed, straight from Spain. My last name was Spanish, then turned Italian due to my ex-husband's Sicilian ancestry but guess what - he's Peruvian. My son could hardly speak spanish until he moved to Florida but he's getting better and my current blue eyed Cuban cowboy wants a tractor to mow the lawn!
So, you are definetely right in that you cannot judge a book by it's cover! You have to judge people by their actions and their heart. Not their skin color, their diamonds, or their bank accounts.

[lulu]

Touche!!!!!

Sure, Peruvians also come in many colors and backgrounds. Italians immigrated all over the America's, starting with Christopher Colombus. Many Spanish have celtic roots and even play bag pipes in N. Spain to this very day...they have the same genes roaming thru their blood as the Irish. This is where my moms genes come from the Northern part of Spain in Asturias, my grandparents were born there.
Well, your poor step-dad must have suffered quite a bit, probably an admirable human being as was your mom & dad ...I'm sure if they left in the 60's they were well off & educated as those are the first victims that are looted when the envious thieves take power. They didn't come looking for food, nor money, nor things (like the newer ones) & left everything behind to give their children, like you, a chance of freedom, liberty & justice - which many take for granted here, but it's truly priceless. To think that a mom sent her little girl alone says something about how wonderful your mother is. Truly a selfless loving motherly act...and one that deserves a medal of some kind. Those original Cubans are truly hero's in my eyes...they had to leave their homes, families, career's and many sadly were never allowed to go back again & never saw their mom's or siblings ever again - many were executed just for simply not agreeing with a political point of view.

I'm not one to push Cuban politic reports as most here are sick of Cuba this 'n that...even me at times, as it's overwhelming and has gone on so long that it's seems like a joke by now & nobody even listens. But coincidentally, yesterday, I really fantastic report came out in the Herald written by Bonnie Anderson - she is the daughter of Howard Anderson whom was executed by firing squad in Cuba. Despite her being Anglo she was born in Cuba and suffered the same horrific things. It really is a must read especially for the Anglos' here, so they can really understand & get a perspective from a fellow Anglo on what Cuba/her family has gone thru...truly, truly too much, and to think that it's reality and nothing has ever been done in so long is inconceivable. There were many Anglo families like hers, as Cuba was truly tied hand in hand with the U.S> so many Anglos & U.S. citizens lived there, too (Hemingway lived in Cuba, too). To think there is real life footage tapes of the firing squads doing this to fellow Anglos and Cubans of all colors and not reported on English speaking T.V., only on the spanish channels, gives an illusion that the truths/pain that is spoken by the Cubans is all crazy stuff from a bunch of looney tune paranoids.
Anyway, please go to the Miami Herald online and in their search engine type:
Fidel Castro has yet to face justice


Seriously, it's a great piece for any non-spanish speaker.

[vpcats]

Lulu I have to give you 5 stars!! You are one well informed woman and guess what, we might even be related :-) Asturias is where my paternal grandparents and my father were from.
It's a shame how Castro has destroyed an island and generations of families.

[SunKrist]

FromFlorida,

That is very true. I have an example:

The other day I was turning left at a light, and I saw a man come out of a bar who was wearing cut-off shorts, work boots, a trucker hat, had a very unkempt hair cut and messy beard. But that's not why I noticed him. I noticed him because he was bending over, blowing snot out of his nose, wiping it off with his hand and shaking it off to the ground. This was in public, in front of a busy intersection. And the girl he was with was just sitting on the hood of a car watching.

You might actually know the area: it was on the corner of Haines Road and 62nd Avenue, just east of 34th Street/Hwy 19. If you want to find some "rednecks," that's where they come for family reunions.

Originally Posted by fromflorida

fla2006
Being a native of florida (Pinellas County) I can tell you that there is no
shortage of rednecks in this great state. This is something that some
Floridians can not accept or admit but that does'nt make it any less true.

[SunKrist]

So, you are definetely right in that you cannot judge a book by it's cover! You have to judge people by their actions and their heart. Not their skin color, their diamonds, or their bank accounts.

Also very true.
_____________________

[lulu]

Ha, ha, ha....oh this is way funny . Yep, we might be related who knows?? Maybe, we should take up bag-piping, but it might really confuse some out there including our fellow English speaking Irish Americans...hee, hee...little do they know that some of us are them, right ?? If they'd marry us the babies would come out with freckles and all!!!!!!!! Even some w/ red hair - you should have seen my brother, his hair was white when he was born that he looked bald. My ma is is so full of freckles... she's not a RN she's a Pink neck! She's ultra white, but like pink..though, I could do without the transparent skin that I inherited - spider veins are starting to show, I need more Florida sunshine to hide these lovely spiders crawling on my legs... God knows all we need now is another Florida bug ...
Have you noticed the high trill of the Irish's r's...and the rollling of our double rr's...doesn't it say something to you???

[vpcats]

Originally Posted by lulu

Ha, ha, ha....oh this is way funny . Yep, we might be related who knows?? Maybe, we should take up bag-piping, but it might really confuse some out there including our fellow English speaking Irish Americans...hee, hee...little do they know that some of us are them, right ?? If they'd marry us the babies would come out with freckles and all!!!!!!!! Even some w/ red hair - you should have seen my brother, his hair was white when he was born that he looked bald. My ma is is so full of freckles... she's not a RN she's a Pink neck! She's ultra white, but like pink..though, I could do without the transparent skin that I inherited - spider veins are starting to show, I need more Florida sunshine to hide these lovely spiders crawling on my legs... God knows all we need now is another Florida bug ...
Have you noticed the high trill of the Irish's r's...and the rollling of our double rr's...doesn't it say something to you???

LOL. When I was in NY, many people thought I was Irish. Guess they had this stereotype of what a Cuban was supposed to look like. Forget the sunshine. They'll put you in the lobster pot! Long pants and skirts help (I know )

[lulu]

Yeah..my mom too...they thought she was Irish when we lived a short bit in NY. Me too, long pants are becoming my best friends...might have to start wearing them to my beloved beaches soon.

[box454]

I don't typically post, but I found it very unfortunate that what I can only assume is political correctness has stopped people from being honest about living here. So, I thought I'd risk being flamed by the Jerry Springer crowd and just be completely honest about what my 7 years here has taught me.

1. Racism: Huge difference. There is racism everywhere, but the kind here is on another level. This is not "white people picking on black people" racism, it runs both ways and if you don't know what's going on you'll wonder why the men walk around so angry.

2. Civil War (AKA "The War of Northern Aggression (which should really tell you all you need to know)): Still a major driving force in the culture and attitudes of the people here. If you become very good friends with the natives you will learn a lot. Not all bad btw, just very important to know.

3. Trucks and guns: Yes, there are an astonishing amount of large white trucks. This is only a problem if you do not have a similarly large vechicle. As you can guess, points #1 and #2 listed above tend to lead to very aggressive drivers.

4. Culture Shock: ...hmmm, well the best advice I can give you (and I"m sure I'll get flamed for this, but my girlfriend and I have discussed this throughly and agree that this advice is true) is to watch the "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" DVDs. Your first instinct will most likely be like mine which was to assume that they are exaggerating or only picking an small representation of the culture there. Don't assume that. Those videos are very accurate and well represent the values and attitudes here.

5. Bible belt....well, you get the point. There are some great things here (like low cost housing), but don't let overly optimistic people or the "political correctness" group mislead you. There are major cultural differences.