Food for Thought

            So as I said before, you cannot buy fresh produce in the supermarkets in Havana and I just wanted to give a little update on how the whole process works for consumption of fruits and vegetables.  I would like to preface this by saying that nothing in the United States, not even farmer’s markets compare to going to the market in Cuba.

            Our market is located about 20 or so blocks from our hotel and it takes about 20 to 30 minutes to walk there on a good day.  After we work out at the gym next to our hotel and get our butts kicked by the five-foot Spanish Nazi it definitely takes longer.  Walking there with one of the blond girls in our group is also always an adventure.  She is a rarity in this dark-skinned and dark-eyed country, so we get the gamut of marriage proposals to words that I will not repeat.  Last time we went we got three I love you’s from random strangers.

            That is just the process to get there.  The first time that we got to the market it was like sheep walking into a lion’s den.  Everything from our pasty white skin to our clothes yelled out that we weren’t from around these parts and a “Take Advantage Of” sticker was slapped on our heads.  The first time that I bought a pineapple from anyone I was charged twice what the going rate was.  I fared much better than my two roommates where were robbed blind because their language skills were a little bit rougher than mine. 

            Good news, however, that on that first day we managed to make some friends.  One older gentleman named Gabriel, who was the only one in the whole place who spoke English mind you, took my two girlfriends under his wing and explained to them what everything was.  I really appreciated his help because there are vegetables and fruits that I have never seen before in varying shades of ripeness!  A bonato is a mix between a sweet potato and a potato but it is white.  A malanga is a potato like root but has no flavor what so ever and is pink.  Plantains, which you get at most Cuban restaurants in the US, are actually called platanos that translated means bananas!

            The greatest thing about this market though is that all of these men (you only buy from opposite gender because otherwise you’ll get ripped off) are willing to help us and talk to us.  Yes many of them have asked us to go get coffee with them, some have proposed marriage, but overall, we have some really great guys that are willing to explain things to us and to help us.  The Cubans like to say that only our governments have problems, and in the market, I’ve never felt that that was more true. Paulo is my special market helper and last time I went he taught me a trick in that you rip the tops off of the pineapples so that they weigh less and you don’t pay for a part that you don’t eat. 

            If I learn anymore tricks I’ll be sure and post updates!