Proud to be Canadian

[hornyharry]

I decided that some stress relief was in order and since I have more holidays to take then most government workers I decided a trip south was in order. I decided on going to Cuba and booked last minute for a 4plus star resort. After spending a week in this beautiful but backward country I have come home with a restored faith in our beautiful country. We live in a society that allows us freedom of speech, medical care, education, hell even a choice if we want to work or not. After seeing the nervousness of the Cuban people to even speak against anything let alone their living conditions I love Canada more and more.

While some of you may feel differently about our fine country this experience really made me realize how spoiled our population is. We of the 3 televisions, computers, microwaves, etc, etc. Would I like to live elsewere....2 weeks ago I would have said yes...for now I am happy to be home.

 

[feminista]

I have been to cuba many times. My canadian friend would live there year round but she is only allowed to stay 6 months at a time.

I have always found the cubans to be politically outspopken and often more politically aware then the average north american.

I agree that we are spoiled, and while they may not have as much they don't have homeless people. Everyone has access to healthcare. They have an educated population with high literacy rates and almost no crime.

I have seen Fidel walking around talking to people. Where else would you see the Leader walking among the people without huge security?

I know there are problems. They must allow dissent. The US incarcerates protesters routinely but we never read about that. http://www.veteransforpeace.org/PrisonerConscience.htm

I think cuba has a lot of potential and I admire their refusal to be squashed by the american embargo.

Welcome back. Coming home to Canada is always comforting.

 

[Don]

I agree that we are spoiled, and while they may not have as much they don't have homeless people. Everyone has access to healthcare. They have an educated population with high literacy rates and almost no crime.

While everyone has access to healthcare, their healthcare system has been decimated of late and is in shambles. Money spent on healthcare tumbled to something like 15% of what it used to be. Homelessness is on the increase and crime is actually big problem. As a foreigner you may not notice the crime as much... laws are EXTREMELY strict to citizens who commit crimes against a foreign tourist since they need tourist dollars. Also when you leave the larger tourist areas and go towards the more rural areas, it is quite dangerous.

 

[frankcastle]

Hmmm interesting I have heard many good things about Cuba but I don't know if they are true. I was under the impression that access to higher education is better there. Also, that political discussions were common in certain public areas. But this was all second hand information.

I will say this though that travelling abroad is one of the best ways to appreciate Canada. Like any country its not perfect but we have it pretty damn good. Well okay the the winters are a bit rougher than I'd like.

 

[Don]

Hmmm interesting I have heard many good things about Cuba but I don't know if they are true. I was under the impression that access to higher education is better there. Also, that political discussions were common in certain public areas. But this was all second hand information.

I will say this though that travelling abroad is one of the best ways to appreciate Canada. Like any country its not perfect but we have it pretty damn good. Well okay the the winters are a bit rougher than I'd like.

Sometimes gotta look at the info from a certain point of view. I bet that it is accurate that access to higher education is better. Makes sense since education is free. But what is the education system like? Same with health care. It is free but again it is in shambles because of the lack of money.

 

[feminista]

DON: While everyone has access to healthcare, their healthcare system has been decimated of late and is in shambles

The doctors make house calls. There are many and they provide care the same day you need it.

DON:Also when you leave the larger tourist areas and go towards the more rural areas, it is quite dangerous

I usually stay away from the tourist areas. I have never felt I was in danger. I often stayed in peoples homes.

Frank:I was under the impression that access to higher education is better there. Also, that political discussions were common in certain public areas.

True. The level of education even among young children appears to be much higher than ours.

Open political discussion is everywhere.

There is a lot of undocumented money coming into cuba, especially from americans who have harsh restrictions on giving or recieving $$$ in cuba.

 

[BLSLover]

I slightly disagree....

I was in Guyana (where I was born) just a short time ago. While life there had it's disadvantages, there are some silent advantages we don't seem to recognize.

a) I don't know if it was the combination of the clean air and/or the fresh cooked food everyday, but my system cleared out and moved well. Something that hasn't happened in a long time. Alot of our foods here are processed to the max and unhealthy in many ways. You still of course have to be careful, avoid the milk, only bottled water, yadda yadda....

b) There's so little hustle and bustle. Very little stress, people casually talk to each other and more people were smiling than frowning.

c) There was not one working street light, yet, I saw no accidents or people or bycicles hit by cars (In two weeks, I drove over 1400km). Not ONE! We have hundreds of accidents a day, no?

Processed food slowly kills our insides, stress kills us early, and accidents beat the F out of us (you then have to deal with an insurance company and your rates go up!).

I'm not saying Guyana is better, I'm just sayin'... knowhatimsayin'?