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In a decades time this hostility is going to end. Communist tension is still there but things are bound to change. Compared to other countries that are fighting each other right now with massive bloodlust, Cuba goes way below the bar in current standards, not to forget the death and destruction that went down decades before.

Most likely though there's going to be a massive increase in visitors to Cuba in the next 20 to 30 years at the most. I think 10 actually, I'll probably be one of the first if I get the chance. That is if Americans are "legally" allowed to visit.

Fun Fact: If someone needs a ride in Cuba, By law it is required for someone to give them a ride. I'm 78% sure that law is in place.

Oh, Americans are allowed(may have changed?). My dad was stationed there on deployment last year.

EDIT: That may have been secret/public. Enjoy the info xD

Communism is a temporary setback on the road to freedom. 

that law sounds more like common courtesy because giving someone a ride to anywhere in cuba isn't that big of a deal.

I don't know much about Cuba, except that they seem to play a lot of baseball. I'm not into baseball myself, but it was kind of cool to be noodling around on Google satellite view, & see the very recognizable shapes of baseball diamonds imprinted on Cuba. 

I'm glad that tensions have eased, and I hope that an ongoing peace is possible.

Cool, I suppose. It'd be nice if we, as a planet, could all just get along... but a "we'll have a less hostile environment in a decade after many years of unrest" is a nice start, anyway.

I live in "Communist" China and all my Chinese friends, political or no, acknowledge it's just Communist in name but in practice it's as pro-Capitalism, private business investment and pro-meritocracy as the rest of the world. The one-party idea system is still supported but only because it's good business to have one company (i.e. the government) making all the major decisions and enough money funnels down the big broad river of commerce to make it worthwhile for the smaller companies to establish. It's a big like a MacDonalds franchise.

That said creativity in the arts in China is still zero, the media (including the Internet) is still censored and rival opposition parties or anti-government demonstrations are ruthlessly crushed (though not as ruthlessly as before) but China is more liberal in some ways (for example Islam is not criticized in Asia the way it is in the media and by politicians of certain Western countries and laws against things like public smoking, jaywalking, littering etc are VERY liberally enforced) than Western countries.

My personal view is that Cuba was never realistically any threat at all to America until America supported Batista's Mafia-loving regime, attempted to invade them in the Bay of Pigs and plotted to kill the unkillable Castro in 101+ different ways. Cuban Cigars are actually so amazing there is a massive "unofficial" market for them in East Coast restaurants anyway and Cuba has certainly declared war on less countries than every major European country and America in the last few centuries...

How is life in "Communist" China? Not to be mean or anything, I just want to see it from a different point of view. 

 

 

Im with the jar on this one, i wanna know to.

It's not that different, if you don't mind the coal plants.

Oh, okay :).  I want some constructive talk here. 

Life in China is pretty much the same as it is all over the world, people in different countries do about 90% of the same things everyone does and have the same thoughts. There are a few notable differences:

- The pollution is awful and stray dogs and cats are common.

- People spit and children frequently urinate in the streets.

- People just drop snack wrappers or drinks bottles when they are finished with them. Often this is cleared up but not always.

- The paving slabs in the street are usually all broken, rubbish dumps in people's gardens are common and there are sometimes big holes in the ground.

- The drivers treat traffic lights and pedestrian crossings like advice rather than requirements when driving. The horn is used with great enthusiasm and road accidents are common.

- The Chinese are generally EXTREMELY polite, shy and interested in Foreigners. People sometimes go up to white people and ask nervously if they could have a photo taken with them. I was once chased down the road by a bank guard who wanted to take a photo with me.

- People use mobile phones ALL THE TIME in restaurants, bars, coffee shops etc as a substitute for conversation.Chinese people take photos of EVERYTHING, particularly food, foreigners, nature, family members, children etc

- Bars are regarded as evil and commonly infested by Bar Girls who provide specific services for financial reward. Everyone smokes indoors in all the buildings but drunkenness is rare as the beer in China is about 90% water.

- Chinese TV, Theatre etc is appalling and the arts in general suffer heavily due to censorship. Foreign films are popular.

- Most of the girls in China are like 15 year old teenage girls well into their 30's and 40's, many LOVE teddy bears, Hello Kitty, Justin Bieber etc. Girls typically have one boyfriend who they will marry and husbands are expected to turn ALL their salary over to their wives who will spend it on house bills, savings etc. Possibly for this reason domestic abuse is common, during the night I will often hear voices shouting and women crying loudly because their husbands have just hit them. I'd guess domestic abuse happens in about 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 relationships in China.

- Chinese people love money, technology etc and asking people what their salaries are is a common introduction. For a long time Chinese people had basically nothing and now the markets are open to Western goods and technologies they are anxious to have as much as possible.

- Incidentally some Chinese girls are stunningly beautiful and most Foreigners in China end up marrying an often much younger Chinese wife. Chinese girls for their part seem to like Westerners who they see as "rich", "cool" and "good partners because they won't beat me".

That's all I can think of right now :)

^Half of the top list pretty much sums of the beat up section of Los Angeles.

Yep.

1) Do you think the dirtiness is encouraged by Communism? Or is it common dirtiness?

2) I can not fret how much I love foreigners. I rarely get to meet anybody non-Mexican, American, or Philipino. Chinese, Japanese, German, etc are very welcome in my house and I LOVE them! And of course Will, Chinese girls are beautiful xD

3)Did I mention you are a good writer? I don't think I mentioned this.

 

Communism doesn't encourage dirtiness :D It's just the same as it is in all countries where people have hard lives, they don't tend to care so much about their environment and can't spare the money for luxuries we take for granted in the West like toothpaste when there are more important things like food to buy.

And yep, the great thing about traveling is getting to meet and date girls from lots of different countries and backgrounds. And thank you, my writing is decent/above average but there are at least 20 writers on the site who are truly fantastic and in a completely different league to me :) End is definitely the best though Seth, Sindri, Kiel, JJJ, BZ, Applegirl, Briar, AlexP, Killa etc are all also great. I think of the newer writers Steve, Chase, Appdude, Ogre, Breezy and Mizal are definitely worth reading too :)

Yay! CYS, peace for all!

Wow that was really interesting. As someone who was born in Australia, I went across China for a month with my parents. As such, I was really, more of a tourist and didn't spend more than a week or so visiting my family there. Of course, I do know a lot about Chinese culture (Chinese tv, mostly news, is always on in my house); a lot of things I know come from my parents and grandparents, but they haven't lived in China for twenty years now when the transition towards westernisation and modernisation really happened. My parents also dislike the Chinese obsession with money and western culture. I get it, but :/
I want to ask what part of China you're living in though? It sounds like the south tbh xD

Also, my dad agrees with you 100% on the weak beer. He loves Western beer a lot more, but he tells me that Chinese spirits and wines are hella strong (apparently it was a thing when he was a kid to bury a gigantic china vase of spirits into the ground and dig it up ten years later on a special occasion).

 

Yeah, especially Snake Wine. Check this out: 

Snake Rice Wine is a type of wine that Homer Simpson and Kumiko's father had while in a Chinese pub. It's wine made from rice with a snake in the bottle. After drinking it, they began to have a vision. They were followed by a mysterious spirit named No Face.

You can tell that if it is in the Simpons, it is infamous xD

 

I am in the north of China in a city called Anshan (I was in Beijing for a year before). There is a wine called Baijou made from rice which tastes like diesel and can best be compared to angry vodka. Tough old Chinese farmers drink it by the bottle, I know they like to make wine at home and drink it on special occasions so it's likely they bury it :)

The writing has incidentally gone mad on here because I am using a Chinese computer that uses a western keyboard to write Chinese via Pinyin :)

No, the writing was ok :)

Now I know where to practice medicine, since the next alternative is a lot more terrifying...