The Great Macaroni Fiasco

By Rainbow

Each time I head to Cuba, I leave more things behind in suitcases, stored at a friends' house. Alex and Yanet are two really great people who I trust completely. I love watching Yanet bargain with the farmers for fruits and vegetables in order to save a few pesos. I have written about her theatrics before on this screen.

I showed up unexpected this time to get my stash of clothing and articles but Yanet was both very surprised and extremely upset. She does not speak English and Alex is out of the country so communication was difficult. Poor Yanet was on the verge of tears as she hugged me and showed me to a chair. Out of the back, she carried my big suitcase and I could tell that this was the source of her distress. With much work and the use of the English-Spanish dictionary, the story slowly came out.
Sometime in December, Yanet was sitting at her sewing machine when she noticed insects walking across the table. She HATES insects so she killed them all with her shoe. The next day they were back in full force. She killed them too but they kept reappearing. Now she watched them to see where they were coming from and followed them back to my suitcase in the corner. There was much debate between her and Alex as to what to do. They did not want to open the case as it had been entrusted to them but there did not seem to be any other option. When they finally decided to open it, it was crawling with ants. I had left a box of Kraft Dinner inside and these damn insects just moved right in. They carefully removed all of my clothing, washed and ironed everything, and repacked the case just like I had left it. She was terrified that I would think that they had stolen something from it and could not be trusted. She even ironed the underwear!!!! All I could do was give her a big hug, as the idea of walking around Havana with ants in my jockey shorts is not really my idea of fun. She was so relieved I thought she was going to start crying again.

This macaroni thing has now become a joke with all of my friends and for Valentines Day I gave her a wrapped present ... and she busted up laughing. It was a box of Kraft Dinner.
Some people on this screen have had problems with Cuban "friends" stealing and treating them like a "walking wallet". This has happened to me as well. The cure is simple. Walk away from these people and make new friends. You might have to do this a couple of times but the rewards when you find people like Alex and Yanet are well worth it.