Where should I even start? I mean, this story and hence this blog is going to be in real-life time, but I think you deserve to know the small back story of how I even met my Cuban friend - let's call him Jorge for the remainder of this story.
I've travelled extensively for most of my life, visiting major cities around the world but never have I ever travelled to Cuba before this year. Family and friends were worried when my friends and I mentioned that we were going to an all-inclusive resort in Cuba for a week. I laughed it off, thinking how different could it be from Mexico or the Dominican Republic? I can handle it. We arrived and had the time of our lives, I don't think anything crossed my mind for the first five days & nights. I was more concerned about what my friends and I were going to be doing for the day: excursions, when to eat at the buffet/a la carte, should we lounge by the pool or the beach right now, whose going to shower first etc. I was pre-warned that Cubans would be especially interested/curious as I was Chinese *ta-da another fact about me* so thought nothing of the lingering looks, smiles and compliments. My friends were pretty interested in the entertainment staff, particularly the male dancers - jokingly of course cause rumour has it most of them are interested for batting for the other team ;) But we made it a challenge to take pictures with those that we thought were okay look-wise (guilty of objectifying men - I apologize for our behaviour for those who are offended) So one day, strategically sitting in a spot in which we could - for lack of better words - stalk, we were approached by two animation staff (not dancers - but the MCs) We engaged in maybe a two minutes conversation while I got drinks for my friends and I at the bar but I distinctly remembered the way he stared intensely because I do not do well with prolonged eye contact and get extremely uncomfortable when this happens. He asked if we were going to the disco later on in the evening after the show and I responded with a laugh and okay I suppose a flirty response of "maybe" while flashing a smile and made my quick getaway back to poolside. I thought that was it - how wrong I was.
Later on in the evening, after the show, we mustered enough courage to approach a dancer for a picture after consuming a few glasses of liquid courage. We sat there underneath the Cuban sky drinking, laughing and talking when a familiar figure appears beside us. He made polite conversation with my friends but then turned his intense stare back on me to ask if we were going to the disco as he was going to MC in there. I responded that I do not dance (more like I am incapable of dancing - but he will soon discover this on his own). He shrugged and left to mingle with other guests. He returned soon after and asked again if I would dance if he taught me. Again, I declined and instead lit a cigarette *yes I smoke - sue me* and used it as an excuse to not get off my seat. He changed his stance and again in a more bossy tone "after - you come into disco and I show you how to dance the Cuban way" Maybe his tactic was to annoy or peer pressure me into going because after the fourth inquiry about whether we were going in - my friends finally said "I don't think he's going to leave you alone until you go in there - I think he likes you". BIG HA-HA in my mind but with a little more liquid courage and the insistence of my friends...I entered the disco and while I am not going to give a play-by-play of every interaction I had with Jorge that night (NO there was no sexual things going on - mind outta the gutter, I am after all in a relationship and have some decency - hmmm) but I did in the process lose my shoe while he taught me to dance *I told you I was a bad dancer* and he was forward enough that I was intrigued but not enticed to stay back in the disco without my friends to "talk" as he suggested. We left that night half dragging my light-weight drunk friend back to the room, promptly spent the next morning with a massive hangover and never did see Jorge again before we hopped on that bus to the airport and back to reality.
The end.
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