Being born into a Latin American culture, where both my parents were born and raised in Cuba, yet I grew up American, it has always been a real challenge to balance the two and do not lose sight of one or the other. My family has been able to mix both cultures well, but I am very proud of my Cuban and Latino ancestry. Cubans have a very negative connotation when they are mentioned in conversation, for example they are considered communists or immigrants. However, if you look at the Cuban population for a while, you see that the interaction between them is lively and inviting. What is more important than how they are seen in the world is their culture, their communication, and what makes them the way they are and continue to be such an uplifting environment to be in. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The entire Cuban population is very friendly and welcoming, as are many other Spanish-speaking countries. Cubans are known for being loud and sometimes bossy and how friendly they can be. As stated in Communication in Nursing by Julia Balzer Riley (page 56), “Our language (Spanish) is everything to us. We are proud to speak it out loud – we love socializing anywhere with family and friends.” In the healthcare system it is It is important that any practicing doctor, nurse or administrator does not take this friendliness in a way that might shout at them, it is simply in the culture that having this loud way of speaking coincides with how easy it is for Cubans to share thoughts or ideas Cuban decent and surrounded by my family all the time, I know that thoughts are easily exchanged no matter what it is also a common form of expression of feelings This is more a form of tension relief rather than fighting. I have learned not to take a I heart some things because I know that speaking out of turn or sharing ideas bluntly is precisely the way Cubans communicate, compared to how Cubans have a very open and welcoming sense of communicating ideas and emotions, their way of touching each other is equally friendly. No matter if you are greeting a friend, family member or stranger, it is not acceptable to not greet every person in a room with a handshake for men or a kiss on the cheek for women. According to Every Culture, “touching as a display of affection is not taboo and does not have a sexual connotation.” When applying this to the healthcare system, having a man greet a nurse by kissing her on the cheek would not be considered a sexual action, but just a form of greeting the nurse. Touch and affection are very important in Cuban culture and should not be considered something inappropriate. When I communicate with strangers, my family for example, they are always very welcoming and open towards others. However, it is difficult for some members of my family who do not speak English. This is an area where Cuban culture, as I'm sure with many other cultures, clashes with American culture, especially when one doesn't try to compensate for the other. I notice that my grandparents get shy when talking to someone who only speaks English. In the healthcare system it is important to compensate for each culture in order to understand what the problem is. When talking to a person of Cuban descent, eye contact plays an important role. There is no difference in the person you are talking to, whether it is a stranger or someone from a different age group, eye contact while communicating is very important in every conversation. For Cubans, constant eye contact makes them feel uncomfortable. However, avoiding eye contact canbe a way to give a sign of dishonesty, as a blog written on non-verbal communication in Cuba discusses (2013). A medical professional should be aware of these types of small distinctions between different cultures, which requires time and knowledge of each to understand. This differs from the American one in that he prefers eye contact to be maintained throughout the entire conversation, otherwise it is seen as rude. In this scenario, a medical professional might use eye contact when talking to the patient, while also using diagrams or pictures to maintain a conversation. This could also help overcome the language barrier that many parts of the healthcare system struggle with. It would not only help the doctor or nurse, but also the patient. Cubans are very emotional people. When there is anger it is shown clearly and the same is true when there is sadness or happiness. You can easily read a Cuban's facial expression and understand what the person might be thinking or feeling. When it comes to how a Cuban receives body language, “the emphasis is not on what is said, it focuses more on gestures and facial expressions,” as a nonverbal language describes Cubans. Notably, no specific gestures are made, other than a look that a grandfather might scare a grandchild if he misbehaves. But emotions are worn on the sleeves for Cubans since they are very friendly people, they could easily be mistreated by a stranger. A doctor could easily calm a patient if that were the case. Using a calm voice and making sure a Cuban patient feels comfortable would allow any medical professional to easily communicate with a Cuban to provide the best treatment possible. As mentioned above, both of my parents were born in Cuba and grew up when Fidel Castro came to power. To the world, Cuba is seen as a country living in the past with 1950s cars still in use, crumbling buildings that aren't being repaired, and basically living in an era where not much progress has been made due to lack of relations with the United States. While all of this is true and no changes were made by the government until Barack Obama reestablished relations with Cuba, their healthcare system was left on hold. As the writer Salim Lamrani (2014) states in the Huffington Post: “Despite the extremely limited resources and the dramatic impact caused by the economic sanctions imposed by the United States for more than half a century, Cuba has managed to guarantee access to treatment for all segments of the population and achieve results similar to those of more developed nations". Even though buildings are falling apart in Cuba, healthcare has managed to thrive thanks to the use of preventative medicine. Among all the Third World countries on the continent, Cuba is the leader in the field of medicine. Cuba has also conducted important research in Africa to discover several medical remedies and is also home to the Latin American School of Medicine, which trains future doctors from around the world. The medical system in Cuba may be wonderful, but in my experience when it comes to Cubans receiving medical care in America it is a different story. It is very difficult for my parents to convince their parents to visit the doctor because of the language barrier. My grandmother simply prefers to use natural sources and take vitamins. Now that they've gotten older, though, they regularly see doctors to make sure their health is up to par. Additionally, many medical treatments they are recommended are too expensive for even their Medicare to cover. Due to costs and the language barrier, for some Cubans it is.