A Cuban living in Spain for the past five years has ignited laughter and nostalgia among the Cuban community after posting a video detailing the "embarrassing" experiences he's had while adapting to life in Europe. With his natural humor and laid-back style, @jorgm._fit shared on TikTok how he encountered misunderstandings due to his way of speaking and the use of Cuban expressions that Spaniards didn't understand.
Amidst the laughter, he recounts how the first time his boss at a bar asked him to "peel a box of shrimp," he had no idea what "shrimp" were and stood there clueless. Another situation he highlights is his struggle to switch from the Cuban "peso" to the "euro," admitting that even after five years, he still slips and says "peso." He also describes the confusion of using credit cards at payment machines and being unsure if he would need to enter a code.
Shared Experiences of Cultural Misunderstandings
His Cuban followers quickly joined the conversation, filling the comments with their own stories. Some shared how they shouted "open the back" on buses, as is customary in Cuba, unaware that in Spain, passengers need to press a button. "I did the same, didn't know about the button," wrote one user, while another confessed, "I was blank when asked for a 'pincho' in a café. I thought it was a joke."
Other Cubans also mentioned the confusion over words like "jaba" instead of "bag" or "guagua" instead of "bus." One user recalled, "I went to the market and asked for a 'jaba,' and no one understood me," while another remembered saying she lived "two blocks from Mercadona" and being asked if there were horses there.
A Community of Shared Laughter and Nostalgia
The video has generated hundreds of similar comments, where Cubans in Spain share their adventures in adapting to the local vocabulary: "When I arrived, I said I needed to buy 'céntimos,' and they looked at me funny"; "My boss asked for a 'balleta,' and I didn't know it was a cloth." Others laugh about the times they said "peso" instead of "euro" and the confusion over asking for water in a "pomo" or mixing up "watermelon" with "melon."
@jorgm._fit's post resonates not only with those who share similar experiences but with any immigrant who has faced cultural and linguistic barriers upon arriving in a new country. His humor about Cuban nostalgia has created a space of camaraderie, and his video has become a kind of confessional for Cubans in Spain, who find in his stories a reflection and a sense of relief.