Living in Cuba would be an experience like no other. Living in a dictatorship as well as a socialist country would be very hard to get acquainted to. Having to get used to different practices such as rationing, expected gender roles of both males and females, and expectations of reciprocity would be difficult. But having a more emphasized role of the family would be something that would help some of the social problems that exist here in our country.
             Mona Rosendahl's " Inside The Revolution," I became aware of how tedious it would be to live and run a household in Cuba. Instead of going to supermarket and buying what I needed for my house I would be restricted to what was on my list of permissible goods to purchase, the libretas (Rosendahl 1997: 29). In addition many of the items on the libretas are not always in stock and much time is spent in queues in order to obtain the items my family might need (31). Many items that are needed are always in short supplies, so I might have to rely on the concept of reciprocity to make shopping easier and more efficient.
             Reciprocity is another concept that I would have to get used to. In American society we don't have to rely on other people to get the things that we need. However, the concept of reciprocity does bring people together giving and receiving articles and services, and is in use everyday in Limones (29). Unlike in American society there is no sense of distrust when dealing with other individuals. A person's word is their bond.
             Although in our society there are gender expectations. In Cuba they are much more rigid and structured. According to Rosendahl, the roles of men and women are very defined and the gender ideal of machismo is widespread throughout all the Latin countries (52). She also states in the book that men have supremacy and control over women and both physically and psychologically that men and women are in different spheres (53). In there ...