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Old 10-20-2009, 06:08 PM   #7
Blueface
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First Name: Horatio Seymore Hiny
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Default Re: Interesting read on misconceptions on Cuba

Quote:
Originally Posted by the nub View Post
For example, the idea of credit is absolutely foreign for most of them.

I could also address the rest of the misconceptions you perceive but this one caught my eye most.

From the Spanish dictionary, the same one we use to learn the language in Cuba:

Crédito
masculine noun
1. loan (préstamo)
(comprar algo) a crédito -> (to buy something) on credit
crédito bancario -> bank loan
crédito blando -> soft loan
crédito al consumo -> consumer credit
crédito a la exportación -> export credit
crédito hipotecario -> mortgage (loan)
crédito oficial -> official credit
crédito personal -> personal loan
2. credit (plazo de préstamo)
3. trust, belief (confianza)
digno de crédito -> trustworthy
dar crédito a algo -> to believe something
¡no doy crédito a mis oídos! -> I can't believe my ears!
4. standing, reputation (fama)
5. credit (en universidad)
6. (Cine)
títulos de crédito -> credits

Certainly they must know the concept if found in the Spanish dictionary.
They use it regularly along with their bartering. Many barter on "credit" and pay up their end of the deal when their care package from Cubans in the US arrives or when they are able to. They just don't have a platinum visa like you and I but as we well know with the Americans in debt with credit cards, not a hard concept to quickly learn.
As they do in mythbusters, hopefully this one has now been busted.
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