5 ms·

Went to Cuba with my girl. (She really wanted to go; I was the skeptic.) Walking around the ruins of the Centrum, and someone invites her in to get a haircut. S

Went to Cuba with my girl. (She really wanted to go; I was the skeptic.) Walking around the ruins of the Centrum, and someone invites her in to get a haircut. Sure, she says, why not? $5 (convertible), but all we had on hand was a $20. Little Cuban girl heads out running through the neighborhood to scrounge up change for a $20 because that’s almost a month’s salary.

stevenjohns 6y ago
Similar situation, although not as intense. I bought a skewer of grilled meat from a poor elderly woman in central Colombia. The skewer was 5,000 COP and all I had was a 50,000 note (which I discovered when the food was ready) which is about a day’s wage. She had to leave the grill and go out in the search for change. Felt terrible.
- guythedudebro 6y ago
  God forbid either of you let them keep the change
  - fennecfoxen 6y ago
    Random over-generosity is not a particularly effective charity pattern. If you feel that Hacker News denizens like ourselves happen to have too much money, there are a variety of organizations which can transmit sums of money to those in need: not just a one-time $15 at random with a special tax diverted to prop up the Cuban government, but on a recurring basis, every month, as part of a program to help eliminate worldwide poverty in a targeted manner, and sensitive to the dislocations that can come about as a result of carelessly deployed aid. I use WorldVision to do this, personally (some of their non-evangelizing programs) as I appreciate their efficient organization, but there are other ones out there too. I can supply links to https://www.worldvision.org/donate https://www.worldvision.org/donate and suggest interested parties consider a $40/mo sponsorship of a child's health and education at https://www.worldvision.org/sponsor-a-child https://www.worldvision.org/sponsor-a-child
    - empath75 6y ago
      Who cares if it’s an effective form of charity. It’s nothing for you and a big deal for that person. Not everything needs to be minimaxed to death. Same deal with haggling in the developing world. It’s just a gross thing to do when there is a big wealth inequality.
      - danlugo92 6y ago
        I live in Venezuela (which is Cuba lite) but earn a foreign salary. "It’s nothing for you" compromised around half of my expenses before I started budgeting. I hate forced charity.
        pepy 6y ago
        @danlugo92 never disclose your income to anyone. This goes for anyone who earns a foreign salary in any country
      - em-bee 6y ago
        but it's also what creates the expectation that visitors have a lot of money and it attracts the wrong kind of people. they do not know that the money you give them is nothing for you. besides, $15 isn't exactly nothing for me either. i would quickly blow my travel budget if i were that generous.
      - acjohnson55 6y ago
        On the haggling part, there are places where it's culturally insensitive not to haggle. I find that super irritating as a person who does not enjoy playing the game.
      - vishnugupta 6y ago
        > Same deal with haggling in the developing world. This bugs me too. I’m from a developing world but have a well paying job thanks to IT. It’s quite funny seeing colleagues haggle with auto rickshaw (three wheeled taxis) for 10Rs ($0.12) but part with 200Rs at Starbucks for a coffee without batting an eyelid. Not that I wasn’t like this before, but once the severity of income inequality hit me I stopped doing such pity things. It’s not that I’m doing it out of charity but rather the whole situation reeks of injustice so it’s my way of respecting their dignity of labor.
  - stevenjohns 6y ago
    I actually did let her keep a portion of the change, the problem was that she had already ran off to break the note before I realised what I had done!
- em-bee 6y ago
  that's why i always make sure to have small change, so i can pay exact amounts. that doesn't stop me from giving a tip if it's warranted, and it also helps to not to get cheated where they take your money and then don't give you change.
xixixao 6y ago
Hilariously enough, this is just cash at its traditionally best. I got a massage during my layover in Lisbon, but their credit card machine didn't work, so I had to use the ATM, which charged me something like 4 euros (bucks) (the massage was probably 20), on top of which they didn't have the change so the masseuse had to run out to get it... Paying took almost as long as getting the massage and spoiled the whole experience...
fit2rule 6y ago
Serious question: why didn't you just pay $20 for a haircut?
- fennecfoxen 6y ago
  Señor, mi Español is la Español de la escuela secondaria por solo un año, y en el mundo? Nada. Y porque, mi comprehensíon de la actividad de otros, en Cuba y en otros con Español, es muy tanto. Y la niña con la dinero es muy muy rapido.
  - fit2rule 6y ago
    Bastante justa.

stevenjohns 6y ago

Similar situation, although not as intense. I bought a skewer of grilled meat from a poor elderly woman in central Colombia. The skewer was 5,000 COP and all I had was a 50,000 note (which I discovered when the food was ready) which is about a day’s wage. She had to leave the grill and go out in the search for change. Felt terrible.

guythedudebro 6y ago
God forbid either of you let them keep the change
- fennecfoxen 6y ago
  Random over-generosity is not a particularly effective charity pattern. If you feel that Hacker News denizens like ourselves happen to have too much money, there are a variety of organizations which can transmit sums of money to those in need: not just a one-time $15 at random with a special tax diverted to prop up the Cuban government, but on a recurring basis, every month, as part of a program to help eliminate worldwide poverty in a targeted manner, and sensitive to the dislocations that can come about as a result of carelessly deployed aid. I use WorldVision to do this, personally (some of their non-evangelizing programs) as I appreciate their efficient organization, but there are other ones out there too. I can supply links to https://www.worldvision.org/donate https://www.worldvision.org/donate and suggest interested parties consider a $40/mo sponsorship of a child's health and education at https://www.worldvision.org/sponsor-a-child https://www.worldvision.org/sponsor-a-child
  - empath75 6y ago
    Who cares if it’s an effective form of charity. It’s nothing for you and a big deal for that person. Not everything needs to be minimaxed to death. Same deal with haggling in the developing world. It’s just a gross thing to do when there is a big wealth inequality.
    - danlugo92 6y ago
      I live in Venezuela (which is Cuba lite) but earn a foreign salary. "It’s nothing for you" compromised around half of my expenses before I started budgeting. I hate forced charity.
      - pepy 6y ago
        @danlugo92 never disclose your income to anyone. This goes for anyone who earns a foreign salary in any country
    - em-bee 6y ago
      but it's also what creates the expectation that visitors have a lot of money and it attracts the wrong kind of people. they do not know that the money you give them is nothing for you. besides, $15 isn't exactly nothing for me either. i would quickly blow my travel budget if i were that generous.
    - acjohnson55 6y ago
      On the haggling part, there are places where it's culturally insensitive not to haggle. I find that super irritating as a person who does not enjoy playing the game.
    - vishnugupta 6y ago
      > Same deal with haggling in the developing world. This bugs me too. I’m from a developing world but have a well paying job thanks to IT. It’s quite funny seeing colleagues haggle with auto rickshaw (three wheeled taxis) for 10Rs ($0.12) but part with 200Rs at Starbucks for a coffee without batting an eyelid. Not that I wasn’t like this before, but once the severity of income inequality hit me I stopped doing such pity things. It’s not that I’m doing it out of charity but rather the whole situation reeks of injustice so it’s my way of respecting their dignity of labor.
- stevenjohns 6y ago
  I actually did let her keep a portion of the change, the problem was that she had already ran off to break the note before I realised what I had done!
em-bee 6y ago
that's why i always make sure to have small change, so i can pay exact amounts. that doesn't stop me from giving a tip if it's warranted, and it also helps to not to get cheated where they take your money and then don't give you change.

xixixao 6y ago

Hilariously enough, this is just cash at its traditionally best. I got a massage during my layover in Lisbon, but their credit card machine didn't work, so I had to use the ATM, which charged me something like 4 euros (bucks) (the massage was probably 20), on top of which they didn't have the change so the masseuse had to run out to get it... Paying took almost as long as getting the massage and spoiled the whole experience...

fit2rule 6y ago

Serious question: why didn't you just pay $20 for a haircut?

fennecfoxen 6y ago
Señor, mi Español is la Español de la escuela secondaria por solo un año, y en el mundo? Nada. Y porque, mi comprehensíon de la actividad de otros, en Cuba y en otros con Español, es muy tanto. Y la niña con la dinero es muy muy rapido.
- fit2rule 6y ago
  Bastante justa.