A young Cuban residing in Uruguay humorously shared some of the mistakes she made upon arriving in the South American country, from going out to look for work at eight in the morning when everything was still closed, to using words that are completely innocent in Cuba but have a different connotation there.
User @meladiaz_06 posted the reel titled "Nonsense I did when I just arrived from Cuba to Uruguay," accumulating dozens of likes and comments, with reactions from both Cubans and Uruguayans who immediately related to the described situations.
The first setback she recounted was going out to deliver resumes early in the morning, convinced that rising early would give her an advantage in the job search.
"I went out to drop off my resume at 8 in the morning, being unemployed... everything was closed, and I learned that mainly in winter, places open after 10 in the morning," she said with a laugh.
In Cuba, workplaces typically start operating early, so the slower pace of Uruguayan commerce took the young woman by surprise.
Another shock was the climatic one: "In Uruguay, you cannot rely on the temperature," he warned, referring to the variability of the climate in the country, which can change drastically in a matter of hours.
A third incident was the use of the word 'coger' at work. In Cuba, the verb is part of everyday language—taking a taxi, catching the bus—but in Rioplatense Spanish, it has a sexual connotation that prompted laughter among his Uruguayan colleagues.
The linguistic clash is one of the most documented among Cubans who emigrate to the Southern Cone, and the video by @meladiaz_06 illustrates this naturally.
It also sparked a debate over the price of a t-shirt (sweater or shirt) that the young woman mentioned seeing for 4,000 Uruguayan pesos.
"A t-shirt for $4000? I've never seen such an exaggerated price for a t-shirt in Uruguay," questioned one follower, to which another replied: "In any store along the Punta del Este-José Ignacio axis, they're priced like that. In fact, $4000 is cheap; I've seen t-shirts for $25,000."
In 2025, more than 22,000 Cubans arrived in Uruguay, nearly three times the number recorded in 2024, as part of a migratory exodus of nationals from the island that has reached historic proportions.
This massive influx has created an active digital ecosystem where Cuban emigrants document their adaptation experiences on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, from vocabulary differences to the high cost of living, a recurring theme among Cubans in Uruguay.
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