“In Romania, you can’t do certain things in public. In Cuba, we sing on the streets, we dance on the streets, we are different.”

Just a couple of months after her wedding, Eymi decided to leave her home country of Cuba for Romania.

“I got married to a Romanian journalist who came to Cuba when I was 18,” she said.

“We separated after seven years because things didn’t work out between us. But I chose to stay in Brasov. At 18 you are just starting your social life, and that is when I had left Cuba.”

Even though Eymi has been living in Brasov for more than seven years and considers it her home, she nostalgically recalls the diversity and flavours of Cuban dishes.

“I miss food from home,” she continued. “You have just one type of banana in Romania, we have so many in Cuba. Fruits taste differently there. In Cuba we don’t use fertilizers like here. I used to make infusions with orange peels and now I read in the supermarket that it’s toxic.”

An important obstacle that she still faces is the weather. Another one is people’s attitudes and mentality; she sees Reomanians as being reserved compared to Cubans.

“It is much warmer back home. People are colder here, too. Romanians say that they are warm people, but I think that Cubans are friendlier. Here, you can’t do this or that in public. In Cuba, we sing on the streets, we dance on the streets, we are different. We think differently.”

Despite these differences, Eymi enjoys her life in Romania and is determined to stay in the beautiful city of Brasov for as long as she feels welcomed. She is very passionate about her medical career, which has brought her nothing but job satisfaction and a sense of achievement.

“For the moment, I want to stay here. I am working as a nurse at a dental office and I absolutely love what I do!”

Eymi also recently moved her mum to Romania from Cuba. “She was too far and lonely there, so I moved her to Romania, even though she doesn’t like the cold weather here.’’