Graham Sowa’s Diary

For those of us who are students at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) we must complete an obligatory week of quarantine upon returning from a trip away from Cuba.

This past December I used my time off from the medical school in Cuba to fulfill my role as Registration Director for the World Universities Debating Championship in Botswana.

The cables from the US Interests Section in Cuba are much less juicy and proved to be downright tiresome.

Many of us, from all parts of the planet, grew up around countless machines and access to information. Even our more numerous peers who did not grow up with any of these privileges are privy to the existence of an interconnected world.

In a recent trip to the airport I found myself waiting with an eager crowd of Cubans who had dressed to the nines to receive their guests.

For the past two weeks there had been rumors circulating the Latin American School of Medicine that one of the Castro brothers would be visiting to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the first post-revolution graduation class of doctors.

My matriculation at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) in Havana, Cuba has proven to be less romantic and demystifying as many red-blooded North Americans might imagine.

Getting to Cuba for a US citizen involves many questions and few answers. It is an illegal adventure for most Americans, an utterly bureaucratic one for those with family in Cuba, and, so exceedingly complicated for those of us with special licenses that someone with professional knowledge must do it for us.

When I’m talking to someone at home about studying in Cuba, I consider the conversation a success if I can at least get a “Why Cuba?” out of them. Blank stares and “Oh…” are the most common responses.