My current situation is not exactly something I can be proud of: I dropped out of high school. However, I have no regrets. My opinion about university today is nothing like the one I had while I was still in primary school. I may not materialize the dreams I had then, but I will set new goals for myself.
Read MoreThe first electrical appliances I ever used were the Orbita fan which afforded me a cool night’s sleep the few nights without power cuts, the iron that smoothed out all of the uniforms I ever had to wear and a green Aurika washing machine which always looked on the verge of falling apart when tumbling clothes dry – and always, incidentally, remained in one piece.
Read MoreI usually share both the good things and bad things that happen to me with my relatives but that evening, I didn’t tell anyone at home I had found the bill. Perhaps it was out of fear everyone would suddenly want me to buy them something. I know my brothers well. Looking back, though, I think I simply wanted some time to decide how I would spend the money I’d found.
Read MoreSome time ago, my friend Ivet was approached and asked to take part in a documentary about the lives of lesbian women in Cuba. Ivet is a little camera shy and turned down the offer. We didn’t hear anything about the documentary after this and thought the film hadn’t gone through.
Read MoreThe practice of teaching courses on issues related to the country’s security isn’t new, at least not in a country like Cuba. The academic transcript for the Biochemistry Major I completed – to the dismay of foreign academic peers – begins with “Marxist-Leninist Philosophy” and ends with “Military Training.”
Read MoreTanaka didn’t think he was anything special. In fact, he had never once stopped to consider whether his life was of any value or not. When he woke up every morning, nothing beyond the feeling that he needed to get out of bed, to convince himself he was still there, inspired him to draw in the first breath.
Read MoreWhile waiting for something to take me back to my neighborhood, at the outskirts of the city, I had the most pleasant surprise a poor person can have: I found a bill lying on the street – wet, dirty and crumpled. I didn’t want to unfold the bill there, fearing the owner could come back and claim it.
Read MoreIn her native English, she told me that, in Cuba, she had not yet seen a single big, yellow “M”. “No, we haven’t got any of those,” I replied, without really understanding what she had meant. My pride and my uncertainty were at a stand-off. I had to find out about that “yellow M” somehow, without appearing to be ignorant.
Read MoreFrom June 11-14, the FEU will hold the closing sessions of its 8th Congress, a gathering which, since January of this year, has engaged students in a broad debate process and an exchange of ideas and proposals regarding the workings of the organization, institutional issues and political questions.
Read MoreI’ve lived in Cuba for three years and I’ve met my share of patriots, dissidents, gusanos, and human rights activists. I’ve met Communists and Anarchists. One time I think I ran into some Surrealists…or maybe they were just homeless vagabonds…either way, my point is that in three years of living here I’ve never, ever, met a terrorist.
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