Diaries Archives - Page 440 of 647

Resellers Lying in Wait

The area in Old Havana on and around Monte Street is where the resellers concentrate. Many of them come from the more economically depressed eastern Cuba and have settled in Havana in whatever way they could.

The Amnesia of Coca Cola

My son is sad because his best friend Leo, who now lives in Miami, — despite their having shared years and games, secrets and dreams, despite their last embrace, teary eyes and attachments that made them exchange e-mail addresses and promises — he has not sent a message.

Aging with Cuba and the Misery Markets

I’m terrified of old age. It’s not exactly because of the portending future of sagging breasts, back pains or wrinkles resulting from overly repeated gestures. I’m afraid of aging, especially, because I’m afraid of Cuba.

The Law, Like in the Jungle

The Lazaro Pena Polytechnic School in Guanabacoa where I teach has gained the reputation for being one of the high schools with the most violence among students and teachers alike, and this refers to physical as well as verbal violence.

Kawasaki or Suzuki

Generally the motorcycle that’s liked most is the one that’s defended the loudest, the one that gets the most arguments of “because that’s the way it is”. Distancing oneself from of these emotional modes means losing shares of normality to the majority.

Educators in Need of Education

I was left perplexed with that anecdote. This woman, being a teacher, had established an analogy between the arguments used by her peers and passages from a well-known historical event in our struggle for independence.

Living Communally in a Cuban University

When asked about the lifestyle and living conditions at the Latin American School of Medicine I have often described them as “like a military barracks, but without the discipline”.

Our Breadline on a Sunday Morning

As most of us Cubans know, to participate in waiting in a line for hours means including oneself in a good barometer of opinion. And I sure did get to hear varied opinions on severak topics.

So Now We Have Internet Access in Cuba?

A few days ago I came across “Resolution 146-2012” of the Ministry of Finances and Prices. It establishes the rate for Internet connections for Cubans at 6 CUC (about $6.50 USD an hour) and 1.50 CUC ($1.65 USD an hour) for international e-mail.

Living Fifty Years

A colleague of mine invited me to her 50th birthday party. It was in held at a rented beach house so it had a pool, a bar and a beautifully landscaped garden.