Getting Back to Havana’s Normal: A Life Lesson

Por Safie M. Gonzalez

HAVANA TIMES – For many people, getting back to normal is waking up at 5:30 or 6 AM to walk to the bus stop and get to work on time. It’s going back to school and social activities. It’s going into any store we come across because we need cooking oil, soap or detergent, without having to wait in an extremely long line for hours on end; even if we don’t find what we’re looking for when we go inside.

Getting on a jam-packed bus at all hours of the day, is the most normal thing for us Cubans. We are even missing these situations. They aren’t the most pleasant, but it’s already been seven months locked up at home.

Personally though, I have used this time in lockdown to read some books I’d been meaning to get to. I’ve enjoyed watching movies at home, including some series that had come recommended. Likewise, I haven’t stopped my habit of writing, of course.

Understanding what’s going on has been very hard for our younger ones. There haven’t been any trips to the park to play, or going to the beach in these holidays. But this pandemic has affected everyone, generally-speaking.

Some people have lost their jobs. Many relationships have been affected. Others have become stronger, as well as family members living together, who didn’t normally have time to spend together. Now they have had a chance to become closer. However, our new “normal”, whether it’s good, bad or just regular, is on the horizon.

Nevertheless, it will take us some time to get back to this normal. It will be hard for some people to leave their homes; and facing the new reality and circumstances frightens them. The most important thing is to take on change with courage and good judgement. What we have experienced in the past seven months, will definitely leave its mark. It has influenced all of us and it has taught all of us another life lesson.

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