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Monday, 03 September 2007
I arrived to the Latin American School of Medicine (LASM) in Havana, Cuba a week ago. I flew from Seattle to Miami and from Miami to Cancun, Mexico. In Cancun I met with 14 other students traveling from the USA (two other students from our group were already in Cuba) and with a psychologist from IFCO who accompanied us to the LASM. Cuba is an exotic country with beautiful, friendly, humble and hard-working people.
Arriving to Cuba was very exciting moment in my life. First of all, when we were trying to land at Havana’s International Airport (on August 27th), we were unable to do so at the scheduled time due to a thunderstorm. The pilot of Cubana (a Cuban Airline) attempted to land during the storm but the storm caused so much turbulence that the pilot was forced to suspend the landing for about an hour. That was fun because we were flying around the island for about an hour or so. When we finally arrived to Cuba the president and a number of physicians from the LASM met us at the gate. We were immediately escorted by Cuban customs to a conference room in the airport where we received a warm welcome by school officials. After we received the official welcome at the airport we collected our bags and we were escorted out of the airport and soon we were on our way to the LASM. Upon arriving to the LASM we had dinner with other school officials who kindly welcomed us to the school. These professionals left a great impression in my mind. They were very humble and were so happy that we had arrived to Cuba and hence be part of the LASM.
The next day (August 28th) we were awaken at 7AM because we had to get a physical exam, dental exam and some lab work at the medical school hospital, which is adjacent to our dorm. Our first experience at the hospital was amazing. Everything happened so quickly and the medical attention was of great quality. The doctor was very attentive to our medical concerns. I ended up getting chest x-rays due to the fact that, in the USA, I tested positive for passive TB. The physician told me that he just wanted to make sure that I was fine before I started my studies at the LASM. I remember vividly that when the doctor was getting all of my personal information he never asked me if I had health insurance or if I wanted to apply for the sliding fee discount. The physical and dental exams and the x-rays were free of charge since healthcare is free to everyone in Cuba. For example, my roommate, Robert, from Florida got sick a couple of days after we arrived to Cuba. He woke up and he had a high fever and felt really weak. So he walked to the medical school hospital early in the morning to receive medical attention. He was seen by a physician and was released from the hospital in less than half an hour. He was then sent to the hospital pharmacy with a prescription and the medicine that was given to him was free of charge. He was a bit confused at the time and asked the pharmacist how much he would have to pay for the medicine and the pharmacist just laughed and told him that it was free of charge.
Life at the dorm has been a very enriching experience thus far. My dorm houses students from the USA (including Puerto Rico), Belize, Brazil, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. I feel really lucky to befriend students from different nationalities because I know that I will learn a lot about their different cultures. Some of the students are learning to speak Spanish and we all help each other when it comes to translating. We are becoming to be like a family and we all look after each other. When we go out we usually go out as a group and the students that have lived in Cuba since last year help the new ones get acquainted with the city, the transportation system and the Cuban currency.
The dorm is a very humble place to live. The first couple of days were the hardest ones since I arrived from a country that has all the commodities that I can possibly have. I am not complaining, however, since I have been learning a lot about myself. Living under these humble conditions has enabled me to see the world with different eyes. I am really excited because I have realized a lot of good things about life in just a few days after arriving to Cuba. For example, there is no warm water and thus I (and everyone else) have to take cold showers. When I was in the USA I never really thought of ever needing to take cold showers. I always took it for granted. Also, there is no internet connection in the dorms and that’s what makes it a bit difficult to communicate with friends and family members in the United States. If I want to use the internet I really have to plan ahead since there are about 3,000 students and one computer lab (without wireless internet). As you might imagine, they want to use the internet as well. I have realized that I need to have a lot of patience for certain things that I’ve always had unlimited access to in the USA. After a year of living here in Cuba I know that I will come to the United States with a greater appreciation of the things that I always took for granted.
Cuban people are kind by nature. In the last week I have had an opportunity to meet and interact with Cubans outside the medical school and I totally love the way they are. They are very polite, friendly and they have a great sense of humor. Also, these people are excellent dancers. They dance to any kind of music and they do it outside the classroom, at the hospital, on the street corner, at the bus stop, and anywhere that there is music. They may not be financially rich but they definitely know how to live a happy and rewarding life. When I look at them I see a smile in their face. Their smile emanates a sense of friendship and respect. During my stay in Cuba, I look forward to getting to know more about their culture and their beautiful and exotic country.
Sincerely,
Ramon Alejandro Bernal
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