I had to ask a favor from one of the cleaning ladies in campus. I have seen her around many times, and I knew that the common language was Spanish. "De Cuba, ?y tu?" she said. She didn't had to, her accent was distinctively Cuban. After some small talk, she told me the story of her life.
She was a history Professor in Cuba, and less than a year ago came to this country. She doesn't know any English, so she has to have two jobs, and vacuuming the physics' building is one of them.
She misses teaching. Sometimes, when there isn't anyone around, she writes on the blackboards. She is obviously extremely intelligent, and it is understandable why she has problems with her boss: she can't stand doing stupid things that her stupid boss asks her to do. And then again she misses teaching, she misses her students, her watery eyes make her stop in the middle of the sentence, and then she changes the subject. I tell her what I do, how I teach and study. Education, education, education is what is important; study hard and you will get far, is her advice to me. "Educación, chico, educación." was also the advice that she left to her 14 year old son who lives in Cuba. Her tears testify that the irony doesn't escape her.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment