A Beautiful,
Well-loved Island.

Writer:
Irmina Fabricio from Cuba

NOTE FROM MRS. BOWLES: Irmina Fabricio, a student in Mrs. Bowles' Level Three Academic Classroom Skills class, describes her homeland of Cuba and shares her story about immigrating to the United States.

My name is Irmina, and I am from Cuba. It is the largest island of the Caribbean, a beautiful and interesting place, and I love my country.

If you visit Cuba you will enjoy it because you can find great beaches like "Guanabo," "Santa Maria," and the best of all "Varadero." It is one of the most popular attractions in my country. Its sand is really fine and white. The climate in Cuba is semitropical, so you never see snow, but you can go to the beach all the time. Some tourists from Europe travel to Cuba in winter.

The capital of Cuba is Havana. Its population is about 2,000,000 from 11,000,000 of the whole island. This city was built by Spanish colonists in 1519. The historic area includes the famous "Catedral de la Habana," "El Morro," and "El Castillo de la Fuerza." I lived in East Havana, close to the beaches.

Another interesting thing in Cuba is the food. The cooking tradition came from Spain and Africa. The food is seasoned, but not hot. A popular dish is white rice and black beans cooked together, which the Cuban people call "Congri." Another is yellow rice and chicken, and the most popular desert is "Flan," made with milk and eggs.

My whole family except my husband and son live in the island. I keep in contact with them by phone. I studied a B.A in Economics at the University of Havana and I worked in this profession for 16 years. I was happy and professionally realized. I felt that I had been doing something good for my country.

Around 1990, the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cuban economic was affected dramatically. In 1994, the problems accrued and my husband with my approval decided to abandon the island and come to the United States. He had relatives in Miami. My son was 6 years old at that time.

The time passed and in 2000, I came to the United States with my son, who was 12 years old. Everybody can imagine the moment when we were together again after six years. At the beginning I was happy because I was learning everything about my new life. Later, when I looked for a job especially in accounting, I couldn't find one. I didn't speak English and also my professional experience was in a socialist system. I faced a terrible reality and I felt frustrated.

Then I started to take some English classes, a credit course in Accounting, and others business courses in Miami Dade Community College. Also, I got an office clerk position in a lumber yard. In those days, my husband was looking for a job at the university in order to teach Spanish (he has a PhD in Spanish). He applied to several universities and finally he decided on Hendrix College.

A year ago, we relocated to Conway and I started to fight for my dreams again. Now, I am enrolled in a Masters Degree Program in Spanish at UCA. Actually, I am doing everything to reach my goal, which is to work as a professional like I worked in my country.