Coming soon...

3 and a ½ weeks to go before I leave Cuba for Malaysia. Extremely excited about seeing the family back home again but at the same time a melancholic feeling parting from great friends.

With 2^nd years parting ways to different provinces in Cuba to continue on with their 3rd year come September, lots of hugs, photo taking, and promises to travel to visit each other are made. Thankfully I still have a year more in Havana before heading of to where ever I get sent!

Next semester will see a whole set of new faces, but for the first time ELAM will be accepting self funded students. (All students here in ELAM are on scholarship either by the Cuban government or my their respective governments) Rumor has it that we're about to see around 500 private students from Angola and Brazil. It wouldn't be such a problem except that the old students are being moved to the more run down,stuffier dorms while the new (self funded) students are going to be given our old but in better condition dorms. Students are disgruntled because this reeks of capitalistic tendencies which Cuba proclaims to try to avoid. I guess like they say; it's impossible to achieve the ''Socialist Ideal' and all they can do is aspire to it, but meanwhile some things have got to give even if it means providing better lodging to the rich kids at our expense...

I guess we'll see if this preferential treatment continues next semester since rumors are abound about the possibility that they would be given a special canteen (comedor) with a selection to choose what they want to eat from instead of the 'take it or leave it' menu we have now...

All this aside, I'm looking forward to the newbies in September. Especially now that I'm a senior =D
I really think that studying in Cuba has molded me  into a more humane person and it's challenged the way I used  to look at medicine... it's hard to put in words, but that I'll try in my next post...
Till next time, LOVE!