Dioclis

Spanish Teacher

I was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1975, of African, Spanish, and indigenous descent. I lived on an island full of sunshine, music, beaches, and happy, friendly people. I grew up in a peaceful family atmosphere with a love for poetry, dancing, animals, and a great desire to help others. That is why it occurred to me very early that I might make a good psychologist. And although my favorite activity when I was a little girl was playing school, it never crossed my mind that I could grow up to be a teacher.

When I got to the University of Havana, I had the opportunity to study French, and I liked the world of languages so much that I decided to spend five years discovering grammar, phonetics, literature, and new and exciting cultures.

Studying French helped me to become more aware of the substance and content of my own language. Translations, interpretations, and comparative analysis increasingly led me to decide on my true vocation. But the deciding factor was when I discovered the wonder of teaching. I knew then that I could help people acquire skills to communicate with each other, learn more about each other, and understand each other better, which continues to be my greatest motivation today.

The world keeps turning, and through a combination of luck and effort, I had the chance to teach Spanish at the University of Havana. I worked with students going to Cuba to study for careers and who needed a year of intensive Spanish to be able to participate with Cuban students in the same courses. I also worked with students who were in Cuba as tourists for just a couple of months, to enjoy a tropical vacation or out of curiosity to learn first hand about a communist island just 90 miles off of coast the most powerful country in the world, its history, people and culture.

And in one of life's twists, I fell in love. If they had told me I was going to fall in love with one of my American students, there in Havana, and that I would travel to France, the country of my dreams when I was a student, that I would work and study there for 2 years, that I would meet my American student again, and that we would become engaged, that after so many struggles and efforts to be together somewhere, that I could come here to New York, and that we would get married and live together in Brooklyn, near that famous bridge that I had only seen in movies, I would never have believed it! Especially because I had always said that the United States would be the last place on earth I'd choose to live and that I would never learn English, after having studied it unsuccessfully in Middle and High School.

Today, I never cease to be surprised that I have been living and working here for more than three years, in love with someone who loves me back, gradually discovering the enchantments of New York, with two cats and a dog, speaking English, learning new things, and doing what I like to do most: teaching languages and helping people communicate and get to know each other more and understand each other better.