How Life in My Home Country Differs from Life in the US
country has to offer me. It provides me with great
opportunities to better my life. I will always look back to
the way I was raised back in Guatemala. The experiences
that I had make me a better and stronger person preparing
me for my future. God Bless America, the land that I love.
Evaristo Baten Tum is a student at Dunbar Community School.
Glad to be in the USA
I left Cuba 30 years ago because my father was a
political prisoner. Three major ways life in my home
country differs from my life in the USA are the political
system, employment, and health care. The political system
in Cuba is communist. The present constitution approved
the legal vote. A person can vote at the age of sixteen. This
was promulgated in 1976. In the USA people can vote at
the age of eighteen. In Cuba, citizens are not free to talk
badly about Castro’s dictatorship. They have to be careful
of any comment they make because they can go to jail if the
police think they are doing something bad. The police do
not need proof. It is completely different here in the USA.
U.S. citizens have the right to speak and law enforcement
needs proof to send someone to jail. Another major way life
is different is that work in Cuba is for nothing. Citizens
cannot see progress in the economy because the government
owns everything. Citizens cannot buy all that they need.
They have to use the black market and can go to jail for this.
To buy food, the government gives citizens a small
notebook and this is what they bring to the grocery store.
However, the food is limited. For example, the Cuban
government gives citizens four ounces of meat monthly, if it
arrives. Sometimes citizens do not see meat for years. This
is why the people have to use the black market.
Everything is different in the USA. People work and
they can progress. They can buy anything they want, travel
freely, and can own a business. A person can work for
himself. When someone works for the United States
government, they have many benefits. To qualify for work
benefits in Cuba a person must be in the army. The last
major difference is in health care. Cuba has free health