My name is Ricardo Trelles Rodríguez. Pero aquí en la Yuma no usan el segundo apellido. In our good ole USA they don’t use the second last name. So I am Ricardo Trelles (although I always utter Rodríguez silently, bajitico, to honor my dear mother, always). Born in the super-mega-tetra-gorgeous village of San Cristóbal de La Habana, Cuba, in the beautiful Year of the Dragon, 1964, I currently reside in Miami, Florida. Yes, back in Miami, after living a year in Washington, DC (oh, that’s a really long story). I have to say, though, that I’d be willing and READY to leave Miami, again, and move to any city in the world, where I can study my (accredited) PhD. Read more and you’ll understand.
Teacher, Writer, Traveler, Dreamer. I don’t like being tagged as this or as that, but if tags must be used, then these four things define me best in this life. By nature, I am:
- a teacher, and I love helping others, if I have the method and the means
- a writer, and you will have a chance to taste a spoonful of my soup of words here
- a traveler, and I have discovered happiness on the road, and will discover more
- a dreamer, and if I get to realize my dreams, I will change your world too, a bit
And Kitchen & Home Appliance Sales Consultant! Well, yes, Appliance Salesman! Yes, and proudly so, because I enjoy it immensely. So you mean you are an Appliance Salesman, dude? Yes, I am, dude! You see, I was trained in the business of consultative sales and social communication, way before there were any social media or flashy smartphones. I was trained in the hard-sale style of face-to-face “tell-me-the-whole-story-in-5-minutes” dynamic business of Travel and Tourism Sales, back in the late 1980’s in Havana, Cuba.
And I have to say, my friends, that working as a Tour Guide (and Public Relations Management), was the best job anyone could dream of, ever! But times do change, and I left Cuba. So in my new “home” of South Florida, I decided to go back to school and get a Master’s degree, and teach at the college level. But that’s a long story. By now, check to link above, and see what I’ve been up to lately, returning to fun world of Sales, as a PACIFIC Kitchen & Home Appliance Salesman.
I had the happiest childhood anyone could dream of. What many outside Cuba perceived as poor families being exploited and imprisoned by a Communist dictator and his military institutions, well, I didn’t see that. I was just a child being a child, and having the fun of my life, playing with dirt and marbles, and swimming in the flooded streets during a hurricane, jumping from street benches onto the muddy waters down Avenida 70 in Playa (Miramar), and having the most fun-filled adolescent years in Ciudad Libertad, doing homework, and reciting poems or singing ballads in front of the whole school in the “matutinos” (a military-format, speech-like, political and cultural news bulletin reading by small groups of students), doing sports, watching movies, or reading literature, and story books, and science books, and all kinds of books that I could get my hands on–remember, there was no Internet–all of this happening at the legendary Escuela Lenin, later at Los Camilitos, and then at the Pre Pablo (Pablo de la Torriente Brau High School), in Miramar (Havana).
Later at the University of Havana, well, that’s where the real fun begins. Of course, you have to study, a lot! But I wonder if other generations partied as hard as we did in the 80s. Sure they all did. It’s just that one thinks his or hers was the most, the best, the grandest.
In the early 1990s, completely disappointed with the abuses and the excesses of the corrupted Communist government of two stubborn brothers, Fidel Castro Ruz and Raul Castro Ruz, who had militarized the country after brainwashing the people about the constant threat of Yankee Imperialism, I decided to do something serious to escape the desperate dictator-imposed limbo Cubans have lived now for more than half a century: ESCAPE! That is, Escape Cuba, escaparme de Cuba, any way I could.
One day I’ll tell you and the world the whole story. It was not an easy one. For Cubans, it’s never an easy one. You HAVE to leave your family, your possessions, your memories behind. It hurts! Deeply. Most Cubans who have fled the island, have stories that are complex and difficult to recount, involving the loss of property, the loss of relatives, and even the loss of their own lives, like the rafters, or balseros., who for years have jumped in the Straits of Florida by the thousands, in search of freedom. Sadly, some of these stories are so dramatically difficult to digest, that only Cubans who have lived in Cuba, and later escaped, would understand them well. Those are the unbelievable stories of the Cuban exiles. This is my story too.
I went to school in Cuba and in the US. As a teacher, I can assure you that nothing is more important, after your health, your family, and your principles, than your education. These are the schools I attended and the degrees obtained:
- Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English Literature and Language University of Havana, in La Habana, Cuba 1988
- Master of Science (M.S.) in Management Information Systems Florida International University, Miami, Florida 2001
Generally speaking, I use, indistinctively, the letters MBA or MS after my name, meaning Master in Business Administration or Master of Science, because my Master’s degree is in Business Administration with a concentration in Technology. An MBA distinction may call the attention of those involved in the Banking and Accounting world, and the MIS may appeal to the interest of those involved in technology and more technical fields. MIS, then, if you will, is the ocean where the two great rivers of Business and Technology meet. My diploma reads MS-MIS, and my business card, for all strategic employment purposes, reads MBA. So I am not trying to misrepresent who I am, or deceive anyone here. I too like the truth, always, so it’s fair to make things clear from the start.
When I obtained my Master’s degree, in the summer of 2001, around July-August, we were all so happy that almost as soon as we completed the graduate program, we would most certainly be offered a six-figure-a-year job, you know, a good professional job paying six figures a year. Boy, that sounded so nice, so sweetly nice!
Well, on September 11, about a month after my graduation, while I was networking “full-throttle-ahead” for those nice, well-paying jobs, the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington happened. Sadly, all my dreams and all my realistic aspirations of obtaining any of the big-pay jobs just evaporated, INSTANTLY. No more jobs. Nothing. NOTHING AT ALL! That is, nothing at all, but a huge student loan debt. So, you want a Master’s degree? Boom! Here! Get this huge debt too! Congratulations! You just graduated from your first lesson, Capitalism 1-0-1.
I think EDUCATION SHOULD BE FREE. That’s why I write it in capital letters. It is a shame that educational institutions benefit, as most currently do, with such margins of profitability. It’s no longer a service to mankind for the good of the people and for the sake of knowledge, and knowledge passing from one generation onto the next ones, but a hugely profitable business. I say governments seat down together, and sign a new Charter of the United Nations, and make education FREE as a Universal Right, like José Martí suggested.
Free Education for All, a Universal Right of Human Beings
What a dream! What a concept! It’d surely be a different world. What do you think?
By nature, I am a friendly and engaging person, and as I said before, a teacher, a writer, a traveler, and a dreamer. I am also a very happy person. Not rich in money, oh, no, not at all. But very rich in life’s experiences and very happy in mind and spirit. Oh, you want to know more about my personal life? Sure, we all have one, and in an increasingly “social” world, packed with social media and social platforms and social websites, sharing a little about ourselves won’t do any harm, as long as we understand and apply restrain. If you want to see my Facebook pages, we can be friends. Well, you know, Facebook friends.
I think a happy man must take precautions to avoid indiscretion, anyway. Although I call myself the Traveling Teacher or at times, the Lonely Traveler–well, how do I put this?–the Traveling Teacher is not always traveling, and certainly, the Lonely Traveler title does not necessarily mean that you are so lonely, if you know what I mean. We all have a life, but private means private. So I choose to keep my personal private life out of the Internet.
SO WHAT DO YOU TEACH?
In Cuba, for a short period of time, I taught English. It was fun teaching a foreign language, English in this case, to a Spanish-speaking class, even when you had never stepped out of the country. By now you know that in Socialist Cuba, Cuban citizens are not allowed to travel abroad. We can talk about this topic another day.
The issue was: how can I improve my pronunciation, my grammar, my writing, in English, when I can not even leave the island to travel and visit other places, specifically, English-speaking countries, like the U.S., Jamaica, England, Grenada, Canada, India, etc.?
Well, you push and push and push to be better and perk up your ears to pick the best pronunciation from the Canadian tourists you work with, and the American and British tourists you meet in the hotel circuit, and the Dutch and German tourists you meet around the city of Havana, or anywhere you can find them.
After a few months, you realize that even though you love teaching, you ACTUALLY LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE working in the world of travel and tourism. The money was SUBSTANTIALLY BETTER, salary, tips, gifts, etc., which as you know, in a Socialist country, could mean you make 10 times as much as what a medical doctor or an attorney makes in a year. Something like that. Those too are the terrible inequalities of an egalitarian society, Socialism-style. Paradoxically, the best jobs in Communist Cuba are still those related to foreign tourism, export businesses, joint-ventures, international corporations, etc., basically, anything that deals with the “evil” dollar from Yankee Imperialism. I tell ya…
In any case, I moved permanently to work as a Tour Guide, Travel Counselor, and to help with collaborations at the Public Relations Department of Cubatur, writing or editing marketing brochures and manuals. This may have been one of my top 5 moves ever! It made a lot a sense, and sure, it brought more responsibility and sacrifice to my life, but also a lot more fun and earnings.
In the mid 1990s, Socialist policies in Cuba were simply too tough to handle, and many who had the chance to escape, did exactly that, ESCAPE the island anyway they could.
I too joined the fleeing crowd. A “son” of the Revolution, the “product” of the Revolution, was now a young adult who could think for himself, and was ready to fly away from Communism. And lucky those who could escape, and those who made it. So I came to Miami, Florida, where most Cubans concentrated after fleeing the island nation of Cuba, and leaving behind family and memories. One day I’ll tell you the story of an immigrant who lost more than he ever thought.
Miami was all we thought, and more. But that ‘more’ was a mixture of the good and the bad. The good was great. The bad was really bad. But there was no reverse shift in this engine. You escaped Socialism, you gotta push forward, buddy, there’s no other way. And by the way, Fidel Castro won’t take you back now. He will make money off your emotional suffering and your deep nostalgia as an emigré, like you have no idea. You don’t know it yet, but you are going to play right into his hands, because the other option is to see your mother and father and children starve without the milk you drink or the aspirin you take or the rice you can buy cheaply in Miami. What would you do?
In 1997, I started working at The Wolfsonian Museum, which would soon become part of Florida International University. I wanted to study a Master’s degree, so I applied to work at and later joined the museum because it was the best choice I had then, among all the options of employment at a place of academic or intellectual profile or interest.
In 2000, after more than 3 years waiting and waiting and waiting, waiting for the Director of the museum to authorize me as a full-time employee with a benefits package that would include tuition reimbursement, i.e., that would cover the cost of my studies, I decided to leave the museum. Oh, what a great move! Within 3 months I was taking classes at FIU for my Master’s degree. Sure, I had to pay for it all, myself.
It is extremely sad that the museum, being part of the public university for which I worked, or its director, rather, would never authorize the tuition reimbursement employee benefits package for my graduate studies. Could it be because I was not displaying a flamboyant blond hair and flamboyant blue eyes and a flamboyant white smile?
Uhm, it makes me think… Oh, well, what do you want to know? Discrimination? Is it alive? Of course, in Miami, Florida, discrimination is alive and kicking! Yes, sir, thanks for asking. Satisfied now. OK, let’s move on.
In the end, as I said before, I was determined to expand my education and I fought hard to achieve my graduate degree. Finally, I obtained my Master’s degree in the summer of 2001. But then, since the terrorist attacks of 9-11 occurred that same summer, and all hopes of the high-paying jobs went on smoke, I decided to take the teaching assignment seriously and started teaching for 3 educational institutions:
Miami Dade College (2001 – 2011) – English, Computers, eCommerce, Small Business Management, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access, Internet, Social Media, etc.
Jones College (2001 – 2008/9) – Business Management, English, International Relations, Risk Management, Labor Relations, Organizational Behavior, etc.
College of Business & Technology (2000 – 2009) – Business Management, Business Law, Microsoft Office Certification program, etc.
The topics I’ve taught over the years would vary, depending on the semester, the course, or the location, but mostly, I would teach English, Business and Technology topics, although at times I would teach related courses like International Relations, Labor Relations, Organizational Behavior, etc. While I would like to continue teaching, like everyone else, I have bills to pay, and education is definitely not a priority for South Florida. So educators do not make a whole lot of money. In fact, it feels more like being part of a species in the list of those dangerously close to extinction.
I HAVE A DREAM
I have accomplished most of what I have set out to reach, so far, like a Master’s degree, for example, or learn how to communicate in two or three languages, other than Spanish, my mother tongue, or even visit the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, oh yeah, check it out tell me if you like it. For the last few years, I have tried to study a doctorate, a PhD, in Cultural Studies, International Relations, or Political Science.
More recently, I’m more in tune with the idea that, if my undergraduate degree was in Language and Literature, I should pursue my doctorate in Spanish/Portuguese/French/Romance Languages and Literatures and Cultures.
But this complicated world devotes a lot more money lately to make artificial wars on oil-rich countries under the excuse of anti-terrorist security, than to build schools and hospitals in poor places, or train teachers to help educate smaller and disadvantaged countries.
Imperialism at its best. Go figure. Well, that’s the world we live in. But please don’t call me a Communist. You just don’t know me, and you don’t have a clue about my political ideas or predilections. You also have no idea what to live in a totalitarian regime or a Communist dictatorship is. Or escape it! So keep the name calling to yourself, or leave it for the beer bar. I will respect you, if you respect me too.
I have a dream:
… that Cuba and the United States put the political bullshit aside and be friends again. My two countries, Cuba and the US, have been at this silly confrontation for more than 50 years. The medicine, on either side, has proved completely ineffective. If only the two sides sat down at a round table and decided, both, to:
- Hold multi-party FREE ELECTIONS in Cuba now, and to
- Immediately end the ECONOMIC EMBARGO on Cuba (bloqueo económico)
Both things, both, together the same day, or months apart, it doesn’t matter, but both, once and for all! Well, if only they sat and talked… for the sake of my beautiful Cuba.
A PACIFIST’S WORD ABOUT MY BEAUTIFUL UNITED STATES
We need not continue with wars and more wars, wars that solved NOTHING, NOTHING AT ALL. Wars that have led my country, the US, to cut substantial funding of federal educational programs. Think about the future of education.
Some say we wanted more oil, and used the 9-11 attacks as the perfect excuse to go conquer oil-rich countries, mineral-rich countries, like Iraq and Afghanistan, and create a mess to gain some advantage in a rather scrambled world. So we went to war in Iraq, then in Afghanistan.
I tend to be fairly neutral on political terms, but I have to say, it’d be difficult to deny the veracity of the previous statement.
We can all hide reality. Until one day, one day when reality can no longer be hidden, and we must confront it. Not just in war, but the huge spending this country has, it simply can not be perpetuated. We must work on prompt solutions to create jobs in the US, and stimulate this economy any way we can, putting aside politics once and for all, for the good of the American people.
I am not a Republican or a Democrat, and I think that both, Republicans and Democrats should put their diferences aside and START WORKING TOGETHER, immediately, for a negotiated solution to our many problems at home, before we, not the terrorists, we, Americans, destroy our own country.
Where are we after all these wars and all this recent spending? Are we better off now? Is my country, the US, and my world, any safer now, any more stable now? I think not.
So, when the “benefit” of expensive foreign wars and of uncontrollable overspending is not seen readily, we must return to a known method of prosperity and a known path to economic development.
That means that both, Republicans and Democrats have dramatically contributed to drown this country in wars and debt. Can you both, yes, you, BOTH, Republicans and Democrats, please stop? NOW? Thank you.
As a teacher, with 3 part-time jobs, I saw my 3 jobs disappear during the last 2-4 years. Sure, you have the right to call me a whiner. What about the other millions of unemployed people in this country? Are we all whiners? Well, an unemployed teacher is not a desirable thing in any decent society, that much I can tell you.
I have a dream, an academic dream too, that I will one day complete my graduate studies and obtain a PhD. I don’t want it as a gift, or as a funny little diploma for being so nice, or for giving away this much money here or those many millions over there. No, I don’t want a free degree. I am actually willing to put the hard work and study for my doctorate degree. I want to study and earn my PhD! Should I scream this any louder to the world? Who could be listening? Is there any president, king, queen, CEO who cares for a teacher who wants to study?
I really, really, really, really want to study my 3-5 years. Really! I am willing and READY to put my time to write the thesis, and do the hard work, and read and consult the hundreds of books required, and the not required too, and write the dozens of pamphlets, essays, and articles about the topics in question.
I am not afraid of books, and I am not afraid of studying: I am afraid of the COST OF EDUCATION in the United States, yes, I am terrorized at the cost of tuition and the overall cost of education in this country. Could this be a form of cultural terrorism imposed by your own government and the banking elite on the people of this country? If you want to control uprising, rebellion, descent, freedom of speech, and the mind of the people in general, simply suspend education, and that’ll do it. I’m telling you, I’m terrorized at these new trends in 21st century America. In other words, I’d love to continue studying, but I don’t have the financial means to do it. So it’s become a really difficult dream to achieve.
Do you wish to help with my PhD endeavors? If you do, I will accept any financial support you wish to provide, as long as it’s legal and has no strings attached. You can write a check to Professor Trelles, at the address provided below, or just contact me via email, I’ll give you my phone so that we can talk directly, and if you wish to meet, that would be even better. I need a well-to-do patron who can support my intellectual ambition and goals. I honestly don’t think it would be too expensive, it’s just that education is so exorbitantly and ridiculously out of reach these days, and it’d be heart-breaking, it literally would be a disaster to throw away so much talent, and interest, and goodwill, and disposition, I think, and so much desire to grow intellectually.
Read a letter (excerpts) I sent to President Barack Obama, in Simple Letters.
There is a degree of shame in asking for money. Yes, it feels really bad. But listen:
- my country, the USA, under Bush, had no shame in going around the world making wars, under murky pretexts, without solving anything, let’s be honest, without realistically solving any long-term terrorist threats. These are wars that took my jobs, and then solved absolutely NOTHING, and they continue to deplete our resources
- my country, the USA, under Obama, is spending so much money in trying to fix this and that, with no clear winning results, reaching rather more divisiveness than togetherness, and leaving our grandchildren’s grandchildren with a “credit card” debt that horrorizes my imagination; and we still don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel
then, I ask myself, I ask you, and I ask the world this question: why should I be ashamed of asking for money for my education? Why should I be ashamed?
An unemployed teacher with no money to pay for his PhD, sure, I feel some shame in being unemployed and some shame in asking for money, but what can I do, but ask for financial help. So if you are rich, or if you have the financial means to help me, then please by all means, DO HELP ME. Thank you!
Your contribution will be used in expanding my cultural world. It would help me buy books, books that I will later DONATE to a library, which is what I always do. Your donation will also help me take time off work, to dedicate those precious hours, days, weeks, months, and years, to read relevant bibliography, study historical and current literature on the topics I am interested in; investigate doctrines, societies, behaviors, and international law; conduct and complete pertinent research on the topics I have chosen for my graduate studies; write and publish articles online, in academic magazines and industry leading magazines, or in printed media format, like books, booklets, textbooks, and periodicals; and allow me to pay for pretty much everything related to my PhD studies, including domestic and/or international flights to attend conferences, seminars, symposia, industry meetings, fairs, and group study sessions, and/or meetings with graduate advisors.
I do not smoke, I do not consume drugs, I do not gamble, I do not play at casinos, and I do not engage in illegal acts of prostitution. I respect the freedom for you to do any of that, but I do not engage in such acts. It’s important to make it clear, right from the start, that if you pay for my education, you should know well that your money is going to be well spent in exactly what you’d expect me to use it for, i.e., activities related directly or indirectly to my education.
I do occasionally engage in social networking events and activities, visiting friends, colleagues, and the like, where wine is served and enjoyed at a social setting. While I am not an alcoholic, I enjoy a cup of wine or two with friends or an intelligent company.
It is, however, important to understand that if you decide to help me fund my doctoral studies, your funding will come WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED.
Now you know. If you help me pay for my education, one day I will show you a diploma and give you a big hug. Heck, I’ll give you a ton of hugs, by then, you’d be a very special friend. Like I said before, this is not only a dream, but a rather expensive enterprise. So thank you very much in advance, thank you for your generosity. If you help me, I will never forget your gesture of kindness and I will always pray that you and your family have good health and blessings in this life.
Of course, the best support one could give me now is help me find a job, TODAY!
Thank you very much for your support! Here’s how to contact me:
Ricardo Trelles, MBA PO Box 22466, Tampa, FL 33622
Via email: r trelles at gmail dot com (no spaces, of course, it looks weird, but it helps control spam)
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Or maybe I should go back to the hard working but generally productive world of Sales. Uhm, now you’re making me think… Update: Well, in the end, I did move on to Sales. Check out the latest news at my Appliance Salesman page. Enjoy!
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Ricardo Trelles 