I yesterday focused on Cuba and America's vision of Manifest Destiny. Coincidentally, I saw a Quora contribution about Stanford University, which I will insert later.  As, in my memory, I can still vividly recall how I almost went to Cuba when I was at Stanford, I thought I'd see how these two entities are connected.   I began by asking Google AI about the two. Stanford University has a direct academic and research connection with Cuba primarily through The Cuba Observatory, [ 1 ]  the Center for Latin American Studies. Specific connections and initiatives include: The Cuba Observatory: This academic initiative is affiliated with Stanford's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLAS). It brings together scholarship, media, and public research to analyze Cuba's socio-economic, political, and cultural landscape. Visiting Professorships: Stanford frequently hosts Cuban scholars, such as Dr. Ernesto Domínguez López from the University of Havana, who served...

Today I will write about life at Stanford University.  Much of this info comes from the monthly STANFORD for alumni, but I've also visited a bunch of times after graduating. One of the miracles of my life was that I even went there at all.  I was an average student most of my life.  Perhaps growing up in Kakaako, a lower-class portion of Honolulu, was partly responsible.  Maybe wanting to be like one of my gang was not personally productive.  Whatever, by the time I was a sophomore at McKinley High School, I was put in a lower level English-Social Studies group, as our school system placed students by performed capability. Around that time, Bishop Estate essentially kicked our neighborhood out of our homes to pave the way for all those tall buildings you now see in Ward Village.  Kalihi was not much of an improvement, plus I had to catch the bus to get to McKinley High School.  In most ways, I was sort of alone for the first time in my life.  Yes,...