From Cuba to Barcelona: what changed and what didn't

I started programming in Cuba. The environment was constrained in ways that shaped how I think about software. Then I moved to Barcelona, studied at Harbour.Space, and started working in a well-resourced environment. Some things changed completely. Some didn't.

What Constraints Teach You

In Cuba, internet access was slow and expensive. You couldn't casually download a dependency or check Stack Overflow on a whim. You had to know what you were doing before you started doing it.

This forced a different relationship with the tools. You read documentation carefully because you couldn't afford to experiment indefinitely. You understood the code because you couldn't run it constantly to check.

Constraints turned out to be excellent teachers.

Competitive Programming Under Those Conditions

Getting into competitive programming in that environment meant more time with books and offline resources, more time tracing algorithms by hand, more time thinking before touching the keyboard. I'm not nostalgic for the constraints, but the habits they built are valuable.

I still think through a problem before writing code. I still read error messages carefully before googling. I still prefer understanding over copying.

What Changed

The access to infrastructure, resources, and community changed everything about the speed at which I could work. Cloud platforms, managed databases, package ecosystems, fast internet, colleagues to discuss problems with—these are genuine advantages that accelerate everything.

I also get to see what 'normal' looks like in a well-funded tech environment. The gap between what's possible and what people actually build is surprisingly large.

What Didn't Change

The preference for understanding over magic. The instinct to ask 'why' before 'how.' The discomfort with solutions I don't understand well enough to explain.

The environment changes. The thinking habits stick.