Cuban experiences refueling for the first time in the U.S.: "Everything here is a learning experience."

The Cuban Noel, known on TikTok as @noe el mago de cuba, experienced a heartwarming moment as he faced, for the first time, a mundane scene in his new life in the United States: pumping gas. While it is a routine task for many, for him, it was more like a practical lesson filled with doubts rather than certainties, guided only by the patient voice of his nephew (@elrey.noel.los.cubanitos).

"Where does that go? There's a cap there," Noel asks innocently in front of the car's reservoir. The answer comes with a laugh: "It doesn't have a cap, it's funny." From there, amid clumsiness and laughter, a scene unfolds that seems straight out of a comedic sketch. "This is complicated," he acknowledges, as he struggles with the lid. "I'm going to burn my food," he says, maintaining the humor that has already become his trademark.

Noel is the kind of character who moves others without even trying. Everything he experiences, he shares just as he feels it, without filters or pretense. "I am learning," he admits, while trying to remember the steps that guide him. In the end, with a triumphant gesture, he declares: "Work completed." And as if that weren’t enough, he sums up his learning in a phrase that has stuck in the collective memory of those who follow him: "Here, everything is a school."

Guided by his relative, Noel also learns the basic rule to avoid mistakes: “This piston has to be black… because the other one is oil, and you’ll mess up the car.” His straightforward logic leads him to declare, “I’m going to have to write all this down in my notebook,” aware that every step in this new environment is a lesson.

This moment is not an isolated event, but part of a sequence of firsts that Noel has experienced since arriving in the United States. In another video, he attempted to make coffee with an electric coffee maker, not knowing where to start, trembling as he presses buttons and confesses: “This technology is too advanced for my brain.”

It was also recorded the day he went to the supermarket for the first time. Pushing a cart full of groceries, he walked overwhelmed by the abundance. "What an incredible amount of meat and food, my God!" he exclaimed, before the emotion took over him: "My heart breaks in two thinking about the people of Cuba".

The anecdotes of Noel touch on something profound: the emotional memory of the migrant. There is a backstory that he has shared in a tragicomic tone: his departure from Cuba by boat, the crossing through Mexico, the sleepless nights, the fears that still haunt him. "Do not mention Cuba to me anymore. They have to kill me here," he said in one of those raw and direct stories that stir and connect.

But there is also tenderness, nostalgia, and attachment. In a recent video, he recalls the items he left behind: his hammer, a living room set that he upholstered himself, an old plate fan with a painted lion. “I don't miss Cuba, I miss my little things,” he says, with a mix of humor and sadness that lays bare the soul of so many Cubans far from home.

The comments on the video are, in themselves, another story. Some laugh, some relate, and some recall their own experiences. One user wrote: “That’s how we all are at first. I used to call my husband on video so he could tell me what I needed to do.” Another added, laughing: “I also started by writing everything down, even the pump number. Black piston and 87 always.”

Some paused in front of Noel with sincere affection: “Noel, you’re the best, you make me laugh with your antics,” “You’re so beautiful, so humble and so genuine,” “God bless you, Noel, you’re an amazing person.” Others celebrated his simple achievements as great milestones: “Congratulations, you have your little cart now,” “He didn’t have it, but now he does, blessings.”

There were also those who saw in him a symbol of many other stories: “That is the feeling of all of us when we arrive,” “He is brave, like so many who come not knowing anything,” or even more personal: “I cry because he reminds me of my dad, who could never leave Cuba.” A user from Galicia wrote: “I went through the same thing. I didn’t know how anything worked. Thank you for being there for him and helping him, I was left alone.”

Amidst jokes and affection, phrases like “I’m going to have to write that down” or “I didn’t have it, but now I do” became little slogans repeated by dozens of users, who not only had fun but also saw in Noel the process of adapting, learning, and starting over.

The gas station episode fits into a growing trend on social media: videos of "first times." From Daniela Reyes admitting that she didn't know how to take the hose out of the dispenser, to Cuban elders surprised in car wash tunnels, what seems ordinary transforms into a cultural document. They are capsules of cultural shock, learning, and humility.

", he says about his car at the end of the video. And while it may seem like a joke, it is also a victory. One of those small, yet enormous victories that give meaning to the journey. I didn’t have it, but I have it now! Noel doesn’t present himself as an influencer or an exemplary migrant. He is simply a Cuban who shares what is happening to him with sincerity, spontaneity, and humor."

Frequently Asked Questions about the Experiences of Cubans in the United States