Cuba

A Glimpse into an Incredible Country  

I decided to graduate from U of O a term early to take an internship at Nike. But before I left an opportunity came up to study abroad in Cuba with the SOJC. I was really nervous about traveling to a country that I really didn’t know that much about. In order to go to Cuba we had to complete coursework provided by the Cuban government to approve our student visas. At the time the embargo hadn’t been lifted yet, so we had to apply for student visas in Cuba. Once we were halfway through our coursework and ready to apply for our visas, President Obama lifted the embargo in Cuba. This was huge for our group and extremely exciting to be able to travel to Cuba without major political limitations! In fact, we were going to be one of the first groups to travel and return from Cuba under the new legislations! 

While in Cuba we were each tasked with working in small teams to produce a multimedia package on a person in Cuba. My group was so lucky to be pared with an extremely talented women named Ami de la Caridad Díaz Martínez, who was a 19-year-old ballet dancer. Spending our time interviewing Ami and learning about her life in Cuba was an incredible experience. 

We spent our time walking around Havana looking at the life and passion in the city. Havana is filled with creative, hardworking people and it was a honor to get to see a glimpse into their everyday life. We also took a bus to Varadero, Cuba where we walked along the white sand beaches and turquoise water. 

Cuba is an incredible country with strong and determined people. I am thrilled now that the embargo is lifted that more people will be able to visit this beautiful country. But I truly hope that Cuba doesn’t lose its soul and charm to greedy visitors and tourism. I can’t wait until I can visit Cuba again. 

See more of our project here: https://cubacreatives.uoregon.edu