The J-Term PLU class poses for a group shot in Cuba. My experience in Cuba is best described as an 18-day deep breath. For two weeks in January, I visited Havana and other parts of the country with a group from Pacific Lutheran University. Cuba looks as though a slow-moving tornado hit it 40 years ago. One building might be in perfect condition with a sparkling coat of paint, but the next will be in such disrepair that you can see the houses behind it through a gaping hole in the masonry or a missing front door.
Nothing seems unusual.
This is Cuba, so close and so foreign, so rich and so poor. It is a community that asks to be seen by American eyes. Because all trade with Cuba is illegal, Americans are prohibited from traveling there. There are exceptions. In laymen's terms, it must appear to a U.S. Customs agent on your return trip that you didn't spend any money on food or lodging while you were in Cuba.