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The history between the United States and Cuba has always been complicated. Since the overthrow of Batista in 1959, and the rise of Fidel Castro, political relations between the US and Cuba have been very tense. After the rise of Castro, all US-Cuban trade was stopped and US citizens were no longer legally allowed to enter Cuba.* Everything changed when President Barack Obama opened up the borders between the US and Cuba. For the first time in over 50 years US citizens could legally visit Cuba and yet no one seemed to be visiting. For me, Cuba was always a dream that seemed impossible. The history was interesting and I learned about the complicated revolutions and political tensions in high school but I never thought it was an option to go visit. There were so many unknowns about travel in Cuba. Were the Cuban people angry at US citizens, how hard was it to get around and could US citizens get thrown in jail if they were caught visiting? But in 2019, after the announcement that President Trump would be making travel to Cuba as a US citizen complicated again, I decided traveling to Cuba was worth the anxiety that came with the unknown. Unfortunately, traveling to Cuba came with a lot of steps. As a US citizen, you have to have an official reason for visiting the country and tourism does not count. There is a list online of 13 different reasons US citizens are allowed to visit for so deciding my reason was the first step. I chose to go under the reason: Support for the Cuban People. Next, I had to remember to bring all the money I wanted to use for my entire trip because US credit and debit cards do not work in Cuba. I continued to do more research and learned that I also needed a travelers card to enter. Due to lack of time, I would have to get it at the Mexico City airport between flights; adding yet another level to my anxiety. Preparing for Cuba was exhausting. The day of the flight I was incredibly anxious and nervous. There were so many parts to the process and I was scared I forgot something. My mind was filled with what if’s: What if they don’t let me in? What if I get arrested coming back to the US? What if the Cuban people are angry ? I started to panic. In the San Francisco airport I found a quiet place to sit and did some deep breathing exercises. Once I got my breathing to a more calm level I decided to focus on one thing at a time. First up was checking in and flying to Mexico City. Next was finding the office to buy my travelers card before boarding the next flight to Havana. Once I landed in Cuba everything changed. My anxiety went down, I started to breath more normally and the excitement of finally getting to experience this beautiful country kicked in. Immigration was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Cuba had no problem with me entering the country, in fact, everyone I met on my trip welcomed me with open arms. They were kind, helpful and never appeared angry or resentful towards the US, something I was a little worried about. In the end, I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. There was a lot of work involved in preparation but once I touched down in Cuba all I could do was let go and go with the flow. The Cuban people were incredibly welcoming and friendly, getting around was slow but wasn’t hard and the culture was inspiring. The whole trip taught me a lot. It taught me to do my research but also how to let go and just be present. I learned to go into new experiences with no expectations and to not assume the people of a country are the same as their government. Overall, my trip to Cuba taught me how to embrace the unknown and allow it to become an adventure rather than an obstacle. * Cuba Profile - Timeline.” BBC News, BBC, 1 May 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19576144.