Four years ago in the summer of 2013 I was able to travel 1,295 mile to my Dad’s home country, Cuba. This was a big deal for my Dad because he had not been back to Cuba since he left when he was only three years old. It was also an incredible opportunity for my whole family because in 2013 the embargo had not been lifted it was uncommon for Americans to travel to Cuba. Since my father was born in Cuba and we still have family there, we were able to travel there rather easily. We first had to take a plane over to Florida to then catch another flight to Cuba because there were no direct flights from New Jersey to Cuba. When traveling I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew it was going to be an amazing experience.

Just arriving at the airport in Cuba was hectic. First of all, the place was packed, which for me was interesting because I didn’t think that many people would be traveling to Cuba. I then learned that although Americans may not be allowed to travel there, there are many other countries that love to travel to Cuba as a vacation destination. For example many Europeans and Canadians travel to Cuba to visit the beautiful resorts and beaches.  When leaving the airport there were tons of people waiting to greet their families with signs and big smiles.  We soon found  our family excitedly awaiting us. Then my family of four and my grandparents hopped in our taxi. This was no ordinary taxi though, it was a 1956 Chevy Bel Air. It was a tight squeeze for the seven of us including the taxi driver and our many pieces of luggage. I was forced to sit with no leg room at all because my legroom was taken up by a suitcase. Much of our luggage was filled with clothing and everyday necessities that we were bringing to all of our family in Cuba. We then traveled three long hours in the scorching 90 degree weather with no air conditioning to our first stop, Varadero.

We stayed the first  5 days in a hotel in Varadero Beach and then traveled to Havana, the capital and stayed in another hotel where we would be closer to family. When arriving at the first hotel I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was happily surprised with how beautiful it was. I had never seen water so clear and beautiful, it was amazing. In my time spent at the beach I was able to meet many of the super nice employees working there. Being with my Dad who likes to talk to everyone, we learned a lot about all these people and their lives in Cuba. To me this was one of the most interesting parts. One guy we met even told us about his friend who was able to flee Cuba and travel to the USA while windsurfing. He told us how his friend practiced every day, tracked the wind patterns and one day he had built up the confidence to finally do escape. His journey to freedom was not a walk in the park though, the whole way over he was followed by sharks just waiting for him to fall, but thankfully he did not and arrived safely in Florida. My time in Varadero quickly came to an end but i will never forget all the people I met and their amazing stories. It is also a constant reminder to me of how fortunate I am.

We then took another long taxi drive to Havana with the same taxi driver who we actually became rather close to after spending so much time with him in the car. When arriving in Havana I began to see more of the side of Cuba that I heard about so much already. Many of the streets were very dirty and rundown, but still so classically beautiful at the same time. Much of the architecture was stunning, for example there was this one building with 9 floors and each floor’s balcony was made to resemble a coffin. The architect of the building had built it to commemorate the deaths of his daughter and son who were said to have drowned. While in Havana we visited many places, two of the places I had heard about were mentioned in Ernest Hemingway's famous quote  "My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita" ( do citation)  We visited both La Bodeguita and El Floridita and my parents were able to try the drinks that Hemingway references in that quote. While at El Floridita there were no seats left and I was exhausted from walking around all day in the sun, so while I was looking around for a stool I found one behind a Hemingway statue. I took it out and sat down. I soon found out from the many employees running over and yelling at me in Spanish that this was Hemingway's stool and no one is allowed to sit on it . After doing some sightseeing in Havana it was time to visit my family.

When arriving at my family's home I was very surprised to see how much family we still have in Cuba. My grandma still has two sisters and over twenty cousins still in Cuba. They all awaited in in their small run down home with smiles, posters, and pure happiness. It was amazing to see how even though I had never met any of these family members we were still able to come together with a natural closeness. One of my most fond memories of the whole trip was being able to play a game of baseball with all of my cousins in the streets Havana. My young cousins brought their one baseball and bat, but the funny part was the ball was made out of cloth. It was sad to see that members of my family could not afford a baseball, but it was amazing to see that it didn't even matter to them. They were still able to smile and have just as much fun. We were all able to come together and have fun until my dad came up to bat. You could tell by the look on his face that he wanted to hit a home run, and he did, but not just any home run he managed to hit the ball all the way down the block on to the top of a 3 story building; he roofed it. The kids were sad to see their only ball go but still thrilled to be having such a great time. We made sure to make it up to them when we got home by shipping them a bunch of brand new balls, mitts and plenty of other sporting goods.

This trip to Cuba definitely had a profound impact on me and how I measure happiness   family and the true worth of things.  I hope to go back to Cuba this year, four years later and I can’t wait to see what other memories I can create.