Miami

    I am going to Cuba tomorrow and it is more than EXCITING.  The pressure of only bringing 44 lbs and getting everything ready this week was intense, but I felt great on the plane flying over DC.  It was the first chance I had to really think through everything and relax.  Everyone in our group met at the hotel and the energy and promise of the group is huge.  We went out to dinner and have been hanging out, mainly talking about Cuba and how we are going to move weight around.  As of now everyone is over the limit, and we are hoping they don't check purse weight.  I think all of my luggage will be fine, because I had master helper packers who got the weight down.  However, we are still waiting on one person's bag from JFK.
    We will get to Havana tomorrow and then start a week long orientation.  For those of you who don't know the basics, I am on an American University program with 11 other students from AU.  A graduate student working on her masters in hip-hop is our program coordinator while in Cuba.  We are living in a hotel in old Havana and taking classes with professors at the University of Havana.  The classes: a cultural Cuban class, International Relations of Cuba, Cuban history 1989-present, and a Spanish class.  We will be taking classes with a group from UNC Chapel Hill. (My roommate and I have already decided we would like to take a dance class in the city as well.  And actually many of us have a variety of plans to take advantage of our time in Cuba.)  
    Tomorrow we are flying down with the coordinator from AU abroad and both she and the director of AU abroad will be in Cuba through our orientation.  And then we start classes in a little over a week.  
    We are already forming stories from today, from the guy at Wendy's that asked us to say a prayer with him proclaiming Christ our savior, to a man spending a very long time talking to us when we were waiting for a taxi (and explained with a thick accent that he like to leave before paying for food, then goes back a few days later to pay for it), and then the cat who came into the hotel to be part of our group meeting.  
    Everyone thank you for all of your support.  I will be safe and have an amazing time and think of you often.  Also, the Latin on entries before this was just for tests.  Aye, voy a Cuba en la manana…  Adios!