Skyline College is offering its first ever study abroad trip to Cuba this summer. Professor of History, John Ulloa, is the facilitator of this trip. For the first time in nearly 60 years, the leaders of the United States and Cuba met with one another to discuss policies for relations between these two nations. This permits travel between the two nations for the first time in years.

“The core idea is that the students will develop cultural competency that includes learning how to decipher the culture you are visiting and interact with the people and institutions respectfully,” Dean, Social Science/Creative Arts Division, Donna Bestock said.

The trip is expected to be a spectacular opportunity to travel and to be educated by the different aspects of the culture. The itinerary has been customized by Ulloa to meet his specifications. It will include two visits every day to different sites such as museums and studios. Also every day there’s a bus tour followed by group discussions and journaling about the day. After the discussions you have the option to roam around and explore. It’s advised to travel in pairs or groups, but not by yourself.

“I have personally as a student benefitted from my study abroad to Cuba and as much as I can pass along to our own students and facilitate I think that students can certainly benefit from my specialty area. It was the focus of my graduate studies in history and in cultural anthropology,” said Ulloa.

It is offered at Skyline as a three unit course that you can enroll in once registration opens for summer courses. The cost of a three unit course is approximately $138 and the rest of the trip costs $3,900. A three unit course has a total of 48 hours. The trip is the lab portion of the course and there will be 16 hours of class time. This class time will be filled with demanding work in order to prepare for the discovery of the cultural differences.

“There is always great value in experiencing another culture,” Ulloa said, “One, we get a better understanding of how other people live their lives, on the flip side we get a better sense of our own selves because when you experience another culture besides the one you’re born into your own cultural deck is going to get shuffled.”

There are two meals and bottled water provided daily. Always breakfast and sometimes lunch or dinner. So stock up on snacks and bring a little extra pocket change for your third meal of the day.

Roundtrip airfare is included in the total cost. Also double occupancy at a three star hotel is included. However if you want to room by yourself, single occupancy is available for an extra $350.

Student, Rebecca Chilldree, shows curiosity in the program because, “it’s outside of the United States and the borders have been closed for so long, so I’m interested in the culture, the music, and the food.”

Get in touch with Ulloa about the little things you will need. If money is an issue you can talk to Skyline’s director of financial aid, Regina Morrison, because she is working with students individually to see if they can come up with any solutions. The first deposit of $300 is due on April 15 so if you’re interested do not hesitate to contact Ulloa.

“On a deeper level, I want students to experience Cuba before it completely changes over because right now we are on the cusp of great change especially with the political leadership there,” Ulloa said.