Cuba Reflective Essay

By participating in this amazing experience, I want to broaden my horizons and explore a new culture. Since I was very young, I have been able to enrich my life through travel and multiculturalism. With my parents, I have visited several South American, North American and European cities, which has allowed me to gain a broad international perspective. When traveling, I always aim to immerse myself in the cultures I visit in order to further my knowledge, explore exotic places, and discover diverse points of view. Because of this, I am looking forward to closely relating with Cubans by and sharing a home and many meals with a native family, in order to experiencing life and reality from their point of view. Furthermore, I am an Architecture
Although Fidel Castro had not been as politically active since 2006, he is still very revered by certain sectors of the population and his passing does represent a void. Moreover, the recent election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States might cause turmoil in the country’s relationship with Cuba due to the foreign policy statements he made during his campaign, going as far as to say, regarding Castro’s death, that he had been a brutal, murderous and oppressive dictator. These two developments make this time an especially interesting period to study Cuba and the way in which its artists might express these issues in relation to Raul Castro’s political measures, which had been increasing personal freedoms, private enterprise and relations with the USA throughout the last decade, in their work. Furthermore, by taking this class, my goal is to experience and analyze the different customs, environments and structures that interplay in the historical and contemporary Cuba, and through these gain a wider perspective of my future roles as an Architect and Art
However, sending me on this trip would be very difficult for my family without some financial assistance. This is due to the fact that in the last 2 years the USA Dollar to Colombian Peso conversion has increased astronomically with little to no forewarning, making monetary expenses in dollars, such schooling, a lot costlier. Thus, I would be extremely grateful if the Art History Department could provide me with one of their sponsored travel fellowships. I am an Art History major, and my double major in Architecture is complementary to this, meaning that the scholarship will be an investment to the furthering of these careers. Moreover, both of these would be greatly enriched by this travel and learning experience. I would greatly appreciate it if I could be assisted by the Art History Department on this endeavor, I look forward to hearing back from