September XX, 2015

To: Fellow Kellogg Alum
From: Evelyn Hu-DeHart, Group V

Dear Fellow Fellows:

I am delighted to be asked by Marta Lee to take a group of Kellogg Fellows to visit Cuba next summer, July 2016. I have been going to Cuba since the late eighties—I’d like to say “before the Soviet, during the Soviets, after the Soviets”—and I just returned from spending 8 months in Havana directing an American study abroad program. Now, with the Chinese poised to invest heavily in Cuba, and the United States finally acknowledged that the long embargo had failed to isolate Cuba from the world, Cuba has reached another moment of transition. An ailing Fidel has stepped aside in favor of his younger brother Raúl, who is making plans for the transition of power to the next generation. This is a good time to visit Cuba and to witness, hear and feel some of the changes that the country and the Cuban people are experiencing.

We will do some sightseeing of course—beginning with the magnificent colonial Old Havana—jewel of the Caribbean—and ending in Santiago, Cuba’s Caribbean city in Oriente (Eastern province); in between, we will visit Santa Clara and Trinidad in the heart of the sugar economy. In Havana, we will have in-depth discussions about Health, Education and Politics with doctors, educators and journalists. We will be introduced to Cuban culture and religions along the way, visit an ecological site to learn about environmental issues, and an old sugar plantation to discuss changes in agriculture. Of course, we will eat in some interesting places and spend a little time on Cuba’s beautiful beaches. And we won’t forget to pick up some Cuban rum and cigars!

Regards,
Evelyn Hu-DeHart, Group V