This past June Hannah Joseph, 28, a high school Spanish teacher with Hoover City Schools in Hoover, Alabama ventured to Cuba for an eight day excursion with travelers from around America, myself included. With the hope of bringing school supplies to a once very mysterious land, she credited her career as to what made her choose the long awaited entry into Cuba. Settling on bringing a Polaroid to capture her adventure in action, Joseph was determined to make a positive impact.

On June 4th 2019 The Trump Administration imposed stricter regulations on U.S. travel to Cuba making travel seem unlikely for Joseph, however the young schoolteacher was grandfathered in as the tour had already been paid for before the new restrictions went into effect.  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement that, “[Cuba was] playing a destabilizing role in the Western Hemisphere, providing a communist foothold in the region and propping up US adversaries…” As a result the group people-to-people educational travel visa that she traveled under is no longer available to U.S. tourists.  To learn more about the visa requirements to travel to Cuba visit The U.S. Embassy in Cuba.

Postcards From the Road is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Hill.  Our Theme music is Cherry Blossom Wonders by Kevin MacLeod. As always if you like what you hear subscribe on your audio app of choice.  If you would like to share your travel story with WAMC email us, at [email protected]