Cubans Meet US Semester at Sea before Arrival in Havana

Havana, Cuba, Nov 21.- Two Cuban University professors and a student are traveling to Bridgetown, Barbados, to meet with the over 650 participants at the Semester at Sea Academic Program, which will arrive in Havana onboard the MV Explorer Cruise Ship on November 29.

Professors Dacheri Lopez, vice-director of International Relations at the University of Havana, along Raul Rodriguez, vice-director of the University’s Center for Hemispheric Studies and student Willy Pedroso will be sharing with the travelers about Cuban culture and reality, as well as issues related to US-Cuba relations as they head for Cuban waters over the next eight days.

Semester at Sea, sponsored by the University of Virginia, is back to Cuba for the second occasion after the academic visits were resumed in December 2013 after nine years of absence due to the travel restrictions imposed on Cuba by the George W. Bush administration.

Havana will be the last stop of the program, which visited 16 countries. Participants include 624 students and 42 professors from 248 universities representing the 50 states of the Union plus Puerto Rico.

Cuba was included in the itinerary of Semester at Sea in 1999 with 10 visits taking place up to 2004. During seven of those visits to Havana the students met with Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro.(ACN).