Theres probably no starker contrast between the two cultures of Japan and Cuba.

efforts to back the unpopular Batista and later to assassinate Fidel Castro.Obama is revered in this country for easing regulations on American tourism in 2016.

the restrictions on tourism that were lifted by Obama in 2016 were reinstated in 2021 for seemingly incomprehensible reasons.Streets overflow with pulsating music.Understanding one another better became the best holiday gift of all.

we were immediately startled (and saddened) by the mounds of trash everywhere.Cuba entered periods of upheaval.

and that our belongings were safer in Havana than in Miami.

I never felt threatened or afraid of being mugged.I will miss him greatly and continue to draw inspiration from all that he did and all that he was.

illness and mortality — could look like.Gregory Lockwood; and grandchildren.

as one of thousands of picture brides who came to marry men they had never met.One of the founders and first staff members of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and assistant director of the Center for Social Action at USC.