- read Three Trapped Tigers by Guillermo Cabrera Infante
- read Fidel: A Critical Portrait by Tad Szulc
- read Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life and all the articles you can find by Jon Lee Anderson
- read Trading With the Enemy by Tom Miller
- watch the films Balseros, Strawberry & Chocolate, and Before Night Falls
- brush up on Cuba's Revolutionary history
- learn at least some basic steps of salsa and rumba
- learn to play dominoes
- contact Pastor's for Peace or Global Exchange about transporting medical supplies
- pack Spandex, tube tops, toilet paper, soap, protein-fortified snacks, and Vitamins

While You're There:

- catch a baseball game
- stay in a casa particular (a room in a family home)
- eat in a paladar (a restaurant in someone's living room)
- dance at a rumba club
- flirt shamelessly
- attend a political rally
- stroll along the Malecon
- catch a hip-hop show, especially during the Annual Cuban Rap Festival in August
- play dominoes on someone's stoop
- smoke a Cohiba
- ride around in a '32 De Soto
- drink a mojito and a daquiri

Don't Forget To Visit:

- Salvador Gonzalez Escalona's studio at Hamel No. 1054, e/ Aramburo y Hospital en Centro Habana, especially on a Sunday afternoon
- Coppelia's ice cream parlor
- Museo de la Revolucion
- The University of Havana
- Cementerio de Colon, a world renowned cemetery

You'll Know You're Catching On When You:

- wear Spandex and tube tops, regardless of your body size
- have an extensive conversation about Fidel without ever saying his name
- find yourself whistling, calling out, or responding to sexy passersby
- find yourself in line at a posada, or love motel
- your hips swivel instinctively to music
- dance even when there's no music
- can cook with no ingredients
- can fix anything with nothing
- crack jokes about misfortune
- always manage to have a good time
- resolutely declare that Cuban music is superior to any other culture's in the world

Once You Return:

- write a letter to your congressional representatives demanding that they push to end the trade embargo