From Tropical Sea Breeze to Crisp Winter Air.

Cuba was, as predicted, amazing.  There were a few culture shocks of course, but overall I fell in love with the beautiful people (so warm, so friendly and so extremely resourceful) and the rhythms.  It helped that I pretty much lived in a summer dress and that my skin and hair lapped up the humidity and perfect weather (28C with ocean breezes).  I will have to go again.  I wasn't able to visit any museums or buy any art on this trip, but I was able to interact with locals and eat amazing local food (anyone that's complained about bland Cuban food to me may have eaten at more 'touristy' places').  I am happy to say that I danced my ass off!  Morning and night :)  We got to be part of a music video for a famous Cuban salsa star and we got to see him and his band in concert as well as another famous salsa band.  Unreal!  I didn't sleep very much on the trip.

Now I am paying the price with my 2nd sick day off from work.  I will definitely go into the office tomorrow though ... there is nothing like spending the day in bed to energize the body. 

Also as predicted, I did come back a little different.  I feel like life could be so much more natural and simple.  I ate and drank (Cuban rummmmm) quite a bit on the trip, but I can still fit into my clothes.  I think we need to pump less processed food into our bodies.  Less processing, period.  We need to sing and dance more.  Cuban men can be quite the manly types but if they feel like breaking into song and dance, they do it on a whim ... and it's harmonious and gorgeous.  Here it's more like drunken Canadians yelling and stumbling around at the bar every now and then - heh.  I do understand that I may have had an unfair bias - I was fortunate to be constantly around a group of male dancers/performers :)

I know, I can't stop gushing about the trip.  The trip has made me appreciate Canada more as well.  I have a job that provides enough for me to live on my own and travel.  Infidelity is not as common (publicly anyway).  People never hear of shortages here (it's a good and bad thing).  But maybe all this abundance and comfortable ease leaves us less resourceful and less imaginative .... just a thought.  It definitely leaves us less ... slender ;)

When I go back, my Spanish will hopefully be better.  It's amazing what you can accomplish with a smile and the ability to salsa though :) 

Mind Farts
 -read Cutting for Stone based on a girlfriend's recommendation.  lovely read that sucks you into Ethiopia and Immigrant US using a plot line that branches out from the result of a union between an Indian nun nurse and a British surgeon: brilliant twin boys
-took Immodium for the first time on the trip (brought some digestion meds with me based on travel reviews and recommendations) and what a little Godsend!
-thinking of caving and getting a tablet.  i love love love my Kobo Touch, but it's not able to read bigger PDF files.  should i bite the bullet and pay for an iPad?  or will it be too bulky as a portable reader?  iPad Mini?  Google Nexus 7 maybe (seems like way more bang for your buck - 1GB RAM and 32GB storage for under 300 bucks)?  i'm just worried about the PDF rendering (my main purpose after all).  gotta do my research

It's a Sign.

I don't normally buy mags, but I picked this one up :)