Cuba with Love

Unlimited food, unlimited drinks, both alcoholic and non. Sunshine that burns, and pretty much a time in your life where you have people to treat you like kings and queens.

I have always had a very strong opinion towards all-inclusive vacation trips. I have promised myself, that I will only buy a package like such when the need arises. That need being when I am old enough to not be able to carry a heavy backpack, or there's a milestone in a friend/family's life that we needed to celebrate with a drink or a thousand.

One of my cousins is getting married next year(congrats Sam and Ed!) and a part of her pre-wedding last hurrah is a trip to Cuba with our closest friends. We stayed in an all-inclusive resort in Varadero, Cuba where we spent most of our time within its blue waters and fancy marbled gates. We got stuffed by food cooked and served by nice locals; we bought tour packages which includes, swimming with dolphins(which I highly recommend only if doing with a large group of people that you know), and city and snorkeling tours; we spent our nights getting drunk with infinite local alcohol; and we slept in suites where our bed was already made by housekeepers.

I must say, I never thought that I would have so much fun in an all-inclusive resort at this point in my life. I have had the pleasure of travelling nine countries before where I got to see cultures and paid my accommodations per night This trip to Cuba is just something different. I have said many times that travel could be from a simple walk to the park or a plane ride. Travel is a matter of learning from a journey where our hearts and minds end up feeling fulfilled. Travel is an experience where we go home feeling exhausted because of our sleepless nights thinking about what we have learned throughout that day, planning our next destination, or simply observing our surroundings in order to get comfortable in the foreign land we were currently exploring. Travel is cruising smoothly in airports, packing lightly and smart. It is going in a place with an open mind, alone and eventually meet people you already knew, came with, or will be knowing.

I went on this trip thinking I am going on a vacation, I ended up leaving Cuba and going home feeling that I have traveled. I felt exhausted from the laughs I shared with close friends. From all the info I have taken from the tours we all went together to. From the hangovers. To exhausting our wallets giving tips to resort employees. To dancing endlessly. To watching colourful Cuban shows. I could not enumerate them all because experiencing it is just something different. No words will be able to express what we all felt and shared.

My point is, travelling is different from a vacation. You are not wandering if you stay inside a hotel. You are not travelling if you complain that your drink is too sweet, or your bed is not soft enough. You are not travelling if you complain at all. A huge part of travelling is still feeling joyful although you are more than experiencing anything different. Please see the difference.

Until the next travel adventures with these people. Thanks for making this trip a traveling one instead of a vacation.

Much love. <3 p="">

Come with me.

It doesn't have to be your 5th time on a plane, you can just hold my hand, or I'll make sure you're comfortable.

You don't have to know what to say to that taxi driver, we would rather take the bus and get lost together.

Your funds need not to be millions, as I'm sure we'd be sharing treasures.

That hostel bed need not be soft, as long as I know when I wake up you'd be there. 

We will sleep till 10:00 AM some days, but greet the early mornings the other. 

For this is when we can witness the quietness of a sunrise, combined with the busy hustle of a morning market. 

We also need to catch that bus that will take us to paradise.

Your shoulders need to be strong because we'd be carrying our house. 

Your arms will also serve as your bungee cords just in case we needed to hang outside that chicken bus. 

I will give you that seat when one becomes vacant. 

Just please don't vomit. I know the smell is foul, but I swear, our destination will be worth it. 

Don't look at me with disgust when our bus takes another route and takes us somewhere else.

For when you are frustrated, I'll just smile at you and give you a big sweaty hug. 

At this point we needed to be smart and use our bargaining skills and hail a cab. 

We still need to get to that paradise we were intending to see. 

You stop a taxi, and I look at you and can't help but admire your efforts. 

Efforts of speaking a language you only knew a few words of. 

You definitely tried to communicate, but your broken words just won't work. 

You catch me staring at you and gets mad a little because you think I'm having fun seeing you struggle. 

I get inside that cab, unsure if you even got anything settled with the driver. 

I don't care because for some reason, with you, I always feel safe. 

Our taxi driver drops us off in a nowhere land and told us it's the start of the paradise we want to see.

We get off and you pay for the ride. You're just better with finances, really. 

We start to hike. A four hour hike.

Halfway through, we see a small hut that sells fresh coconuts.

Your self-confidence convinces me not to buy one. 

You told me you'd rather climb the infinite number of coconut trees and get the fruit yourself.

Your energy excites me. 

From one feet above the ground, to gathering tourists around your tree.

You got off that tree, got close to me, and gave me my own fruit.

The cheesy-ness does not stop there. 

You went to your wallet and got a few bucks and paid the small hut. 

My insides are screaming and at that point I am so convinced you're a dream.

We continue our hike and we stop to take pictures whenever there's a good view.

A few hours later, we reach nowhere land. 

We see nothing but each other, the white sand, the sunset, and the sound of waves cleaning our tired feet. 

We set camp. Eat the boiled eggs we packed and the canned tuna we set aside.

We go for a swim using goggles you brought yourself.

I can't help but focus my waterproof camera on you. 

The night goes by and again we didn't have the softest bed. 

I need you to be ok with uncertainty. 

For with this we will reach places where wheels wouldn't even turn.

I need you to be fearless. 

For with this we will both experience unimaginable things.

I need you to be giving. 

For with this, we will change the world. 

Or you can scrap everything.

I just need you to have an open mind. 

For with this, we will both conquer. 

I just need you. 

Come with me. 

Much love. <3 div="">

Allez-vous passer la nuit?

A couple of thoughts on timely things...

**
On learning a different language.

The explore program ended last Saturday and although it's not in a different country, I still met very different people, in a very different place, learning a very different language. Yes people, contrary to what other people say, French is actually a very hard language to learn and speak. I already spoke Spanish going to this program and I must say, it definitely gave me a nosebleed. The grammatical pattern is probably the easiest to learn but pronunciation makes up for it. Boil your tongue for you to be able to pronounce the R perfectly, and the S silently.

As for vocabulary, things would not be very similar in English or in Spanish too. Left, right, isquierda, derecha, gauche, droit, kaliwa, kanan. Definitely not similar to each other. But gladly, I was definitely successful in learning my fourth language. I would be able to understand you if you speak slowly and maybe if I am equipped with a pocket dictionary, we should just be able to communicate.

**
On the Explore experience.

I went to Sherbrooke with one of my closest friends, Marie, with a couple of expectations. One is to definitely meet new people, two is to learn French, and three have fun away from home. Guess what? We lived it up.

We acted like grade 9-rs excited to smoke their first puff of weed. We went out almost every night while still participating in the social activities the next morning. Although very tiring, the experience was rather uplifting.

**
On see you later.

I have met a lot of people from my 20+ years of existence and I cannot help but get excited to meet some more. Through the explore program, I spent five weeks of ups and downs with people I could have never imagined I would meet. Everyone is caught up in their own drama, add the fact that we are all struggling to learn French and it will all sum up to one crazy hell of an experience. But as every journey, no matter how fun it is, we always had to say see you later. I am never sad it is over, I am always glad it happened.

Through those five weeks, I have learned so much from everyone and I hope everyone learned a little from me too. Never goodbyes, just always see you laters.

**
On getting stuck on airports.

Yea. I was such an amateur traveler on my way back to Winnipeg. I booked my flight two days before and I missed the flight right on the day. On my way passing to the security, I even left my laptop inside my bag. YUCK. So I had to spend the night in Montreal because I missed my flight. Luckily, I had a few friends to offer me their place but I was just too tired. My flight the next day was  at 6 am, and I am broke as the Titanic so I just decided to stay at the airport. Thanks really though! I am glad I got friends all over Canada ready to help.

**
On job search.

It's fucking hard.

**
On reuniting with the family.

<3 p="">
**
Meanwhile, a video a group of students from EEF worked hard for.

Nuff said.

Much love. 

Dear Justin From a Month Ago, from Justin today

Below is a letter I wrote myself from a month ago before I traveled.

Hey Jus,

I just wanted to let you know that you are going to have so much fun. Read this letter for when you are back home when you had to deal with a moment of post-travel depression. Empty? Alone although surrounded by people who you want to be around with? Yea. You have been through that a couple of times already it always won't be a great feeling, but hey, think about it, today you are feeling jitters and scared. What's going to happen? Are you going to meet nice people? Sit down by the beach all day long? Get food poisoned? Bungee jump and die? Thoughts that made you go on this trip on the first place. Pick it up. I am pretty sure you had loads of fun. Learned so much. Laughed and lived. I am pretty sure you also loved at some point, you fast-to-fall-in-love you. Anyhow, I just wanted to let you know that we will always have each other. Thanks for making me better everyday. Thanks for waking up every morning with the thought that you are going to help someone today. And thanks for being yourself. Never be scared. Together, we will conquer. Love you.

Jus.
April 29, 2014

Below is a response to myself a month ago.

Hey Jus,

Thanks for the letter. It is always nice to hear something from the past. You are right, I am feeling a little bit of an empty feeling. Just a little bit though. Because the way I look at it is that I should never be sad that it is over. I think I should be more than gratified that it happened. The trip was beyond amazing. Went to all the four countries that I was intending to go to. Riding chicken buses, getting soaked in the rain, getting burnt from beaches, bungee jumping! Meeting new people and all other cool stuff. But these could never be that amazing without all the people that I met. So let's both give them all some credit.

Thanks to the people who adopted me in Medellin.
Thanks to Flo and Sus for reminiscing Mexico with me.
Thanks to the Canadians in Cartagena.
Thanks to peeps from the San Blas Adventure from Colombia to Panama.
Thanks to Aqua Lounge.
Thanks to the Americans who shared a special bungee moment with me.
Thanks to Extremo tours for keeping me alive while I jumped.
Thanks to that girl who lend me money so I can cross the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border.
Thanks to everyone who took my pictures.
Thanks to the bus companies for helping me cross borders to borders.
Thanks to Marie for making Nicaragua better, and for keeping secrets. ;)
Thanks to all the random peeps that I laughed at.
Thanks to the people I forgot to mention on this letter for understanding that I have a memory of a fish.
And mostly, thanks to Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua for being beautiful. I also apologize for whatever damage I caused from my visit. I swear I tried so hard to keep you beautiful.

As for my future self, we need to be fiercer for those battles we pick. We need to laugh harder for those funny times. We need to get more courage, for those times when you see someone good looking. You really need to grow some balls and tell those strangers how good looking they are. You also need to widen your appetite to try all the food you could ever try. Your alcohol tolerance needs improvement too. It's getting there but it could always get better! Anyways, this list is getting cheesy.

Love you.

Jus.
June 6, 2014

I am home and in a few days I am bound to start another adventure in a new city.
I am almost broke but que sera sera. #yolo

Tengo tu lov, Sie7e

Much love.

The Post Exchange Depression

First off, happy Canada day to the Canadians, aspiring Canadians and will be Canadians.

Today we celebrate thy sons of the glorious and free, whoever we or they are. 

It took me a month to gather my thoughts from my exchange in Mexico.

I still cannot help but compare the beauty of this Latin American country although I live quite comfortably here at my base.

In Mexico, people are nicer, warm and more friendly.

Time is of the essence but no one is hardcore mad if you're late 10 minutes.

People knows how to have fun, other than drinking and getting drunk on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

The balance of life just flows. 

Mexico's economic  progress may not be as quick and as grand as Canada's.

But Mexico's people are happier.

I am most likely biased because I was on an exchange.

I was not able to see everything.

Apart from the fact that I spent most of my time w/ other international students and Mexicans who can speak English.

Facts from above makes me miss the country so much more.

For the past month, I have been depressed from reminiscing all the things that happened in Mexico.

I miss it so much and I cant help but think about it every single moment.

I miss the people the I met, the places that I have been, food that I have tasted and moments that I have shared.

I cannot help but do this.

I think it would take me at least until the next travel I do to cope up with this depression.

But until then I need to make some remedies so I do not really have to be sad until I leave again.

I dive myself into work.

I have never told this into this blog but this year, I am busy and will be busy with 4 positions with our school's students association

Add my job as a telephone answering service and recently a grader/marker for one of my classes that I took before.

It's fulfilling since I think that the answer to this depression is attention.

I crave for attention.

I feel like to overcome this feeling I need to top it off with something greater.

So talk to me.

It doesnt have to be about my exchange, just anything.

I wish I can move countries now. 

I dont really want to stay here.

The beauty and feeling of liberty.

It changed me a WHOLE LOT.

Much Love.