what do you want to be?

In an earlier post, a couple months ago maybe, I made a comment about how I am determined to be successful, to live the life of freedom that I desire, and to drag as many people along with me as I can - especially my family! That is why I will continue to promote good ideas, books, programs and so on that I come across... Like this one...

Site Build It!
I've already talked about it, and about the website I started a few months ago, and the one Jon and I are starting now. I've mentioned things about it to various individuals who I think could greatly benefit from it as well, but I'm here to share some more about it.

We sat down today to continue through the program - we are currently working on Day 4, which is researching ways to monetize our site them - and I got reading through some of the case studies, stories of people who have done it, and are doing it. Every day people like you and me.

These people are doing what they love. Take this gal who was stuck in a job that she hated, and now does what she loves, building websites about topics that she is passionate about, and working on her own terms!

Or there is this gentleman, 61 and retired, a writer who found out it was next to impossible to get published because he wasn't well-known, and very difficult to get well-known without lots of money and connections. So he started building websites, writing about his chosen topics, getting better known, and then publishing his own book.

Or Judd, a 24 year old who has also changed his life around completely.

And the stories go on and on. 62% of Site Sell sites are in the top 3% of all websites on the internet - Site Build It! really works!

paradise is within reach

No, I'm not talking about some spiritual nirvana or heaven. If that's what you're waiting for, then power to ya, but I'm looking for my paradise here and now. How does an island in the Caribbean sound?

All of my life I've thought that there must be a better way than the get a good job, pay your bills, save some money, raise a family, and live somewhere that gets cold. I was never able to settle into a regular job, because I had this longing inside me and an itch that said there was something more, something better, something that would allow me to be free. The internet seemed like a logical place, since you can access it from anywhere in the world, so I started looking there. That was when I got into web design, and eventually turned it into a business. But even that is just too much busy work, too much customer service, too much time. How can I travel and see the world and have time for hobbies and adventures that I love and am passionate about, when I have to spend time designing websites, updating websites - and for other people? I'm not passionate about designing websites for people, so I can't do it just because I love it. While it is a good in between option, it's still not quite what I'm looking for, and so I continue to be driven to find something more. Always more.

I've investigated various work from home schemes, as well as some great looking affiliate or internet marketing programs. There is so much hype with the internet marketing and affiliate marketing, though, that it is easy to get lost in the information overload - and getting lost is not where I want to be!

Then we stumbled across a little tutorial called the Master Affiliate Program - I've mentioned it before (see website ventures, part 1). The whole program is about building a quality website, based on a particular theme (niche), that provides valuable content to your visitors. The very last step in the process is to monetize, to add things to your website that bring you money. But this is the last thing you focus on, because the whole point is to deliver value and to presell your visitor, to become a trusted friend who they then want to buy from. I loved the concept! I loved the WIN-WIN-WIN of it all. I don't want to make loads of money off of people who then feel scammed or ripped off. I would much rather OVER-deliver and provide tons of valuable information, and quality products and opportunities, so that they feel like they got far more than their money's worth from me.

So I started a site, using just this simple tutorial as a guide. Romantic Couples Games was born and has continued to grow to this day. It wasn't perfect - there were places in the tutorial that I didn't go into a thoroughly as I could have, but the site was still born, and has gotten a handful of visitors to click through and purchase, not to mention the ones who spend large amounts of time just browsing and enjoying the information!

Around the same time, Jon signed up for the more intensive program. But we didn't do anything with that. I kinda worked on my site, but we didn't try to take it any further or do anything together on a bigger scale.

Then Cuba happened, and we came back and started asking ourselves, "Why are we living here? Why are we staying where it gets so damn cold?" He started asking himself why he was putting up with the things that drive him crazy in his business, as well. And so we started to dig into the program again. The whole program is called Site Build It!, and the full program is around $300 for the year and includes a large array of tools - literally everything you need to build your site, including tools for doing email newsletters, blogging, forums - you name it! It also has a great forum for SBI!ers to help each other out, so that the ones who are more advanced can help those who are having problems with just starting.

SBI! also has a great brainstorming tool so help you do your keyword research. You see, the whole idea of building a theme-based site with great content is not just to provide a great site for your visitors, but also to attract the search engines and be able to rank well in them. This comes by having a site that is connected and all on the same theme, and uses good keywords. So they have a tool to help you do your keyword research that tells you how the demand is for that keyword, how many sites are already using that keyword, etc. And the tutorial walks you through the whole process, step by little step.

So we started getting into the more intensive tutorial. The basics were the same as the one I had done before, just with a little more detail. We brainstormed some topics that we were each interested in - I'm doing more research for my romantic / sexy games theme - and then we decided to pick one that we were both interested in and to research it and develop it together. And so our website has begun! We are still in the keyword research stage - last night we started a blueprint of the actual site structure and the sub-topics and such. And we have our unique site "spin" as well. You always want your own unique spin, something to give it character, make it unique and fun.

So all of that to say that I think I have finally found something that will really work - and I have something that gets me excited enough to get up in the morning!

The guy who started Site Build It! now lives in Anguilla, in the Caribbean, with his whole family. He is my hero - well, one of them! So as we started into this tutorial, started finding out more about his story, and how he moved his family to Anquilla in the last year or so, and as we were reminscing about Cuba and disliking the cold, we started to talk about moving somewhere tropical ourselves. So just for fun we started looking at maps of the Caribbean, looking for interesting islands that might be nice to live on.

Then I came home from work the other day and Jon was all excited about Dominica (or the Commonwealth of Dominica). He had spotted it when looking at a map or something and had googled it to find out more about it. I looked it up when he mentioned it, and I think I've fallen in love! I haven't even been there yet, but I think there is a very good chance that we have found our paradise!

Dominica is in the eastern Caribbean. It is a small island, about 70,000 people, 300 square miles. It is volcanic based, with a few sandy beaches. Lots of tropical rainforest, tons of fresh water lakes and rivers, and a large amount of mammal wildlife. It is nicknamed the Nature Isle of the Caribbean. The pictures we have seen are absolutely beautiful. Lush and green, scenic, adventurous. There are lots of outdoorsy things to do on the island. Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Dead Man's Chest, was filmed partly on Dominica. Remember the island scenario, with the canibals and Jack Sparrow has to escape? Yep, that was Dominica! They say it is so unspoiled that if Captain Cooke came back it is one of the only places he would still recognize.

Yep, sounds like my paradise! For the first time in my life, I think I am really beginning to really believe that it is reachable, as well. And not just for me - for anyone. If you want something bad enough that you are willing to do whatever it will take to get it, then you will have what you want. Our paradise island has become our goal, and we have found a strategy to help us acheive that goal.

Yes, I have found a passion, an excitement, a dream and a goal to work for, that gives me that boost to get out of bed in the morning. My paradise is within reach - and yours is too!

work at home scams

I was forwarded this article by a friend and wanted to post it here. Since I talk about making money online so much, I also wanted to balance that out with some very practical tips on how to spot scams. There are tons of them out there - I see them all the time, and I admit, I have fallen for a couple (thankfully nothing too serious). So please be careful, do your research and don't fall for anything shady! Click the link below to read the article.

How to Spot Work-at-Home Scams

powerful or helpless - the choice is yours!

As I was journaling this morning, I was struck by the simplicity of this truth. In my particular instance, I was writing about relationship issues. Up to this point, I have had a tendency to see things in a relationship that I'm not satisfied with, areas where I'm not getting what I want or need, and then blame the other person - at least in mind, sometimes indirectly to them as well. I look at it as their responsibility to give me what I want and need.

Do you see the problem with this? I stumbled upon it this morning, although I've almost got it before. Whether I am going to be powerful or whether I am going to be helpless, the choice is mine to make! Let me explain a bit further, using the relationship example.

If I am not happy or satisfied with something in a relationship, and am just not feeling like I'm getting what I need or want, my first inclination is to blame the other person. I might try and do this constructively and talk to them about it, wording it in a way that hopefully doesn't make them feel blamed. I might try to talk it through, try to get them to see where I'm coming from, and then hope that they will take it to heart and change. If they don't, I may end up just leaving because it isn't "working out", or staying but feeling unhappy and unsatisfied. If they do change, the change won't necessarily last, and there will likely be something else that comes up eventually and we have to go through the whole process again. Throughout it all, I feel at least a little bit like a victim, helpless, like there is nothing I can do to change this or them.

Let's twist that whole scenario around and look at it from a completely different angle - the angle of power! I see something in the relationship that I am not satisfied with, an area where I feel I am not getting what I want or need. This time, instead of blaming the other person, I start to look at myself. Am I being the kind of person that attracts or draws that kind of quality from another person in a relationship? Apparently not if I'm not getting it! You see, relationships are two-way streets. We give and we take, we respond and we react to each other. He is responding to who I am, what I do, what I say, etc. If I look at the response I'm getting, which isn't what I want, then I know that there is something I am doing (or not doing) that is getting that response.

Ultimately, I have the power to choose what kind of person I will be, and what kind of partner I will be. When I look at it from a point of view that says the other person is responding to who I am and what I'm doing, then that puts the power back in my hands. I can then examine myself, my actions, my motives, my thoughts, etc. and see if they line up with the kind of person that would elicit the kind of response I want. Am I the kind of woman that attracts cherishing and desiring in men? Am I the kind of person that attracts understanding and sympathy? Am I the kind of person that attracts sensuality and romance?

When I look at myself in this light I can then see the areas that are lacking. I can see how my attitudes, my thoughts, my actions do not necessarily line up with the response I am wanting. I then know what to work on! I may want to working on learning to be sensual and sexy, or understanding and caring. I may want to work on being more soft, feminine and "weak" to attract more cherishing and care.

These qualities are things that I work on in me and for me. Learning to be more sexy and sensual is something that starts inside, with learning to love myself, to enjoy myself and everything around me, to be in the moment and truly experiencing life with a wonder and passion. Learning to be more understanding and caring starts inside as well, with learning to be more understanding with myself, more patient with myself. Once it has started inside, it will then start to reflect on the outside to those around me.

The beauty of this is not only that I have the power, but it is also something that will affect other areas of my life, and that will be with me for years to come. It's not something I change here and now for this relationship and that's it, rather these are qualities that will serve me for the rest of my life, no matter who I am with, where I go, or what I do. Sure, it may make things really great in the relationship I am in now, but it will also cause me to attract the kind of people with these qualities from now on as well.

This isn't to say that I shouldn't talk to the other person, share my feelings and concerns. And it isn't to say that just changing these qualities in myself will change everything in my relationship either. I may find that once I develop these things in myself, there is no longer the attraction in the relationship at all. We may not be compatible at all. Or the other person may have their own issues to address and deal with. There is always the human factor involved when there is more than just me. But I will now have the character, the confidence, the qualities needed to move on and continue to develop my life the way I want. I will continue to attract those things that are in line with who I am.

And I may find that changing these things in myself takes the relationship to a whole new level, where I have the confidence to be who I am, and they respond with the confidence to be who they are, where we are sexy and sensual, romantic and cherishing, understanding and caring - reflecting that and attracting it.

So this is the journey I am starting on today. I choose to be powerful in my own life. I choose to stop being helpless and blaming others for my unhappiness and dis-satisfaction. I am beginning a journey of self-discovery, self-development, where I will learn to truly be and love me, and develop the confidence to be who I want at all times, attracting those qualities in other people around me as well.

Remember, you attract whatever you focus on. Are you focusing on power or helplessness today?

the lure of sleep

How does one resist the lure of sleep? This is something I am struggling to figure out. It doesn't matter what time I get to bed, or how much sleep I get during the night, it is still painful to get myself up at a decent hour! I want to be up at 6am every morning - at least during the week - but when 6am rolls around, that desire is completely gone. I could force myself to get up, but why bother? It's too painful.

Do I need to have something exciting to get up for? I wonder if that would help... Is the problem that I'm not sleep well enough at night so I'm not actually well-rested? I could believe this one, because I toss and turn so much, and rarely feel like I sleep soundly - but it's not like I have a hard time staying away during the day either.

It's a puzzle for me. I determine to start getting up earlier, and I might manage it for one day, but I soon slip back to 7:30, 8, 8:30, etc. I know, I know, it's not all that late, but it bugs me. It feels late to me.

I always feel better during the day when I get up earlier. I feel like I accomplish more, have a better attitude, and by evening I am well-tired and ready for bed. It's a good feeling! But that getting up part is frickin hard. I want to know why!

What is it about being unconscious - sleep - that is so damn appealing? Why do I prefer to lay there, not doing anything, often experiencing weird or disturbing dreams, than to get up and experience real life? Is it a tiredness or rest issue, or is it something psychological, something in my subconscious brain?

Perhaps I need a reason to get up. It's not often that I actually have something to look forward to for that day. Maybe I need to find something that I really enjoy that I can do first thing in the morning, something that I can look forward to and really want to get up for. But I'm not sure what that would be! What can I get that excited about that it will literally drag me away from the comfort of my bed? I need to figure this out...

Jon gets up to go to the gym, and I admire him for that. Working out isn't something I enjoy enough to get me out of bed though. It needs to be something that I just can't wait to do, that I am so passionate about, and enjoy so much, that the first thought on my mind when I wake up is, "Oh boy, I get to [insert exciting thing here]!"

And so I am on the hunt for a passion, an exciting hobby, to get me out of bed in the morning...

farewell, patrick the star!

It's a sad day here. Our starfish, Patrick, has died. He's appeared sick for a while, and we got some tips on feeding him the other day so had hopes that he would start feeling better. Then last night we noticed he had been attacked. Brutally. We're not sure if it's the damn bristle worm that's hiding in there, or if it was the crabs, or a combination - but it wasn't pretty! One of his legs was pretty much detached, he had what looked like bites all on the underside of him, and one of his tentacles was missing the tip, which was lying on the bottom of the tank. I wanted to cry when I saw him because he just looked so bad!

We put him into a glass container, covered by a nylon stocking, so that he was completely separated from the rest of the critters, hoping that would give him a chance to recover. Not so. This morning he was all folded over on himself and looked like he was beginning to dissolve - so we had to flush him. It was a sad moment. Another of his tentacles was almost detached as well, so maybe it wasn't another creature that did it the first time. Who knows?

It's a very sad and puzzling situation. Poor Patrick. When we thought it was the worm, then there was a least a chance to dig it out of there and get rid of it, get some revenge. But now I'm not at all sure what it was that caused it. And I want revenge! Watching him die like that was not cool in the slightest...

But life goes on, at least for the rest of us. We'll do a good cleanout of the tank, see if we can at least find that worm and get rid of it, and eventually get another starfish. Hopefully, we'll have better luck next time!

cuba tales V - jeep safari

Pics can be viewed in my online gallery - Cuba Jeep Safari

We went on one day excursion during our week in Cuba - the Jeep Safari - and was it ever a great choice! We definitely got more out of it than what we paid for it, and I highly recommend this excursion if you visit Cuba!

The day started at 8am when our bus picked us up at the resort. We then headed into Varadero, stopping at several other resorts along the way to pick up others who were also going on the tour. Once in Varadero our bus dropped us off at the car rental place where the jeeps were waiting. They were little Suzuki convertible jeeps, 5-speed stick shift - my favorite!

There were four of us to a jeep. Jon and I ended up riding with a woman and her son, from London, Ontario. They were nice enough - though after a day of their chatter we breathed a bit of a sigh of relief when we finally said goodbye. Neither of them wanted to drive, so Jon and I shared that task for the day. Ahh, it was nice to drive a stick shift again! I've missed it!

Once we were in our jeeps and ready to go, our tour guide led the way, and we all followed, creating a little jeep caravan. We drove out through the backroads around Varadero - likely to avoid the toll road - and they were really backroads! Potholes galore. Little twists and turns. They led out through the countryside, through some teeny tiny villages and farmland. As we drove through the villages or by houses, the kids would often come running out to wave at us.

After a while of driving through these backroads we arrived at our first stop - snorkling! We had to wait a few minutes for the previous group to clear out, then we spent about an hour or so snorkling out along the reefs. It was absolutely beautiful! The variety and colors of fish were incredible. It was my first time snorkling, so it took some getting used to. I've never been terribly comfortable swimming, but the salt water makes it much easier. I was able to relax a bit and really enjoy it. And it's definitely something I want to do more of and get used to!

The only "bad" part about that stop was the local - a few young fellows - that crowded around when we arrived and when we went to leave, trying to sell us conch shells and starfish. Jon said it was the worst he's ever seen in Cuba, and I can believe it! They were annoying, and didn't take "no" for an answer!

After snorkling it was back to the jeeps and a drive down a paved highway to the next stop - a cave. And not just a cave, but a cave we could go swimming in! I expected it to be too cold, but it wasn't bad once we got in, and it was kinda neat to swim around in there a bit.

Our next stop was a farm way out in the countryside. It was quite a drive to get out there. And the roads were once again amazingly rough. The people who owned the farm fed us fresh coconut, sugar cane, bananas and other fruit, and opened up their house to let us walk through and see it. The way they live is incredibly simple - standards that we in North America just wouldn't put up with! They have very very few possessions, shutters but no windows, two beds for a family of 10, and the list goes on! This stop was a huge eye-opener.

Our next stop was after another hour of driving or so, when we stopped at a ranch for lunch. It was a typical Cuban meal, and it was delicious! They had horses at the farm, as well as paddle boats to go out on the artificial lake. We took a boat out for a few minutes, but the horses were so in demand that we decided not to bother with a horseback ride. We had about an hour at this stop, time to eat and relax for a bit. Then we were off again to our last stop of the day - a boat ride.

It was a river boat. They had drinks and lobster available to purchase on the ride. The ride itself was probably 30-45 minutes, and was a very nice time. The river was beautiful. A nice relaxing event after the long day!

After the boat ride it was back to return the jeeps - another 45 minute drive or so. It was dark by the time we finally got there, and everyone was dusty and ready to get cleaned up and rest. By the time the bus dropped us off back at our resort it was about 6:30pm. A long day, but well worth it!

Pics can be viewed in my online gallery - Cuba Jeep Safari

neighborliness

Have you ever watched That 70s Show? If you know me very well, you probably know how much I love that show. It's definitely one of my very favorites! I enjoy the humor, and the simplicity of life back then. I think I would have gotten along well in the 70s.

That being said, I was having lunch with Jon today and we got to talking about Cuba and differences between our culture here in North America and cultures like Cuba. The particular aspect that we got talking about was actually far more common in North America in the 70s, 80s and earlier - too early for my time really. That is the social and neighborly aspect.

In Cuba, not everyone has a TV, it's a luxury. The neighbors will all come over to watch the few channels that they can even get. Same with phones. They'll talk to relatives living in Miami and the whole family will gather at the house and take turns talking to them. It's a much more social culture. Our culture used to be like that. You watch That 70s Show, and they had a bar in their livingroom because they would entertain the neighbors, friends, or whoever, fairly often.

You don't see that really nowadays. Sure, we have our close friends over, people we know from church, maybe work, or other fairly close acquaintances, but to actually invite the neighbors, that we hardly know, over to our house is almost unheard of! We hardly know who our neighbors even are!

This isn't quite as bad in small towns, like my home town, but even there it is becoming more rare. People tend to stick to themselves, their circle of friends, and are far less trusting, far less friendly, far less open. I would say that our society is becoming more and more cold and cynical - even to our fellow countrymen, our neighbors!

I certainly see this in myself. I am far quicker to judge people, to mis-trust them, to expect that they are out to get whatever they can from me, than to be trusting and open with them. Have I already started to become so jaded and cynical?

I am very glad to finally be beginning to get out and travel. Experiencing different cultures, societies, countries, world views, ways of life, and so on can only be good for a North American country girl! (or anyone else, for that matter!) I want very much to stretch my own world view, to get outside of my own opinions, mind sets, the things that have been ingrained in me from the day I was born. I don't want to be one of those people that just gets set in their ways, in their own beliefs and opinions, and can't manage to see it any other way, or live it any other way.

And this is my wish for you as well. My you continue to grow, learn, change, experience, explore, adventure, experiment, love, laugh, enjoy, and overall LIVE!

cuba tales IV - la playa

Ahh, the beach.... Isn't that one of the first things we think of when we think of a tropical island? Sunny beaches... Waves rolling in.... Soft sand.... The smell of sun screen.... A piña colada or other tasty beverage.... The warm sun caressing your skin.... The sound of the surf as you close your eyes and soak it all in....

Yes, I want to be back there! But it was wonderful while it lasted, and I am oh so grateful that I got to go at all! The beach part of the trip was great. The sand is so soft and fine down there, and there are shells everywhere. When we went walking on the beach we found quite a few shells, even though it was later in the day and they'd already been picked over.

The marine wildlife was fascinating. Crabs, urchins, fish, minnows, and not a seagull in sight! We had to walk along the beach for a bit to find outcroppings of coral where there were pools and whatnot for crabs and urchins to live in. It's pretty neat to see them in the wild like that though! The pools were all filled with tons of these little hermit crabs. Cute little things. Then there were some bigger "regular" crabs scuttling around as well.

On one of our walks we came across a local fisherman, who was fishing off of one of these coral outcroppings, using just a fishing line and a reel of some sort - no rod, nothing fancy. We stopped to look, and he showed us the hermit crabs he had in a bucket that he was using for bait, as well as the handful of fish he had already caught. While we were still around, he caught another fish, and when we went to have a look, he handed it to me to pose with for a picture. It was a pretty cool looking fish - certainly not one you'd catch in a river or lake up here or back in BC! I felt a bit sorry for it - yes, I know it's just a fish! But the poor thing was flopping around, and then the fisherman went to pull the hook out of it and couldn't get it out! That's gotta hurt! But I still watched, of course. (Poor fishy...)

There were sea urchins all over, ranging from small to fairly large. Cool looking things, as well. I really enjoyed peering into all the little pools to see what was there. You never know what you'll discover! And it's so different from the fresh water wildlife that I'm more used to, so it makes it more exciting and interesting for me. It's one thing to see this stuff in pictures, but another to see it for yourself!

As I mentioned, we gathered quite a few shells, including some around these tide pools. The shells sat in a plastic bag for a couple of days, then I finally decided to dump them out and sort through them a bit. When I did so, a few of them crawled away! I had inadvertently picked up about 4 or 5 hermit crabs! Talk about a thrill! So what did I do? Well, I kept them moist and babyied them until it was time to leave, then I stuck them back in with the rest of the shells, put them in the middle of my suitcase so they'd be insulated as much as possible, then brought them home with me. There are now two or three living in our marine fish tank with Shiloh the damsel, Fernando the clown, Pierre the peppermint shrimp, Patrick the star, Hermie the hermit crab, and an emerald who is still nameless. As are the new hermit crabs. It is just so fun having Cuban hermit crabs living in our tank that I brought back myself.

Another part of the beach that I enjoyed was being able to go topless. I'm glad to live in a province where it is legal for women to be topless in public, but it's just too damn cold here most of the time, and pretty much no one does it, so it was great to be able to take the top off while on the beach down there. Minimizes the tan lines as well!

And let's not forget my midnight (or later) skinny dipping. I've never gone skinny dipping, and always wanted to, so I thought why not take advantage of this warm ocean and quiet beach? It was one of the most exhilerating things I did while I was down there! I went by myself - Cuba is so safe for that (locals get jail time for bothering or harming a tourist) - and it was just me and the ocean. Fantastic! The sky overhead was huge and full of stars, all I could see of the ocean was the white of the waves coming in and it was just black beyond that. It was almost a spiritual experience, just being there, playing in the waves, feeling like I was part of the night, part of the universe. I highly recommend this if you decide to go to Cuba! I went at about 2am or so and the beach was absolutely quiet and deserted. There was just one security guard for the resort, a local, but although they might try to peak, they are perfectly harmless and leave you alone. And the experience is one of a kind, unforgettable!

We also spent some time just tanning - which I'll admit got boring pretty quickly. I can only lay in one place for so long. But the sun sure felt good!

cuba tales III - las gentes (the people)

The Cuban people are beautiful. They don't have what we have as far as possessions, salary, spending money, etc, but they are happy. You'll hear them actually singing as they go about their work. Yes, I said singing, out loud. That blew me away. If someone does that here, they are looked at funny! You don't just sing for no reason! Man, our culture is so damn inhibited in too many ways!

When we were on the jeep safari, driving out through the little towns and back country, we saw lots of kids - they would come running out to the side of the road to wave at us as we drove by. Hoping for handouts, likely, as I think that was the regular route for the tour. They were cute, though. Some of them would be smiling and happy, and others looked like they were doing it just for the handouts - waving mechanically and not smiling at all. It seemed to be the older ones that were like that, and the smaller ones that looked happy and excited. I wonder if the parents would send them out there to essentially beg for handouts?

There were four of us in a jeep, so Jon and I ended up traveling with a woman and her teenage son. The son made a comment about these kids that really irritated me, but would likely be a fairly common mindset among North Americans. He compared what they were doing - standing along the road hoping for handouts - to prostitution. I wanted to smack some sense and sympathy into him! These kids have nothing, these tourists come through and many of them come with gifts for the kids - pencils, paper, hair things, etc - so the kids are out there hoping to get some! That pack of pencils or pad of paper will be the most treasured thing they own! Those hair barrettes will be the envy of all the other little girls! It's not the same as someone begging or "hooking" in North America - not even comparable! Here we have the opportunity to make something of ourselves. Even homeless beggers could find a job, make some money, be productive, if they choose to. Down there, they are so limited as to how much they can make, how much they can own. Their salaries are set by the government, and are not at all equal to the cost of things (1 pair of shoes could be a whole month's wages). You'd be out there waving for handouts too!

The whole North American mindset really irks me. We live in the very lap of luxury - and complain about everything! People in places like Cuba live with a fraction of what we have, yet they are happy, they make the most of it. The kids don't have the fancy Toys R Us or even Walmart toys. They are thrilled to get pencils, paper and hair clips! In downtown Varadero, we saw these two boys just playing in an old Fiat. They don't have the video games and tv - they are content to play in this old car.

It reminded me of my own childhood, actually. We used to play in the old cars around our place, as well - and we were happy to do so! What adventures we would have in those old things! We didn't have the tv or video games either - and we didn't miss them! The outdoors was our playground - and I dare say it was better than any electronic playground that kids have now. Cuban kids are lucky, because they don't have the option to be sucked into video games, television and computer games. They grow up far richer than most North American kids.

We visited a Cuban farm. They opened their home to us, fed us fresh sugar cane, coconut, guava, bananas, etc. It was very eye opening to walk through one of their homes and see how these people live. The one we visited was the home of a family of 10. The two parents and 8 children. Here is the home they lived in:Yes, you are seeing correctly. Two bedrooms, one small bathroom, one small kitchen, then there was a very small sitting area, and a dining room of sorts - all for 8 kids and two adults. And notice the amount of possessions - notice how bare the rooms are! And only one burner on the stove in the kitchen. This place is a shack by our standards, and yet this is how they live! This is typical for a Cuban family. And we have the nerve to complain about our homes and how we live? As I said, it was eye opening!

The people live with next to nothing, and yet they are happy and for the most part content. Sure, they'd like more money, better salaries. I'm sure they'd like better and bigger homes, more possessions, but they don't let that stop them from living life!

We followed this bus for a few minutes on the jeep safari, and the kids inside were watching us and waving at us. Happy. Content. Friendly.