cuba or bust

Well, looks like I'm going to Cuba.

I handed in the US$125 today to pay for my visa, and submitted a copy of my passport. Unless I get, for whatever reason, turned down, it's pretty much official.

I've never wanted to go to Cuba. I mean, I've never not wanted to - it's just never been on my list of "Must Visit" destinations (such as Kenya, Egypt, Russia, Italy, Greece and, yes, Newfoundland). But there was an opportunity to go with my church, who is organizing a 10-day evangelistic mission at the end of May.

Lots of Canadians actually visit Cuba regularly. My editor, Shannon, and her huband Dean, are there right now, on a belated honeymoon (their first attempt, after their wedding a year and a half ago, was thwarted by hurricane Ivan). And there are plenty of others.

But while I could go to Cuba (or anywhere) on my own and stay in a comfy resort and spend my days exploring, I'm leaning more and more toward purpose driven travel. That's not to dismiss recreational holidays (I embark on one of those in a couple of weeks, when Kyle and I take our own honeymoon in England - and possibly France).

But if I'm going to travel the world - as I am want to do - I'd rather do so while accomplishing something at the same time - raising money for some worthy organization, building churches, digging wells, or - in the case of the Cuba trip - interacting with children, teaching people about healthy lifestyles and being a spiritual representative for something I believe in.

And there are perks - aside from feeling like you're doing something good while you experience something new. You get to mingle with people you (or at least I) wouldn't otherwise encounter, learning about the country and culture first hand, rather than just observing from afar. In addition to the touristy things (because we'll get to do those, too) we'll get a behind the scenes look at life in this bastion of Communism. How cool is that?

Oh - and since Kelly is also going, we'll get some sistah bonding time in as well.

The downside is, apparently every meal will consist of rice and beans. 'Nuff said there, I think.

So anyway, time to polish up my español. Adventure beckons.