As you can imagine, running the Debbie’s websites is a lot of work. I get most of my energy from knowing how many people use my websites every day and share their own experiences with me. Take today for example, when I met a young Canadian woman who used my website for selecting her perfect holiday destination for her first vacation out of Canada. A vacation that changed her life! more…
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As you can imagine, running the Debbie’s websites is a lot of work. I get most of my energy from knowing how many people use my websites every day and share their own experiences with me. Take today for example, when I met a young Canadian woman who used my website for selecting her perfect holiday destination for her first vacation out of Canada. A vacation that changed her life! Meet Jamie! Only four years ago she was studying in Toronto. She had never traveled outside of Canada and had never been on a plane. Graduating from University as a teacher was the perfect excuse to change all that. She called her best friend, got online and decided on where to go by using Debbie’s website. “Ask a Canadian if he or she heard about Debbie’s and they may tell you “No” before realizing within moments that they have used the Debbie’s website for planning a Caribbean all-inclusive vacation at least once!”, Jamie says.
The first resort she stayed at, the NH Krystal Lagoon Villas and Resorts and Resorts, located in Cayo Coco, was where she literally fell in love with Cuba. She did not only meet the love of her life but also found the place that would turn out to be the ideal alternative for Toronto with its cold winters and a definite overload of traffic. “You could say that I am a bad Canadian”, she jokes. Jamie traveled to Cuba at least 5 times using Debbie’s every time she decided on trying another hotel. Beside hotels, she also stayed in a few casas particulares where she learned about the real life in Cuba and experienced the typical Cuban togetherness of family, friends and neighbors first hand. When she was offered a job as a first grade teacher at the International School of Havana, she did not have think for one second.
"What is funny", Jamie says, is that: "every time I go back to Toronto, my dad asks me, ‘how come I am still so white?’ I explain to him that I am not on vacation anymore, I have a house, husband, three dogs and show up every day for work at 7.30 AM till 4.30 PM. Life here in Cuba is great, but not like the Piña Colada vacations I enjoyed during my first two years in Cuba. The truth is that I should visit the beach more often!” Jamie crosses town on a scooter and like many Habaneros the Malecón is her favorite place in the capital. She likes the fact that Havana has a definite buzz to it, its cultural and like everywhere here in Cuba, the music welcomes you on almost every corner.
Of course Jamie misses her mom, family and friends. Good chocolate is hard to find and you don’t decide to live in Cuba for the quality of shopping. Her sister, who also uses Debbie’s and both of her parents have visited Jamie already, like Jamie visits them. She concludes: "I love to hang out with my family and friends and go shopping for a new pair of shoes in Toronto but I always feel really excited the moment my plane touches down on Cuban soil again. I live in Cuba now!"