Today I...drained my camera battery in one day.

This is a first for me. Usually it lasts a week or more. So clearly I have a good camera battery or I have not been taking nearly enough pictures everywhere else I have been.

But today I was in Havana, Cuba. And I am sure I could have drained two camera batteries if I had more time.

What an absolutely amazing place. A city caught in a moment in time. A city on the verge of what could be a brave new world or the complete obliteration of a culture. A city that is so intensely vibrant and colorful and full of life in spite of the opression that you know lurks in every dark corner. But I have to say, the sun burns hot and bright there. On most streets, its tough to find a dark corner.

We are going back later in the week and I cannot wait. Now that I have the complete awe out of my system I can't wait to know what I will see and feel there the second time around.

This city, and this country, certainly gives one perspective. I am so excessively fortunate. I am struck by the sweet simplicity of not knowing that there is just so much "stuff" out there to want. Boys playing in the streets with a piece of wood and a ball. What I would have given to be able to give them baseballs and bats! Our covert source for cigars on the beach choosing which child he would buy new shoes for this month...and counting how many months before he could buy himself a new t-shirt. But not seeing them want more things.

Pesos for sure. There are a lot of beggars in Havana to be sure. And moms teaching their wee ones to beg or to pose for pictures to get pesos from the touristas. That is unsettling. And we learned a new word - Jinetero - male hustlers who work old havana and the markets to try to sell you crap cigars or force you to pose for pictures so you have to give them a peso.

But there are also a lot of enterprising "entrepreneurs" in Cuba who know how to make themselves a buck and not get caught doing it. And, I'll be honest, if I was to live and work there I would want to be a bar tender. On a good day those guys take home what a doctor would make in a month.

I've met a lot of new people this trip so I've been asked often about my job. Someone asked how many countries I have been to. I had to stop and think...and then I had to count again because it has been 7 countries in 6 months.

Now I know you can do 7 countries in 10 days in Europe if you're determined, but some people won't get to see 7 countires in a lifetime.

And each of them has taught me something different about myself or about the world or has shown me how to see the world in a whole new way.

Until today Cuba had taught me that I really can "shut it off" and be disconnected - and not fret about that. And the people that I have been experiencing Cuba with have taught me the deep importance of family. And I may possibly also have had a moment or 10 where I have learned that it is really ok if it is not always about me.

I haven't quite got my soul around what Havana taught me today. I can't wait to go back and work that out.