My Trusted Housesitters Experience

In 2017 I decided to take some time off of work in order to travel, study yoga and contemplate future life options. It was a huge decision and an opportunity for me to grow, leaning into uncertainty. I was extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to save money while I worked and lived in Myanmar, but this blog is about one of my tips to make time off affordable, whether you are on your own sabbatical or simply taking a vacation: Trusted Housesitters.

About a year ago I learned about Trusted Housesitters, a site that matches traveling home and pet owners with sitters. It's an interesting arrangement because no money is exchanged; you get a great place to stay and fuzzy company and they get great petcare and home security. I investigated a bit more and decided to go ahead and sign up, even though there is an annual fee (of about $100 US). I figured that even if I only got one sit of a few days that the membership would pay for itself.

I have had a fabulous experience with the Trusted Housesitters organization and with the homes and pets I have looked after. 

Place: Bangkok, Thailand
Dog: Toby the Corgi

Who could resist that face?!?

This was a very sweet gig. Toby's home was a huge, modern top floor apartment in the trendy Thong Lor neighborhood of Bangkok. I had my own guest room, a gorgeous kitchen and a roof top with a view to enjoy.

Toby was a busy little dog, and still a puppy, but my main task was to take him up on the roof (pictured in the video above) or outside for a walk, twice a day. I spent extra time with him, playing, brushing, even doing a little training, but I had lots of free time to explore the neighborhood, Bangkok and relax in a fantastic apartment, cooking my own food, doing yoga homework, reading and enjoying Netflix. The cleaner came three times a week, which was another perk!

He did spend time chilling, too. 

Place: Taos, New Mexico, USA
Cats: Tennessee and Button

This sit allowed me to explore another part of New Mexico. I know Santa Fe well since my parents have lived there 15+ years. I secured this sit when I was still in Spain. Here is the house:

I fed these two cats their very fresh meals (raw chicken livers for breakfast and dinner and sardines for lunch), read, did yoga homework, wandered around town and spent quality time with these felines. 

I enjoyed fires in the evening. Button did too!

And slept in this princess bed.

These owners were very kind; they sent me a personal thank you after the sit!

Place: El Dorado, just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Cats: Skaaget, Nauset and Graham

The owners of these three cats needed a sitter who could commit to a "maybe" because their plans were up in the air. Since I was already staying with my parents in Santa Fe, this it was easy for me to stay flexible. It worked for me and it worked for them! And in the end, I did get the sit. These owners had a special request: that no gluten be brought into their house, as one had a severe allergy. I'm 8 years gluten-free; it worked for me!

Meet the three kitties! Three is the most pets I have ever looked after. Two were very friendly and the third totally warmed up to me by the end of the week. The new skill I learned with this sit was how to give a cat pills, as Graham needed daily medicines. He was really good about my efforts and I can say I am confident doing this now!

The house was a lovely, very Santa Fe style kind of home. There was a woodstove, walking trails, a patio and I even got to use the car to zip into town for an errand or yoga class (or to visit ma n pa). 

My cozy room.

And those southwest sunsets...

---> Okay, so now you want to housesit, right? Here are a few tips. :)

Building Your Trusted Housesitters Profile:

• Take the time to build your profile! Pretty much the rest of the tips come down to this. It is a project, but your investment of time will pay off when you get some great sits. I broke up the task, working a half hour or an hour at a time until I got it where I wanted it. 
• Consider what title captures you as a sitter - this is the first thing viewers of your page will notice.
• Include photos of you and animals you own/know and some that show your personality and hobbies. Homeowners want to know you... you are going to be staying in their house!
• Be honest about your experience and what you can/can't do. There are all types of animals and sits and you want to make sure you can look after the critters you sign up for. I've seen farm animals, cats that need injections and rescue dogs that require special patience and love. Sometimes the sits require, but don't provide, a vehicle, which would mean committing to renting a car. Carefully consider what you can take on.
• Get external references from your boss, landlord and anyone you have petsat for in the past. This helps create your profile and shows you are responsible. 
• Go through the external verification. You pay a fee and Trusted Housesitters runs a background check on you. Having this on your profile gives petowners peace of mind. 

Applying for a Sit:

• Check the site often or set up email notifications. It does pay off to be the first person to apply for a sit, especially in popular areas or at peak travel times. 
• Always include a personal note that shows that you have reviewed the sit and include why you are interested and a good fit! Some owners get a lot of interest so make your note stand out.
• Offer to talk on the phone or over Skype as well as via email. This helps them to see you are a nice person. And take the "interview" seriously!
• Follow up if you don't hear back, but know that sometimes homeowners do get bombarded with offers or change their travel plans...

During the Sit:

• Follow through and have fun! Most petowners will walk you through the details about the home and animals when you arrive. They may provide you with a manual with all the info (love it when they do this!); if not, ask questions and take notes!
• Communicate often. It's easy with technology to send photos and videos, showing them that their fur-babies are happy. This keeps them happy too.

After the Sit:

• Of course, leave the house in tip-top order! I've heard that some sitters even stock the fridge or prepare a special meal and leave it as a thank you.
• Send a thank you note/text to express your gratitude for the time in their house. 
• Ask that they review you on Trusted Housesitters so that you can get more sits! This is so important as reviews and trust fuel what this site is all about. 

If you are curious about signing up for Trusted Housesitters, feel free to post questions! You can get a discount off of your membership by using this link when you sign up! (Full disclosure: I get a discount when you use it, also.)

Happy traveling and happy petsitting!!!

More on Yangon

And this post takes us back to life in Yangon!

Secondary school faculty - I'm in the back shady spot wearing my sunglasses!

One annual event in my life is traveling to Bangkok for my visa renewal. Yes, I have to visit the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, Thailand in order to renew my Myanmar work visa... The good news about this yearly errand is that I get a trip to Bangkok! I usually shop, seek out health food stores for hard to find items, take care of doctor appointments, eat great food and sometimes sit by a pool, if time allows! This year was special because my former colleague, J, who now lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand, met me. It was so fun to catch up, do yoga and discover a great new health food store and restaurant, Lemon Farm, together. We weren't very good about taking pictures (we were having too much fun) and Bangkok isn't "new" to me anymore, so I guess I forget, but here is what captured my interest enough to pull out the camera.

My iced Americano, with a dash of rice milk, served in a pitcher! 

The cafe had cute cat art. Can you see me in the reflection?

A few days after I returned (one year visa in passport!), quarter one ended. This means grading, writing individual narrative comments for each and every one of my students and submitting everything for report cards. There is always something to do when you are a teacher. 

Playing bananagrams with my students!

Quarter one finishes with a Myanmar tradition: Homage Day. Students and teachers don traditional dress and students honor their teachers at a special assembly, featuring speeches, music, dances and singing. The culminating moment is when students' voices join in unison to thank their teachers and ask them to forgive them for any mistakes (in Myanmar language).

You already know what happens next! I book it to the airport and jet off to Bangkok to meet Y for our reunion on Koh Chang.

Upon returning to Yangon, there was a new quarter to start, parent-student-teacher conferences to have and friends to catch up with. The school community here is special. Our social committee is very active, sponsoring all kinds of events to explore the city and for us to just hang out with each other. However, a few times a year we celebrate our support staff, the cleaners and guards who help keep our school shining and safe throughout the year. These photos are from our Potluck and Bowling event at the end of October.

Right Track Bowling is a 30 minute walk from my apartment/the school.

Playing a game, yes, betting 3,000 kyats was involved!

In this winner-takes-all game the final rolls of the dice are intense!

I came upon this cute little church while wandering in downtown one weekend. Somewhere in here I also saw a great Italian movie at the international film festival, La grande bellezza. An epic story set in lovely Italy.

This coffee store is in my neighborhood, but it is never open. Can you see why it caught my eye?

Another social committee event - watching old silent films set to Radiohead.

And then came Halloween! My favorite holiday was celebrated with a Vegans Anonymous potluck and dress-up days at school.

Gluten free vegan witch finger sugar cookies

Vegan potluck spread

Alice, on her way to school. No getting distracted by white rabbits allowed!

Teachers dress up like students day! Sporting the school uniform.

Just finished reading:
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool; a children's book recommended to me by a friend/former colleague. An entertaining story with a spirited young protagonist, historical fiction.

Twilight Over Burma: My Life as a Shan Princess by Inge Sargent; her autobiographical account of her marriage to a Shan Prince and her time in Burma. This one is up for discussion at book club next week! There is also a film and a quick internet search displays a lot of articles about the controversy this book has encountered.

Just finished eating:
If you knew me when I was a kid... or teenager... or, okay, okay, a young adult, then you know my favorite food is/was Macaroni and Cheese. Since going gluten and dairy free in 2009 for health reasons, there has not been a lot of carb-y, cheesy goodness in my life. Which is absolutely worthwhile because I no longer suffer from daily stomach pain. However, I am always looking for creative ways to get my old fix. This vegan gf version of my old favorite does the trick.

Oh, and the witch fingers!

What I'm Listening to:
Cat Power! I had the pleasure of seeing her live at Cruilla this July in Barcelona and she is my favorite discovery from a weekend full of amazing live music.

Interview of the Week:
Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk, Desaparecidos) and Matt Berninger (The National) get together to talk about the song-writing process and music in general! I felt like I was at a bar overhearing an intimate chat at the next table. This is also one of my new favorite podcasts. 

A Worthwhile Cause:
One of my colleagues and friends is trying to enact real change in the population of stray animals in our neighborhood with a catch, neuter and release program. It's the season of giving, so why not chip in a little to help the pups and kitties? A few US dollars goes a long way in Myanmar!

Ha ha, definitely not in Yangon! A throwback to Thanksgiving weekend last year in Ngwe Saung...
Photo credit to T and her fancy camera!

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving! I am already starting to think about the end of the quarter, finals and holidays with my family!

Thailand: Beaches, Bangkok and Bandwidth

Life moves fast over here! Advice to anyone thinking of moving overseas to slow down: it might not work out like that.... My October break blog post is still in draft and I am already planning the Holiday one. 

But, back to October... For my first Asia trip, I decided not to travel too far, but to relax on a Thailand beach and take care of some errands in Bangkok. Summer was busy with my international move so I figured some chill time was on order. 

It was a big hurry to get out of school and to the airport for my afternoon flight. We had homage day (more on that later) so I had to change out of my traditional clothes, grab a snack and wheel my bag out. I ran into many colleagues at the airport who were also on their way to explore/adventure/relax. 

Leaving Myanmar after a half day of school.

It was still the rainy season back then, though transitioning to dryer and cooler days. After my flight touched down at BKK I had some time before my bus to Hua Hin left. It was easy to stay busy in the airport - even the airport shops are better stocked than the ones in Yangon!

The bus ride was smooth and I used my new Thai SIM card (it's so easy to buy one when you are visiting a new country and makes staying in touch a breeze) and read on my kindle (so convenient with that back light!). For about an hour of the jouney the rains came down hard and I watched people wading through the streets, but our bus rolled on.

View from the bus window

I arrived in Hua Hin around midnight and caught a moto-taxi to my hotel. The driver carried my bag and I climbed on the back...no problem! I was so excited to be on vacation, in Thailand and at the beach that I took a late night walk. No school the next day!

For the next week, I explored the nearby beaches, night markets and grocery stores. One memorable trip was to a grocery store where I stocked up on items that I can't get in Yangon. And, of course, I sampled lots of Thai food!

Beach south of Hua Hin

Climbing boulders near Hua Hin

Young boy fishing

Ordering Phad Thai and taking in the view, yes this feels like vacation!

Night market near my hotel

Hua Hin streets

One way to get around...

Side view

And a selfie on the way to the grocery store

Colleagues had told me about the Cicada market in Yangon. It encourages young artists, hosts live music, has tons of food options and offers items which vary from your normal souvenirs. I bought handmade sandals for around US $9.

Cicada night market!

Cicada market

Last night at the beach

Bangkok was on my itinerary to take care of a few errands, including updating my phone, computer and buying music and books. Doing big downloads is next to impossible here in Yangon. Thailand's internet is lightning fast.

View from the Bangkok hotel

I also met up with colleagues to renew our work visas and explore the city. I have been to Bangkok twice and I'm curious to get to know it better.

Beer in Bangkok (cider for me)

All in all, it was a successful vacation and errand-running mission. I'll be back to Bangkok in January 2015. So, more then!

What I'm reading: Melissa Banks' The Wonder Spot (she is such a good writer - I stay up too late getting lost in her stories!)

What I'm listening to: Keaton Heston (Dear), LCD Soundsystem, Stars (No One is Lost) and I'm loving the Smashing Pumpkins' deluxe 6 album edition of Adore

Traveling...

This entry is a little rushed as I hurry to post it before I leave the very reliable internet of the President Solitaire Hotel in Bangkok. But, before we get to Thailand, I want to catch you up on my journey here.

I spent about one week road tripping through Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and New Mexico. I stayed with friends and family along the way and it was great to have some time to catch up with folks before making my trans-Pacific voyage. It also felt appropriate to cap off my experience in the states with a quintessential road trip.  

See you later, Mt. Rainier!

The first day of the trip was short. I finished cleaning my apartment, packing my car and then even had time for a few errands (passport photos!) before the trip to Tacoma. 

It felt as if I had come full circle, spending my last night in Washington with some of my first friends in Seattle. 

Lindsay and I enjoy the best of gluten free beer + kombucha!

Night #2 was in Yreka, California. It was my only night in a hotel during the trip and my only night alone. I passed through Oregon in one single day!

The next day I visited with Grandma Lyle in Moraga, California. Grandma treated me to sushi and we got to have breakfast with Aunt Barbie and Terry the next day.

Moving steadily south on I-5 my next stop was in North Hollywood. Leslie Reunion!

Here we are at Laguna Beach.

 Grandma Lineback was next to open up her house and garage. This was a two day stop and I enjoyed beach time, cooking with Grandma and time with cousins Emma and Kirby and Aunt Tracy.

It was exciting to visit Flagstaff, my home during undergrad college years for a few nights. Amanda came up from Pheonix and I caught up with Ann-Marie and Emily (friends from play-group days). 

Northern Arizona University

It's easier to feel light-hearted after your degree is complete. 

Vrksasana in front of the Babbit Academic Annex, aka the Spanish building.

My home during undergrad years.

Hanging in downtown Flag!

Thank you Amanda for driving up to spend time with me!

Emily and Me at Charley's!

This used to be Cafe Espress, my employer during and just after college.

I finally arrived to Santa Fe where I spent about one week with family during which time I sold my faithful car, organized, organized and organized and finally whittled my life down to two suitcases and two carry-ons. This is not an easy task and certainly more challenging than fitting things into a car. My family was very patient as I worked through this process. 

Jayleen helps me pack. Here we are weighing my bag.

The trip across the Pacific is long, but Cathay is a lovely airline to travel with and everything went smoothly. I recommend them if you are thinking of visiting. J

I’ve spent the last few days in Bangkok and I’ve been absolutely delighted with this city. I haven’t done any major sight-seeing, but I’ve wandered around a lot, eaten real Thai food and met my cohort of new teachers. There are 18 of us newbies, mostly from the United States. I did walk to and around Lumphini Park.

I'm getting fancy...trying a video here...

The food!

Phad Thai

Fresh Rolls

Green curry with rice noodles and TWO kinds of Thai eggplant

Yesterday was a big day – we woke up early to fill our work visa paperwork and then made the trip to the Myanmar embassy. After two hours of waiting in line our visas were granted. Note: even tourists to Myanmar need to apply for a visa, stopping by this embassy or another one.

Our next stop was registering at the hospital. The Bumrungrad hospital is one of the best in the world and the building is big and modern, even boasting a Starbucks on the registration floor. Now that we are in their system it will be easier when we come back for any appointments. The staff was super-friendly and spoke great English.

On the way to the hospital we got caught in a rainstorm. The rain here is warm and comes down hard – definitely a monsoon style – very different than most precipitation in Seattle (Dad, the weather updates here will primarily be for you. J).  

Today we pack up and make the short flight to Yangon. As I transition into Myanmar internet may be spotty, so please be patient. I promise to update you again soon!

The best road tripping songs that I found on my iPod were: Bright Eyes – Another Travelin’ Song and Road to Joy, Geographer – The Myth of Youth, Nacho Vegas – El Camino, Conor Oberst – Sausalito, First Aid Kit – King of the World, Xoel López – Buenos Aires, Campfire OK – New Tradition. What would you add?

What I’m Reading: A Tale for the Time Being – Ruth Ozeki