Feeding and caring for stray cats in the Philippines
Asia

Feeding and caring for stray cats in the Philippines

ArestlessTraveler1 Comment

As some of you know when the world started to shutdown because of covid19 I was in the Philippines and chose to stay here instead of rushing “home”. Five months later I’m still here living day to day with the people running the hostel that I now call home.

Officially they are closed and the only meagre income they have is from the 2 tourists that chose to stay and weather out the storm here. Yet, this didn’t stop them from feeding the stray cats that everyday show up at meal times. You see, when all this started they had three resident cats so when a few more started showing up at mealtimes they fed them too. Thing is, more and more cats started showing up. Some just for food and then disappearing while others stayed put, making the nooks and crannies their homes. Begging to be cuddled and loved.

Why this sudden cat invasion? Where were all these cats coming from? And then it dawned on us. Corona. Like most small islands in the Philippines this one depends on tourism so when the restaurants, hotels. Etc. closed and the tourists stopped coming most people lost their income. And if they couldn’t feed their own families how were they supposed to feed the strays that relied on them?

So we did what we could and started providing food and deworming these adorable creatures. From 3 resident cats we now have 7 residents and on any given day at least another 10 just hanging out in our garden and waiting for food. We’ve named them all and snuggle with them. By all accounts they are pets, no longer feral cats.

Problem is, resources are running low and there’s no end in sight to this pandemic. We’ve done as much as we can but want to do more so we started a crowd funding page in the hope that animal lovers across the world would help us to care for these defenseless and adorable beings.

If you can, please donate. Every little bit helps.

https://gogetfunding.com/snacksforstrays/

And please share! On your blogs, Instagram, twitter, Facebook. Everywhere.

On behalf of all the cats here thank you.

Pre-travel anguish
Random Musings

Pre-travel anguish

ArestlessTraveler3 Comments

I was a minimalist before even knowing minimalism was a thing. Traveling light has always been my motto. I left home for my first solo backpacking trip in 2012 and, if we ignore my trip to China with 2 suitcases, I have been the picture child of minimalism since then, going everywhere with only a 32lt backpack.

However, for the last three and a half years my home base has been in a small town in Catalunya – Spain and I have slowly seen objects creep up around me. First it was an extra pair of shoes and clothes for work, then a few kitchen utensils to make cooking easier, new bed sheets because I simply didn’t like the ones the landlord provided, and plants. Many plants. I love plants and the house I’m currently in has such great natural light it would be a sin not to take advantage of it. I’ve bought big and small plants, indoor and outdoor ones, and particularly cacti and succulents.  I have amassed such a large collection of cacti and succulents I’m running out of space. 

Problem is, I’m now planning to leave Spain and I have too many things! – In case you are wondering the plan is to travel in Asia for 14 months. But I might make it longer. We never know where the road leads us.

Ok, so I have an amazing boss here in Spain who already said I could pack my stuff and he’d store it for me in one of the school’s storage areas until I decided to come back (and yes he also said I could have my job back when I did). This is all very good for clothes and kitchen utensils which I can fit into a box or two but what about my plants!? It’s not as if I can pack them into a box!

I’ve spent the last month trying to find a solution. Friends and acquaintances were happy to provide a home for my indoor ones but finding a home for the cacti and succulents has proven to be way harder. Not only do I have so many most people simply don’t have the space for all of them, but also, if I’m honest, I don’t want to just give them away. I’ve put so many hours into caring for them. Most mornings the first thing I do is go look at them. I know some of you are calling me crazy right now and are thinking they are only plants but I can’t help myself. Plus you’d be surprised how much they change daily, especially when they are flowering and I seem to always have one or two that are flowering. Anyways, last week I was starting to despair when a friend said she’d ask her father (whom I’ve never met) and he said he’d be happy to adopt them! He lives in a farm outside town, and has a large cacti collection himself, so really I couldn’t have asked for anything better! Somehow sometime in the next few weeks I will have to find time to go visit him and take the cacti and succulents so we can chose the best place to put them in. You can’t imagine my relief!!

Now my plant issues have been solved I have two months left until my flight out of Spain. Two months in which to focus on getting everything else ready. Oh, and the next two months also equal end of the school year (and all the stress that go with that) plus Cambridge exam sessions in full swing. i.e. working 6 days a week. In other words, I have 8 Sundays left in which to sort out the stuff I’m taking, the staff I’m storing and the stuff I’m simply donating. Shouldn’t be too hard right?

Random Musings

Interview

ArestlessTraveler3 Comments

Last year, around October or November, I joined a facebook group of travel bloggers and before I knew it, one thing led to another and I was being interviewed by another blogger! The whole interview process was interesting and I have to admit I really enjoyed it so when she emailed me saying she was going to post it in her blog I was delighted.

Without further ado I leave you the link to her travelblog and my interview. Hope you like it!

Living in China as a foreigner part 3: My Students
China

Living in China as a foreigner part 3: My Students

ArestlessTraveler5 Comments

Living  in China as a foreigner, particularly in a small town, was special in many ways but one that stands out is my students. I was teaching grades 7 and 8 in the only middle school in town and instead of having to deal with burgeoning rowdy teenagers I had the sweetest and most caring students ever. Admittedly, being the only foreigner living in China they knew and consequentially my celebrity status in town motivated them to want to pay attention to me in class. Yet, not only were they always happy to see me when I stepped into their classroom but also some of them went the extra length of wanting to meet me outside class. 

Continue reading “Living in China as a foreigner part 3: My Students”
The kindness of strangers in big cities in China
China

The kindness of strangers in big cities in China

ArestlessTraveler4 Comments

In my post about living in China as a foreigner part 2 I recalled a series of instances in which the kindness of strangers saved the day when I lived in a small town in China but if I’m honest my first encounter with the kindness of strangers in China was actually even before arriving in small town China.

You see, when I got the job in China I had a friend living in Guangzhou so I decided to arrive a week early and spend it with her before I moved on to Yangshuo (where I would spend a week attending “orientation” with the company that had  hired me before moving on to the small town where I had been posted). My friend lived immensely far from the airport and couldn’t pick me up so she sent me a detailed plan on how  to take a bus from the airport to a point in town where she would meet me.  It was complete with photographs of what I should see on my way, where I should get off, phonetic transcript of what the bus driver might ask me and how to respond to it! Following the steps was super easy and I was soon on the bus ticking off the photos of the places we drove past.  Then suddenly I knew something was wrong, I had ticked of the final picture before the stop were I was supposed to get of and meet her but I couldn’t see the bus stop. Had we driven past without me noticing? But the bus hadn’t stopped…

I was about to panic when the man sitting next to me -who had obviously been”reading” over my shoulder- asked to look at my paper and tried speaking to me. However, I spoke no mandarin and he spoke no English. Even so, he managed to tell me to calm down. The bus soon stopped and he got up, spoke with the driver and beckoned me to follow him. I saw them unload my suitcase from the bus but I had no idea where we were! Next thing I know the man grabbed my suitcase, beckoned me to follow and started running. I’m not sure why but I trusted him (not that I had any choice). We run for 3 blocks and then there was my friend waiting for me. What a relief! Turns out the road the bus normally took was closed so it had taken a detour. The passenger sitting next to me had gotten of at the wrong stop just to take me where I had to go. If thats not a brilliant example of how the kindness of strangers can change everything then nothing is.  

Armenia’s Velvet Revolution celebration and what to do when history happens around you.
Armenia

Armenia’s Velvet Revolution celebration and what to do when history happens around you.

ArestlessTraveler3 Comments

Generally speaking historical moments are not something you can plan your schedule around. They are things that happen unexpectedly and end up being so important they change the face of history and thus get written down for future generations to learn about. In April Armenians successfully changed the political picture of their country by collectively taking to the streets protesting against the government in a movement that was so peaceful it has come to be known as the “Velvet Revolution”. Today, as I write this, Armenians are voting in an early parliamentary election because the acting Prime Minister is seeking a stronger mandate in order to continue with the reforms. Between today’s election and the velvet revolution in April they celebrated 100 days of freedom and I was there to witness it. 

Continue reading “Armenia’s Velvet Revolution celebration and what to do when history happens around you.”
Living in China as a foreigner Part 2: the kindness of strangers
China

Living in China as a foreigner Part 2: the kindness of strangers

ArestlessTraveler4 Comments

Moving to a small town in China where I was the sole foreigner wasn’t all about being a celebrity , it was also about that incredibly alluring thing all travelers encounter on the road: the kindness of strangers. 

Continue reading “Living in China as a foreigner Part 2: the kindness of strangers”
Street cobbler love
Armenia

Street cobbler love

ArestlessTraveler2 Comments

Once upon a time I was walking down the streets of Yerevan when my sandal broke. The sole had become partially unstuck – which made for some very awkward walking. But as I’m not Cinderella hence no magic spell  was about to turn me into a pumpkin when the clock struck midnight the whole idea of running barefoot back “home” didn’t really appeal to me.  Thus I shuffled along, slowly making my way back to the hostel where I had a pair of trainers waiting for me. 

A few minutes later one of my friends remembered he had seen a cobbler nearby the previous day so instead of heading to the hostel we went in search of the cobbler. His “nearby” and my nearby weren’t the same – particularly as walking with a falling-apart-sandal was proving more annoying by the minute. Then, there he was. I pointed at my shoe, he pointed towards his chair. I sat, took of my sandal and handed it to him. He examined it, carefully cleaned it, glued it back together and handed it back. I used the universal sign for “how much do I owe you?” He replied with a smile and a universal sign for “nothing, it was my pleasure”. 

P.S. With my shoe fixed, walking back to the hostel took less than 5 minutes. So yes, my friend had been right when he said nearby.

P.P.S. don’t know why I didn’t want to  take my shoes off though, I’ve walked barefoot in NYC so why not Yerevan?  

Living in China as a foreigner Part 1: being a celebrity
China

Living in China as a foreigner Part 1: being a celebrity

ArestlessTraveler6 Comments

My first year living in china was spent in a small town in the mountains in the south western tip of Shaanxi Province. When you live in a small Chinese town you get to experience China in a unique way and by small town I mean somewhere so small Chinese people from other areas had never heard of it. And more importantly so small I was the sole foreigner in the town.  Continue reading “Living in China as a foreigner Part 1: being a celebrity”

Random Musings

A reading conspiracy

ArestlessTraveler4 Comments

In my “who am I ” page I mention that I love reading yet I never mention books in my posts. The reason for this is because more often than not my reading is completely unrelated to my traveling. Nonetheless there have been times when I felt like an almighty power was conspiring to make me read books set in or related to the places I was visiting.

What do I mean? Well: Continue reading “A reading conspiracy”