Globally Seasoned Housesitter(s) with experience supporting healthy gardens and 4-paws

About this sitter

I am a calm, clear-minded, empathetic person, with a deep sense of responsibility and mutuality that informs and frames my life's unfolding. I have lived and worked in the UK (studied in a DPhil program at the University of Oxford), France, Switzerland, Austria, and Estonia; Thailand Myanmar Vietnam Indonesia Laos Cambodia Sri Lanka India Nepal Bhutan S Korea Japan; Haiti and the Dominican Republic; Brazil and South America region; North America especially Hawai'i; Niger, Ghana, West and North Africa Region; Chad, Burundi, Rwanda, the DRC, Tanzania, Somalia, Ethiopia / East Africa and Horn of Africa region; Mozambique, Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana and Souther Africa region (in humanitarian response and recovery, conflict zones and complex emergencies, and climate change and ecological recovery programming). My focus has been in the encompassing elements of climate change concerns and solutions, especially the past 15 years. I do have periods of time I like to focus on writing and undertaking remote work, which can be ideal when housesitting. My husband Michael is a fiction writer and legal researcher (and PhD in English so has a background in teaching), and sometimes he joins me in housesitting.

Why they want to house sit

It is a lovely way to get out of the fray of the world and simplify, to care for homes and living beings (plants, fish, chickens, goats, cats, dogs, others), to connect to others' stories, and to meet some really interesting people. It is also really great when there is a need to write and live a quiet home life. I also appreciate learning about life in other cultures and communities by living there for longer periods of time. And my husband and I really enjoy connecting with and caring for animals.

Their experience

Yes. I've been on this site since 2013 but am trying to retrieve the lost data after a gap in membership; I do have some testimonials. We have house-sat in the UK, France, Ireland, Austria, Estonia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Burundi and the US (Washington DC, Boston, Washington state, and Hawai'i). We have cared for simple places, large places, animals with special needs, conditions where even getting the water tank filled or electricity running was a challenge.

What can they bring to the assignment

Maturity, a lot of life experience and responsibility, an interest in living a quiet and simple life, a natural resonance with many 4-paws and other living beings, a knowledge of plants and ecosystems care and restoration. Kindness and a sense of humor.