GENERAL PRESENTATION:
I am a middle-aged, professional female, non smoker, quiet, experienced and very reliable. I am usually looking for quiet, secluded locations although I appreciate visiting cities and cultural places.
I traveled a lot for studies, jobs and vacations and went to all five continents (well nor Antarctica... yet). I also did fieldwork in Borneo jungle for a year and a half. I am thus very adaptable and self-sufficient in various contexts.
I am a pets and plants lover (I had as much as 69 house plants for a while) and I already tended an organic garden. I also got dogs all my childhood but I can't get a pet right now because of my travels. Pet sitting is a great way to enjoy animal company and I am dedicated to them: feeding them of course but also cuddling them, walking them (dogs usually, but I already walked a cat) and making sure they don’t feel lonely. I am among those people who talk to animal... and absolutely convinced that, although they don't understand the meaning, they certainly grasp the emotion attached to it.
Gardening is a great way to take breaks from the computer and to clean my head (walking has the same effect). Of course, it is also an immense reward to ripe the lunch directly from the garden every day. I love hiking, so you can be sure that your dog will have a walk everyday (except in extreme weather).
As an anthropologist, I am sensible to cultural difference and I normally get along well with neighbours and the community (as testified by Elizabeth's reference letter for my house and petsitting in Costa Rica).
I am ecologically-minded and I appreciate clean, sunny and well ventilated rustic houses, with limited facilities. Off-grid and healthy habitates are of the utmost interest to me and I got a certificate in ecological house design. I would also be delighted to tend an organic garden. I know the basics of permaculture (as well as few other organic practices).
I would assume all usual tasks of house/pet sitting and keep you posted if you wish so. I can operate a woodstove, drive in snowy winter, mow the lawn, shovel.... I can also live in tropical climates and keep my cool when roads are flooded or buses delayed.
MY PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:
I am an anthropologist, part-time University professor. When not teaching, I am quite mobile and try to engage in personal/academic projects. I am carrying my laptop and I can work anywhere. Sometimes a good internet connexion is essential, but most of the time I can manage without. Working from home ensure a good presence to your pets and against eventual robbers.
LANGUAGE SKILLS:
French (first language); English (fluent); Spanish (very, very basic); Iban (spoken); Malay (rudimentary).
OTHER RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
I owned a house and I am thus familiar with what it entails.
I was a member of the board of a housing-cooperative. I was thus involved in its maintenance and developement as well as with creating good relationships with and between members.
WHY AND HOW I BECAME A HOUSE/PET SITTER:
I started with an informal agreement with owners when I had to leave a newly bought house because of molds. Then a friend of mine needed her house to be taken care of while she was traveling and then someone else got the info by the word of mouth. That’s how I started housesitting, while not knowing the name nor the concept yet.
I kept being very mobile for several years, being sometimes abroad for several months, then in different parts of Québec/Ontario and I decided to mix housesitting and renting furnished places. I intent to do it for a while before settling up somewhere and then restricting housesitting to travel only.
I am currently looking for a large piece of land to buy on which to install a small off-grid, ecological (tiny)house and grew an edible forest and a garden based on permaculture. Due to many constraints and restrictions, this is not an easy project to implement. Meanwhile, I am still housesitting in Canada and, sometimes (read: in Winter :-), abroad.
RESTRICTIONS:
I have multiple environmental sensitivities and I don’t cohabit well with furnaces, electromagnetic fields and generally regular engine noises such as air-cond, ventilations, heating pomp... in the surroundings.
MISCELLANOUS:
Note that all reference whitten in French are translated in English at the end.
CONTACT:
housenomad2 at