I refer to Jeanette as a resilient expat because she has definitely been through a lot during her years abroad, both good and bad. She refuses to let anything get in the way of her search for happiness and a place to call home. She is certainly not shy about her strong feelings so apologies in advance for the salty language, but sometimes it’s nice to hear the flip side of everything being rosy all the time.
The Resilient Expat: Cat Woman Jeanette:
Jeanette was born to parents from the Caribbean in the U.K ( Mom from Jamaica, and her dad from St. Kitts). She got her thirst for travel from her father. A lot of times, we are led to believe that racism only happens in the U.S..Not so, because she experienced it as a child growing up in Birmingham, and learned to speak up, not just for herself, but for her siblings, and parents. She embarked on a life of travel, starting out in the Canary Islands, then on to Dubai, and a few other places before finding herself back in the Canary Islands.
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Listening to her was refreshing because she didn’t mince any words. Expat life is not always the wonderful experience that most people make it out to be. Being a lesbian woman has sometimes been challenging for her as well. She has loved most of her travels and has absolutely wonderful memories of Dubai. I believe she is the second woman in the series of interviews to have said the same about Dubai. Telling.
I love the fact that she has now drawn her line in the sand, and is determined to make things work. Going back to the U.K is not for her. I apologize for the lengthy conversation, but l was having so much fun. Imagine me liking a cat woman! :-).
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Highlights of the podcast:
- Growing up in the U.K. and standing up for her brothers when they were mistreated, and the impact it had on choosing a profession.
- Papa was a rolling stone, and inheriting the wanderlust.
- Loving ex-pat life in Dubai but hating the teaching profession.
- Feeling a calling to Colombia.
- Village life, and surprise at finding a gay center there of all places.
- Becoming the cat woman.
- Losing her business in Colombia.
- Loneliness and not being able to integrate into life in the Canary Islands.
- Covid making the situation worse.
- Would she consider moving elsewhere, and the countries she has already tried out.
- Her determination to stay and make it work.
You can find Jeanette on her podcast “The Colombian Cat Woman” where she shares her thoughts on life as a late bloomer, queer woman of color, and entrepreneur.
If you’re enjoying the podcasts, please subscribe or comment. I’m thinking of making changes and wonder if it’s worth it.
Listen to the resilient expat podcast here:
Other podcasts you might like:
Have you thought about expat life? Where would you go? If you’re already an expat, have you found “home”?
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I’ve so enjoyed your podcasts and the variety of guests that you’ve interviewed. Something that I’ve really appreciated and find myself pondering are the discussions you’ve had about how solo travel, racism, sexual orientation, gender, etc. can affect a traveler or expat’s experience. It brings home the multitude of perspectives that can come from sharing a city or country in common. So good to hear Jeanette’s story and I applaud her resilience as well as her courage in pursuing her own happiness. Keep well Kemi!
Thanks so much for the feedback Anita. It’s gratifying to hear. On a weekly basis, I get reports on how it’s doing across the world, and a couple of times, it’s gone as high as #41 in Sweden or #20 in Canada, or #149 in the U.S, so l know people are listening which is so cool. I just wonder if the people reading the blog are interested in the podcast as l am thinking of just putting it on the podcast page. Separating it from the Valencia update is also a thought as l get private emails wondering what happened and l tell them it’s below the podcast episode.
Jeanette is definitely one of a kind, and l enjoyed her story. She is resilient indeed.
Good podcast. Thought it may have been easier stretched over 2 weeks – part 1 and part 2! Jeanette has had an interesting life packed with a lot of hardship. I’ve only been to Cartagena on a cruise ship stop and I took an excursion out of town. And yes very humid. Would have loved to have heard more such as if Cartagena is a machine guy city and if there were safety concerns for a single woman, especially since it sounds like she was living in a poor area. Which is hard to define when so much of the city is poor.
It must be really hard just leaving everything behind that you’ve invested a lot of money in. I’m assuming because it was just too costly to move it with the unknown of where the next stop is going to be to move it to. Its too bad that another location in Colombia or one of the nearby countries like Panama or Costa Rica where it’s also very green couldn’t have been an option when Columbia didn’t work out.
I wanted to find work as an au pair in the Canary Islands, but it wasn’t to be and I took a position in Madrid instead. I still haven’t visited the Canaries. It kind of dropped of my list over the years.
Thanks Cheryl. You know l never considered doing a two-parter. I suppose l could always ask for another session with her in which she can expand more on life in Colombia as a single woman. She seemed to have had no safety concerns, even in the small village that she was in. Nomadic life made it hard to mover her merchandise with her when she left. I was a bit sad for her that despite feeling the lure of the country, it didn’t work out. I don’t think she ever contemplated any othe neighboring countries, perhaps she felt it would be more of the same?
Her story on trying to do things the right way in Spain was funny to me because as you probably know, nothing is ever done the right way here because each and every person will tell you a different way to get things done… haha! You just have to go with the flow, which can be incredibly hard. I have yet to visit the Canary Islands also. No pressing urge, but now that we are not thinking of traveling far, it might happen.
Check out her podcast, she does talk about her travels of past in several episodes.
Jeanette has had an incredible life, reinventing herself with every move. Kudos for being so resilient and persevering against all the difficulties. Four cats…wow, I can imagine that it must be expensive to travel with them…but yes your pets are your family and leaving them behind would be very sad. I can understand why she is now determined to make this move work for her and I really think it will work out, she is so determined, strong and resourceful. Great podcast, super interesting.
Yes she certainly has had pretty amazing life experience in all these places. I admire that. Four cats would be too much for me, but like you said they’re family. We couldn’t bring ourselves to leave our dogs behind either. I hope things work out for her in the new place. She has the right attitude and l think she will eventually find her spot on the island and get her tribe. Thanks for listening.
I really thought that this was going to be filled with bad words, but it’s not. It was interesting to hear Jeanette’s story. I think that only a small amount of people could really enjoy being teachers. I know I wouldn’t ever be able to do it and I have a lot of respect for those who even try it. I know that my wife worked briefly as a kindergarten teacher and just two weeks into her job, she was a mess, crying and saying that she just can’t do it. 🙂
The good thing is that she was honest with herself and made the right decision getting away from something that wasn’t giving her any enjoyment. It’s obvious that she knows what she’s doing and what she wants, so the planets will surely align in the right order sooner rather than later.
Haha! Oh, thank goodness. I’m glad you thought so. You are supposed to bleep out the words, but since it’s not monetized, l don’t bother. I couldn’t be a teacher either. My sister was one, but she loved children. I like them well enough, but not to teach. It is a very hard job, and l also have a lot of respect for those that teach. Poor Alina, I can just how it must have been. I would have been crying too, or maybe killed one or two kids.
Yes, she does have a strong sense of identity, which really helps a lot when dealing with problems. I also hope the planets align soon for her. I love her courage and l think it will happen sooner than later.
WOW. Thank you to both of you, KemKem and Jeanette. I really enjoyed the depth and honesty. Now that I am retired and living fulltime in Valencia I am looking forward to meeting folks and developing a circle of friends here. KemKem, what is the foodie group you mentioned?
Thanks
Hi Maria! So glad you enjoyed the podcast. It was so much fun talking to Jeanette. She has had an interesting journey so far. I bet you’re glad to be retired and in such a wonderful place. I will send you an invite to the group or add you whichever one it lets me. Talk to you soon :-).