Adventures Around Asia

My Biggest Fear Is….

So today I want to tell you a little bit about my BIGGEST FEAR. Ahhhhhhhh When people ask me why I moved abroad right after college, I’d always tell them that my biggest fear was waking up at 80 years old realizing that my life was almost over and I had never really done anything I wanted to do. Pin Me! I was afraid of going through the motions of life in a sleep-walking state, checking all the…

The Freedom Life: November + December 2020

How I Learned to Get Free Travel Through Travel Hacking (With the Travel Hacking Masterclass)

Pin Me! I’ll be honest… Travel hacking was something I always felt like I should be doing, but I was completely intimidated by the entire process. Booking flights with points and miles, hotel and airline status reward programs, having multiple credit cards with different bonuses… Where do I even start??! Whenever I tried to learn about travel hacking (usually by reading a book or a blog post…

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What I Was Up to This Month

This October, Chris and I took a little trip to Merisi for our one-year wedding anniversary! Shortly after, we moved to a new apartment and signed a year-long lease!!

While things have been going great here in Tbilisi, we’ve also had a huge spike in COVID cases. so it looks like we’re about to go into lockdown 2.0.

Where I Went

Tbilisi, Georgia

Batumi, Georgia

Merisi, Georgia

Our beautiful bed!

Relaxing at Eco House Merisi

Highlights

Here are some of the best moments of October!

Anniversary Trip to Merisi

At the beginning of October Chris and I took a little weekend trip for our first wedding anniversary! We took the train from Tbilisi to Batumi, and then hired a car to take us the rest of the way into the mountainous valley of Merisi.

Here we stayed at Eco House Merisi, a tiny 2-cottage property I originally found on Tiktok. Yes, you heard that right. I saw the property on TikTok, and we eventually found their Facebook page and booked via Facebook messenger (because they don’t have a website and aren’t on any booking sites).

I have to say, Eco House Merisi did not disappoint. The cottage was absolutely beautiful, and we had a great time reading while admiring the view, and taking bubble baths in the deck jacuzzi. They even had one of those pretty swings you see on all the Bali Instagram accounts!

Our cottage deck

Jacuzzi with bubbles!

Finally, the food was incredible. Everything is made fresh from the owner’s farm to the point that when I asked for some milk to put in my tea, we needed to wait an hour for the cows to come home because they had just used all the cow milk to make cheese!!

Chris and I had a great time eating local Adjarian specialties like chirbuli (Georgian shakshuka but with more oil), sinori (lavash bread, cottage cheese, and butter), and borano (often called “Georgian fondu” made with silguni cheese and melted butter). While my tastebuds and heart were happy, my body was definitely craving detox afterward!

Overall, it was so great to just relax away from the computer, re-watch our wedding video, and spend some quality time together.

Moving to a New Apartment

Chris and I have been renting month-to-month in a small one-bedroom for…. NINE MONTHS? (How did that happen?).

While we loved our place, Chris and I have been feeling a bit cramped with two cats and a teeny tiny kitchen. We also noticed so many amazing deals being posted on Facebook and realized that if we signed a year-long-lease, many reasonable landlords were happy to hand out incredible deals due to COIVD and the borders being closed. So… we started searching!

After a few days of house hunting, Chris and I found the most amazing apartment for $600/month just a few blocks from where we were currently staying. This place is only $100 more per month, but has 3x the amount of space with a huge kitchen and living room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and two balconies!

I absolutely love the new apartment, and I actually don’t hate cooking now that I have more than 3 inches of counter space!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

At the end of October, I celebrated Halloween with a few close friends. We all got really into dressing up (my favorite!) and drank Georgian wine around a fire pit until around 3am. Whoopsies…

I used to get really decked out in the US, and even in China (one year I wore a different costume to class every day on the week of Halloween). But this year I have a capsule wardrobe, so I had to make do with what I had on hand. I decided to be a black cat, and wore a black dress, my black cat tights from ModCloth, black boots, and even did my hair in little buns to look like cat ears!

I also did intense cat-eye makeup, which was fine except for the fact that half my makeup barely works anymore (who needs eyeliner when they never go out?), and the fake eyelashes I bought had probably been sitting on the shelf for six years because the glue was SOLID. I did try out some pointy fake nails to act as claws which was fun but also ridiculous. How do people with fake nails do ANYTHING?! Please inform me, because my nails weren’t even that long, and sending a text was a nightmare.

Eco House swing!

Easy Absentee Voting

A few weeks ago I cast my absentee vote for Biden/Harris and it was the simplest vote I’ve cast since living abroad! Washington state is very liberal so of course, they make voting from abroad easy (no voter suppression over here!). All I needed to do was print out my ballot, sign it, scan it and return via email.

While voting via email has been a thing these last few years, I love the new online voting system Washington has developed! Once you submit your ballot, you can actually log in and see if your ballot has been received!! This is amazing because I always worry my ballot won’t get counted and will end up in some email spam graveyard.

This isn’t just for absentee voting either. Even mail-in or drop-off voters can use this system! Seriously, other states should take notes!

At least we had a nice view from our room!

Challenges

This month wasn’t perfect. here were the less-pleasant moments of October.

Staying Inside in Batumi

When Chris and I first booked our anniversary trip, Georgia had barely any cases of COVID in the entire country. So a little bit of travel around Georgia, while the borders are closed, wearing a mask in public seemed completely fine. The original plan was to stay one day in Batumi, and then continue onto Merisi for two nights.

But the problem is that over the summer tons of people took trips to Batumi, a popular Georgian city on the Black Sea, and of course, NO ONE wore masks. So at the start of October, Batumi was quickly becoming the COVID capital of Georgia.

Chris and I tried to change our schedule to avoid Batumi, but Merisi was completely booked, and there was pretty much no way to get there without at least going through Batumi for an evening. So, we decided that we’d just stay inside our hotel and order room service.

The train ride was great. There was no one in our car, and we had to wear masks the whole time. But when we got to Batumi NO ONE WAS WEARING A MASK. Seriously!!! Our hotel, the Hilton Batumi, seemed to be taking COVID seriously, but the rest of the city certainly was not.

I was honestly really excited to explore Batumi, but due to COVID and the lack of mask-wearing we ended up spending 90% of our time there in our room and while ordering in food delivery because the room service was overpriced and didn’t look great. They did try to charge us 7 lari for a fork though, so that was cool.

We did have the opportunity to walk along the beach at sunset, and we had a cocktail on the roof, but that was about it.

Daily deaths in Georgia

COVID Spikes in Tbilisi

Georgia did such a great job with the pandemic until… we didn’t. We went from having 17 deaths for the entirety of the pandemic to over 300 in a matter of WEEKS. It’s estimated that roughly 1/200 people in Tbilisi have COVID now, which is frankly SCARY.

Sure, you need to wear a mask in a taxi, restaurants can only serve you outside, and most shops kind of mandate masks, but when you look around, NO ONE is wearing a mask on the street.

I’ve seen events with a hundred people crowded into a little roundabout park, and with the election on October 31st, there have been massive political rallies with HUNDREDS of people not wearing masks.

Daily COVID cases in Georgia

To make matters worse, the current government has been refusing to put any rules in place and keeps saying there will not be a nation-wide lockdown. Many of us think that after the election they’ll all of a sudden start putting in new restrictions, and will enforce city-wide lockdowns (because it’s not nation-wide so it’s not a lie!!). Ugh, politics.

*Update: The current government just secured a new term, and as of November 4th we’ll have a mandatory mask policy inside and outside with a fine of 20 lari ($6.50 USD) if you’re caught without a mask.

Our new bedroom!

Moving House During a Launch

A few weeks ago Chris and I moved into our new apartment. While we don’t have a ton of stuff and our apartment is fully furnished, we still had plenty to move, including our whole cupboard and fridge contents, and two cats.

In addition, some of the things that were provided at our old place are not provided here, like a duvet cover, pillowcases, small trash bins for the bathroom, hand towels, etc. so we needed to head out and buy them.

Now, none of this would be a problem except for the fact that the week we moved, Merilyn, the business coach who I do social media for, was hosting a launch of her new WowArchetypes Personality Course for Entrepreneurs!

While I knew the launch was coming, I didn’t think about how the dates would line up with the move. My bad… Also, the launch involved a free Bootcamp held in the Free Facebook Group… that I manage.

So over the course of a few days, about 800 new people flooded into the Facebook group, and I wanted to make sure I welcomed and engaged with all of them… while moving. Excuse me while I sleep for two weeks straight now…

Our giant kitchen!

A Little Short on Funds

In addition to working for Merilyn, I also work doing college admissions interviews for Chinese students. Because of COVID, the company I work for has partnered with TOEFL ITP, the exam Chinese students need to take to go to university in the US and Canada. Basically, I’m administering the TOEFL speaking exam, and then this exam is also recorded and sent to the universities the students are applying to.

But for some reason, in October, there were NO EXAMS. So… no exams means almost no interviews for Richelle. Which is great… when you get paid per interview.

During this time we also needed to come up with two-months rent upfront for our new place, and we didn’t get our deposit back on our old place because we didn’t give them enough notice (whoopsies). It would’ve been financially smarter for us to wait, but we REALLY didn’t want to miss the opportunity to get our current apartment, and there was another bidder who was happy to move in ASAP.

While we’re okay financially, not having any interviews and needing to pay a deposit on a new place has made our finances a bit tighter than I’d like, especially when I really want to buy some things to decorate our new big space.

Taking the train to Batumi!

My Computer Battery is Broken

Finally, my computer has now started shutting off randomly, especially when I watch a video, or do anything that involves Zoom/ Skype. If my battery is less than 80% charged and I dare to open a Zoom call or watch a Youtube video, my computer will shut off with zero warning.

I checked my battery and it says that “Service is Recommended”. Great.

Now I just need to leave my computer constantly plugged in and find a time in my schedule when I can be without my computer for multiple days in a row so I can pay who knows how much to get it fixed. Good timing!

Batumi’s Black Sea

Blog Posts I Wrote in October

As promised, a wrote a blog post every week this October! Here are my posts from the last month.

An Inside Look at My NEW Tbilisi Apartment! (I Moved!!) – Check out the photos of my new place and hear our house hunting story!

The Relentless Pursuit of Happiness: Confessions of a Happiness Chaser – How constantly chasing happiness and yearning for the future actually makes you miserable, and why it took slowing down for me to discover this.

A Day in The Life of a Location Independent Travel Blogger – So… what exactly do I DO all day?? Here’s an average day for me.

The Freedom Life: September 2020 – See what I was up to in September!

Wearing my purse in Milan!

Travel Product of the Month

Today I want to introduce you to the purse that I’ve been using for the last YEAR. I literally use this purse every single day and it goes with pretty much every outfit I’ve brought with me to Georgia.

What does this have to do with travel? Well, I got this purse to fit with my winter/spring travel capsule wardrobe, and I’ve been using it daily since.

I love this bag because it’s the perfect size to fit my phone, wallet, passport, glasses case, chapstick/lipstick, kindle, and anything else I might need without being bulky. I’ve even fit a water bottle in here! It also looks very polished and goes with everything. Also, it’s super affordable!!

This purse is not an anti-theft purse, but if you’re looking for an everyday option for life/ travel, this is it. Firstly, it’s a crossbody which means you’re hands-free. But it also has a clasp and a zipper, with a smaller zippered pocket inside, meaning it’s hard to get into. When I walk in crowded areas I just hold the bag in front of my body so no one can get to it. The purse also has a zippered pocket on the back, which is perfect for train tickets, subway cards, or even your passport.

Seriously, if you need a new bag that holds up to everyday wear, I’ve used this purse literally every day for a year. I ONLY have this bag and a small clutch, that’s it. I’m highly considering buying another one in brown when the weather heats up again.

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Breakfast in Merisi!

What I’m Reading Now

Last month I finally finished reading The Honest Enneagram by Sarah Jane Case from the Enneagram and Coffee Podcast. This is my go-to recommendation for people who are new to the Enneagram because it was written in 2020 and it’s really simple to understand and easy to read.

That said, despite the book being super short, it took me FOREVER to finish reading because, to be honest, it was all pretty much review for me, so I was bored. While it was fun to read about Sarah’s interpretation of the types with a kind, helpful spin… I really didn’t learn much. So, while this book is great for beginners and beautiful on your coffee table, I don’t recommend it if you already know a fair bit about the Enneagram.

After this book, I moved onto The Complete Enneagram by Beatrice Chestnut and I LOVE it. I’m already learning so much, and the book was only written a few years ago, so it’s much less dense than older Enneagram books like Wisdom of the Enneagram. If you’re into the Enneagram I highly, highly suggest picking up this book.

I’ve even started listening to her podcast with Uranio Paes called Enneagram 2.0 which is really good. They even have a nerdily-fantastic Enneagram rap song intro which makes me die laughing every time. I don’t think it was meant to be funny but… I can’t help myself.

Finishing up Honest Enneagram!

My Favorite Blog Posts of October

Both of these posts are from the first few days of November… sue me.

Here Are All the Things I Haven’t Accomplished This Year in Self-Isolation – This Battered Suitcase (YES. 100% Yes.)

No, I Will Not Stop Talking About Politics on My Travel Blog – Adventurous Kate (me neither.)

What I’m Up to in November!

Probably another lockdown to be honest. My plans are to learn to cook more awesome meals, maybe start baking in my new oven, and not die of COVID.

Also, we’ll have the results of the US election which hopefully does not result in a US Civil War, but I guess we’ll see??

Pin Me!

Pin Me!

Surprise! Chris and I just moved into a new apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia and we signed a YEAR-LONG LEASE. Wow… I haven’t signed one of those since I lived in China!

It was a big decision, but with a second Tbilisi lockdown imminently approaching (more about that in my next monthly recap…), we decided that if we’re going to live here indefinitely, we might as well have a bit more space, and take advantage of all the lower prices due to COVID and the borders being shut.

After a few days of searching, we ended up finding the PERFECT new place, and I’m so excited to show it to all of you!

Here’s a photo of our old apartment from the day we moved in!

First, Let Me Tell You About Our Old Tbilisi Apartment…

As many of you already know, I moved to Tbilisi, Georgia in January 2020 with the intention of staying for about four months, before heading back to the US for a bunch of weddings (including my second wedding with Chris for all our US friends and family).

Not wanting to outlay a ton of money buying things for an apartment we were only going to spend a few months in, Chris and I found the perfect place for $500 USD/ month in Tbilisi’s Vake neighborhood.

This is was my view all day every day

Our one-bedroom apartment was cozy, but offered everything we needed for the next few months, including most kitchen supplies and bedding! We also had a cute balcony great view of the tree-covered mountains and the giant Ferris wheel. Our landlord usually rents the place out on Airbnb but was happy to have us stay for a few months for a reasonable rate, especially since we were renting during the low season.

We turned the kitchen table to create a desk space for two, bought a few bowls since for some reason our kitchen came with ten thousand plates but no usable bowls, and we were set for the next few months!

You have no idea how many times we banged this tv

The bathroom

Feeling a bit Claustrophobic in our apartment

Once COVID lockdown hit, Chris and I started feeling really claustrophobic. Our old place was pretty tiny, and being stuck inside all day every day was not something I was expecting when I signed the lease.

Eventually, I took a job interviewing Chinese students for their college admissions applications, which meant that I needed my own room for conducting interviews. The recordings need to have no background noise, so it just made sense for me to purchase a desk and work in the bedroom.

But then Chris started doing paid online Dungeons and Dragons games as a new form of income, and we had a problem: we couldn’t work at the same time, because you could hear his voice in the background of my interviews! This really limited the games Chris could run to “nighttime”, which meant that we really couldn’t spend a lot of time together.

Then, we added not only one rescue cat, but also a KITTEN to the mix, and things got really tight.

The kitchen was not spacious…

Wanting a Better Bigger Kitchen

In addition to space, there were a few other things we really wanted with a new place. Firstly, our kitchen was TINY. Sure, it was perfect for 4 months when we were planning on eating out a bunch and enjoying the local food, but it was NOT fun for cooking elaborate meals, especially during lockdown.

Now don’t get me wrong, compared to our places in Hoi An, and some of our kitchens in China, this place was great. We had a stovetop with four burners, a full-size fridge, and a DISHWASHER, but we also had zero counter space because 90% of it was taken up by our microwave and portable electric oven.

Because our kitchen was in a corner (with an extra wall because….???) it was impossible for Chris and I to both be doing kitchen-related things at the same time. Chris couldn’t help me cook dinner even if he wanted to!

My desk!

… and no aircon in the bedroom!

Next, we had no air conditioning in the bedroom, which was totally fine for living in the apartment from January – May, but NOT fine for July – August.

While not having aircon in the bedroom is really common in Georgia, the layout of our apartment made it impossible to keep our bedroom cool. The only air conditioning unit was in our living room, as far away from our bedroom door as humanly possible. We would have to turn the air conditioning aggressively low so it could travel in the U-shape necessary to get to our bedroom because there was no door connecting the bedroom and living room.

During the day I had admissions interviews, and I wasn’t able to have the door to the bedroom open, OR the balcony door-window due to street noise. I also couldn’t have a fan blowing on me, because you could hear it in the recording, so I basically sweat to death daily.

Our balcony door/window

My travel capsule wardrobe!

Starting to Look at Other Tbilisi Apartments

As COVID continued on and the borders remained closed, many of our friends moved to more affordable apartments or even got discounts on their current places. Meanwhile, we were still paying our $500 USD/month.

Chris and I had a month-to-month lease and were still paying pre-COVID short-term rental prices and we had now been living there for NINE MONTHS!

Now, I didn’t want to complain or ask for a discount because COVID is hard on everyone. But COVID also hasn’t been super easy on Chris and I either, and we really wanted a bigger space for our money.

I’ve joined a few housing groups on Facebook, and I was seeing the deals we could get if we left and moved to a new place, so I started putting my feelers out there to see what was available.

cuddling with my little floof

Sorry, No Pets!!

Now, our biggest problem was that all of the nice apartments we wanted to see wouldn’t allow pets. This really shocks me considering SO MANY PEOPLE have pets here. Seriously, it’s like every person owns a dog.

After banging my head against the wall with a few Facebook real-estate agents, I went on the website MyHome.ge and started looking. This is where I found the awesome Agent Anna!

In a matter of two days, Anna found five apartments in our budget that met all our requirements AND allowed cats! I was also able to find another four places to see without Anna’s help.

Georgian bread and mountain cheese!

bread on the balcony!

Finding the Perfect Tbilisi Apartment

Chris and I started the day apartment hunting with Anna, and we were immediately impressed by every place she showed us. Upping our budget to $600 instead of $500/month, and agreeing to sign a year-long lease during COVID made the world our oyster, and we found plenty of amazing places in our budget.

That said, a lot of the places were great, but not 100% right for us. For example, there was an AMAZING three-bedroom apartment with a private bedroom office alcove and a fantastic kitchen with the best view…. but it was kind of in the middle of nowhere, we’d want to have a car, and there was really loud construction in the lot right next door.

Our old view

Or there was the beautiful 2-bedroom with GIANT balconies and a view of a waterfall… but it had no kitchen appliances, and there were no shops or restaurants close by.

Next, there was a GIANT place in our current neighborhood of Vake that was almost too big for our needs, but it just felt a bit unfinished, like it was part of the way through a remodel and they just gave up.

We even went on our own to a beautiful apartment in the touristy section of Old Tbilisi, with a fantastic rooftop area, right next to a shopping mall, with a view of some of Tbilisi’s most historic buildings, walking-distance to Rustaveli Square. But… the bedrooms were tiny and dim, and we’d have a hard time fitting desks in them.

But finally, Anna introduced us to our dream home and I’m so excited to share it with all of you!

The perfect place!

Introducing Our New Tbilisi Apartment!

Our new place has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a giant living room and kitchen, two balconies and so much storage space! It also came completely furnished and decorated, and we’ve only had to buy a few things like sheets, small bins, hand towels, etc.

The apartment is 2,000 Georgian lari per month, which is about $620 USD, and it’s literally THREE TIMES the size of our old place.

Not only that, but it’s actually only three blocks away from our old apartment, so we can still make the trek over to our favorite shops like Europroduct and our local fruit and vegetable place.

Now we have air conditioning in EVERY ROOM, a nice big kitchen with a real oven (but no microwave so we’ll probably end up buying one), and actual mirrors all over the place (the only mirror we had in our old place was a small bathroom mirror so I never knew what my outfits looked like). We even have a sliding glass door to lock the cats out of the kitchen while we’re cooking!

Finally, we don’t look out over the main street here, which is so great for street noise. No more honking for us!! We do have construction in the lot next door, but you can barely hear it, and the building they’re working on is only going to be a few stories tall.

The entryway and sliding door to the kitchen/ living room

Let’s Do a House Tour of our New Apartment!

Now let’s move on to what you were waiting for: some photos of our house!

The Entryway

When you first walk in, there’s a large entryway with a chandelier and three large cabinets where we can store our coats, shoes, shopping bags, and cleaning supplies. This space is literally heaven for me, and it makes me want to buy more shoes (in my defense I arrived here with a travel capsule wardrobe…).

Since there was nowhere to put keys and masks, we installed two adhesive hooks to hang them when we walk in the front door.

This hallway has also become a cat zone. We keep their toys in a small basket, and this is also where I feed them.

The large bathroom

The Large Bathroom

Immediately to your left when you walk in the front door is our large bathroom with the shower. I’m not sure why this bathroom isn’t over near the bedrooms but… oh well.

This bathroom has a rainfall shower, a large sink with actual storage, and a washing machine. We also put one of our litter boxes in here.

We ended up buying two cute floor rugs for the bathroom which I love and got a suction-cup hook to hand a hand towel since for some reason there was NOWHERE to hang one.

washing machine and toilet

The shower and sink!

Finally, our kitten also sleeps in this bathroom since he can’t be trusted at night. He slept in the bathroom at our old place because we needed our bedroom door open (for the aircon), and he’s a big fan of knocking things over when we’re not looking. He’s also broken two plates and a bowl and likes to play in our kitchen sink because… why not?

In this new place we planned on leaving the hallway and bathrooms open to him at night, but it really stressed him out being shut out of our room, and he ended up tearing a large chunk of wallpaper off our wall trying to get into the kitchen (don’t worry I glued it back on). So we decided it would be better for him to have the big bathroom at night, and he’s much happier now. All I have to do is pop him in there with a few toys around midnight and he puts himself to bed on one of the rugs.

Chris relaxing in the living room

The Living Room and Kitchen

Our living room has a giant couch which looks towards our TV where we’ve installed our Firestick so we can watch all our favorite shows. We even installed Express VPN onto the Firestick so we can watch US Netflix, HBO, and Amazon Prime!

Chris’ “desk”

Next, we have the kitchen table which can actually be expanded larger if we have guests. For now, this is Chris’ desk, but we’re going to get him a larger desk (like mine!) when we have a chance. There’s a store here called Domino that sells nice wooden table desks for $20 USD.

But honestly, I have no idea what to do with these kitchen chairs so I just… lined them up against the wall? When Chris gets a desk we’re going to move this table over by the tv and break it out for special occasions.

Our giant kitchen!

In the same room as the living room, you’ll find our giant kitchen! Not only do we have a built-in oven and stovetop, but we also have a dishwasher!! (I’ve become so spoiled I can’t go back to not having one). Our refrigerator is also twice the size of our old one, and we have SO MUCH counter space. Now Chris and I can actually (theoretically) cook together!

In the living room, you’ll also see that we have access to the long balcony that extends along the length of our apartment, which I’ll talk about later on.

I need some more decor in here

The Guest Bedroom/ Office

Can I just say, having a guest bedroom makes me feel like such an adult. WHO AM I??? So fancy. Too bad we probably won’t have guests for… a very long time.

But this guestroom is also my office! I’ve never had my own private office before either, and I’m in love!

I’ve commandeered the drawers next to the desk for our microphones, cameras, and ring light, and the small drawer next to me has my makeup, nail polish, and other random stuff that’s just for me. I even stole a poof serving as a nightstand to prop my feet up while I’m working but my kitten usually steals it even if there is a small cat tower literally right next to my desk.

This room also has a door to the long balcony, and air conditioning for when it eventually gets hot again!

For some reason, this room is the coldest room in the house though, so I’ll definitely be getting a nice little rug to help keep me warm now that winter is fast approaching. I also really want to do something to decorate, since the view behind me while I work is kind of meh. I think eventually getting a nice patterned blanket for the bed, and maybe some decorative pillows will help spice it up. I’ll have to also see if they’ll let me hang a painting or something to make the walls less bland. Baby steps.

Our small bathroom

The Half-Bath

Next, you’ll see our small bathroom that’s between the office and master bedroom. I actually really like this bathroom, and this is where I brush my teeth, do my hair, and my skincare routine.

Originally we had the second litterbox on the balcony, but now that it’s getting cold we’ve put it in here. This is mainly so our big cat has somewhere to pee while our kitten sleeps in the larger bathroom at night.

My only complaint about this bathroom is that for some reason the mirror is stupidly high. Our landlords are very tall, so they might not have noticed that us short people can barely see our full faces without standing on our tiptoes.

The bedroom!

The Master Bedroom

Okay, I LOVE this bedroom. It honestly makes me feel like a princess.

I love the blue and white blanket that came with the house. I love the flowy curtains, the patterned rug, the fancy poof seat, and all the space!!

So fancy!

Chris and I have plenty of room for our clothes (which means I can go shopping right…?), with a large wardrobe and a set of drawers.

I love how there are MIRRORS in this house!

Not only does our bedroom connect to the large balcony, but it also connects to a private balcony with chairs and a table, and a fantastic view. I can’t wait for the construction to be finished, because then the view will be PERFECT.

The small balcony view!

Thankfully the construction doesn’t wake us up, and it’s only a bit loud if we leave the small balcony doors open, which we don’t do often since it’s cold. They also stop construction reasonably early and don’t do any construction Sundays.

The long balcony!

Our drying area

The Long Balcony

Our long balcony looks out onto a few apartment buildings and a small soccer field and has a really nice view down the side of a beautiful stone small apartment building and Chavchavadze beyond.

In addition to a foldable drying rack, we also have two wire strings where we can easily dry things like blankets and sheets. I just always get so nervous I’m going to drop a sheet down seven stories!

Unfortunately, the balcony is a bit narrow to fit chairs, although I might still try to find something. We’ve actually been using it more as a second hallway!

What a nice view!

Future Decorating Plans

Chris and I did just shell out two months of rent for this place, so our budget is a bit tight for decorating, but there are a few things I’d love to do with the place over the course of the next few months!

Firstly, I’d love to get a microwave. While I’ve survived without one before, it is super nice to quickly heat up leftovers, or microwave a cup of cold coffee! I also need a little shelving thing to put under the tv so we don’t have a dangling charging strip and all those cords!

Next, I’d love to decorate my office a bit more. I want a cute blanket and throw pillows for the bed, a cozy rug on the floor, maybe a painting above the bed, and a corkboard or something propped against the wall on my desk. This bedroom is by far the least decorated room in the house, and if I’m going to be in here all day, I might as well make it feel homey, right?

… just don’t look this way on the balcony

The two of us do need to get an actual desk for Chris soon, and the plan is to move the current table over next to the tv as a little station where Chris can paint his Warhammer Miniatures (he STILL hasn’t painted any since we’ve been here), and then we’ll break it out if we have a dinner party or something. I still don’t know what to do with the kitchen chairs though…

We also really need to get a Duvet cover and pillowcases. Right now we only have the two silk pillowcases I bought for the Curly Girl Method and our other pillows and duvet are all bare. We did buy one duvet cover that came with pillowcases, but it’s way too small for our bed (but for some reason the sheets fit even though we bought the same size???). I may also just order a few extra pillowcases from Amazon or something if I can’t find any being sold by themselves in the shops here in Georgia. For some reason, only duvets come with pillowcases and sheets come by themselves.

The door on the left is my office with a fancy curved wall…?

I also really want to get a shower filter from US Amazon and install it in the shower here, because my skin and hair are both so awful due to the hard water. While apple cider vinegar rinses are helping my hair, my skin is SO DRY.

Finally, we might actually switch the mattress in our bedroom with the one in my office. Our current mattress (more like a box spring with a pad), seems to be a bit old, and the springs really cave in, to the point that Chris and I just slide towards the center while we sleep. Also, if one of us rolls over, the whole bed shakes! One of these days I’ll get around to switching them.

Welcome to Tbilisi Old Town!

What Do You Think?

Overall, I’m super excited about our new Tbilisi apartment!

But I’m very curious, what do you think? Do you like the apartment? Does this make you want to move to Tbilisi? Do you think we made the right call?

Also, if you have any suggestions on how to decorate and organize the place without spending a fortune, I’d love to know!

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The Relentless Pursuit of Happiness: Confessions of a Happiness Chaser

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Over the last few years, I’ve learned something big about myself: I’m a Happiness Chaser.

I want what I want, and I want it right now, almost to the point that I pine for the future because the future is a mystical and magical place where I’ll finally have everything I want so I can be happy. It’s almost like I live 10 steps ahead in my own mind. Rather than being present, I’m so focused…

A Day in the Life of a Location Independent Travel Blogger

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So… what’s it really like to be a location independent travel blogger, online course creator, and freelancer? What do I DO all day, especially now during COVID? What’s an average day look like working from home in Tbilisi?

These are questions I get all the time, so I figured… why not share an average day in the life?

A few years ago I wrote about a day in the life of a China expatand…

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What I Was Up to This Month

This September I spent the entire month in Tbilisi, Georgia (surprise, surprise!). I’ve been working on my goal of writing a blog post every week, and having some fun while I’m at it! This month wasn’t all fun though, I had to send in my computer for repairs (ahhh!!) AND the new headphones I ordered from the US don’t work with my computer. So… that’s great.

Read along to see what I was up to this September!

Where I Went in September

Tbilisi, Georgia

and… um… that’s it.

Drinking Georgian wine!

Highlights

Here are the best moments from the month of September!

Fun Time With Friends

This month I made sure to set aside a few evenings for fun with friends! (In small groups of course). It was nice to enjoy the last little bit of warm weather by having wine under the stars of a friend’s new house, or enjoying homemade cocktails while playing Cards Against Humanity.

I’ve really been trying to appreciate the social things I am able to do because I am so lucky to live in a country with very low COVID cases (for now…). I’ve only really been saying yes to smaller group events, and usually only once a week right now. But this means I can really appreciate them and have a lot of fun while I’m there!

Look at everyone napping together!

My Cats Hate Each Other Less

In case you missed last month’s recap, Chris and I rescued a kitten on the side of the road. My older cat HATED him and refused to be in the same room as him. She even hissed at me when she could smell him on me!

Now they’re finally starting to get along… sometimes.

They’ll play together for about 15 minutes until the older cat remembers she hates him, and then there’s lots of yowling as she smacks him a little too hard. Thankfully he’s not traumatized and continues to constantly bug her. He follows her around the house, jumps on her back while she’s pooping, and interrupts her naps by poking her in the face.

For the most part, they can now be in the same room together. We still separate them at night, and sometimes we need to put the kitten in time out when he won’t leave our big floof alone. But progress is progress!

First book down!

Second book down!

Reading My Enneagram Books

As I’ve mentioned a few times now, I’m kind of absolutely obsessed with the Enneagram.

In addition to writing 1 blog post a week, I also have a second autumn goal of reading 4 Enneagram books in 3 months. (2 big ones and 2 small ones). I placed an order last month for two new Enneagram books and they arrived! I already finished one of them (about how to help other people find their Enneagram type!!), and I’m just over halfway through another one!

Now that I’m 2.5 books down by the end of September, I think I might actually finish this goal a month early!!

Georgian bread and cheese on the balcony for brunch!

Writing New Blog Posts Every Week!

One month down, three months to go: I successfully wrote 1 blog post a week during September! Granted, one of these blog posts was on another website, but it’s 10,000 words long so you’ll have to cut me some slack on that one.

I’ve really been enjoying this challenge because it’s not just about writing more, it’s about writing things I’m passionate about. I don’t want to just crank out travel, teach abroad, top 10’s, or affiliate posts. I’m going to be opening up and writing things I actually want to write.

To be honest, I was actually very nervous to write the Enneagram post earlier this month because it has almost nothing to do with travel, and I thought you wouldn’t be interested. But then I realized, a lot of you aren’t interested in teaching abroad either, and I never let that stop me. Not everyone has to be interested in every single post I write and that’s okay.

But on top of that, I also had some imposter syndrome! I was worried I didn’t know enough about the Enneagram to share it. Of course, this is ridiculous considering I’ve read multiple books, listened to tons of Podcasts, and watched countless Youtube videos. I even joined an Enneagram webinar earlier this month. So yeah, I went for it and I’m so glad I did!

This is my view all day every day

Challenges

Last month wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Here’s what didn’t go so well…

My Computer Wouldn’t Connect to the Internet!

I had the craziest computer problem earlier this month, which meant I had to go without a computer for multiple days!

I was sitting there working on my computer when all of a sudden it disconnected from the internet. Not only that, but I couldn’t reconnect no matter what I did, and I couldn’t even connect to my hotspot! Now I’ve lived in this apartment since January and never had a problem. The wifi works for all our other devices and my hotspot would work for Chris. It was bizarre! But then randomly later that day my internet started working again…

Two days later, it happened AGAIN right in the middle of my admissions interviews. I had to have someone cover the rest of my interviews for the day, while I spent over an hour with Apple tech support who said it must be a hardware issue.

Thankfully there’s an approved Apple tech place here in Tbilisi, but they insisted I wait two days and bring it in. Of course, my internet starts working again later that day, but I still need to bring it in because it KEEPS happening. But unlike the US, they can’t do the diagnostic tests while I’m there, and need to take my laptop for multiple days. AHHH!! My laptop is my only computer, and I use it for work, so obviously, this is a disaster.

But then after two days they call me and say there’s NOTHING wrong with my computer. What??

I honestly didn’t believe them but there was nothing to do except take it home. But the second I brought it home I plugged everything in… the internet doesn’t work. What the actual F***?!

Chris and I hop in the cab to take it back to the shop, and I decide to check in the cab and see if my hotspot will work… and it does?! What? WHAT??

So during this time Chris starts googling in the car and comes across an old forum post from a few years ago where someone mentions that USB devices can sometimes interfere with wifi… and I had JUST bought a USB extender so I could plug in my USB work headphones, my USB desk lamp, and my USB mouse/ keyboard at the same time. I got rid of the USB extender and… what do you know!

So basically Chris and I arrived at the apple support place right as we realized the problem, and then promptly ordered another taxi home. Whoopsies!

Weirdest computer problem ever.

buns all day every day

My Hair is a Disaster

So… this has been a challenge for the last few months but my hair is AWFUL in Tbilisi. SO BAD.

I’ve been following the Curly Girl Method for a few years now, and my hair is looking so much better. But over the months my hair keeps getting worse and worse.

When I try to detangle my hair in the shower, it takes about 5x longer than it should (I just turn the water off now), and it feels like I’m trying to detangle my hair with one of those 2 in 1 shampoo conditioners, rather than my actual nice conditioner. It also feels like the conditioner is not penetrating my hair at all, and my hair even feels squeaky like I’ve just put a bunch of shampoo in it.

Not only that, but my hair looks like absolute CRAP when it’s dry. The day I wash it my hair looks fine, but then all bets are off. For you straight-haired people who wash your hair every day and are shaking your heads, just keep in mind you’re not supposed to wash curly hair every day, and I put a TON of expensive products in it when I wash it. Also, my hair takes about 5-6 hours to dry. So it only looks nice for about 2-3 hours and then it’s a frizzy rats nest in a bun.

I realized the problem is that Georgia has very hard water with a ton of minerals. The minerals are drying out my hair and making it so that the conditioner can’t actually get into the hair strand.

I did a ton of research and ordered Kinky Curly Come Clean all the way from the US as a chelating shampoo, but this did absolutely nothing for me. I’ve now started weekly apple cider vinegar rinses which are helping, but not enough. So I’ve given up and I’ll be ordering a shower filter from the US. Thankfully they’re only about $30 an easy to install! Wish me luck…

AHHH!

I Ordered Headphones From the US that Didn’t Work!

In addition to the shampoo, I also ordered headphones with a microphone for my admissions interviews. I’ve been borrowing a pair from a friend for… a few months now, and I figured it’s time I finally buy my own.

I ordered some awesome Sennheiser headphones form the US and after waiting a few weeks for them to arrive… they arrived with TWO headphone jacks. WHAT?? Who has a computer with two headphone jacks? Maybe some call centers…? I guess I should’ve read the reviews more closely…

But here’s the thing… I can’t just return them to the US! I use a package forwarding service to send packages from the US to Tbilisi, so there’s no way I can just return them. UGH.

I tried using a headphone splitter and the headphones were able to work but not the microphone. Then I bought a headphone splitter that is specifically for headsets like these (with one side clearly marked for headphones and one clearly marked for microphones) and it STILL DIDN’T WORK.

Finally, Chris ordered a USB adaptor for headsets like mine all the way from the US. It finally arrived a few days ago and it actually works!!!!!

I mean, I was trying to avoid USB stuff considering my USB extender makes my wifi shut off, but oh well. You win some you lose some.

Yep…

US Politics… Ugh

Honestly… I’m so tired I can’t even anymore. I was trying to have “productive” discussions with people on social media who hold opinions I consider problematic (like spouting black-on-black crime statistics to excuse violence against the black community or people who are hard-core anti-mask), but I just can’t deal with the negativity and arguments from these people anymore.

I was also avoiding blocking people who have different political views from me so that I understand what “the other side” is thinking and they may see my posts and change their minds, but WOW is it exhausting to see that crap in your feed.

I just feel so angry all the time, and I need a break. I want to be a good ally and fight for what’s right, but now my Facebook feels completely toxic to me. This wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that I have to spend multiple hours a day on Facebook for work.

Also, the presidential debate a few days ago… WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT??

Only fifteen minutes in and I was already screaming “SHUT UP” at Trump. One hour in and I just had to give up and turn it off. I was hoping to get a clearer picture of what Biden’s platform actually is, but to be honest, the entire debate was just screaming and everyone talking all over each other. I was actually really curious to learn more about Biden’s stances are on certain issues, but it was impossible to get any information with Trump heckling him to try and get him to respond to conspiracy theories and address his son’s drug use.

I already know who I’m voting for anyway, so…. whatever I guess?

Yasmina doesn’t have any front teeth so her tongue is out all the time ❤ 

Blog Posts I Wrote in August

Keeping with my promise, I wrote a blog post every week for the last month! My goal was to have them all be on Adventures Around Asia, but after writing a 10,000-word guide on the website I share with Chris, I honestly didn’t have the energy to write another one last week. Sue me.

Here are the blog posts I wrote for Adventures Around Asia!

The Freedom Life: July + August 2020

Finding My Passion Again: Blogger Burnout in 2020

What the Heck is the Enneagram and Why Am I So Obsessed With It?

Here’s the monster of a guide I wrote for Multiple Nerdgasms!

How to Create Believable D&D Characters with the Enneagram

Which post was your favorite? What kinds of posts do you want to see more of? Let me know in a comment below!

Photo by Amazon

Travel Product of the Month

What’s a coffee lover to do when you travel as much as I do? While I owned a coffee machine in China, it just didn’t make sense to buy a new machine in every country I move to, especially when I move every few months. While there is instant coffee, to be honest, I’m not a huge fan.

A few years ago I got given an Aeropress for Chrismas and I’ve never looked back! I’m now on my second Aeropress and I LOVE IT. I honestly haven’t even thought about buying a coffee machine here in Tbilisi because my Aeropress does the job so well.

Not only is the Aeropress super easy to use, but it’s also so easy to clean! You just pop out the coffee grounds in a little pellet, and quickly rinse the product and set it out to dry. it takes two seconds.

While the Aeropress does come with little mini coffee filters, I actually bought a reusable metal filter. Not only is it better for the environment, but I also don’t have to ever worry about running out while I’m abroad!

[button url=”https://amzn.to/3iny2dG” label=”Try the Aeropress For Yourself!” size=”large” target=”_blank”]

This is how I read

What I’m Reading Now

Right now I’m re-reading the Honest Enneagram by Sarah Jane Case who runs the Enneagram and Coffee Podcast. So far I think this is the best beginner Enneagram book out there.

Why is that? Well, the Honest Enneagram is super easy to read, and it’s not very long. The book was written in 2020, so the language is current, and it reads more like a friend explaining the Enneagram than an in-depth dense psychology book. (No offense Wisdom of the Enneagram but you are dense AF).

If you want to learn more about the Enneagram and your type, but need something fun and easy to read, this is my recommendation.

While I have it on Kindle, I highly suggest grabbing the hardcover copy. Not only is it super cute (seriously, I want one for my future coffee table), but it’s also much easier to flip around with a physical book. I actually recommend getting all Enneagram books as a physical copy for this reason alone.

Oh haaay!

My Favorite Blog Posts of September

I had someone ask me to bring these back, so your wish is my command! Here are my favorite blog posts last month!

How Italians Stay Thin Eating Piza and Pasta All The Time – Tilted Map (This makes me want to go back to Milan)

The End… Or the Beginning? – The Blog Abroad (I don’t have a 7 figure income, but SAME. SAAAAAME)

My Semi-Disasterous Trip to Ho Tram, Vietnam – The Travel Lush (this makes me want to write about some of the resorts from my honeymoon!)

Why Now is the Time to Pivot – The Travel Hack (I really related to this one too! I love traveling and helping people teach abroad, but I also have other passions I want to explore)

Photo by Eco House Merisi

What I’m Up to in October!

October 5th will be my one-year wedding anniversary. WHAAAT? How has it already been a year???

So Chris and I decided to head out and do something really special for our anniversary. The two of us are going to take a 5-hour train to Batumi (spread out and with masks of course), where we’ll spend a night. Then we’re driving almost two hours up into the mountains to stay at a 2-room hotel I found on TIK TOK. Yes, you heard that right.

I was scrolling through my TikTok and, of course, I sometimes get Georgian stuff since I’m in Georgia. A quick video popped up about 3 incredible hotels in Georgia. One was Rooms Hotel Kazbegi (which Chris and I stayed in over the summer), and another was Eco House Merisi.

This hotel looked so beautiful I immediately had to look it up. This hotel doesn’t have a website and isn’t on any booking sites. It literally only has a Facebook page and we booked through Facebook messenger!!

For $100 USD/night USD we have our own private mountain villa with an incredible view, and an outdoor jacuzzi hot tub. They’re even going to set out candles around the tub on the night of our anniversary which I am beyond excited for.

Honestly, I can’t think of a better way to spend an anniversary during COVID times than at a 2-villa hotel in the absolute middle of nowhere.

I’ll be sure to let you know how the trip goes when I get back, and I promise to post about it on Instagram Stories!!

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Let’s Hear From You!

How was your month? Do you want to hear more about my tech struggles working online, or my trip to Batumi and Merisi? Let me know in a comment below!

What the Heck is the Enneagram and Why Am I So Obsessed With It?

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info. 

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I think I’ve mentioned (approximately five or six times) that I’m kind of obsessed with the Enneagram, and I’ve had a few questions about what exactly this is, and why I talk about it so much.

So since I’m now writing weekly blog posts about things I’m passionate about, let me introduce you to my biggest…

Finding My Passion Again: Blogger Burnout in 2020

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info. 

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So… you’ve probably noticed I haven’t been writing a lot of blog posts this year.

While I used to diligently crank out monthly recaps and helpful travel and teach abroad content, along with the occasional hilarious or adventurous travel story, I just really haven’t been feeling the passion lately.

And… by…

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It’s been quite a while since I’ve done the Freedom Life monthly recaps, but I decided it’s finally time to get back into it! That said, I may or may not have started writing this post with the intent of it just being a July monthly recap and then… got too busy to finish it. Story of my life…

So anyway, here’s what I was up to this summer living in Tbilisi, Georgia!

On the way to Kazbegi!

What I Was Up To This Summer

Over the last two months, I’ve been very busy! Firstly, Chris and I took a quick weekend trip to Kazbegi along the Georgia Military Highway!

In addition to that small trip, I attended a baby shower, prevented my cat from dying via surgery, rescued a NEW kitten, launched a new website with Chris, and more!

**For those of you who are concerned about me traveling during COVID-times, the Republic of Georgia handled the pandemic very well (we only had 17 deaths TOTAL) and things are really starting to open up. We did have a very strict mask protocol at the hotel though, and we specifically went to the countryside where we could explore with almost no people.

Where I Went in July

Tbilisi, Georgia

Mtskheta, Georgia

Pasanauri, Georgia

Kazbegi, Georgia

Sno, Georgia

Gudauri, Georgia

Gergeti Trinity Church is lit up behind me!

Highlights

Here are the best moments from July and August!

A Quick Trip to Kazbegi

After being cooped up in a small apartment for months and months, Chris and I were so excited to finally get out and see a bit more of Georgia. Unfortunately for us, we only had about 2 months to enjoy Georgia before lockdown, so aside from a quick wine tasting day trip, we really hadn’t seen much of the country!

Now that things are (almost) back to normal here, we decided to head to Kazbegi in the mountains near the Russian border. The lack of tourism has been really hard for all of these beautiful mountain towns, so it was nice to be able to provide some business while enjoying the fresh (and chilly) mountain air.

We booked a heavily discounted room at Rooms Hotel Kazbegi, which is one of the nicest local hotel chains in Georgia. It was so nice to take a few days away, and enjoy the beautiful view of the mountains and Gergeti Trinity Church.

Honestly, I think Kazbegi is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to in my life.

The Russia Georgia Friendship Monument!

Driving the Georgian Military Highway

Driving to and from Kazbegi was an adventure in and of itself! We hired an awesome driver named Timo from GoTrip.ge, who not only stopped at all the major sights along the Georgian Military Highway, he also suggested additional stops and activities for us!

On the way to Kazbegi, we had the opportunity to visit Mtskheta to see the beautiful Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in town and the Jvari Monastery which sits up on a hill giving you an incredible view of the entire town.

We also stopped at the famous Ananuri Fortress, Pasanauri for their amazing khinkali dumplings, Sakuriani to drink mineral water from a natural spring just off the highway, an area just off the highway with “sticky rocks” you could climb up without slipping despite the slight waterfall, and of course, the Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument, which we had completely to ourselves!

On the way back a few days later, we stopped at Sno to see the famous carved head sculptures of Georgian poets, and we even got to take an hour-long cable car through the mountains to Gudauri! We really thought the cable car would be closed considering no one was there, but they let us ride which was such a fun surprise! That said, it was super weird to ride a cable car for an hour and see NO ONE.

Honestly, the trip to and from Kazbegi is amazing, and I’ll have to write a blog post about it soon!

Fruit Baby!

Attending my First Baby Shower

This July was my first experience attending a baby shower! Two of our friends are having a baby literally any day now, so it was very fun to be able to celebrate with them!

We played baby-themed trivia, ate tons of great food, and there was even a gender-reveal with cupcakes! I also loved being able to shop for a few cute baby things as a gift!

Chris and I Launched Multiple Nerdgasms

Over the last two months, Chris and I launched a brand new blog together: Multiple Nerdgasms! This is a site where we can talk about one of our other loves: Dungeons and Dragons. (Yes, we’re both giant nerds).

Chris has been DM’ing D&D games for 24 years (seriously), and I started playing a few years ago. While I used to play once every two weeks, during lockdown, I got involved in three different online D&D games!!

Chris and I thought it would be interesting to write about D&D from the perspective of both the player and the DM, as well as exploring both a male and female perspective. I’ve already written a few posts for the site, and set up social media accounts. I can’t wait to keep writing more!

Surprisingly, the very first post I wrote about gender equality and D&D actually got a lot of traction! People were sharing it on Twitter in women’s D&D groups, and many people reached out to me with their own stories of sexism in D&D. I even inspired a few men I know to create strong female characters.

it’s hard to get a good picture of him

I Rescued a Kitten

So at the end of August (aka last week), I may or may not have rescued ANOTHER cat. After coming home from a nice dinner out, Chris and I stepped out of the taxi and were immediately accosted by a 2-month-old kitten who wouldn’t stop meowing at us.

He looked fairly healthy, so we thought that there was a possibility he belonged to someone in the area, especially considering the fact that he kept running up to people, looking for help/food.

We were originally going to leave him because we didn’t want to take someone’s cat, and even if he was a stray, Georgia has a ton of street cats and kittens that do very well. We even waited for a solid 40-minutes just to see if we could find a mother or owner, but no one came for him.

But on the way home, this little kitten decided to follow us, almost getting hit by two different cars in the process! Worried that he wasn’t going to survive on his own outside, we decided to take him home until we could figure out where he belongs.

After a visit to the vet the next day, we learned that he is definitely a street kitten, but doesn’t have great street-smarts and was relying on people for food and attention. Now he’s happily at home with us and is probably the most loving kitten I’ve ever met in my life. So… welcome to the family?

Yasmina relaxing after her surgery

Challenges

This summer wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Here’s what didn’t go so well…

My Cat Almost Died

If you didn’t already know, I’ve been fostering a cat named Yasmina for a few months now. She’s also a street rescue and has a ton of medical problems. At the beginning of the summer, Yasmina started to go really downhill. She was having a lot of trouble pooping, barely ate, slept constantly, and appeared to be in immense pain.

I kept taking her to the vet, who gave her IV treatments and lots of medicine, but she wasn’t getting any better. We even gave her an enema to try and clear out her bowels! (She hated it).

While my vet seemed great (and refused to take any money for any of these treatments?!!), she also didn’t speak English very well and couldn’t really take the time to fully explain to me what was wrong with Yasmina. I kept offering to pay her (seriously, she’s a saint), hoping she would give me more time, but even the paying clients were extremely rushed in this very busy clinic. I started feeling like it might be worth my time to go to a different vet that comes highly recommended from other expats in Tbilisi.

So after not hearing back from the original vet for a few days, and getting very worried about Yasmina not making it, I had Chris take her into the Veterinary Clinic at Georgia Agriculture University. Apparently, Yasmina is 8-10 years old NOT 2-3 like a vet originally told the girl who rescued her, and her biggest problem is not her kidneys, but the fact that she had a solid kilo of poop stuck in her intestine! She needed to undergo emergency surgery IMMEDIATELY and there was only a 50-50 shot she’d make it due to her age and medical problems.

On hearing this, I contacted the company I work for remotely and asked to have my remaining shift covered while I raced to get to the hospital to be there for her surgery. The entire surgery I was so nervous I felt sick! But thankfully she’s such a strong girl, she came out of surgery just fine, and has completely recovered!

I had to give her a lot of medicine, and take her in for IVs every day (and this vet clinic is NOT nearby my house…). I also have to feed her Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Wet food in 4 small servings a day which is not cheap.. but it’s a small price to pay for my fluffy baby!

As of now, Yasmina is a completely different cat. She’s constantly playing with toys, and went from barely ever making a sound to becoming an extremely talkative little lady. A little too talkative to be honest… 

At least I have khinkali

My Course Launch Didn’t Go As Planned

As many of you know, I have an online course and coaching program called Teach Abroad Squad that helps people to be successful teaching abroad in China!

Understandably, this year has not been great for my business. With the Chinese borders closed and no end to COVID in sight, it’s been a tough year for me.

That said, I did have a very successful launch of my program in April! I had my highest grossing launch yet, and had a bunch of really awesome people join the program. I’ve been working with a business coach who has really helped me through the entire thing (from positioning for the pandemic to dealing with my many mindset issues about selling during this time).

So after that successful launch in April, I decided to do another one in July! I made the free webinar training even longer and better, and had just as many people sign up as I did in April. However, no one joined the program, despite many people seeming interested.

Honestly, this is not really something I wanted to be open about, because I felt really ashamed of the results. I have this fear that if I talk about the struggles I’ve had with my program this year, people will think Teach Abroad Squad isn’t a success and they won’t want to join.

But deep down, I know Teach Abroad Squad is an incredible course, and I have full confidence in it. It’s really just the current situation that’s made things very hard.

Back in April, people still had a lot of hope that the borders would be open by now. So investing in Teach Abroad Squad was a no-brainer! But now with the pandemic raging in many countries like the US with no end in sight, I have the feeling that many people are choosing to hold off until things become more stable.

That said, it doesn’t make my July launch any less disappointing! I put a ton of time and work into promoting Teach Abroad Squad, and sometimes it’s hard not to equate your business to your own self-worth. It’s definitely something I’m working on!

This failed launch has definitely given me the time and perspective to look at potentially creating a second program I’m really proud of, with a different topic that’s more relevant right now.

While I still love and fully support Teach Abroad Squad (I mean, we do live Q&A’s weekly and monthly Zoom Coaching Calls!), it might make the most sense for me to stop pushing it for the moment and focus some energy on a new topic. Now, just to figure out what that topic will be…

For those of you who are interested in Teach Abroad Squad, I’ve decided to put a hold on webinars and big promotions for now. So if you want to join, I’m leaving the cart wide open for you! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! 

Drinking cocktails with social distancing in Kazbegi

Work Overload: Course Launch, Freelancing, and Interviewing!

Most of July and parts of August were EXTREMELY stressful for me. Earlier in the summer, I started a new part-time job interviewing Chinese students for their college admissions applications, which has been a great source of extra income, but also takes up a lot of the time I used to use to work on my blog and Teach Abroad Squad.

I also have a position working as a social media manager for my business coach Merilyn! Yes, I joined her Lead Your World program, and then she ended up hiring me a few months later to do Social Media! (I help run her Facebook Page and Facebook Group!)

Trying to do these two jobs, and run a launch for Teach Abroad Squad, while also running my cat to the vet 30 minutes outside of town DAILY… is a giant recipe for burnout.

I ended up having major pain in my jaw that’s only just now calming down. But wow, I really overloaded myself these last two months… hence, why this blog post never got published and it’s a 2-month recap!

Georgian bread and cheese on the balcony for brunch!

Major Payment Plan Issues

To make financial matters worse, I had a few people in my program ask me to postpone their payment plan payments by a month due to financial issues. While I wouldn’t normally allow this, I know COVID has been super rough for everyone, so I allowed the payments to be pushed back by a month and followed the instructions from MemberPress to put their payment plans on pause.

IT WAS A DISASTER.

Not only did the system charge them anyway, but it also created a second subscription for them when I turned their access back on, meaning it charged them TWICE the next month. WTF!

Unfortunately for me, MemberPress only does tech support via email (seriously! It’s a paid service!), and my tech support person literally had no idea what I did wrong when I sent them screenshots of my system. They eventually had to get more advanced tech support in the backend of my website to try and fix the problem. It was a complete nightmare and I’m still mad.

Look at them not killing each other!

Trying to Introduce My New Kitten

While I’ve loved having my new kitten Mordie, my older cat Yasmina has NOT been happy. We’ve had to keep Mordie in the bathroom while Yasmina gets accustomed to him, and then we bring him into the bedroom to hang out for large chunks during the day and evening.

I know this is normal, but we have a very small apartment, and keeping them separate has been hard!

Not to mention, Yasmina was pissed at ME for bringing him home. She’d even smell his scent on my hand and growl at me. One day Mordie escaped into the living room and she was so mad she slapped me in the face! She also completely refused to come in the bedroom because it smelled like him, and hissed at me the one time I brought her in there.

Finally, after a week she’s starting to come around. They even napped next to each other on the bed today and she only hissed at him if he tried to come within a foot of her. Baby steps!

Here’s a Georgian tomato and cucumber salad with walnut paste

The USA is a Giant Mess

I could write an entire post on this, but this summer has really showcased that the US has some big problems they need to fix. Firstly the way we’ve handled the pandemic is absolutely ridiculous (and this is coming from someone who lives in a country that locked down hard and only had 17 deaths nationally). Then on top of this, the police brutality and reactions towards the BLM movement is horrifying.

While I’m glad I’m in Georgia right now, there is definitely a part of me that wishes I was in the US so I could participate in the BLM protests to demand racial equality, police accountability, and justice for the many victims of police violence and racism.

I’ve been trying to do my part to help, and have the difficult conversations with the few people in my newsfeed (and on my Adventures Around Asia page!!) who just DON’T get it. While I would typically just block these people for my sanity, I’ve realized that this isn’t productive. But wow, is it EXHAUSTING to talk with people who refuse to recognize their own biases, and will literally never change their minds.

But every time I feel like I just want to walk away, I remember that many people don’t have the privilege to do so. I think many of us have felt exhausted, hurt, and angry these last few months, and I really hope the protests (and upcoming election) create some positive change for our country.

Hello Tbilisi!

Blog Posts I’ve Written Lately

Here are the blog posts I wrote and guest posts I published on Adventures Around Asia since my last major life update/recap!

Fun Fact: I’m a Huge Nerd

What It’s Like to Teach in China as a Black Woman (Guest Post)

Moving to China With Kids: Teaching Abroad With the Whole Family (Guest Post)

I’ve also written two blog posts for Multiple Nerdgasms!

Why I Always Play Female Characters in D&D

Tragic Backstories: 10 Subtle Traumas for Your D&D Backstory

Travel Product of the Month

This month I want to give a shoutout to my amazing Teva W Ysidro Sandals that have gotten me through the summer. Not only are these things super cute and go with pretty much every outfit, but they’re also SO comfortable and supportive. They even have extra cushioning on the ball and heel of the shoe!

I had a pair a few years ago that I literally wore to death, which is why I was so excited to get these for Christmas! Now that the weather is warm I can finally wear them.

This cat tried to eat our food for the entire meal.

What I’m Reading Now: Wisdom of the Enneagram

If you didn’t know, I’m more than a little obsessed with the Enneagram, a personality categorization and self-help tool. The Wisdom of the Enneagram is considered by many to be the “Enneagram Bible” and the book that you really need to read if you want to learn the Enneagram in-depth.

While I’ve owned Wisdom of the Enneagram for quite a while now and had read through most of it, I decided to start reading through from the beginning again now that I have a better understanding of the Enneagram. I’m also taking notes and highlighting important info!

I honestly feel like I’m back in college again and I don’t even mind. It’s always fun to learn something new!

Best Instagram Post

I took this one from the balcony door of my room at Rooms Hotel Kazbegi! Man, the view here is so amazing…

  View this post on Instagram

  A post shared by Richelle (@adventuresaroundasia) on Jul 25, 2020 at 4:24am PDT

What I’m Up to in September

To be honest, I don’t have any big plans for September, but there are a few things that I want you all to keep me accountable on!

Firstly, I plan to start writing a blog post EVERY WEEK on Adventures Around Asia. I know, right? I’ve been so horrible about writing since the pandemic started because I just haven’t felt the passion for travel right now (and neither does anyone else…).

My plan is to write every week about something I’m passionate about, whether or not it has anything to do with travel. To be honest, most of what I’ll say will at least be tangentially related to my life traveling and living abroad (because that’s my life!), but I’m not pressuring myself to write travel articles and teach abroad posts right now when I just really don’t feel inspired.

I hope you all enjoy my passion-led blog posts this autumn and keep me accountable if I haven’t posted anything in over a week!!

Moving to China With Kids: Teaching Abroad With the Whole Family

Feature Photo by Susanne Jutzeler from Pexels

The following is a guest post by one of my Teach Abroad Squad members, Michelle!

Michelle plans to move to China with her husband and three kids as soon as the borders open up! Michelle isn’t alone either: teaching abroad with the whole family has become more and more common.

So many people have reached out to me asking if it’s possible to teach…

Most of you know that I love to travel, I lived in China for quite a while, and I’m location-independent right now. You may also know that I love cats and spicy food. But did you also know I’m a huge nerd?

Today I decided to hop off the travel/ expat life train and talk a little bit about the sides of me you don’t see: the super nerdy and slightly weird sides.

Here are 5 ways in which I am a giant nerd. Enjoy!

If this doesn’t scream confidence I don’t know what does…

1. I’m Obsessed with Survivor

One thing you need to understand about me is that I’m super obsessed with the tv show Survivor. Yes, that show is still on the air, and they just wrapped up their 40th season. FORTY.

You know how people talk about sports? That’s how I talk about Survivor. I’m super into the strategy, the social game, and the lengths people are willing to go to in order to win. If you haven’t watched Survivor in a long time, the game is a completely different animal now, and the level of strategy needed in order to win is super intense. I LOVE IT.

Not only do I watch Survivor religiously, but I also watch Australian Survivor and I listen to Survivor podcasts like RHAP’s (Rob has a Podcast)’s “Survivor Know It Alls” and “Why _____ Lost” (talking about why a player was voted out), and the Survivor Specialists. If you love Survivor and you don’t listen to Survivor podcasts, what are you even doing with your life?

Finally, I even applied to be on Survivor last fall. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it all the way to getting on the show, but I already have some new ideas for when I apply again this fall. Basically I’m going to be on Survivor, they just don’t know it yet.

 A quick intro to D&D if you’re curious

2. I Play D&D (Dungeons and Dragons)

When I first started dating my husband Chris, he told me he was the Dungeon Master (DM) for a local D&D game. I had absolutely no idea what D&D was, but I knew it was nerdy and that I should probably make fun of him for it.

Fast forward a few months and I’m on a quick visit home to Seattle when I met up with my childhood best friend who informed me that she ALSO played D&D. What??

The way she described the game sounded so fun that when I arrived back in Beijing I asked to join. Unfortunately my first game was a bit intense. Not only did I have no idea what I was doing, but I was also the only girl surrounded by a bunch of aggressive super-nerds. That game eventually fell apart at the start of summer (one session after I joined), and so I started a new game online with a bunch of Chris’ childhood and college friends back in Australia.

via GIPHY

That was about three years ago and I’ve been playing online with that same group of people ever since! For the longest time I used to play every other Sunday for 4 hours, but during COVID isolation I needed more of a social life, so I picked up TWO MORE GAMES, one on Tuesday evening and another on Thursday.

Both my new characters are SUPER WEIRD as well. One is a necromantic spore druid who makes zombies with fungus (and can cover her skin in it to become more powerful). She also has a “husband” named Gerold who is literally just a skull she found in the woods. Then I have another character that is a kappa (from Japanese folklore) water shaman who heals people by pouring the water from inside her head onto them (I make it super weird). She also has a cat-sized pet crab too. You’re welcome.

I’ve always been weird

3. I Love Pokemon (and still play Pokemon GO)

Growing up I was always super into Pokemon. I watched the show, collected the cards, and bought all the Gameboy games. As a special treat, my mom would take my brother and I to the games shop to buy a pack of Pokemon cards to put in my GIANT Pokemon card book.

Now that I’m an adult, I’m still super into Pokemon. Unfortunately for me, Pokemon Go came out while I was living in China, and I was SO UPSET that it was blocked. I even tried to get on with my VPN but there were NO POKEMON TO CATCH. WHYYYY???

Fortunately for me, I eventually left China and was able to start playing with my husband Chris. I still play Pokemon GO when I’m out and about, and I’ve found it’s a great way to get exercise while exploring a place. When staying with my parents, Chris and I would try and get out of the house every day or two and walk for a solid 45 minutes just to hit up Pokestops, take over gyms, and catch Pokemon.

I also play the Pokemon games on my Switch too! I already finished Pokemon Let’s Go, and I’m playing Sword and Shield Now! (I only took a break because I got really into Animal Crossing).

A Quick Enneagram 101

4. I’m Super Into the Enneagram

If you’re into personality types like Myers Briggs (I’m an ENFP!), you may have heard of the Enneagram. While the Enneagram is a personality-typing system, it really goes much deeper than just describing your outward personality. While you can take a test (which is only as accurate as you know yourself), the best way to figure out your type is just to learn about the 9 types and do a lot of introspection.

Rather than categorizing yourself by how you act and what you do, the Enneagram is all about WHY you do what you do. What are your core motivations, desires, and deep dark fears, and how does that impact you and your life choices?

The purpose of the Enneagram is to learn about your type so that you can discover the things that you do that aren’t serving you. What are the elements of your personality that are actually HURTING you and making life harder, and how can we, over time, let those go?

This is me.

My Enneagram Type: Type 7

Personally, I’m a type 7 (7w6 sx/so in case you’re an Enneagram nerd like me), and this knowledge has helped me SO MUCH. Through learning about the Enneagram I’ve realized that I have a huge aversion to talking about/ feeling really shameful or traumatic memories, and instead I prefer to just shove them under the rug and pretend like they never happened because I “don’t have time to be sad”. I also feel like there’s not enough time in life to do everything I want to do, so I have constant anxiety and FOMO that I’m missing out on something.

Finally, 7’s have this idea that happiness is something outside of yourself that you have to go and get. But once you actually get that thing, you don’t even enjoy it because you’re already focused on the next thing you just “need” to be satisfied. This ‘more is more’ concept when it comes to happiness leaves 7’s constantly living in the future, and unable to appreciate what they already have.

Wow, how exhausting is that?

Learning about the Enneagram has honestly been so enlightening for me, and I LOVE forcing others to get into it too. (Any other Enneagram nerds? Let’s be friends!!).

How to Get Into the Enneagram

If you want to get into the Enneagram, I suggest watching a quick intro video like the one above and then reading about all of the 9 types on the Enneagram Institute. This should give you a pretty good idea of what your type is (or at least help you narrow it down).

If you really want to take a quiz, you CAN but take a few quizzes and just read about your top-scoring numbers. For me, it’s usually 7 (by a mile! lol), 3 and 2.

Next, I recommend reading a book. I really like the Honest Enneagram as a perfect intro book. It was actually written this year, so it’s very current and easy to read! Once you’re dying for more info, get a really in-depth hefty book like the Wisdom of the Enneagram, or Personality Types. You can also join a Facebook group for your type too! (The 7 Facebook group is awesome).

Baby Woody in Vietnam!

5. I’m Obsessed with Cats

Many of you probably already know that I fostered abandoned kittens in Vietnam, but I don’t think you know how far this obsession goes. I love animals, but I’m particularly fond of cats, and I have a hard time rationalizing my desire to travel and live abroad with my need to have a pet.

I Foster Abandoned and Injured Cats and Kittens

So, in Vietnam I worked with Vietnam Cat Welfare to foster abandoned kittens until they were old enough to get all their vaccines. Before I did this, I helped nurse a street kitten back to health after she’d been hit by a motorbike.

Now that I live in Tbilisi, I’ve been dying to find a cat to foster, but unfortunately, it’s been difficult since most of the stray cats here are actually pretty healthy, and the ones that do need help are pretty much immediately adopted! (Wow what a horrible problem to have, I know!).

It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I saw a very unfortunate-looking cat in a diaper looking miserable that needed a foster family. Finally, my time to shine!! I immediately said I would foster her (and purposely didn’t show the picture of her to Chris because I knew he’d say no).

For the last three weeks, I’ve been giving her medicine, brushing out her tangles, and changing her litterbox constantly because she pees like a HORSE due to her kidney issues. Every day she’s getting happier and healthier which is super exciting!

Honestly, someday I’m going to open a cat cafe full of rescues and you’re all invited.

I Also Feed Stray Dogs

Now, it’s not just cats I love. I also feed stray dogs! Tbilisi has a huge stray dog population, and pretty much all of them have been tagged and vaccinated. The stray dogs are actually very nice, and most small shops have bags of dog food you can buy to give to the dogs.

So of course, I bought my own bag of dog food, and whenever I see a stray dog outside my apartment I go with a few handfuls of food to give them. Usually they’re not even hungry (seriously!) and they just want me to pet them. The other day I had a stray dog go on a walk with me, and he ended up following me for 20 minutes!

Hello stray puppy

I Used to do 4H for Cats

If this wasn’t all nerdy enough for you, let me tell you about my childhood hobby: 4H for cats. If you’re from the US you may have been to a county fair that had animal shows: horses, sheep, etc. This is actually through a program called 4H. Now, what most people don’t know is that 4H also has a CAT CATEGORY.

If you’re at the local fair and walk into a room full of decorated cat cages, you’ve found us. Now this is not a cat show with a bunch of purebreds. 4H is all about how well you take care of the animal and how much you know about them. They have you show off your cat in a specific order (teeth, nails, ears, fur, etc) and then you have to answer cat trivia questions. For example, did you know cats have three eyelids?

In addition, they also have trivia bowls, cage decorating competitions, audience choice and MORE. My childhood bedroom was decorated with giant show ribbons like I had a horse or something, but no… they were for my cat knowledge.

Pin Me!

Are You a Nerd Too?

Are you obsessed with any of the things above? Do you play D&D, watch Survivor, or read Enneagram books? Do you love to catch Pokemon or foster animals? Let me know in a comment below!

Some of you may have noticed I haven’t done the Freedom Life monthly recaps for these last few months. To be honest, I don’t have much of an excuse for why I’ve taken some time off except for that sometimes you need a little bit of a break. With everything that’s been happening this year in regards to my blog, business, and Coronavirus, I think you’ll understand why I needed to take a little time away.

While I plan to start my monthly recaps back up soon, I wanted to let you know what I’ve been up to these last few months and shed a little light on where I’ve been… physically, mentally, and financially.

Welcome to Tbilisi Old Town!

I Moved to Tbilisi Georgia (The Country)

If you didn’t already know, I moved to Tbilisi, Georgia (aka the country of Georgia) at the end of January. While this deserves a whole post in and of itself, the gist is that Chris and I had a wedding to attend in the UK at the end of December, and a ton of US weddings this summer (none of which are happening now, of course).

We needed a place in Europe to stay for four months while we waited in limbo, and Tbilisi seemed like the perfect city. Tbilisi is beautiful, affordable, full of history, has great food and wine, and our blogger friends Tommo and Megsy from Food Fun Travel live here. Not to mention, you can stay in Georgia visa-free for up to a year!

So after spending a few weeks visiting friends in the UK, and a few days traveling in Italy, Chris and I moved to Tbilisi and found a cute 1-bedroom apartment in the Vake neighborhood.

Chris and I ate amazing Georgian food and stayed out drinking liters of house wine with friends until 1 am. We explored Tbilisi’s old town and relaxed in the traditional sulfur baths. The two of us made a ton of friends in a short amount of time and even had the audacity to complain about the number of social events we were invited to. We even took a few weekend trips to go wine tasting in Kakheti, and enjoy the snow in Gudauri.

Coronavirus Shut Down China

At the beginning of 2020 during the Chinese New Year holiday, I started to hear some concerns over a new virus in China. I run a free Facebook group for people who teach abroad in China (or want to teach in China), and slowly but surely I started to see more and more posts about concerns over the new Coronavirus.

My Free Facebook Group Blew Up

At that point, most of us thought it was just a very bad flu, and many people decided to wait it out in China. When Wuhan went on lockdown, people started to book flights home or extend their Chinese New Year trips abroad. There was so much confusion and concern, and I felt responsible for managing the emotions and information in the group.

I spent hours every day researching, watching videos, reading articles on both ends of the spectrum, from “it’s no big deal” to “people are dying in the streets and the government is building the new Wuhan hospital as a death prison!!”

The group has over 500 people and is managed exclusively by me, so let me tell you, this was a full-time job in and of itself trying to manage the flow of information and emotions. Thankfully the members still in China were very helpful in providing on-the-ground information and practical advice which really helped alleviate some of the panic.

Working With My Teach Abroad Squad Members

Not only that, but some of the members of my Teach Abroad Squad program started having major issues too! This is a paid program for people who really want to work with me privately to have an incredible experience in China the FIRST time around. However, COVID-19 was something that I never could’ve anticipated, and I was honestly at a loss for what to do.

I had one member who was sitting in Thailand while all of her stuff (including her laptop!) was stuck in China. She eventually flew home to Hawaii, and it’s been months since she’s seen her computer or the majority of her wardrobe. I had another member who was literally about to fly to China in a few days when he was told not to come anymore. He was then stuck at home in the US with no job and no timeline for when he can eventually arrive in China.

I know it’s not my personal fault that the members of my program were suffering, but for some reason, I felt like it was. I honestly felt like it was my responsibility to protect them and make sure they have the adventure of a lifetime, and I felt horribly guilty when COVID-19 crushed their dreams and plans.

It took a lot of talks with my group coaching program for female entrepreneurs to get over my issues sounding this and to be honest, I still take it all waaaay too personally.

Let me drown my sorrows in a liter of Georgian house wine…

I Felt So Alone

Honestly, the worst part of all of this was that I felt so alone because I was the only one in my immediate social circle that was dealing with this catastrophe. Then, of course, I felt super guilty for feeling that way, when people were suffering all over China.

Because Coronavirus was only really affecting China and a few surrounding countries, in my immediate circle of Tbilisi expats, travel bloggers, and friends back home in the US and Australia, it felt like I was the only one struggling with how the virus was impacting my business and life. It was almost like some weird joke. “Oh… you work with China? That must suck.” Yeah, it sucked.

I honestly felt like a leper. I had hordes of people unsubscribing every time I sent an email about China (even helpful ones about Coronavirus!). I offered free 20-minute calls with me to work through any issues people were facing when it came to COVID-19 and barely anyone took me up on them. Seriously?? Don’t you guys need help??!

Then I got in my head that no one wanted to hear from me, and people didn’t trust me as an expert that could help them because I wasn’t in China. The imposter syndrome is REAL people.

Not only that, but I started having weekly panic attacks and days of full-on depression where I couldn’t even get out of bed. The career I’d spent YEARS building for myself came crashing down all around me, and without my job, I just felt useless.

Well… that’s unfortunate

Coronavirus Destroyed the Travel Industry

Slowly but surely, the panic spread from China to the rest of the world. People started canceling their international trips, and travel bloggers began to panic. My husband Chris sells safaris in Africa, and while Africa had zero cases at the time, people started canceling and postponing their trips left and right because they were worried their international flights would be canceled without a refund.

Almost overnight Chris and I had ZERO income. Chris went from piles of inquiries on a daily basis to waking up with an empty inbox. While my income has been a bit sporadic since I quit my high-paid college counseling job in China, Chris’ consistent safari income made up for this. But with zero money coming in, we both started to worry. Summer is high season in Tanzania, and we’d been counting on a year’s worth of sales commissions to come in at this time.

On top of all of this my blog traffic halved, my affiliate commissions dried up and sponsored posts and brands I had already done the work for all of a sudden just stopped responding to my emails when I asked for payment. Cool.

I started applying to all the decent online jobs I could find. From social media manager positions to working as an online dating coach (yeah that happened). I even considered teaching English online, but I honestly couldn’t go back to teaching basic ESL online for a fraction of what I used to make on-the-ground in China.

Well, after a solid week of applying to positions, I ended up getting offered a job to manage Facebook for my business coach. While it wasn’t much of an income, it was better than nothing, and something I actually enjoyed doing.

No more wine tasting and dinners out with friends…

COVID-19 Shut Down the World

Slowly but surely Coronavirus spread to the rest of the world. My home state of Washington was a mess, Northern Italy (a place I had just visited earlier that year) was on complete lockdown, and Georgians started canceling events as more of us opted to stay indoors.

As the weeks went by, things started to get more and more serious. Georgia closed the airports, no one from outside Tbilisi was allowed in, all the shops and restaurants closed (except for grocery stores and food delivery), and we all waited patiently inside our homes.

AHHH!

Wait… Isn’t This Old News?

Once the rest of the world started panicking about COVID-19, it felt strange. I’d been an anxious mess for MONTHS and now the rest of the world was finally catching on. I joked with my course members and China friends that it felt like old news to us. We’d been dealing with Coronavirus for what felt like an eternity!

In a horrible way, it was a bit reassuring to feel like I wasn’t alone in my panic anymore. As much as I hated how the virus was spreading, it was somewhat nice (in an awful way) that I had friends and family to commiserate with. Then, of course, I felt like an absolutely horrible human for feeling relieved that I wasn’t alone in this.

Celebrating my 29th birthday in lockdown

Why We Decided to Stay in Georgia

Eventually, Chris and I had to make a decision: would we stay in Tbilisi or head to the US or Australia? This was actually a huge dilemma for a few reasons.

Firstly, Chris and I planned to be in the US over the summer because we had three weddings to attend (one of which was our second wedding in my parents’ backyard). Now, Chirs doesn’t have a Green Card, so the plan was to head to the US in mid-May and stay until the end of July, hop down to Mexico for a bit, and return in October. So, flying to the US early just didn’t make sense considering we’d have to consistently fly in and out for Chris’ visa. Obviously, that’s not ideal during a pandemic.

Another option was to stay with Chris’ family in rural Australia, which was a much safer option than the West Coast of the US. However, flights were going to be at least $1,000 each with multiple layovers. Plus, if things did clear up, we’d need to spend a ton of money getting to the US for all of the wedding festivities.

It just seemed like the most practical and economical option was to stay in Tbilisi. Georgia had far fewer cases and deaths than both Australia and the UK (we didn’t have our first death until waaay into the pandemic). Our stores were fully stocked with toilet paper, people were actually staying home, and the government seemed to be taking everything very seriously.

It was kind of nice to have no cars on the road

What It’s Like in Tbilisi Right Now

If you follow me on Facebook, you’ll probably notice I’ve been doing Facebook lives every few days to talk about what life is like in Tbilisi right now (among other things). But as of right now, all of the shops are closed except for grocery stores. Thankfully we have a small Europroduct grocer right below us, and a fruit and vegetable shop down the block. We also have a man who delivers meat for us to cook with!

In addition to grocery stores, food delivery is available, but you need to order very early. Tbilisi has a curfew that runs from 9 pm to 6 am, however most of the restaurants close their food delivery after 6:30 pm!

All shops and pharmacies have a mask policy, and you’re not allowed inside without one. They also have limits on the number of people allowed inside at any given time. For example, my local pharmacy (which is also the only place to buy shampoo, lotion, and body wash) only allows two people in at a time, so the few times we’ve had to go this usually involves a 20-30 minute wait.

For the most part, Tbilisi has been doing a great job, except for one aspect: the church. We recently celebrated Georgian Orthodox Easter, and unfortunately for us, the churches blatantly refused to close. Since the Georgian government was unable to stand up to the church, they ended up BANNING CARS for over a week! I have no idea why they thought this would help considering there’s a church on every block, but that’s what they did.

Overall, it was actually very peaceful to be able to walk around the block through the deserted streets. The only downside was that the fruit and vegetable shop closed during this time, and the meat man couldn’t deliver, making it difficult to cook. As the government kept extending the car ban, we started to get worried, but thankfully that’s all finished now!

This is my view all day every day

Turning into a Workaholic

As everyone started joking about having nothing to do, I was working harder than ever! I kept doing all of my regular blogging tasks, running my Teach Abroad Squad course, and social media. But in addition, I was also providing tons of extra content and support.

Emergency coaching sessions, daily Facebook Lives, interviews with recruiters still in China, supporting both my Facebook groups, and more! I also took on two different social media jobs, did a launch for Teach Abroad Squad (with free strategy calls), and got extremely involved in my women’s entrepreneur group coaching program, which was also offering additional training and resources.

I felt like I was working harder than I’d ever worked while making a fraction of the income. I was beyond stressed, started having problems with my jaw from grinding my teeth in my sleep, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t turn it off!

My husband Chris encouraged me to just take this time to relax, but I kept getting swept up in all the hype. Take this extra time to work on your business! Now is a time for leaders to step up! People still want your online products, you just need to pivot and be essential!

If I couldn’t make it work during Coronavirus, what does that say about me? I just need to work harder and everything will be okay!!! Yeah, that’s a healthy way to live your life Richelle…

Well… that’s awkward

So… I Guess I’m a Leper Now?

To be honest, for most of 2020 I’ve felt like a leper. I send an email and get heaps of unsubscribes. I offered free coaching and had barely any people take me up on it. It felt like every time I opened my mouth, people just wanted me to shut it.

I tired so hard to be helpful, and it seemed like the world just wasn’t interested. I even created a free webinar called “So you wanted to teach in China… Now What?” to help people through this time. But when I went to promote it on Facebook, I started getting angry faces and mean comments. Seriously? I’m just trying to help!

It got to the point where I just wanted to stick my head in the sand or run away and hide. I was tired of feeling like I was talking to a void. I didn’t want to do my webinar, Facebook lives, write blog posts, or send emails. But my business coach kept pushing me to be present and show up. UGH.

I guess my fear of disappointing her outweighed my fear of embarrassing myself… barely.

My latest webinar training!

Turning Lemons into Lemonade

A few days before my live webinar training, I started to panic. What am I doing?? Why did I think this was a good idea???

I wanted to run away and hide. I felt awkward promoting my paid program at a time like this. I knew I could really help people with Teach Abroad Squad, but man, I felt weird charging for ANYTHING when so many people around the world are suffering and in need of help.

But I showed up and did the webinar launch anyway, and I’m so glad I did. Not only was the training really fun and interactive (so much participation in the chat!), it ended up going for an extra HOUR. Whoopsies!

Not only that, but we had some incredible new people join Teach Abroad Squad, which was really exciting!

Through this experience, I realized that pulling back was helping literally no one. Sure, not everyone wants to hear me talk right now, but there are some people that need my help and advice, especially during a time like this. The whole experience was really strangely empowering and made me feel like all the time, effort, and anxiety was worth it in the end.

bread on the balcony!

Georgian bread and mountain cheese!

The Things Keeping Me Sane Right Now

After the last few months of overworking and my live teach abroad training, I’ve been super exhausted lately. I’ve been working on this post for literally two weeks, but I haven’t had the energy to actually sit down and finish it. All of the stress has finally caught up with me, and all I want to do is sleep, relax, and have fun. It’s funny how weeks of chronic stress will really do a number on you.

Thankfully there are a few things I’ve been doing to make my life sane, so I figured I’d share them with all of you. Firstly, while I do live in a tiny apartment, I’m lucky to have a balcony that gets a lot of sun. So when the weather is nice, I sit out on the balcony with a cup of coffee and a good book (I’m reading the Wheel of Time series right now) and get some sun and fresh air.

I’ve also started doing Yoga With Adrienne every morning for the last few months. Not only is it a great way to get some exercise, but yoga also helped me a ton with my stress and anxiety. With the focus on breathing, plus the difficulty of the poses, there isn’t much room left in my mind for stress and worry. Not only do I feel great and healthy afterward, but I also feel so much more relaxed and calm!

In the evenings I’ve been relaxing by playing a ton of Animal Crossing (which Chris just got me for my birthday!) or playing online games of D&D, otherwise known as Dungeons and Dragons. Yes, I am a hugely unapologetic nerd. I went from playing once every other week, to playing 2-3 times a week! It’s a great way to actually have a social life while taking your mind off of everything that’s happening in the world right now.

All three of us were supposed to have weddings this summer…

My Plans for the Future

Well, the plan was to head back to the US for a bunch of weddings, bachelorette parties, and showers, but one by one all of them keep getting canceled.

Until all three of us (in the last few days) decided to cancel our weddings and related events, I had no idea how much stress and anxiety this summer was causing me. Would I even be able to make it home for the end of July even if things cleared up? Would there be a resurgence of COVID in October for my friend’s wedding (which I’m a bridesmaid for)? Even if things clear up, are plane tickets still going to be over $1,000 with multiple layovers? Will the Georgian airports even open in July as promised??

Well, now that everything is canceled, I feel like a giant weight has been taken off my chest. There’s no constant stressing, checking flights, and hours on hours spent discussing possibilities. For now, we can just stay in Tbilisi until this all blows over…

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How Have Your Plans Changed?

I’d love to hear from you: How have your plans changed this year? Are you stuck abroad like me? Were you supposed to be moving abroad or traveling during this time? Have you lost your source of income? Tell me what’s happening with you in a comment below!

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I think we can agree things have been CRAZY these last few weeks (or months if you have anything to do with China like me). Over the weekend I spent some time chatting with a few friends who are trying to work from home for the very first time and it hasn’t been easy for them.

Working from home can be a HUGE…

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info. 

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If you’re looking for an adventurous destination full of hiking, history, wildlife, incredible food, and beautiful scenery, look no further than Sri Lanka! Spot leopards and elephants on safari, try surfing and diving, hike mountains and waterfalls for incredible views, and explore historic Buddhist relics.

F…

Exploring the Wines of Georgia on a Kakheti Wine Tour

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The country of Georgia is famous for its incredible food and wine. So when in Tbilisi, why not book a Kakheti wine tasting tour to experience Georgian wine culture?!

Chris and I officially moved to Tbilisi, Georgia (yes, the COUNTRY not the state) just over a month ago, and the first item on our bucket list was embarking on a Kakheti wine tour day trip to learn about Georgia’s famous…