Flight cancellations and hummingbirds.

Classic story of a girl meeting a guy, falling in love, girl living in a new country for 6 years then having him break up with her over facetime when she is in another country, during a pandemic after they buy a house together. 

This is how I found myself back in Birmingham, England after being away and struggling through life for three years. A beautiful and wonderful friend was marrying her beloved and they had asked me to officiate the wedding. I had previously considered the whole country of England to be dead to me but one can not say no to love.
I packed my things and wrote one heck of a sermon for the wedding. While writing it I saw a hummingbird. I asked a Qu'wutsun friend of mine if hummingbirds meant anything special on this land. He said it was good luck before a trip. I felt like I had my ancestors on my side and took off to England. The trip was wonderful. Re-connecting with so many people and visiting these old places that felt like they were taken from me- it gave me the closure I didn't think I needed and didn't expect was waiting for me in the west midlands.

 
Leaving was a bit trickier. There are no hummingbirds in England.

I am no stranger to airport struggles so I try to go into a travel day without too much stress, I know there will be enough coming my way!
My generous and gracious friend drove me to the Manchester airport, a 90 minute drive from her lovely river side home in Yorkshire and I have to admit I was sleepy. Tired because we went mountain biking and had a BBQ the day before and it was 8am but also because the two week trip was emotionally exhausting. Connecting with some of my most precious friends for two weeks really was a dream but it had left my social and emotional battery completely flat. I had no charge nor did I have anything left in the tank to even try to start... clearly I don't know how engines work.
We talked in the car, soaking up the last little bit of in-person connection that we would get for the next while and in the middle of the ride I got a message from Air Canada saying my flight was 30 minutes delayed. No problem, I thought, gives me just a bit more time for security and a coffee. We hugged good bye and I said farewell to the English sun- something that had JUST come out in my last departing days.
Manchester security was a thing to behold. New signs were up around x-rays explaining all the things that were considered liquid: hair gel, lotion, mascara, solid lip balms, solid deodorant.. wait...
I have my travel packing to an art and travelled only carry on for this two weeks, but that was only possible because most of my traditionally liquid things are now solid- shampoo, deodorant, moisturizer- and really if something is a solid, how can it be considered a liquid? I was too far in line to change anything and I didn't have enough room in my 1L bag anyway. I assumed secondary screening would be inevitable.
But then I noticed a video screen that showed off how many other people either didn't understand the rules or were hoping to get by with a cheeky "whoops!, didn't understand that a solid was a liquid, mate!" The screen said that 90% of bags going through this queues x rays were failing and needing secondary inspection. I looked past the human metal detector and saw lines and lines and lines of bags waiting for security to go through them under the watchful eye of the less than patient Manchester travellers.
35 minutes later I waved to the security agent who lifted up my bag and asked who it belonged to, I went over and he asked if I could open it. I opened up the pocket that kept my solid deodorant and he told me they consider this a liquid. I said, I was sorry and didn't realise that. My purse had also been flagged and he asked if I had a laptop in it. I did not but I did trave with a small collapsible keyboard. I often didn't even take it out anymore at airports because no one seemed to care when I showed them. I took it out of my purse, and he wiggled it, jiggled it, tested it for explosives and said it was fine. I was then allowed on my way. I was still about 90 minutes early for the flight so I went to get a coffee.
While in line I heard our Air Canada flight was delayed another hour. Hmm, guess I will get this coffee for here, I thought.
Another announcement said it would be delayed another 2 hours. There was really nothing else to do but have a cookie with my coffee so I did that. I then walked to a comfy chair in front of a screen and had a sit down. Listening to a podcast and playing some silly phone game, I glanced up at the screen and apparently the flight was delayed another hour. I took out an ear phone and heard an announcement saying my Air Canada flight had been cancelled and we should make our way to an info desk. A woman beside me remarked to her travel partner that she would be 'fumin!!' if this happened to her. I glanced over and said: jeez, it's annoying, eh? She asked if I was on that flight, I said yes and she sat their stunned that I wasn't melting down. I told her there wasn't much to do, may as well see what they have to say. I walked off and joined a few hundred people standing in line that presumably started at an Air Canada desk. Another announcement told us they had no information but they would in 40 minutes. We looked at each other confused. So do we stand here? or sit down? Or something completely different. I updated friends in England that their country was obsessed with me and it looked like I would be here for a bit longer.
40(ish) minutes later we were told to go to gate 208 to disembark and eventually get our baggage. We didn't really know what that meant but we walked towards gate 208. Some people brushed past each other, racing to who knows what. This got rolled eyes and a few heavy sighs until one woman slipped past the wrong couple. The Northerners had no time for this nonsense and told her there was no point in rushing, we weren't going anywhere. She had no time or his antics and told him to piss off. He told her to piss off even louder. I looked at a stranger beside me and laughed: this is great!
We got to the gate and were told to sit and wait. We twiddled our thumbs, muttered under our breathes and generally zoned out. Suddenly an Air Canada agent said we could collect our bags. After that? Who knows. We went to baggage and I promptly left since I didn't have any to wait for. There were no agents waiting for us so I thought maybe going to Departures would make sense? Perhaps there was an Air Canada desk that could help. The Air Canada check-in desk was about to be a ghost town as the agents hurried away, I quickly asked where their info desk was. They told me there wasn't one. ... okay. They said maybe ask a Tui Agent?
I waited for the mass of stranded passengers to come upstairs, feeling very accomplished and cool that I would be the first person in line when they got there. I found the Tui desk and honestly I have no idea what was happening but a woman was angrily counting out pence and handing them over to the agent. It was taking ages and I was seeing no stranded passengers so I went to a different desk and asked if maybe it made sense I was up in Departures if my flight was cancelled. Bless Virgin Atlantic because the agent told me she had no idea but if this happened to Virgin they would put us on coaches to bring us to a hotel and those would pick us up downstairs at Arrivals.
As I walked back to Arrivals and recognized someone who also came upstairs. She had a cute tattoo of a dog with hearts around it, I decided she would be a safe person to ask wtf. She told me someone told her to come up here and find an agent. We both went back to Tui where the strange interaction was STILL happening and waited in line. We continued to be the only people waiting and I said it was questionable we were the only people who got this right and we should go downstairs. We went downstairs and some Air Canada agents were standing in a circle. "Hi! I don't know what I'm doing" I figured acting like a complete boob would help me get as much information as possible. They asked if I was a stranded passenger and I tried not to be sarcastic. They pointed to two coaches and said we could get on. Where are we going? I asked. They did not know.
I went to the first coach and asked if we just get on. The driver asked what hotel I was going to. I said I didn't know. He laughed at me and said I really should know. I pointed to the AC agent and said they told me to come here. He yelled to them that we really should know what hotel we were going to. My mood was wearing thin. Should we just get on? I asked. He walked away to make fun of the situation with the other driver. We got on the coach.
England was in it's first full day of a heat wave so the bus was approximately 1000 degrees. As we all settled into the bus we remarked how we didn't know anything other than it was very warm. Would we be paying for the hotel? For food? For the coach even? Who knows?!
We start to drive around airport city, past a few okay hotels and stop in the middle of a traffic circle outside the parking lot and hedge around the Delta Marriot. The coach driver opens the door. Someone says- are we here? He says, yes, and gets out to open up the baggage compartment. We all look around at each other most of us letting out exasperated laughter. This is amazing I laugh as I look around at the traffic trying to get navigate around us.
We exit while being parked in the middle of this traffic circle and walk through a hole in the hedgerow, through the parking lot and into the lobby. We are welcomed by the staff and told that dinner would be from 6 to 8. I quickly head to my room to lay down and have some alone time. I turn on the TV to find either a reno show or a baking show- the only things one can watch in a hotel room- unless its morning then breakfast news or 24 hour news networks are permissible. I unpack some of my bag and find liquid eye drops, two gel lip sticks, mascara and moisturiser. All things more liquid than my solid deodorant.
My phone buzzes and it's a text from Air Canada. I have a new flight! In two days. I laugh out loud.. now people will be fumin!
I go to dinner and see my tattooed friend, she has made another friend and we eat together. Burgers for them, curry for me. And a complimentary glass of wine! Spare no expenses, they did!
People are on their phones with baby sitters, dog sitters, cruise lines, hotels, spouses, travel agent and anyone else who will hear their pleas. I sip my wine and tell my new friends about my time in England. One is Canadian just coming from from a cruise and the other is English just going to Canada for a visit. We all feel we can take it as it is. A free night in a hotel isn't the worst thing.
The next morning I wake up for breakfast, stuff myself to the gills with beans, toast, marmite and coffee. I then go back to sleep for a few hours. This two weeks had taken so much out of me, I didn’t mind this stop in purgatory. I meet my friends for lunch and we discuss our plans for the day. I am happy enough to sleep, read and use the hotel gym. None of us are particularly interested in spending 40 quid to get into city centre. I am so exhausted from my trip I really see this as a nice sleepy get away. I check out the prices in the mini bar. A can of wine is 10 quid, about 20 Canadian dollars. I stick with my free drink with dinner.
Wednesday comes and we find out some passengers were sent earlier to Dublin, Europe and America so they could get to their final destinations without clogging up one flight path. It does seem that two nights in a hotel continues to be not a hardship, just weird.
I ask the front desk if a coach will pick us up again or if we take the airport shuttle, I'm told a bus at 9am will pick us up for our 12:05 flight. There is a lot of chatter amongst all us stranded passengers about how bad communication is with the airline. No one knows anything unless we talk to the front desk. information trickles down like wealth is meant to. 9am comes and there is no bus. 9:10 we see a bus but it's not coming in, it's idling down the road. While it's not in a traffic circle, it's just as goofy. I go down to see if it's ours. It is. I wave to everyone and say: follow me!
There is less frustration in the air but no one seems to trust we will be making it out. At every step we have been confused, left in the dark and forced to ask the poor front desk staff if they know anything. They have been so kind and added the times of the meals at the end of every single one of my queries, clearly they know my heart.
My new travel friends both seem nervous about security and timing. I assure them it will be annoying but we will not miss this flight. I pack as well I as I can but my deodorant won't fit in my small clear plastic litre bag so I again am okay with waiting, this time the screen tells me that only 5% of bags are going through secondary screening. The agent asks me to open my bag, I make the same joke about my solid being more solid than liquid and apologise again. This one is as impervious to my charm as the last. Me and my stranded friends are on our way.
We get a coffee and head to the gate. We are told our plane is having some issues and will be delayed 30 minutes. Then we are told there is a longer delay. There is then an announcement that anyone who is a stranded passenger should go to another gate as there is another Air Canada flight leaving just after ours. Bewildered, 50 of us walk to the other gate and ask what is going on. The gate agents tell us we are at the wrong gate. We tell them we know, but were told to come here. They tell us we were not. I tell them it's improbable that 50 of us misheard the announcement. They get on a walkie talkie and confirm with our original gate. We wait 5 minutes as there is rapid fire walkie talkie conversations. Then an agent from this new gate stomps to our original gate. After another 5 minutes of what looks like some emotional conversation he comes back and said there was never an announcement we need to go back. We go back and the gate agent loudly tells another passenger she never said that. There are a few remarks about gaslighting but we sit back down.
The maintenance something something gets resolved and we start boarding. We all hold our breathes and after another 20 minute delay, the doors close and we start to head to Canada.

And that is the story of why I slept for three days after visiting the United Kingdom in September and why I think we should introduce hummingbirds to every country in the world.

Interconnectivity in Travel.

Dispatches from Nora’s field journal.

One thing I have learned from travelling is absolutely everything in life in connected. Sometimes we see the connections right away and other times we only see them later, when we are sitting at a hotel bar in Muscat looking at the crescent moon rise over the sea. 

I was about to start my fourth year of university when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the levees burst and suddenly my world changed. Although, at that time I didn't know it had changed. I was a leader at a university fencing camp and only really heard reports on the radio while on the drive in every day. Much like Sean of the Dead where all the reports around them showed a world in chaos, I was happy to live in a little bubble of sports during the day, pints in the evening. Months later I found myself in New Orleans, volunteering with Best Friends helping with animal rescue. Again my life had changed, I just didn't know it. 

I came back to university after volunteering with no real animal volunteering path in my mind, no real understanding of what that trip meant to me. I loved my time there: it was hard, it was sad, it was overwhelming, it was triumphant, it was real. But I thought it was probably a trip of a life time, I wouldn't have the opportunity to serve like that again. 

The thing that stuck with me was I had no experience or formal education in anything animal related- but I was still able to help. Everyone who showed up could help, there were people who did laundry all day, people who cooked all day, people who threw down giant bags of food for the dogs who eluded rescuers, there were people who spent their days cleaning dog runs. It took all kinds of people doing all matter of tasks for this rescue effort to work. Everyone had a role and not all of them were hands on but all of them were working towards the same goal so we all helped. We all rescued dogs. 

Later I would go to Nepal find this out again. Volunteering at a dog rescue centre in the Kathmandu Valley I would sometimes bath mangy dogs, sometimes I would enter codes on a computer, other times I would take dogs on walks. All these tasks were important, small as they were they were part of the bigger picture and while doing it I rescued dogs.

30+ countries later and 6 more dog rescue programs under my belt, I found myself taking part in one of the hardest dog volunteer programs I have ever done. Hard because I would be in a virtual team but physically on my own. 

I was going to look after a dog rescue. I had internet met the founders of the rescue years before. Supporters of AEI and followers of our many adventures, it seemed like we were already friends in real life. They would be expanding the scope of the programs and would be out of the country for two weeks, they needed someone to look after the pack for those weeks. I knew it would be a challenge but they needed help and I love a good challenge. 23 dogs, 7 cats and 1 Canadian. Spoiler alert: we all made it out alive. 

Muscat is a beautiful city and the capital of Oman, it boasts a rich and deep history of trade, art and being way hot. Located on the sea of Oman it has the distinct pleasure of being super hot and very humid, when I arrived it was 40c with 80% humidity and that was at about 10am. We drove to the ministries district, where I would be living with the dogs. A massive three story house with echoy marble floors and gorgeous white pillars inside. Our neighbourhood hosted three beautiful mosques that rivalled only each other in beauty.  From my room I could see the white architecture of the region and not so distant mountains that protected Muscat in historical times of trade and sometimes plunder. 

My normal day turned out to be:

Up at 4:30 am. The dogs would wake up during the call to prayer to try and sing along. I would jump out of bed and hush all of them but in all that activity everyone would get riled up and it would be time to socialise and get outside. Our neighbours were quite close and no one was more aware of the dogs' barking than me. It is hard to keep that many dogs quiet and trust me neighbours, I tried my very best.

Chop up about 12lbs of raw chicken for their meals, they eat raw, I'm a vegetarian. I would have my coffee after chopping so I wasn't so awake for the daily massacre. 

9 am I take a few dogs to the beach. The sea of Oman was a 6 minute drive from the house. I had a Hummer to drive around and as much as I hate to admit, dang I felt cool driving it. The water is warm like a bath and the almost white sandy beaches could rival any beaches I have ever visited. We walked along the beach that are shared with embassies. Sea front property for Bahrain, France, Iraq, Britain and UAE, I would wonder what they would think if they saw me walking the great dane or swimming with a few rescue dogs.  Later in the trip I was able to go snorkelling. Coral reef, whale sharks and rays call the sea their home- so do oil tankers. It's a fragile region in many respects.

10:30-1 pm Try to get work done while shushing dogs and making sure they are socialised. I found out while in the country there are a few sites I needed that were blocked by the Sultanate.  It decreased my work load greatly but gave me some anxiety about work once I got back home. 

1-5 pm All 23 dogs have different friend groups and different grump groups. While getting them all outside for play, exercise and socialisation I needed to make sure the friends were together and the rivals were separated.

5:30pm Doggie dinner time. During this time I would socialise the cats, clean their litter boxes and sometimes remember I hadn't eaten yet. 

6:30-9:30 pm More dog play time before they are put to bed. 

10:30 pm I often I would go to sleep without dinner. Being too tired from breaking up squabbles, getting the dogs to STOP THEIR DANG BARKING, cleaning up indoor 'accidental' pee, cleaning up outside yarfs and poos, trying to make sure all the dogs got proper individual play and loving time, going to the store to get more chicken and figuring out how to live in such a hot place, I was exhausted every day. 

This happened for 16 days. When my friends got back, I was a bit delirious and found myself shushing birds and water coolers. 

While walking on the beach one day with a Great Dane named Gatsby (see what they did there?) I marvelled at how amazing and how difficult all this was. It was an incredible adventure and again, one that didn't need any special skills. I was certainly using skills I had learned along the way, but I wasn't hear because I was a leader in any field, an expert at anything. I was here because I again was ready to jump in and see how I could help with the skills I had, where I was. From New Orleans to Oman I have spent my life being just a bit over my head but being okay with it. 

Later my friends and I went to have dinner at a hotel restaurant and bar that overlooked the Muscat skyline. While the sun set, the tide came in and the crescent moon rose, it occurred to me that the timeline of events that got me to Oman was quite fragile. I was here because everything in life was connected and the neat part of that is we don't know where it's going, we only know some of the connections that got us there. It took countless meetings, failures, leaps of faith, missed connections and mundane details throughout my life to get me to Oman- and most of them, I will never see the importance of. 

I never thought I would look after a house of dogs in the middle east but I am happy I did it and I am excited to know what this experience will bring and how it will be connected to future adventures. Maybe more exciting is knowing there will be things in the future that happen and I will never know any of their connections. 

Dispatches from the field: Expedition Guatemala

In silence we hiked up the stairs, ascending the 70m Mayan temple in the dark. The air was warm and humid. The moon seen only in glimpses through the trees until we cleared the jungle canopy; then it hung as if suspended in the mist. Sitting on the top steps we looked over the forest that has stood for longer than time can remember, sitting on a temple that was here before any of these trees were even seeds. The city of Tikal was at one time almost completely cleared of forest by the ancient Mayan civilization, but now the ceiba trees reach higher than some temples and archeologists meticulously extract succulents from royal suites. We sit atop Temple IV, also known as The Temple of The Two Faced Serpent. Built in 741 it's the perfect place to watch the forest wake up, not only because of its position above the trees but because of its position in history. For hundreds of years it has sat on the edge of the city, then forest and now UNESCO heritage site and watched the sun rise.

Our volunteers visit Tikal National Park when they volunteer with wildlife, not only to see deeply important local historical sites but also to see the animals. To hear weaver birds call to each other, to see toucans bounce from branch to branch, to catch sight of grey foxes darting between stelas, to experience howler monkeys slowly crashing towards each other while babies learn to navigate above the ground, to silently "awww" when we see families of coati's sniff around the ground for grubs and other treasures. We come to see these animals interacting with nature as wild animals should. They are part of their almost infinite seeming wild home territory. Something that can only be imagined when we are volunteering in their enclosures. Something that seems so far from reality when they start their rehabilitation journey at our wildlife hospital partner site.

Our volunteers help the medical and behavioral rehabilitation of animals who have been stolen from the wild by animal traffickers, or were hurt and rescued after they have been injured by humans. Just like a human hospital, the animals start in small areas so they can be observed, given medication and correct food. Unlike humans these animals do not understand we are there to help. These animals that come from the vast expanse of the wild only see humans as predators and things to be feared. The tricky part is we want to keep it that way. We don't want these animals to be tamed or happy around people- they can't be released if they are. This means while volunteering we don't talk, pet or hug the animals. We clean the enclosures to make sure they don't get sick from bacteria, we prepare appropriate meals to make sure they get healthy and strong and we provide enrichment so their brains are engaged while they are in recovery - think about how bored you were at the start of 2022!

Seeing these animals in the hospital and taking part in their care both provides a deep sense of purpose and a deep sense of sadness. These animals shouldn't be here, they shouldn't have been taken from their families or their homes. BUT we are working for the good guys- the heroes who help these animals every day, from before we were there helping, to long after we leave. We are making sure that the animals get to be released again some day, back where they belong, maybe one day finding themselves climbing up the side of a Mayan temple that has stood for more than a thousand years.

Sitting and watching the sunrise, hearing the forest wake up, seeing the sun illuminate the Mayan roads the same way they have for thousands of years, there is something more than serene about it- there is something hopeful. And this is the very reason we wake up at 3:30am and walk back into the park with our guide. So we can record a core memory in our minds that morning and know when we get back to the hospital we are part of something bigger. We can know that because of us the animals we volunteer with will one day get to watch the sunrise as free animals- they too will be able to live again as they are supposed to, as wild animals in these wild spaces.

Expedition: Guatemala, recap by Lauren

Why Volunteer in Guatemala?

Did you know that animal trafficking is the third largest illegal source of commerce worldwide? Wildlife trafficking, along with unsustainable forestation, over-hunting, and human population growth are the leading causes of species extinction. Illegal trafficking is primarily for the pet trade. Sadly, the survival rate of animal contraband is as low as 15%. Birds are the most commonly trafficked creatures; it’s estimated that two to five million birds are illegally traded worldwide each year…..

Want to read the rest? Check out Lauren’s blog: Justin Plus Lauren

Namaste Jan

Since May I have been trying to write something proper about Jan Salter MBE, founder of the Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre and my friend. She died in 2018 and it was clear to me she changed my life and I wanted to tell others how much. Unfortunately, during times like this words often fail us.

I had the wonderful opportunity to write something about my experience in Nepal for Musa Masala. Of course, I knew I couldn’t write about Nepal without writing about Jan. Words continued to fail me but at least I was able to write something. Please accept my humble offering of how Nepal, a country of tremendous beauty, welcoming smiles and impossibly interesting history changed my life by helping my path cross Jan’s.

Nepal: Inspiration for a New Beginning.

Namaste,

Nora

A Photo 10 Years In The Making...

AEIs co-founders are two animal lovers named Nora and Heather. A lot of people ask how they met. Back in 2008 Nora got at job at a wildlife centre in Toronto and Heather was (and still is) the head wildlife veterinarian there. Nora was the volunteer coordinator. Fresh back from a volunteering and backpacking adventure in central, south and east Asia Nora felt like she knew what made exceptional volunteer programs and what didn’t. She didn’t have much experience coordinating volunteers but she thought if she stuck with the golden rule and treated the volunteers as she wanted to be treated, everything would be great!

View fullsize

One day Nora was looking for resources and found a book: Something in a Cardboard Box. It was written by Les Stocker, the founder of a wildlife teaching hospital in England. The wildlife centre’s name? Tiggywinkles, named after the hedgehog in the Beatrix Potter series! Nora thought it sounded like an incredible place. Not only was it a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre (Nora’s fav.) but it also was called Tigglewinkles. What a name! Icing on the cake was they helped rescue hedgehogs, badgers, red kites and all matter of wonderfully English and European animals. At that time it seemed like it was so far away maybe Nora could only dream of visiting. Nora showed the book to Heather and they talked about how Tiggywinkles had a great name, wonderful ethos and some of the most photogenic animals they have ever seen!

Fast forward to 2017. Nora and Heather now run Animal Experience International and have travelled all over North America, Australia, Europe, Asia and Africa visiting wildlife centres along the way. They signed up for the 2018 British Veterinary Nurse Association Conference in Telford England and got ready for another trip together.

2018 came and they had a wildly fun and successful conference and then realised Tiggywinkles was right around the corner- in Canadian terms! It was just an hour and a half drive from where they were staying.

On Tuesday they visited the centre and were able to be absolutely delighted by the professionalism, the warmness and the commitment to animal welfare at Tiggywinkles. For Nora it was a dream fulfilled to go to THE Tiggywinkles and she couldn’t have been more delighted than to share it with Heather. The trip to Tiggywinkles wasn’t just a great outing to see red kites, ravens, polecats and hedgehogs in sanctuary, it was also a marker for them- to see how far they had come. Something In A Cardboard Box was there when they met each other and now this centre was there to celebrate a work friendship that blossomed into a social enterprise with hundreds of volunteers and alumni around the world. And how did they celebrate? With their very own hedgehog selfie, a photo truly a decade in the making.

Same trip, different perspectives...

We love hearing from our alumni. Reading their blogs, seeing their pictures, chatting over the shared experiences… it’s all wonderful. It’s so special to see adventures through the eyes of different people, we get to know these places, these people, these experiences even more. But what happens when everyone writes about the same thing? When we lead a group of women to The Great Rift Valley for giraffe conservation and everyone writes about cape buffalo?

Well… it must take a very special event, right? You be the judge!

Nora’s account of Expedition Kenya: https://pinkpangea.com/…/mother-daughter-bonding-rampaging…/

Lauren’s account of Expedition Kenya: https://justinpluslauren.com/my-near-death-experience-in-k…/

Marilyn’s account of account of Expedition Kenya: https://50plusworld.com/meeting-the-beast-even-lions-wont-…/

Happy reading!