Workaway Mexico: Of Cats and Shamans – Mexico Part 2

My first workaway in Mexico – Casa Miau

When I was still in Germany, I put a profile on the website Workaway an. The whole process is simple and not expensive for $25 a year. The platform aims to promote cultural exchange. The traveler is provided with accommodation and food. In return, the traveler undertakes to help. These can be very different activities, for example building a house, gardening and land maintenance, renovating a boat, helping with child care, working on a farm, giving language lessons, etc. Experience is rarely assumed, the main thing is one is engaged and ready to learn new things.

It is also important that the whole thing is not misinterpreted. Workaway is not a platform with the help of which you can travel exclusively inexpensively. Here, emphasis is placed on cultural exchange.

Less than 10 minutes after I created my account, I got a request from Mexico. A woman wrote me that she needed help for her cat shelter. For a while we wrote back and forth and I learned that she was originally born in Germany, then lived in the United States for a while and finally moved to Mexico with her husband. We agreed that I would come in June.

At the end of May, she asked me if I could come earlier. Since I was with the family in Tlaxcala at the time and I wanted to travel anyway, it suited me very well. So I took the night bus from Puebla to Guadalajara and from there I took a taxi to Jocotopec.

By the way, the home of the cats is called, as well as otherwise😂, "Casa Miau" – and there my first Workaway in Mexico. Just as much about how the cats are doing there:

Everyday life in the cat shelter Casa Miau

61 cats and cats live here. Some lived on the roof, others under a bed (unless it was feeding time!). Merlin the Wizard was also there. Under Benito’s watchful eyes, the plant was shown and explained to me. No joke, the black cat follows every newcomer and checks that exactly when there is food where is discussed.

My tasks were actually quite simple. Every morning around 9 o'clock the cats were fed. I helped with the distribution and made sure that all cats got something and the animals on the roof or in isolation were fed. Some cats never entered the house, so they were fed outside. Once a day fresh chicken was fed and twice a week there was fish. Always mixed with cat food.

Then I could decide what I wanted to do. Sometimes I had to clean some eyes or give medication. Usually there was a massage unit. For this you simply sit down armed with a brush and wait for the first customers. As soon as I started brushing a cat, everyone else arrived. Every time. The total phenomenon. I had other experiences at home – my own cat would have vanished at the sight of the brush.

Around noon, the kittens also took a break and I had free time until afternoon. Sometimes I took the bus to Ajijic or Chapala. The bus in Mexico not only stops at the official bus stops, but also everywhere on the road – you just have to wave it. A journey of 30 minutes cost 9 pesos, i.e. about 30 cents.

Meetings with healers and shamans

Every Thursday there was a big market nearby and I was also allowed to make acquaintance with a healing couple there. They advised me to talk to a shaman once. I don’t want to talk much about it here, but if you have the opportunity to meet a shaman, you should definitely take this opportunity.

I can only reveal so much: It was certainly very different than I expected – and one of my best experiences during my Workaway in Mexico. If you do not speak the local language, be sure to take an interpreter with you. Carmen*Name changed), my girlfriend, was with me, and although she can speak Spanish fluently, it was also a challenge for her because the shaman spoke so quickly.

Small adventures between Ajijic and Guadalajara

Ajijic is the "old home" of the USA. Many Americans have settled there and now more English than Spanish is spoken there. Houses are cheaper there than in the States, nursing homes as well and it is also beautiful, namely directly on Lake Chapalase.

There are also more tourists. I think almost nobody gets lost after Jocotopec. Maybe for a day trip, because the Malecon (a park that was created on the water) is especially worth seeing in the evening. Also, there is a wonderful bakery with home-baked little tarts and stuffed buns.

Another great adventure I experienced when I took the bus to Guadalajara. There I wanted to see the world exhibition of van Gogh’s works.

Carmen had taken me and kicked me out at a bus stop along the way. There I met a young, super nice girl. Fortunately, she could speak English. She accompanied me to Walmart because she had to work there. Before saying goodbye, she asked me which bus I had to take to Guadalajara. She then gave me her number if I needed further help or an interpreter.

The next problem was that this bus only went to the center, but in between I noticed that the event takes place outside. I finally got off somewhere and wanted to ask for a bus connection. Unfortunately, no one could speak English. Suddenly I met a policeman who asked the bus driver for me which line I had to take. This bus driver took me free of charge to the said bus stop and wished me a nice day.

Later I had to learn that there is no bus to my venue, only the subway. But I did not find them and finally I just booked an Uber driver for 5 dollars. Fortunately, I had decided not to reserve a card at a certain time, but rather to buy one on site...

The exhibition was great. After some of his most famous works were shown in the anteroom and his life story was presented, I entered the actual screening room. On huge canvases, Van Gogh’s works were brought to life. I didn’t know he created Japanese art.

The transitions from one theme to another were made fluently. For example, a wave came from one side and kept getting bigger and more waves followed until the entire canvas was flooded. Then the water flowed off and the picture came out. Another time I first saw only a green surface, which formed very slowly and took on other colors. More and more details were added from the artwork until the whole picture was presented. The exhibition was accompanied musically in the form of matching sounds and songs without texts.

A demonstration lasted about half an hour. I paid about 12 euros.

On the way back I did not find the subway station again 😂 So I went to the bus stop. There I met a young couple at my age. Both studied in the technical field and spoke very good English. We started talking and they decided to wait with me for the bus, which, by the way, only stops in the side streets and not at the official bus stops. In the end, the two of them accompanied me to the center to show me the subway station, which was to take me to the central station so that I could take a bus back to Jocotepec from there. Then they said goodbye because they were actually invited.

I took the subway to the bus station. Meanwhile, it started raining terribly. Nobody at the bus station could tell me which bus went to Jocotepec and many did not know where it was at all...

Finally, I called Carmen and she told me I was at the wrong bus station. In Guadalajara there is an old and a new bus station. I was at the old one, the bus to Jocotopec of course leaves at the new station....

Carmen advised me to take a taxi to a huge intersection and wait there for the bus. Fortunately, I had cash with me. It was still raining, by the way, and it didn’t stop until I got on the bus. Of course. And as if I had not experienced enough today, I got on the bus, which is 2.5 hours on the way and not the one-hour direct bus. At 8 p.m., I was finally home.

So many confusing situations to admire Vincent Van Gogh’s works for 30 minutes... ...But it was worth it!

Light and shadow in Jocotopec

Unfortunately, I had also had my first negative experience with Mexico in Jocotopec. I was followed by a married man with a moped to ask me every time if he could take me somewhere or if we wanted to go for a walk together at the Malecon. The funny thing is that the man only spoke Spanish. But I can only understand and speak a few words. Fortunately, that only happened when I was about to leave. Nevertheless, I had a queasy feeling the whole time as soon as I left the property. I found particularly disturbing that he just didn’t stop, even though I vehemently refused.

I went to the outdoor pool three times a week and met a girl who learned English because she always looked after a little girl whose parents came from the USA. We made friends and she sometimes picked me up with her scooter. I told her the whole story of the man who was following me. She gave me a phone number that I could call should I be tracked or harassed again. The women from this association would help me and take further steps if necessary.

Fortunately, I left a short time later and on my next visit he did not follow me anymore and did not address me anymore.

Conclusion about my workaway in Mexico

I write in this blog my experiences and impressions that I made on the way. I emphasize once again that they are MY experiences. Everyone travels differently, stays longer or shorter in one place and perceives different things. Just because I had a negative experience does not mean that the people there are generally bad or I do not like the country. I just want to report as authentically as possible about my experiences.

By the way, in Ajijic I met many people who emigrated to Mexico – like a Canadian who lived in Germany for 28 years and moved to Mexico during the Corona situation.

During my time in Jocotepec, I learned an incredible amount about the country – not only about the culture, but also about how helpful people are. No matter how chaotic a situation seemed, there was always a solution – be it through a friendly policeman, a casual acquaintance or simply your own improvisation drive. At the same time, I have learned that you should not take everything at face value – just because a bus driver says that there is a bus, does not mean that he really comes.

I liked my first workaway in Mexico so much that I kept coming back for several months the following years. The work didn’t feel like it and it only got stressful when you had to go to the bathroom and the cats just didn’t want to get off your lap. 🐈🐈🐈

If you have become curious and want to experience an adventure yourself, look at the Workaway website Over!

In the third part I talk about my time as a teacher at the German Embassy School – and why I experienced my very personal culture shock there.