Wendell & Liisa

Travel information

We are currently

Description

Hello! I (Wendell) am a retired English teacher. For 35 years I taught English/ESL in universities and secondary schools in USA, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. My wife (Liisa) is a retired nurse who worked in hospitals in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Now that we have lots of free time on our hands, we would like to volunteer either individually or as a couple. I am an American but now live in Finland with my Finnish wife and daughter. My wife is retired nurse who speaks English fluently. Since we are retired, we are available whenever a good opportunity arises, whether it be teaching English or a different type of interesting activity.

We joined Workaway in 2022, but have participated as workers in a similar help exhange program for several years. As help exchange workers, my wife and I have volunteered together in a sculpture garden, a dog shelter and a butterfly farm in Spain. Individually, I've taught English in Spain and Poland. Besides help exchange programs, we have also volunteered with NGOs in Nicaragua, Ecuador, Tanzania & Zimbabwe. In all of these cases we worked in after-school enrichment programs designed to support children from impoverished families so that they might succeed in school. Even though I mostly taught young adults during my teaching career, I've really enjoyed working with younger children in these programs as has my wife.

Interests

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Finnish: Fluent

More details about my language interests
Wendell is a native speaker and teacher of English and would like to find a job helping non-native speakers improve their language. Liisa, a native speaker of Finnish, is a fluent speaker of English and would also be interested in teaching English, especially to youngsters.

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Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

Some knowledge of:  

Being an elderly companion

Animal Care

Babysitting and creative play

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Able to teach about:  

Languages

Teaching

More details about your skills

Wendell taught English for 35 years in different countries (Europe, Asia, MIddle East) and has continued to teach as a volunteer with several NGOs in Africa and Latin America since retiring. Liisa is a registered nurse who has also worked in different countries (Europe, Asia, Middle East.) Since retiring, she has worked with NGOs supporting children in Africa and Latin America.
Both Liisa and Wendell have also been volunteers with another help exchange where they have worked in diffierent types of establishments: a butterfly farm in Spain, a sculpture garden in Spain and a dog shelter. Wendell has volunteered a number of times with with English language immersion immersion programs in Spain and Poland.

Age

71 & 73

What else ...

Both Wendell and Liisa come from big families and enjoy working with children. We have worked with after-school programs in Latin America and Africa, tutoring children, playing games and doing art work with them

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies

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  Special dietary requirements