Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
21 Oct 2024
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 3 days
Feedback
16
Facebook verified
Email verified
Badges (3)
Find your perfect host
Details
Description
Hello, greetings from the lovely island of Jamaica.
Our names are Sofia and Michael and we are both nearly 2 decades in Jamaica. We were once both looking for warmer weather, that´s why we came to the Caribbean. But at the end it was in each case a business opportunity that brought us to the lovely but small island of Jamaica.
We are civil engineer ( SHE) and photographer (HE) from our professional side. We are both strict non-smokers and are also only looking for nonsmokers (and that includes Ganja :-) ) to join us here temporarily ( ONE MONTH and longer preferred). We think that we are well educated and we def. also appreciate manners in day-to-day life. We try to be healthy in life and food, love art and sports, nature and excursions/ traveling. Since our place, our venture does not allow us a lot of traveling, we are hoping to welcome people from all over the world and share some time with them. We are open-minded and like to share our experiences we gained here in this long time.
We live about 10 mins away west from Ocho Rios, on the North Coast of Jamaica. Its a beautiful place, great landscape, lots of lush vegetation, of course a magnificent ocean close by. Our place is in a gated community and quiet and safe. Overall its a great place to live. However, it is not the party hotspot of Jamaica. It might be a little more on the quieter side. Negril and Kingston or also Montego Bay are those places where you find the proper nightlife more than here.
We both are animal lovers and also rescuers - we love cats and we rescued several, in the hope we would find forever homes for them but somehow they got stuck here :-). They are now like our family since we dont have children. Be prepared for 7 lovely cats and since a short while also 1 Puppy dog 🐕 and us :-)...They and we all have our special characters..
Our venture is a small exclusive guesthouse that we build and we manage it now. Its our pride and the guests appreciate its unique style and privacy. It is not a hostel, so dont expect checkin-and checkout and a crowd on a daily basis. It might even happen that no guests or very little come in the time that you spend here. Your luck because the pool and the rooftop are then free to use :-)
We are with workaway pretty much from their beginning ( I think there is a badge somewhere :-) )...so here are a few thoughts about this thing here - we dont have a heavy work load that we position the workawayer in like some other places. We put an emphasis on cooking, but we are not vegan or vegetarian. Our workawayer must be able to handle meat / fish and animal products like milk, eggs etc. Without that, it would be too difficult. We however eat vegetarian meals once we like them.
We dont want to be seen like parents, which we are anyways not. We like to treat you and be treated on eye-level. We dont like when the workawayer only shows up for "work" or the tasks and disappears otherwise for his/her private enterprises. We also can not accommodate person with a fixed online job on the side either.
We like to establish a deeper connection and also hang out together. We appreciate extroverted persons, who can also start a conversation from their side.
Living-wise, we will share a bungalow, our home together, but the workawayer has its own room/bathroom. We dont serve as a cheap hotel for a couple days only ( yes, we got those requests too) and we can not accommodate more than one person in general.Types of help and learning opportunities
Art ProjectsLanguage practiceGardeningDIY and building projectsAnimal CareCreating/ Cooking family mealsHelp around the houseHospitality/TourismCultural exchange and learning opportunities
Jamaica - do we need to say more? You benefit being at first on the beautiful island of Jamaica and second, we show you a lot in every day live all spectrums here - from first class to the very simplest ways people live here. We would do some excursions for sure in that time and we take you places and show you around but with open eyes you will also catch up a lot just being here. Despite being expats, we have contacts with the local people and so you get to know them as well.
Help
First off, we like to meet people and this way seems to be a great way to get to meet new people. We like to hear stories about other experiences or where the WORKAWAYER comes from.
I am not sure if we can really describe it as "work" what the WORKAWAYER would do. We were able to get it going and maintaining it ourselves. But we figured it would be nice to have an extra hand sometime.
Therefore, we need someone responsible and outgoing to help us here and there in our house with the daily stuff and also in the guesthouse, with the running of the place such as helping with the tourists, fixing the place ready for them, giving them information, maybe checking them in etc. The pool is for use but also maybe requires some easy maintenance work here and there.
Some animal care maybe involved too as we do have a small "cat shelter" which needs to be taken care of.
Cooking skills or interest is very highly appreciated as we like to dedicate that task to you, We also like to experience your national dishes that you like to prepare if the items for it are available here. As stated above, you can be vegetarian/ vegan but you MUST be able to handle / cook with meat and fish and be able to deal with egg, milk etc. Our preference is however someone who has NO restrictions foodwise and can handle everything.
Nothing heavy or rocket science, just more the normal crazy things that come along with the day. Pretty much an allrounder like us :-)Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
Sofia is interested in deepening her GERMAN language skillsAccommodation
We live in a beautiful home on the side of the villa and we do have a guestroom accommodation for one WORKAWAYER. It comes with your own bathroom (shower) and so you have a pretty independent room but since you are in our house, you are integrated in our daily life. We trust you with our place and so we will be very careful in selecting the person which will come and stay with us - the longer the better.
What else ...
This place is pretty well situated in terms of getting to here and from here. Public Transportation is available. Beach is close by; we are open to different food habits, no problem
Help schedule will be determined upon arrival. We commit to the workaway guidelines with 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week.
We take our promises to the workawayers seriously. And we expect that from you too. If you just write to us as a part of many other applications, and we dont get to hear from you again after we reached out to you, we consider this contact as done.A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (10)
I had a great time cooking for them, doing some painting and looking after their cats, who each have… read more
It was an amazing time with you and Ivy... the housemaid... and the lovely and Beautiful cats...I spend 1 month February /March with this lovely couple...
You will find a cozy house in a stunning garden where you live... in… read more
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
I had a great time cooking for them, doing some painting and looking after their cats, who each have… read more
It was an amazing time with you and Ivy... the housemaid... and the lovely and Beautiful cats...I spend 1 month February /March with this lovely couple...
You will find a cozy house in a stunning garden where you live... in… read more
I really hope to go back… read more
They are really friendly people and made me feel at home straight away. I stayed with them during the christmas holidays and was afraid of getting homesick but didn't miss home one bit! I mostly did cooking, cleaning and gardening (among other things) and on my days off I… read more
It was important to the two that I felt well and safe over there. That was definitely the case :)
When there… read more
We can only highly recommend her. She is so nice and kind, it will be hard to let her go after the term. We almost begged her to stay. She… read more