JWHarris

Travel information

I am currently

Activities i am interested in:

Sadhana: The Realization of Life by Rabindranath Tagore

Description

I've come to love the learning and personal developement that occurs from travel. And the opportunities for helping people, and acquiring a large variety of diverse skills rather than becoming too specialized, have been priceless. I'm thinking of slowly working my way around the world, one country at a time, unless I find some people or place that really make me want to stay indefinitely.

Interests

DIY & crafts

Movies & TV

Outdoor activities

Carpentry

History

Cycling

Camping

Art & design

Architecture

Music

Nature

Yoga / Wellness

Self development

Mountain

Languages

Hiking

Farming

Fitness

Adventure sports

Culture

Books

Animals

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
French: Beginner
Portuguese: Beginner

More details about my language interests
I can give English lessons as part of workaway hours, and I would like the chance to better my language skills in Spanish, French, or Portuguese

Find a language buddy

Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Languages

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Some knowledge of:  

Eco Projects

DIY and building projects

Animal Care

General Maintenance

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Able to teach about:  

Life at a Farmstay

More details about your skills

I was raised in a do-it-yourself household and family farm setting in the mountains of upper Appalachia, and I grew up doing our own plumbing, carpentry, landscaping, auto-mechanics, wine-making, animal husbandry, etc. If you have the proper tools and sufficent materials, there are countless builds, installs, maintenances, or repairs for farm or household that I can help you with.

As an adult, I have worked in many capacities, both urban and rural; which include, but is not limited to, used book store clerk, librarian, health food store inventory clerk, farmhand, deckhand on a private yacht, lorrie driver, etc. Urban work has included cooking in restaurants, machine assembling in factories, and shipping and receiving in warehouses. Rural work was on a few farms, one was a 5 acre organic orchard/garden on an egalitarian "hippie" commune in the Missouri Ozarks and using only hand tools, another was a commercial organic farm of 10,000 acres in North Dakota using a selection of heavy machinery such as tractors and implements, and a third was a medium sized farm/commune that was a 5 acre animal sanctuary with an additional 5 acres for a cash-crop.

On a more interpersonal or recreational note, I can also offer hour long ESL, chess lessons, or basic music instruction (performance and learning by ear and/or theory) on either guitar or 5-string banjo, both to a high-intermediate level of proficiency.

And yes, I am willing to work more than 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. But if asked of me, then an agreement to compensate for these overtime hours must be made between me and the host (whether to pay my travel costs to or from the host, or an hourly sum) . I mention this because a few previous hosts have brought it up and expected me to work extra hours just for fun.

Age

47

What else ...

I began travelling when i was 19, and since then I have travelled to or through every state in the U.S. except for Alaska, 4 provinces of Canada, a couple Caribbean nations, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania. All this travel has made me into a sort of modern cowboy/Tom Bombadil character in many ways, always finding myself traipsing through the woods and singing a song, and getting into a town at dawn or riding off from one into a sunset.

As far as the sociaI dynamic is concerned, we can keep it strictly professional and impersonal, with each of us keeping our own usual company and routine, or become familiarly acquainted and share our life experiences and outlook, or some mix in between. I'm perfectly fine whether left to my own devices or working and conversing side by side with you, but hopefully you don't feel obligated or expected to entertain or socialize with me in any contrived sort of way because that wouldn't be of use to anyone.

On my own time, i can often be found hiking forest roads, singing along to 80's pop music, seeking out hidden places, skinny-dipping in clear, ice-cold mountain streams and regularly reading, playing chess, listening to music, playing instruments, hiking and bicycling, and watching high quality cinema (made between circa 1935 and 2005, with a some exceptional outliers outside of that timeframe). Studying the world's collected arts, sciences, and philosophies has also always been a hobby of mine. And especially, exploring life as a sort of exciting adventure of discovery, rather than as a dull business of accruing creature comforts.

And, for the most part, if it's not arcane, bizarre, slightly dangerous, challenging, or "off the beaten path" in any way, then it likely will not interest me for long.

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies
  No

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  Special dietary requirements
  No, but i also prefer not to eat fish, asparagus, or brie.