Profile information
Host rating
40
Last replied
27 Feb 2024
Reply rate
57.1 %
Usually responds within 72 days
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Details
Description
Queer disabled single parent and one happy, inquisitive, very chatty five year-old. You will be sharing a home and the adventures of caregiving with a performer-artist-scholar-educator who is invisibly disabled, and a school-age child attending school in French who loves the library, art galleries, parks, reading and speaking and listening to music in many languages, doing math and building installations. You would become part of a chosen family who also participate in caregiving. You would be given insights on Toronto from someone who is versed in things queer, arts (and) social justice-oriented. I have a fondness for and much experience with travel and speak English, French and Spanish (and once upon a time didn't do too badly in Hungarian). Our family's languages also include German and Cantonese. You would be living with someone who has hosted many traveling strangers on the couch over the years through Couchsurfing, and I too have preferred to travel by being welcomed by strangers. My door is usually open to friends and family dropping by unannounced, but given my disablement by illness, anyone coming here needs to be attentive to chronically ill peoples' energy limitations, sensory sensitivities and need for calm and low-maintenance engagements with other humans.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practice
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
My place, wherever that has been, has always been a gathering spot of an eclectic array of friends, family, pets, and visitors from all over. The kitchen table is an important gathering space where I hope we will share many meals together. One summer, Brazil, Mexico, Finland and France were simultaneously represented at our place. While this has changed somewhat since becoming a parent and since becoming disabled, I still have the same openness and interest in meeting, sharing, welcoming and learning. I share from the experiences I have accumulated from living in and visiting different places in Canada and abroad (the Americas, Europe, Asia) as a community-engaged artist, scholar and adventurer, and from my interesting and eclectic community-oriented work life, which has taken me from the far north of Canada to festivals across Canada and many places around the world, from chasing lemmings to burying my nose in eighteenth century archives to working with youth. Studying culture, Canadian culture especially, is part of my work and passion, so I can share what I know and love and can't stand about this and other places with you, and point you to interesting and innovative projects, places, galleries, neighbourhoods and so on. People who stay with me often find that I try to connect them with a person, place or thing. I like catalysing things. I am at heart a community builder both locally and across transnational networks, and I would share that disposition with you. You will also have the chance to be a part of a navigation of making queer family and community in Toronto and beyond.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
I am looking for 20-25 hours of support weekly, with the possibility of additional paid hours as necessary. In the summertime, hours and/or extra paid time may be spent outside of the city by a lake. The majority of the time you would be assisting with general house clean-up, daily meal prep and dishes, babysitting at home and out on adventures, shopping and errands, and helping with handy-person type projects around the house and garden. Occasionally you will be on your own taking care of the child, but I will be nearby. Being a morning person is a bonus.
I need someone who is experienced with being around and looking after children, enjoys playing with kids, is confident with taking a kid out and about, can prepare meals (designed collaboratively as necessary!), can do dishes, clean the house, run errands and/or is a useful handy-person for house tasks. It would be a bonus if you can speak and read in French, Spanish, Cantonese, German or any other language in addition to English, and an additional bonus if you've got child first aid training. If it's the summertime, then ideally you should know how to swim! Finally, it is essential that you be queer-friendly and disability-aware. Our house is not accessible for folks with physical disabilities because of the stairs.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
French: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
We live in a vibrant, diverse, sought after central Toronto neighbourhood full of hip cafes, cool restaurants, amazing public library, skating rinks, parks, small shops, shopping mall and more. Our semi-detached, two-storey 1200 square foot house is art, music and book-filled, quirky and full of light on a tree-lined street steps from bike-share stations and park, and several public transportation options for a quick ride to downtown or further. You would have your own room on the second floor, which is an office. We have many amenities in the home, including laundry, dishwasher, custom bathroom, a piano, a big kitchen and a living area taken over by kid play stations. In warmer weather, you may use one of our bikes to explore the city. Unfortunately, our house is not accessible for those with mobility limitations.
What else ...
There is so much to do in Toronto that it is impossible to list here, but I have many recommendations on sights, eats, and experiences.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
