Join our family and cultural exchange in Hedemora, Sweden

Details

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  Description

  *** Need for support straight away! :-) ****
  
  Hi there!
  
  I'm Johan and I'm the father of four amazing children. Well, three of them are actually adults now (19, 22 and 24 yrs) and they live and study in Uppsala which is 1.5 hour by train from Hedemora where I live.
  
  The youngest one – Lion – has Downs syndrome and is 10 yrs old. His mother and I separated 5 years ago and Lion lives with both of us part time.
  
  I live in the outskirts of beautiful Hedemora, which is surrounded by hills and lakes. Lion's mother Ylva lives a ten minute drive outside of Hedemora in a wooden cottage.
  
  At this point I only invite Workawayers who has a driver's license since that is so helpful (for example taking Lion to the skate park in the nearest city, and also taking him to his mother et c).
  If you have cooking skills that is a merit, btw! ;-)
  Also, FYI I only have room for one Workawayer at the time.
  
  Although we no longer live together you would also (most likely) meet Lion's older siblings: Tuva (24 yrs), Lo (22 yrs) and Vide (19 yrs).
  
  Lion goes to a school for children with special needs which is located a 5 minute walk from the house where I live. Usually I pick him up at 4 PM and then we have a couple of hours until I help him to bed which usually is around 7-7:30 PM.
  During this time we often play outdoors if the weather allows for it. Lion loves football, floor ball, table tennis, padel tennis or just playing at the playground.
  
  Professionally I work as a psychologist, writer, public speaker and I'm also into yoga and mindfulness.
  
  The area around Hedemora is very picturesque. Here you can take a walk to one of the lakes and go for a swim (depending on the season ...). Or go by mountain bike in the surrounding woods.
  
  Your main work would be to support Lion in every day things such as perhaps helping him get dressed (although he knows quite well how to do that), play with him and help him with basic needs such as eating and toilet needs.
  
  Please note that Lion can be fairly loud and intense, and that you may need to be a firm leader together with him. He doesn't understand dangers so well so he may try to throw a ball into the traffic if he would get the chance. He is also VERY active (I'm guessing that he has ADHD).
  So, if you want a very calm place, keep searching. If you want to be with a ten year old "Buddha" who is very present and mostly happy – this is it!
  
  Moreover, I always interview Workawayers who come here, and you can stay minimum two weeks.
  
  Please let me know if you have any questions.
  
  You are warmly welcome to stay with us! :-)

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house
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  Interests

  

  Sustainability

  

  Culture

  

  Self development

  

  Music

  

  Books

  

  Languages

  

  Photography

  

  Writing

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Nature

  

  Camping

  

  Dancing

  

  Mountain

  

  Winter sports

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Cycling
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We have travelled a lot ourselves as a family and know from our own experience how wonderful it can be to come to new countries and places! :-) Our last journey (2017-18) took us to Australia, New Zeeland, Tonga and Hawaii. We have also been to Senegal, Thailand, Vietnam, Egypt and India to name a few places.
  
  There are many creative people and small companies in the area we live in. So, our friends do all kinds of creative stuff: professional filming, gardening, pottery, traditional housebuilding, building Tiny houses, teachers of different levels, sewing, painting et c, et c.
  
  Moreover a few of our friends have Workawayers too! :-)

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  Au Pair Help

  Further details can be found here

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  Our son Lion with Down’s syndrome is usually a very happy being with a strong will power, and given his diagnosis he needs quite a bit of supervision (in some regards he is more like a 4 year old than a 10-year old). He is very active and wants sometimes to just walk away and explore the world ... Of course Lion can be upset too and he is often loud.
  
  Given that Lion can be very active you need to be very flexible regarding all kinds of things (including changes in schedule and work tasks).
  
  We use some basic sign language to communicate with Lion and he is slowly learning to speak. He only knows a few words (like "look", "mum" and "dad"), but he communicates with more than 100 different basic signs. So, for example he can show with signs when he wants to eat or drink. Part of our (and potentially your) daily routine is feeding him, helping him go to the toilet and get dressed et c (although he is slowly learning all of these things, but still needs a bit of assistance).
  
  Besides help with playing and supporting Lion in different ways, you would be helping with household work like cleaning the apartment (including the toilet) and cooking.
  
  If you know a bit about cooking that's also great!
  
  We would like your help maximum 25 hours a week, often divided as 4-6 hours a day 6 days a week (with Mondays usually as a free day). School is closed Saturday-Sunday and we therefor would like extra help during the weekends (maximum 6 hours per day).
  
  We're also grateful if you do some help with meals and meal clean-up outside working hours, like we all have done in the family. :-) Cooking can often be included as your work, and occasionally we may ask you to cook outside your work hours. Thanks!

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Swedish: Fluent
  German: Beginner

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  Accommodation

  We have a two store apartment (110 m2) and you will have your own bedroom. In the apartment there are two bathrooms. There is a kitchen and a cozy living room with some music instruments (acoustic guitar, djembe).
  
  During the school week, we eat breakfast at around 7.15 – 7:30 AM.
  
  I used to eat only vegan and vegetarian food, and now I also eat some meat, fish and egg (meet from a local ecological farm.

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  What else ...

  During your free time, you can go for walks in nature or along the endless roads. You can hang out with other people or join us on a trip somewhere beautiful. :-)
  
  There are so many things to do in Dalarna which is the area we live in. Google "things to do in south of Dalarna" and you'll find a number of activities!
  
  I have a bike and a mountainbike that you can borrow.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  Yes, we have a good wifi connection (100 MB/100 MB) although we usually turn it off during the night. :-)

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  One

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  My animals / pets

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