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English or German speaker to join our family and help with painting or gardening in Normandy, France

France
Last activity : 18 Nov 2025

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Host rating
80 %
Last replied
13 Nov 2025
Feedback
3
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Availability

2025

Min stay requested: 1 month or more

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What's this?

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Description
We are a family with four children aged 15, 14, 12 and 8. My husband is a financial adviser and his office is at home. I take care of the children.

We live in a small village in Normandy, in a 18th century chateau. The nearest city is Argentan which is 15km away. We are surrounded by green land, our own forest and lakes where we swim and fish. We have horses and chicken as well as dogs. Children are homeschooled. We are a closely nit family and have all meals together, lunch and dinner. We are looking for somebody who is eager to become a family member.

We are looking for a female young lady to give 3 hours language classes to my girls and 1/2 hour of home/garden related work. You can learn French from the family when we are all together but you will speak your mother tongue with the children. We are practicing catholics.

Ideally you can ride as children spend a lot of time with horses. If you can play piano, cello or harp it would also be helpful. Useful also to have a driving licence as there is no public transport in our village

We look forward to hearing form you!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practice
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
you will experience french culture in a french home schooled family, learn about french history, take part if you would like in our catholic practice. During the hunting and fishing season you can join the hunts in our land. You can learn gardening and restoration skills. You can go for long walks and experience the countryside. There are riding farms close by where you can take lessons and other sport facilities tennis and swimming. You can visit major sites Mont Saint Michel, Bayeux, Caen and many châteaux in our neighbourhood (open from spring onwards)
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Gardening, language classes
Languages
Languages spoken
Catalan: Fluent
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
French: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Chinese (Mandarin): Fluent
This host offers a language exchange
You will be surrounded by us parents and four children speaking French.
Accommodation
Room in a chateau in Normandy
What else ...
We are looking for somebody to start in March 2025

If you feel you are the right person let us know
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
Can host digital nomads
This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.
Can possibly accept pets
This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets

Host ref number: 244965329853

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Feedback (3)

5 Jul 2021

Left by Workawayer (Paul) for host

I spent one month with this family in Ri and I can say it was wonderful.
Beginning with the dinner after my arrival, they made me feel as a part of them and welcomed me with a hospitality and kindness as I have seldom experienced before. From the day on, I was included in their daily routines, got a place on their dinner as well as their festive… read more tables and, in this way, got the chance to not only experience a traditional and normanic way of life, but also to see a family which despite all modern hindrances is able to keep their bonds tight and their cultural values up. And the fruitfulness of this comes best to light in their wonderful children, who are able to grow up in a surrounding without senseless restrictions and distractions. Filled with bondless energy and imagination, guided by a natural interest in things and persons, they are able to keep themselves busy all day long and if you want, you as well. And despite them having a very defined personality from early on, they are never hardening it behind some egoism, but instead care for another and also welcomed me, a stranger at beginning, without hesitation in their house, and with the same openheartedness as their parents.

In my opinion, getting to know this family is reason enough to do a 'workaway' in Ri, but since a reader of this is properly also expecting some information about what awaits him in his daily life, I will also write a little about this now.
Ri itself is a village consisting of not much more than the castle, a church and a handful houses spreaded around it. But despite its size it is the living place of a lot of great people, who will keep you busy and happy throughout your stay, so that your plans to visit the surrounding cities gets postponed and postponed (even with a car at hand) until you cancel them for good. There is Natalie, the great cook, housekeeper, driver and a thousand other things, Ben, the sympathic renter around the corner, who will show you what a café pomme is and of course, Philippe, your 'will be' "chef". They all accepted me, an austrian with close to none french language skills without hesitation in their home town, so they will definitly show the same openness towards you. Especially Philippe was a great companion, who showed a great deal of "patience" with me, not only regarding my lack in french vocabulary, but also regarding my way of fulfilling the given tasks, which reached from painting to plastering to masonry work and in which I had not much experience to beginn with. He guided and taught me, helped me if needed and gave me the freedom to choose the tasks I prefered. In summary, it was just a big pleasure to work with him.
The free time you can spend in the beautiful surroundings of the castle, made up of lakes, forest bits and fields, which are as well the fillings of the window frames in your sleeping room, which, attached with a private bathroom, lies in the first floor of the castle and gives you a silent space you can withdraw to.

Finally, I can only warmly recommend you to make this experience for your own and wish you the possibility to spend some time in Ri with y others. Thanks again for this month and hopefully see you again soon.
All the best wishes to Ri,
Paul

(Excellent )

2 Apr 2021

Left by Workawayer (Lucia) for host

I´m super glad to have had the opportunity to stay with this lovely family in Normandy!
Thanks for accepting me so spontaneously during these crazy COVID times.
Due to the strong restrictions in Northern Germany, I decided to visit a friend in Paris.
When I heard that the lockdown was extended, I knew that I didn’t want to return to Germany.
At… read more

(Excellent )

7 Feb 2019

Left by Workawayer (Eva) for host

I stayed with the family for about a month. It was my first workaway experience and I enjoyed it very much. The family is very hospitable. I had a private room and bathroom in the castle, where I had privacy when needed . We took the meals together with the whole family. Sylvia cooks fresh and healthy meals every day.
Philippe was a nice colleague… read more

(Excellent )

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