Join a multicultural French and Canadian family in Osséja, France

Details

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  Description

  Hello! Bienvenue!
  
  My name is Manon, and our family is bicultural French from France and French-Canadian. We are bilingual in English and French, although we tend to work mostly in English. We live between the French Pyrénées and Montréal, Québec, Canada, alternating between the two locations.
  
  We have hosted more than 40 Workawayers over the years and genuinely love meeting people from different countries and cultures. We are well travelled, easygoing and very accustomed to sharing our home with other people.
  
  We have a home in the beautiful French Pyrénées, in the village of Osséja. It is a small village of about 1,400 people, with a bakery, small food market, café, pharmacy and cinema all within walking distance. Puigcerdà, just across the Spanish border, is about 15 minutes away by bus. A car is not necessary, although it is certainly convenient. Osséja can be reached by public transportation via Toulouse, Perpignan or Barcelona.
  
  We are an active and quite busy family. I am an entrepreneur and work mainly from home, and we have a 17-year-old son who is mostly homeschooled and preparing for higher education.
  
  We are looking for mature, responsible and autonomous people who are comfortable taking initiative and working independently. We love spending time with our Workawayers, but because we have a busy family life, we are not looking for people who need a lot of supervision or entertainment. We are happiest when everyone has their own interests and rhythm, while also enjoying some good meals, conversations and experiences together.
  
  🌿 What kind of help do we need?
  
  There are essentially three areas where a Workawayer could help. You don't need to have experience in all of them - we are very happy to match projects to your skills and interests.
  
  1. Garden & outdoor projects
  We have land around the house that needs regular care and preparation, including:
  * General garden maintenance
  * Grass cutting and trimming
  * Pruning and maintaining bushes and shrubs
  * Clearing and preparing areas of land
  * Preparing the garden and soil for growing food next year
  * Creating or improving vegetable-growing areas
  * Other seasonal outdoor projects
  
  We enjoy being outdoors and are looking for people who don't mind getting their hands dirty and helping us prepare and maintain the land.
  
  2. Helping around the house
  There are always practical household projects that can make family life easier, such as:
  * Cooking and preparing meals
  * Making soups, sauces and other food to freeze
  * General cleaning and household upkeep
  * Organizing cupboards, storage and household spaces
  * Helping with food preparation and preserving food
  * Small home projects and general maintenance
  
  We are not looking for a professional housekeeper — just someone who enjoys being useful and helping keep a busy household organized.
  
  3. Sharing skills, knowledge & tutoring
  We really enjoy learning from the people who stay with us, and there are many opportunities to share knowledge and skills with our family. Our 17-year-old son is mostly homeschooled and is preparing for higher education. He is particularly interested in geopolitics, economics, sociology, philosophy and mathematics. If you are a teacher, university student, academic, or simply someone with strong knowledge in one of these areas, he would love to have interesting conversations, tutoring and the opportunity to learn from you.
  
  We are also interested in people who have skills or knowledge in areas such as:
  * AI and new technologies
  * Computers and digital skills
  * English language, writing and communication
  * French language and communication
  * Social media and today's digital platforms
  * Photography or graphic design
  * Mathematics, economics, geopolitics, sociology and philosophy
  * Other subjects or skills that you are passionate about
  
  We love people who enjoy explaining things, sharing what they know and having thoughtful conversations. You might teach our son something, teach us something, or simply introduce us to a subject or skill that is new to our family.
  
  🏡 What we offer
  
  We can host a single person or a couple. Depending on the season and availability, you would have either a private bedroom or a private area in our mezzanine. During the warmer summer months, we may also be able to offer a large outdoor tent.
  
  In exchange for approximately 20 hours of help per week, we generally organize the schedule as 4 hours a day for 5 days, or 5 hours a day for 4 days. We are flexible about how this is arranged, depending on the projects and the person.
  
  We are happy to host people for a minimum of one month, and 2–3 months is preferable when everyone is happy with the arrangement.
  
  We have no pets and unfortunately cannot host pets because of allergies. We are also non-smokers and cannot accommodate smokers.
  
  If you are mature, independent, curious, responsible and enjoy taking initiative, we may be a very good match. You don't need to be an expert - what matters most to us is that you are reliable, willing to contribute, and bring a positive attitude.
  
  We'd love to hear a little about you, your interests and the kinds of skills and experiences you could bring to our family and home. If we seem like a potential good match, we'll be very happy to have a call together and discuss things further.
  
  Until then, all the best and happy travels!
  
  Manon and family

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Teaching

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Light maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  Self development

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Charity work

  

  Events & social

  

  Politics / Social justice

  

  Technology

  

  Culture

  

  Music

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Books

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Cycling
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are a Canadian family from Montréal and speak both English and French at home, although we tend to work mostly in English. My husband is originally from Brittany, France, so there is also a little Breton influence in our family.
  
  We live in the French Pyrénées, in Catalan country, where you will hear Catalan, Spanish and French in everyday life. The region has a fascinating mix of French, Catalan and Spanish cultures, languages, food and traditions, making it a particularly rich place for cultural exchange.
  
  Travellers can experience everyday life in a small mountain village, discover the local culture and cuisine, explore both the French and Spanish sides of the border, and learn about the different languages and traditions of the region.
  
  We also love learning from the people who stay with us. Sharing meals, conversations, travel stories, ideas, music, food and different perspectives is an important part of the experience for us. We hope our workawayers leave having discovered not only a beautiful part of Europe, but also something about Canadian and French family life and about each other’s cultures.

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  Help

  We are looking for mature, responsible and autonomous people who enjoy taking initiative and can help with a variety of practical projects around our home and small business.
  
  Our main needs are:
  
  🌿 Garden & land: grass cutting and trimming, pruning bushes and shrubs, general garden maintenance, clearing areas and preparing the land for growing vegetables and food next year.
  
  🏡 Household help: cooking, cleaning, organizing, preparing meals and soups for freezing, food preparation and general household organization and upkeep.
  
  📚 Education: our 17-year-old is mostly homeschooled and preparing for higher education. Help from someone with knowledge or teaching experience in mathematics, economics, geopolitics, sociology or philosophy would be wonderful, particularly for tutoring and stimulating conversations.
  
  We generally ask for around 20 hours per week, with the schedule arranged flexibly according to the projects and your skills.
  
  You don't need to be skilled in everything! We are happy to adapt the projects to what you enjoy and are good at. Most importantly, we are looking for people who are mature, independent, reliable and comfortable working without constant supervision.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Spanish: Beginner

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  Accommodation

  We can accommodate one or two people.
  
  Depending on the season and availability, accommodation is either a private bedroom with a double bed in our home or a private area on the mezzanine with a single bed and another spare single mattress.
  
  During the warmer summer months, we may also be able to offer a large private outdoor tent.

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  What else ...

  There are many cultural and sports activities in the area called Cerdanya. We live close to hiking paths, a sports center with an indoor pool and skating rink, horseback riding, ski stations and much more!

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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 can host digital nomads.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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