Polish language practice in Brisbane, Australia

Australia

Favourited 142 times

Host rating
Feedback
23
Last activity
06/06/2019
Reply rate
100.0 %
Average reply time:
within 1 day
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2019

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Details

Description
Daughter 14 years old and son 10 years old. We have traveled extensively and have now settled in Brisbane. English is our native language, but we also speak many other languages. We live in Ascot, a very nice suburb about 7km from Brisbane centre with public transport to the city. We are very interested in music (piano, violin, clarinet, trombone and other instruments) and mother is a qualified ESL teacher. Kids love playing chess.
Type of help
Babysitting / child care
Help in the house
Language practice
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We have a lot of experience both living overseas and dealing with foreign travellers and refugees here in Australia. Discussions about travel in Oz and also future travel elsewhere, stopovers etc (have lived in Asia and Middle East). Mother is qualified ESL teacher and lots of material - can give tips but not full on lessons. Have been to most places in Australia. Kids have studied Australian history and Aboriginal culture at school. Some material on Australian culture. Speak fluent French and reasonably good German, Italian and Spanish for anyone wanting to practice those. My biggest tip for all of your coming here, even if you don't come to us is please don't get together with people from your own country of origin (I see it so much) and you miss out on so much by doing this!
Help
POLISH LANGUAGE PRACTICE. Sometimes meet kids from school, homework supervision, etc. Maybe playing games (eg chess) with the kids, maybe soccer, park, other activities. Most of the time during the day, during the week, there is no-one home, so that is the best time for you to get out and do stuff. Hours vary, so some days more and other days depending on weather, etc you can take the whole day to do a day trip.
Languages spoken
French, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian
Accommodation
Guest room - bathroom is not ensuite, but we have multiple bathrooms. House is spacious.
What else ...
We are not far from the airport and city and about 15mins walk from the river. Individual travelers only - no couples.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Hours expected
3-5 hours maximum per day 5 days a week

Photos

We love to play chess

Seeing some Australian wildlife

Canoeing on the creek

Fishing at the beach near the mangroves.

Spanish night at Brownies

Our pool - swimming weather from Oct-Apr.

We sometimes go to the beach or you can take the train easily by yourself.

South Bank - Our Saturday morning hang out

Feedback left by and about host (23)

19/04/2019

Left by Workawayer (Guillaume) for host

I am so sorry I'm a few years late on this feedback I was a 100% sure I'd left one !!!
Back when I was in Australia I really enjoyed my 2 weeks stay with the family ! I had a lot of fun playing drum with both Josephine and Stephen ! :)
And overall they were really helpful and gave me very good advices on places to visit in Brisbane and how to… read more

(Excellent )

05/07/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Guillaume)

Guillaume was with us for a week, mainly to speak French with the kids and teach them a bit of drumming. With regard to the drumming, things went so well, I couldn't believe that they could make so much progress in such a short time. He planned things well and quickly worked out different ways to approach my 12yo daughter who has already done a… read more

(Excellent )

07/07/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Beata)

We really enjoyed having Bea with us and she fit straight into our busy family life. I was able to improve my Polish a lot through conversation on many different topics, but also Bea's subtle corrections and clarifications. She not only enabled me to increase my confidence in the Polish language, but also shared lots of her cultural knowledge and… read more

(Excellent )

05/07/2018

Left by Workawayer (Beata) for host

I spend 16 days with Nicola and her family and it was a truely amazing experience. I was helping Nicola with her Polish which is already good, so it was a pleasure to speak with her.

Nicola is very friendly, helpful and a warm hearted person. She is very talented and I admire her for being such a great mother and teacher. The family lived in many… read more

(Excellent )

18/05/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Alec)

We really enjoyed having Alec with us. He was speaking French with us and keeping the kids entertained with board games and magic tricks. He is very polite, considerate and easy to have around. It was also great to rediscover our love of Russia and all things Russian, and my kids were interested to hear about his experiences in the USA and Club… read more

(Excellent )

18/05/2017

Left by Workawayer (Alec) for host

I had a great time staying at Nicola’s place. It’s a very comfortable house in a comfortable atmosphere. For the most part, I was speaking French and playing board games with her wonderful children. She is also trying to give you many tips about the environment in Australia and how to get around here.
Thank you so much for this workaway and I… read more

(Excellent )

31/08/2016

Left by Workawayer (Pablo) for host

I spent 2 weeks with Nicola, Josephine and Stephen and was the most wonderful time. I had the mornings free and I just had to pick Stephen up from the school and play chess with him and his sister.

They are really special kids and I feel that my time with them was too short. I'd had loved to play more music with Joshie, do more origami with… read more

(Excellent )

30/08/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Pablo)

Pablo is very easy to get along with and we enjoyed having him with us immensely. He came to play chess with the children, but is also very musical, so he fitted into our family really well. He has done lots of interesting things in his life, so there is always something in common, and he can turn his hand to most things. He is very independent… read more

(Excellent )

02/03/2016

Left by Workawayer (Brendan) for host

From the moment I was in contact with Nicola, she made me feel valued and a positive member of her household. Although things were a bit stressful at the time for the family, Nicola, her mom and her kids made me very welcome and were very kind the entire time. Josephine is a polite, bright and enthusiastic girl and Stephen is a spunky, energetic… read more

(Excellent )

17/02/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Brendan)

Brendan was great at keeping the kids engaged and on track with their school work and activities. We discussed very briefly the kind of things we wanted him to do and he independently took these on without having to be reminded at all during his stay. I was not present as much as I'd hoped due to unforeseen circumstances, but Brendan's… read more

(Excellent )

28/11/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Sibilla )

Sibilla is a delightful girl. She only stayed with us for a couple of days, but already felt like part of the family after a few hours. She got on well with the kids, outdoor play with my 8yo son and musical activities with my 12yo daughter. She is very musical, but also sporty and sociable. We even did some cooking together. She spoke… read more

(Excellent )

23/10/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Vanille)

Vanille is a lovely girl who gets along well with everyone. She stayed with us for a few weeks, mainly to speak French with the kids. She accompanied the children on outings, took them to school and picked them up, supervised them after school and played indoor/outdoor games, lego etc with them at home. My son really took to her, and she… read more

(Excellent )

23/10/2015

Left by Workawayer (Vanille) for host

I spend 2 weeks with Nicola and her family and it was so great! The kids are lovely and very funny! Nicola was really kind and helpful with me for many things, my English, my little problems... It was amazing to start my trip in Australia in this family! Thanks for everything, I hope to see you again !

(Excellent )

06/10/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Bruno)

Bruno stayed with us for a couple of weeks during the school holidays to speak French with the kids and keep them busy with sports/outdoors activities, etc. He got on well with the everyone and quickly fitted into family life. He's very easy-going and sociable and at the same time very trustworthy. We look forward to seeing Bruno again when he… read more

(Excellent )

22/09/2015

Left by Workawayer (Victor) for host

I spend 5 weeks with Nicolas and her family. I just really enjoyed my stay with them. The kids are Lovely ! Nicolas is very helpfull and has been always ready to help me with my english. I could not hope better for my first experience in Brisbane !
Thanks you very much ! See you soon , I hope ! :)

(Excellent )

18/09/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Victor)

Victor is very easy to have around and the kids (7 and 12yo) loved him. He stayed with us for a few weeks to speak French with the kids, play a bit of soccer and keep them occupied and also help out in the garden. Many people commented on how well he looked after my son, and during the time he was with us, we were more on time for school that we… read more

(Excellent )

11/08/2015

Left by Workawayer (Timothée) for host

I came for the end of my travel and it was an awesome experience. The kids are very nice and practice lot of activity, We could not bored.
The house, the district and the city are very welcoming.
As an engineer, I was very intresting about the Peter's job, and with Nicola we had lot of interesting conversation in french and in english.
It was… read more

(Excellent )

10/08/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Timothée)

Timothee spent a couple of weeks with us to speak French and help take care of the kids. He became part of the family very quickly and the kids loved him. He fitted in with everything we do and everything we like, even giving the kids a good run for their money at chess! He spent a lot of time playing soccer and hand ball with my son and… read more

(Excellent )

06/07/2015

Left by Workawayer (Montserrat) for host

Nicola is a kind and generous person. It has a high level of culture and interesting to talk to her . Children are good and well educated. I take a special memory of the little Josephine , sweet and friendly .
Thank you very much for sharing your life with me.

(Very good )

05/07/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Montserrat)

Montserrat spent 2 weeks with us, mainly to speak French with the kids and Spanish with me. She is extremely good at ensuring she speaks the right language to the right person at the right time, as agreed, and she is a great language teacher :-) My Spanish improved tremendously even in such a short time and the kids became more comfortable in… read more

(Excellent )

19/06/2015

Left by Workawayer (Mar & Noémie) for host

I spent nearly 3 months living with this fantastic family.
Nicola and Peter came to pick me up at the airport, it was quite late when I got home the kids where already asleep so I met them in the morning. I was quite nervous because it was my first job as “nanny or french teacher“ but the kids where so adorable from the very start that I… read more shouldn´t had to worry about anything. I normally took them to school, it´s a 5 min walk, and picked them up, in the afternoon I played with them in the pool or to boardgames, take them to different activities (I even became part of girls guides and brownies and organised a spanish night for 32 little girls, where everyone had a lot of fun, and I helped around the school, because they are always organising different activities to fun raise money). As you can see everything I did was a good chance to practise my level of English, which improved considerately (I got the IELTS certificate there, C1 advanced level).
You can´t be bored with this family because they have always a good plan for you or something fun to do. I remember we went once fishing with Peter and the kids, we went to the Sunshine Coast and had a great time surfing with Josephine. What can I say about her? She´s the little sister I never had. She´s brilliant, so creative, lovely and funny.
Well, I had a lot of free time while living with the family. When the kids where at school in the morning, I mostly studied English. Nicola helped me a lot, she was my private tutor, and we had weekly courses with other students that came over to learn grammar or oral skills. She was also my best counsellor about life. She gives the best advices on earth. She was my source of inspiration and motivation. Sometimes we were talking for hours in the kitchen drinking a glass of wine and talking about everything, you can learn a lot from her, because she is such an experienced woman, very skilled and talented. I am very interesting in Humanitarian Action, cause I studied Law and politics. Nicola is a really caring and she supports many causes. I went with her to teach English to refugees in detention centres as a volunteer and it was a really interesting experience for my career but mainly from the human point of view.

I miss so much all of them, they are part of my family and life now, I hope I could visit them soon…

(Excellent )

19/06/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Mar & Noémie)

Mar came to us for 3 months and she fitted in with the family so well. The kids loved her. She did a lot of activities with my 11yo daughter especially, taught us how to cook a few Spanish dishes, spoke French with the kids and Spanish with me.

(Excellent )

19/06/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Hélène)

Helene came to us for a few weeks. She fitted into the family really well. She helped out with the kids, spoke French to them and a bit of German with me. She is a musician, so this was great for my 11yo daughter as they would do jamming sessions together.

(Excellent )

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Host ref number: 319968938429

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