Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
17 Jan 2025
Reply rate
84.6 %
Usually responds within 2 days
Feedback
10
Email verified
Badges (2)
Find your perfect host
Details
Description
My son and I live in a typical rowhouse in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland ...atypically, it is gray and not colourful (on the outside anyway... .lol :).. I run an education nonprofit called building-U that works remotely with high school students from different places in the world to provide different kinds of free and useful resources for themselves and their peers. My son is an older student in the Naval Architecture program at the Marine Institute. We have an overly enthusiastic dog (J. J.) and an oddly friendly and affectionate cat (Nygl).
We are pretty easygoing and flexible with most things, though draw a harder line at shoes and smoking in the house. (Cozy slippers provided) I do like cooking and experimenting with things but more like rustic peasant cuisine; I always use recipes... if not for directions, at least for inspiration :).I will definitely do my best to try to work with dietary restrictions; I'm pretty comfortable accommodating vegetarian and vegan needs because of cooking with and for my daughter -- but I would need to be clear on the restrictions for any food allergies, and if I know I cannot accommodate (like peanuts -- there is for sure peanut butter in the house!), I will definitely make that clear beforehand!
We have a number of different kinds of projects that are ongoing or looking to get underway. I am very passionate about glass recyclying and about sustainability initiatives in general am looking into exploring effective soiless soil options created from a mixture of crushed glass and food compost. We have actually made some progress on this (shout out to Juniper from Australia and Eli from France!) and have designed and put together our glass crusher! Check out our Youtube Short! -ask us for the link
We are now experimenting with growing things in it and using it as a sand substitute underneath sawdust for chicken bedding... Yes, we just got a small chicken coop and 2 small hens (Willa and Annalise...aka 'Willy' and 'Nilly')
We also have a small long backyard that has a some legacy flower beds on one side and a small vegetable garden started on the other side of the yard. My neighbour has a beautiful black currant bush that I would love to coax to expand its reach :). Beyond this, I am looking to turn the entire yard into an edible garden. Thanks to Mareen from Germany, Dasa from Slovenia, Max from the US, Dovile from Lithuania, and Felix from France, we have a bit of start to this. New perspectives are definitely helping to transform my backyard little by little! I always welcome garden planning and planting support.
We have a few upcycling projects now on the go: pink white and green Newfoundland flag candles made from old candles and toilet paper rolls, paper quilling containers and trim, soywax storage wraps, and amish knot braided rugs from old bedsheets -
We are always experimenting with upcycling DIY crafts and projects... Love making useful and beautiful things from waste :)
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Great hiking. Very colourful and friendly place. Let's just say there are a great many free ways to have an entirely different cultural experience when you step onto Newfoundland!
Help
As mentioned in the overview, there are a few different projects that travellers can help with... from
Gardening: simple indoor and outdoor planting and weeding to help with designing and creating new garden beds
Glass Crushing: helping put together and test economically viable and effective small scale solutions... for different sizes of crushed glasss
Glass Sand for use in outdoor paths and walkways and also as a base for the homade recycled candles mentioned above.
Painting: Much of it seems to be done for the moment, but projects may pop up!
Soywax Reusable Wraps
No-Sew Amish Knot Braided Rug making from old sheets ...
And, paper quilling trim and container projects (from junk mail circulars)
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
2 bedrooms with separate entrance in a sort of untraditionally termed walkout basement in a downtown St. John's row house. There are 2 single beds and a private bathroom. Breakfast is provided and light snacks are provided. Dinners are included more on a shared basis, meaning guests are welcome to contribute an item and/ or participate in meal preparation at times .. always sensitive to any food restrictions and aversions ofc :)
What else ...
Stroll down to the Harbour and walk through the town of St.John's. There is always something going on downtown and in the summer the whole main street is closed to cars. Easy access through walking or a drive or bus ride to walk to Signal Hill. Check out Qidi Vidi, where there are great views, hiking, and craft beer! There are endless beautiful hikes - the East Coast Trail ...one more beautiful than the next. You can always check out Memorial University or the College of the North Atlantic. Blueberry late summer and Partridgeberry picking late fall, whale watching, and iceberg spotting (all depending on the time of year). There is a nearby ferry to the very unusual Bell Island (35 sq km island that looks like it's a puzzle piece of rock face edges that has been pushed out of the ocean). And that's just stuff that's here all the time!. There's always different events and festivals.. It's a very festive place!
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
I live in downtown St. John's and so have great access to internet. In addition I have a large front office desk and workspace and other common living spaces that workawayers are welcome to share.
Can possibly accept pets
This is something I would love to say unconditionally yes to, but there are a few caveats. We do have a dog ( J. J. ) and a cat (Ngyl) who sort of get along famously. Although Ngyl will probably get along with any kind animal, and although I would welcome the opportunity to get J. J. accustomed to other dogs in his space, and better behaved with other dogs in general, I think that he would likely be a better match for someone with a cat. He is fascinated by cats anywhere :)
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Feedback (7)
I made a camping kitchen for her van and a rug, did some paper arts(?) and camping bed sewing, gardening... she has many kinds of projects. I think it shows her passion.
Tamara is literally easy-going. I've always tried to be perfect, but she taught me that it's okay not to be perfect. I learned that there are… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
I made a camping kitchen for her van and a rug, did some paper arts(?) and camping bed sewing, gardening... she has many kinds of projects. I think it shows her passion.
Tamara is literally easy-going. I've always tried to be perfect, but she taught me that it's okay not to be perfect. I learned that there are… read more
I spent 10 days at her place, where I did some pretty cool projects, like storage room organizing, making a beautiful colourful wooden gate for the garden, making the tool for cutting wine bottles and trying it out, mostly successfully:)
We had so much fun!
She was so kind to pick me up after a hike and we also did… read more
She isn't asking for a lot of hours and there is a lot of time to explore St. John's. We even went for a couple of hikes together or she would pick me up at the end of my hike… read more
