updated   Last minute

Gardening or elderly companionship in Ariège, South-West France

  • Favourited 197 times
  • Last activity: 27 Jul 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: 1 week or less

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    **
    CURRENT AVAILABILITY :
    - Now, up until the end of July - GARDENING
    - From September 2024 - ELDERLY CARE
    **

    Hello, I'm Lola.

    I'm a Canadian/ Irish/ British theatre actor and have been living and working in France for 25 years. In 2022 I bought a 100 year old stone house in a town in Ariege in order to look after my mum during her senior years. Two other members of the household are my dogs: Jalia, who is very friendly and affectionate and Samy who is a recent rescue - timid but very sweet.

    With the help of wonderful Workawayers, from all over the world, I have been restoring the house over the last two years and there are just a few jobs left now so I have a Workaway team coming for a month of DIY in August (2024).

    JULY - I would love some help in the garden, mostly clipping and tidying. I would really appreciate someone who has gardening experience if possible.

    FROM SEPTEMBER ONWARDS - I would like to start getting back to my career little by little. So I would really appreciate a helping hand looking after my mum. It would be mostly just being here and keeping an eye on Mum, making her tea, putting dvds on for her, making her meals. I will not be working full time so the hours will be no more than 5 hours a day and 5 days a week. My mum has dementia but is still her lovely, jolly self. Of course it would be fabulous to have experience in care work but it is not necessary. I think the qualities needed are : to have empathy and to be responsible, caring and practical. It is necessary to speak fluent English as Mum only speaks English. It is also important to be able to communicate a minimum in French in case of an emergency. I think a minimum stay of a month would be good and longer stays would be welcomed. You would have the guest bedroom which has a sitting area and room for a desk if you'd like. You would of course be welcome to use the rest of the house too. The work with Mum won't be very much so helping out in the house and garden, perhaps a little DIY or art projects would be great too.

    General Information:

    It would be nice to share the rest of the cooking. I like learning recipes from different cultures and sharing mine.

    We have bicycles available and there is a train station in our town so on days off you would be able to get around easily. There are frequent trains to the city of Toulouse and, in the other direction, to Foix and into the Pyrenees mountains. The town we live in has some shops, a few restaurants and cafés. There is a food market on Saturday mornings and a flea market on Sunday mornings.

    We're friendly people and enjoy meeting new people, exchanging culture, sharing good food... Of course you will also have your own space.

    I speak fluent French so can teach English, French or anything to do with theatre.

    I would really appreciate a helping hand.

    Best regards,
    Lola
    (Mary Lynn, Lola is my nickname)

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Elderly Companionship
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    - learning French or English and about different cultures
    - learning about theatre
    - surrounding sites: historical / natural
    - hiking, water sports...

  • Help

    Help

    JULY - Gardening
    FROM SEPTEMBER - Looking after an elderly person:
    - serving tea and meals
    - putting on DVDs
    - helping out with the house, garden and perhaps a little DIY or art projects

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    English: Fluent
    French: Fluent

    This host offers a language exchange
    I'd quite like to learn some Spanish or Italian.

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    - unlimited wi-fi
    - guest bedroom
    - bicycles available
    - train station close by

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Activities and places of interest nearby:
    • The Pyrenees Mountains for hiking
    • Prehistoric caves
    • A big prehistoric open-air park/museum
    • Medieval towns such as Foix, Mirepoix and Carcassonne are beautiful to visit
    • Montbel Lake with beaches, sailing and fishing
    • Ziplining, tree climbing
    • Canoeing on the Ariege river
    • Parachute jumping
    • The lovely city of Toulouse, rich in culture
    • Roman Spa at Ax-les-Thermes

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    Fiber internet connection.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    One

  • ...

    Hours expected

    No more than 5 per day, 5 days a week

Host ref number: 755983574452

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