Total immersion is always the best way to learn anything, and that's why travel-volunteering is the best way to pick up a foreign language! Are you ready to swap those expensive language lessons and boring books for a backpack?
Putting ourselves in new situations, countries, and cultures isn’t easy. It’s brave. When we do it with a willingness to learn instead of fix, we reap the benefit of a wholehearted experience that challenges our perspective, gifting us with a new way of seeing the world.
There’s a feeling that you get when you arrive in a new place: the adrenaline buzzes through your body, and everyday things that usually pass you by suddenly seem to be full of potential. We know that travel opens your eyes to the minutiae of life, and studies suggest that it opens up your brain as well. So what exactly is it about ‘travel’ that gets the cogs in our head turning?
Lei’s travel goals are ambitious to say the least - ten years, non-stop, through one HUNDRED countries! We managed to catch our latest Workawayer of the month for a quick chat about her unexpected encounters on the road, lifelong friendships she’s made along the way, and how to experience the world with a trusting heart…
From DIY to dog walking, there is so much to learn -- and for once, we have some time on our hands to learn it! With this guide and the months ahead while travel plans are still on hold, why not learn something new, impress those hosts and finally get travel planning?
As Nelson Mandela reminds us, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” But how does one go about learning a new language while travelling, exactly?
As an electronics major, Shakeel’s Workaway adventure at a self-sustainable farm in Lagos is the perfect place to put his knowledge to practise, AND learn how to connect nature and technology through DIY and teamwork!
Let’s face it, these days it seems like we’re filling out online profiles for everything. From dating apps to career networks, it can be a bit overwhelming to find one more way to describe yourself. However, your Workaway profile can be different and we’re here to help! Follow our best tips for how to create a unique profile that will unlock countless opportunities. Adventure awaits!
Travelling is all about reinventing and change of routine and lifestyle, so yes, travelling is going to be a bit more challenging when you have certain dietary restrictions, food allergies OR when you are simply a picky eater, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t visit countries where people have eating habits vastly different from yours. In fact what you may lose in choice you could gain in quality of experience.
A while ago we introduced you to Workawayers of the month, Shahnaz & Francois, a husband-and-wife duo who volunteered their way around the globe. Adventures like theirs aren’t just gonna become memories that will last a lifetime, but are also the best way to learn. And luckily for us, Shahnaz is willing to pass on some of the wisdom she has accumulated on her travels.
When we were planning our honeymoon, we thought we can make the best of our round-the-world trip by experiencing the rural lifestyle as a farmer via workaway, as a test to make sure we weren’t just romanticizing the idea of living on a farm (especially because we were both working office jobs in New York City)! We were also hoping that the new skill set we would gain can really carry us through our big retirement plan of living on a ranch or a farm.
In our brand-new ‘Workaway Ambassadors’ blog series, they will share their volunteering stories, travel hacks, tips and more to inspire you. Next up is the story of Workaway Ambasssador Nina (teamed up to travel together with Giuse), a born-and-raised city girl who left the comforts of home to experience life in rural Chile. Her story truly illustrates the transformative power of travel and cultural exchange!
Is it better to stay home rather than participate in voluntourism? Was I making a positive impact by volunteering abroad? Or was I simply hurting the very people I was trying to help? Was my presence an act of neo-colonialism?
While travelling alone, I began wondering, what was the difference between rational and irrational fear? How do you overcome fear and step outside of your comfort zone?
We’ve heard it all before – ‘I quit my job to travel the world’, but what is it really like when you are actually doing it? When you stop earning a guaranteed salary and start travelling without a wage? We decided to ask someone that knows all too well on how to really live off pennies, and the rewards that come with doing Workaway exchange.
“I adore how networks like Workaway allow us to find mutually-beneficial relationships, which allow us to thrive creatively and culturally. Of course it saves travellers money, and it also allows them to really get immersed in the lifestyle of another culture, rather than just peering in at it from the outside!”
