Annette

Travel information

I am currently

Activities i am interested in:

I'd love to immerse in Irish language, culture and heritage

Description

Friends describe me as a warm and thoughtful person - humorous and full of ideas. Life has given me lots of great opportunities to develop skills and problem solving competence.
I always loved to travel and plunge into different cultures.
I guess, I'm not the average holiday type to roast under the sun, sipping a cocktail and eventually taking a bustour to some sights. This brought me to Workaway: what could be better then to actually immerse in the life there... :-D

Ireland has fascinated me ever since and I first visited it in 2003 for a course to built an instrument (a harp). My first workaway experience was fabulous. I stayed at Deirdre's place on the biggest of the Aran Islands - Inis Mór - helping her painting kitchen, hall and a guestroom, wallpapering the living-room, setting up stone flowerbeds and a little Clochán. As Deirdre is singer she asked me to bring along my harp for doing a little program together in the afternoon for the visitors of the island. I have been at Deirdre's place for more projects in and out the house and in general been on the Aran Islands several times now. I cherish the solitude, heritage and nature (especially on the middle island Inis Meáin).

About my vita:
I was born in Düsseldorf in 1964 as 2nd child (I have two brothers). After commercial college I trained as a clerk in an publishing house, but later-on became a journalist. I married into a patchwork family and have two children of my own: a wonderful daughter (born 1991) and son (born 1993) who both made their way successfully. My daughter gave birth to my first grandchild Toby in April 2025 - so this is a new adventure for me being a grandmom now.
Since 2017 I am working from home for an online-fishing-school in customer service - helping angling enthusiasts on their way to acquire the German Fishing License. 2022 I moved back to the lower Rhine area where my children grew up and have a lovely place with a big garden now.

I love to paint, sew, weave (Críos belts), craft and read or play the harp. Gardening is also a favorite pastime. I'm rather a fan of a natural cottage garden style that welcomes insects and animals like squirrels, hedgehogs and - yes - even a mole. And I love to decorate my flat, upcycle and improvise. I would describe myself as a nifty person with a lot of skills when it comes to using tools and creating things.
Apart from being a Harry Potter enthusiast, I enjoy to watch BBC period dramas and history documentaries as well as the TG4 longtime-soap Ros na Rún. That leads me back to my love for Ireland and everything Irish: Táim ag foghlaím Gaeilge faoi láthair agus tá sé an-spraoí. :-D

Interests

Culture

Sustainability

Plant care

Music

History

DIY & crafts

Books

Art & design

Languages

Gardening

Drawing & painting

Nature

Languages spoken

German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Irish: Beginner

Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Eco Projects

Animal Care

Hospitality/Tourism

Being an elderly companion

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Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

General Maintenance

Helping around the house

Languages

Art Projects

Helping with Computers/ Internet

DIY and building projects

House sitting

More details about your skills

I'm quite the DIY-Person. As a single part-time-working mom I was used to live on a budget. This is not a bad thing as you learn to compensate the lack of money with resourcefulness and creativity. My ex-husband encouraged me in the use of all sorts of tools and taught me how to use them. So now I do a lot of minor repairs myself.

I used to work as a journalist at a local paper for 14 year, so writing is a skill. And dealing with specific software like QuarkXpress, Photoshop and Indesign. I could help you with computer-things (not programming) - like minor trouble-shooting or creating a web-appearance, working with social-media or the likes.

Besides that I ran a small Bed and Breakfast for some years at my old place. I had turned the basement into guest rooms by making over things I had to make the rooms cosy. From the feedback I got, people enjoyed their stay and felt much at home.

Today I'm in charge of customer service as well as creating web content in a leading European fishing-school that developed a unique e-learning program for the German fishing-exam, which is the basis for getting a fishing-license. I love to deal with different personalities and aim to serve everybody the best I can.

I'm always eager to learn new things - about all sorts of topics.

I love painting, sculpting with clay or other crafts; sewing and redecorating. Gardening used to be a passion before I moved to Cologne. Now I don't have a big garden any more, just a little balcony with flower boxes.

Age

60

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies

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  Special dietary requirements