Dawn & Poul

Thailand
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Travel information
We are currently
At home
Activities we are interested in:
Hospitality, the outdoors, photography, languages, the performing and culinary arts, farm stays, house/pet-sitting, health/wellness, animal care, education, sports, and domestic/international travel.
Our next destination:
United States
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Description
Hello! We're a kind-hearted and adventurous Danish-American married couple who has spent the last few years on many adventures in the U.S. and abroad.

Currently, we are in Phoenix, Arizona and live and work on a horse farm where Poul helps with feedings twice a day, stall maintenance, and various yard care. Dawn is a former teacher (PreK-Grade 8) who was a full-time nanny in the area after assisting Poul on the farm for 5 months. Last year, we adopted our family’s pet Chloe, a sweet and loving 13-year-old Shetland Sheepdog, after the passing of our loved ones, so we’re interested in opportunities that would welcome her along with us.

A little about Chloe: She joined us after being with Dawn's family since she was a puppy. On the farm, she accompanies Poul in the mornings and afternoons while he cares for the nine horses. She gets along very well with everyone she meets (her groomer and vet LOVE her), including the farm goat and the three Jack Russells that also live on the property. She's a quiet girl who loves to play inside with her toy, rest during the day on her dog bed, and sit outside on the porch when the weather is nice. She has a polite and calm demeanor and thrives with routine, structure, and positive reinforcement.

Right before coming to Arizona, we worked together for a year on the road for a transportation company based in Palm Desert, California. We traveled to all 48 U.S. contiguous states packing, picking up, and delivering paintings to galleries, art studios, and private residences as fine art couriers. We met some amazing artists and art enthusiasts throughout the country and stayed in some unique cities and towns off the beaten path.

Our amazing Workaway experiences together in South America include:

* 10 weeks in Santa Cruz, Chile at an Italian restaurant, Vino Bello, where we supported with food prep, dishwashing, and in the reception area as a host and server. We thoroughly enjoyed working alongside colleagues from Chile, Mexico, Haiti, and Venezuela and learning more about their experiences, cultures, and interests.

* 3 weeks in Abbott, Argentina on a farm helping with the AirBnB guest house, La Navidad, and taking care of the animals: horses, pigs, chickens, sheep, and dogs. We fed the animals throughout the day, brought them out/put them in at night, and made ourselves available to the guests who stayed in the guest house.

* 4 weeks in San Rafael, Argentina at La Finca Carmelita, a farm and rural hotel, supporting with housekeeping, laundry, maintaining the property, gardening, and caring for/feeding the animals, including the dogs, cat, geese, chickens, horses, and llamas.

Other experiences we have shared together as a couple include:

* Coaching boys' soccer for a season at Ruamrudee International School in Bangkok, Thailand while Dawn taught at the school for two years.

* Studying Castilian for 3 months in Bilbao, Spain through Instituto Hemingway while Dawn studied the culinary arts with a focus on breakfast, lunch, and brunch meals.

* Pet-sitting and house-sitting through Trusted Housesitters in California (Carlsbad, West Hollywood, Davis, Walnut Creek, Oakland, and Santa Barbara) and Arizona (Scottsdale, Phoenix, Sun City, and Sun Lakes.) We have completed over 10 sits where we have taken care of a variety of pets (dogs, cats, goats, puppies), administered medication, walked the dogs, and cared for the homes with housework, collecting the mail, watering plants, and communicating with the owners while they were away.

* Working as Assistant Innkeepers for a summer at a Bed and Breakfast in Independence, California and helping with housekeeping, food prep, and guest relations. We helped manage a historic B&B with 10 rooms and assisted guests who were visiting the area for hiking and sight-seeing at Mt. Whitney, Death Valley, and Mammoth.

Originally from California (U.S.A.), Dawn was an international educator (PreK/Elementary/Middle School and Special Education) for over 20 years in the U.S.A., Jamaica, Ecuador, Taiwan, and Thailand. She is a native English speaker with 4 years of high school/college-level Spanish courses and has lived in Spain, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina--giving her an intermediate level of Spanish.

Born in California (U.S.A.) and raised in Denmark, Spain, and the U.S.A., Poul has held a variety of diverse positions in hospitality, transportation, the creative arts, athletics, and pet care. With a Colombian and Danish family background, his childhood spent in Spain and Denmark, and his various living and traveling experiences, Poul is fluent in English, Spanish, and Danish.

We both enjoy meeting people from all over the world, learning new ways of experiencing life to its fullest, and staying active through our many outdoor passions, including biking, hiking, running, sightseeing, and playing/watching sports. We're excited to continue to give back to our communities and enrich our lives.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Best,
Dawn and Poul
Interests
Music
Politics / Social justice
Performing arts
Nature
Photography
Self development
Van life
Vegetarian or vegan
Outdoor activities
Mountain
Languages
Fitness
Gardening
Hiking
History
Farming
Events & social
Drawing & painting
Culture
Cycling
DIY & crafts
Dancing
Cooking & food
Charity work
Carpentry
Beach
Art & design
Architecture
Animals
Languages
Languages spoken
Danish: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
More details about my language interests
This workawayer has indicated that they would be interested in sharing their language(s) or learning a new language. You can contact them directly to discuss this.
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Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
We're interested in:
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Eco Projects
Being an elderly companion
Art Projects
Some knowledge of:
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Life at a Farmstay
Animal Care
Helping with Computers/ Internet
House sitting
Able to teach about:
Babysitting and creative play
Helping around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
Languages
Teaching
More details about your skills
Household chores, laundry, and clean up (Dawn and Poul)
Shopping, running errands (Dawn and Poul)
Tourism, cultural events and activities (Dawn and Poul)
Outdoor activities, sports, games, coaching (Dawn and Poul)
Animal/pet care (Dawn and Poul)
Domestic and international travel (Dawn and Poul)
Innkeeping and hospitality (Dawn and Poul)
Transportation/driver/courier (Dawn and Poul)
Elderly and respite care (Dawn and Poul)
Farm work and gardening (Dawn and Poul)
House and pet-sitting (Dawn and Poul)

Teaching, child care, nanny (Dawn)
Community service, volunteerism, youth outreach (Dawn)
Cooking, baking, food prep (Dawn)
Household organization (Dawn)

Guest relations, customer service (Poul)
Computers, web design, photography (Poul)
Yard work and maintenance (Poul)
Spanish and Danish languages (Poul)
Age
50 & 50
What else ...
As partners and best friends, we make an incredible team by bringing out the best in each other. After years of working in separate fields, we've decided to take our mutual passions of travel, cultures, hospitality, and community and think about how to start our own business in the future. Before we do that, we're looking to share our skills, experiences, and sense of adventure with you...and together learn with and from you!
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
  None
- Special dietary requirements
  Dawn does not eat beef, pork, chicken, dairy, or soy; however, she can supplement with fish, eggs, nuts, and nut butters on her own.

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6 Mar 2020

Left by Workawayer () for host (Collaborate in ...)

What an amazing three weeks Poul and I had in Abbott with Daniel on his beautiful farm, La Navidad, along with his animals and the guest house for our second Workaway experience in February 2020.

Our work's main focus was taking care of the farm animals daily and being available to weekend guests who rented the guest home on the property. For the… read more animals, we let out the sheep and chickens in the morning to graze and closed them in at the end of the day. We fed Ralph and Berta (the curious pigs) and Pisco and Gingko (the fun-loving dogs) twice a day and made sure they, along with the four horses, had plenty of fresh water. For the weekend house guests, we made ourselves available during their stay and answered any questions they had about the property, the animals, and/or the town of Abbott. Daniel emphasized from the very beginning through emails and when we first arrived that he really wanted us to enjoy daily farm life, the diverse animals, and the beautiful outdoors as much as he did. Even though the work focused mostly on the animals and the guest house, he was extremely open to help and suggestions about the general maintenance of the property and the AirBnB rental.

We spent several nights with Daniel around the camp fire, preparing dinner, and sharing stories of our adventures, interests, and future goals. Daniel is an extremely considerate and thoughtful host who was constantly making sure we were comfortable, happy, and enjoying ourselves. He often purchased fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, and pasta for us to share, in addition to the delicious meats we barbecued on the parrilla for the traditional Argentine asado. He is extremely passionate about the incredible work he has done on his family's farm over the last several years and it was a pleasure to hear stories about the history of La Navidad and the town of Abbott. For housing, we stayed in a small, cozy house by ourselves on the property; and although extremely rustic, it did provide the basic essentials: a large, comfortable bed with a mosquito net; a gas stove/oven and full-size refrigerator in the kitchen; pots, pans, dishes, and utensils; linens and towels; hot water with a brand new shower head in the bathroom; and a dining set with table and chairs. Most of our time was spent outside on the patio and in the garden area playing with the dogs and exploring the property (including a swimming pool) and the town.

Abbott is a small country town about an hour outside of Buenos Aires with approximately 600 people. The main part of town is a short 15-minute walk from the farm with a bus stop, train station, restaurants, butcher shop, bakery, small stores, church, and a mini market. The people are extremely friendly and enjoy learning about the many guests and Workaway volunteers who stay with Daniel at La Navidad. In three short weeks, we felt very much like a local because everyone is so welcoming! The restaurant, La Carpinteria (Italian-Argentine), and La Pulperia (local cuisine) are two great places to eat, relax, and spend time getting to know the people and the area with a glass of wine or a craft beer.

Thank you again, Daniel, for your amazing hospitality, the delicious asado, and the wonderful times we shared together at La Navidad! We plan on keeping in touch and are really hoping our paths cross again soon in the future! Abrazos, Dawn and Poul

(Excellent)

22 Feb 2020

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help at our family place in ...)

Poul and I participated in our first Workaway experience with Janine, her family, and staff there for 10 weeks from December 2019 to February 2020, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

We worked for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week at the restaurant with two consecutive days off (Monday and Tuesday) which allowed us enough time to build upon our… read more hospitality skills and explore Santa Cruz and the surrounding areas on our time off. While at the restaurant, we worked with staff from Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, and Haiti; met guests from around the world; improved our Spanish language skills; and learned more about the delicious Italian cuisine through observing and taste tasting. The staff there gave us such a warm welcome, instantly made us feel part of their dynamic team, and supported us daily with positive feedback and encouragement.

Janine is an incredible host and she was constantly sharing her love of Santa Cruz with us by inviting us to a variety of experiences every week, including wine tastings, lunches, wine tours, holiday parties, her home and pool, and museums. Because Poul and I are interested in pursuing our own tourism business in the future, Janine introduced us to many different hotel, hostel, and B&B owners in the area so that we could learn more about their experiences and exchange ideas. Janine is extremely generous with her time and resources and we plan on keeping in touch with her in the years to come.

The food and housing accommodations were plentiful and comfortable. Staff lunches were opportune times to social with our co-workers and share meals from a variety of cuisines. Dinners were equally satisfying with our choice of pasta, pizza, salad, or sandwich. The chefs were extremely accommodating to my dietary needs as a vegetarian and would substitute the meat with an egg or vegetable option, which I really appreciated. For the housing, we had a room to ourselves and shared the bathroom only when another Workaway joined us for 3 weeks during our stay. Other than Workaways, we lived with interns and a professional chef with contributed greatly to the cultural exchange.

Santa Cruz is a small, quaint, and enjoyable town that offers conveniences to shopping, banking, restaurants, wineries, and access to many bus trips outside the area. There is an amazing local museum that is a must-see and a twice-weekly farmers' market (feria) on the same street as the housing, Many streets have paved bike paths which you can use with the bikes supplied by Janine at the house. We were there in the summer (December-February) which allowed us plenty of sunshine to be outside for walking, biking, and enjoying ourselves on the patio.

We want to thank everyone there and Janine's family for an absolute wonderful experience! We plan on keeping in touch and are so hoping to go back and visit you all!! Much love, Dawn and Poul

(Excellent)

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