Gregory

Travel information

I am currently

Description

My current passion is learning Italian. I love reading books and watching movies in Italian, but would most of all like the chance to speak to more people in this beautiful language and through them learn more about the Italian mindset and culture. I am a third year student at the University of Oxford, studying philosophy and Italian, and am spending this whole year working abroad in Italy. I enjoy my studies very much and am always happy to have a long discussion about philosophy or Italian literature. Perhaps the thing that brings me most happiness is a good story, whether in the form of literature, stories told to me by other people or adventures that I take part in myself.

One year ago I had a lovely experience volunteering on a farm in Sicily (found through the Wwoof website), which has partially inspired me to volunteer again on Workaway. I enjoyed working in nature, especially with animals, but perhaps even more important was the experience of living in a small community of what was for me a foreign culture, but which I very soon grew to love.

I have spent September to December of 2023 working as an English teacher in a primary school in the province of Brescia. This has been a wonderful experience through which I discovered a love of teaching and working with kids.

From January to March 2024 I worked in an animal rescue center in Emilia-Romagna. This made me realize how much I love working with animals, as well as showing me the importance of preserving nature and wildlife.

Interests

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Russian: Fluent
Italian: Intermediate
Greek: Beginner
Japanese: Beginner

More details about my language interests
My current goal is to learn Italian and I would be very grateful for practice speaking it. I am already at a conversational level, able to speak freely, but I still make mistakes and would like to correct that. I grew up in a bilingual Russian and English household. I am very happy to help people learn either one of these languages and already have experience teaching them. However, I would prefer to spend the majority of my time speaking Italian.

Find a language buddy

Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Gardening

DIY and building projects

Animal Care

Life at a Farmstay

Hospitality/Tourism

General Maintenance

Charity Work

---

Some knowledge of:  

Art Projects

Eco Projects

Teaching

Babysitting and creative play

Helping around the house

---

Able to teach about:  

Languages

More details about your skills

From September to December 2023 I worked as an English teacher in a primary school (la scuola primaria di Monticelli Brusati, Brescia). This taught me a wide range of skills, most notably working with children and teaching languages. The job also involved a lot of work with other teachers, giving me experience working with adults in a professional, Italian-speaking environment.

I have experience working on a small farm in Sicily from July to August of 2022. I was mostly busy taking care of the plants and olive trees, but was also lucky enough to sometimes work with the two wonderful donkeys. As one of the donkey's was injured, this involved helping with his medical treatment. Being a student and having to dedicate much of my time to studying, I enjoy getting to work with my hands, especially in nature and with animals.

From January to March 2024 I worked in an animal rescue centre in Emilia-Romagna (Centro Tutela e Ricerca Fauna Esotica e Selvatica Monte Adone). I got to work with a wide range of different animals, including racoons, alpacas, emus, parrots, tortoises and many more. I was mostly in charge of their daily upkeep, preparing and giving them food, cleaning up after them. I also gained experience with animal therapy, as some of the animals I looked after needed to be given medicine or other forms of treatment. This was a very special experience and I loved all of the animals I looked after. It gave me plenty of experience with animal care and with how rescue centres are run.

I am in the third year of my Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Modern Languages at the University of Oxford. Before this I lived for years in Russia, but graduated from a British school, taking the History, Mathematics, English Literature and Russian A levels.

Age

20

What else ...

I love doing very many things, here are some I can list off the top of my head: reading classical literature and poetry, spending time in nature and especially with animals, reading fantasy books, history, cinema, swimming, hiking, creating and listening to music, singing in a choir.

Some more information

• 

  Smoker

• 

  Driver's licence

• 

  Allergies

• 

  Special dietary requirements