Joanna & Tomasz

Poland
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Travel information
We are currently
Travelling
Activities we are interested in:
We will return on Workaway life in May 😊🚐
Our next destination:
Catalonia, Spain - from Aug 2023 until Dec 2024
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Description
Hello,
We are Joanna & Tomek, a couple from Poland. Our family is bigger but our daughter and son are far away from home, living their own lives. Tomek works as an English teacher and I work at university library. We are both thinking about some changes in our life and moving away, somewhere closer to nature. That’s the reason why we’d like to spend next year in Catalonia with Workaway, in places where permaculture gardens or farms with animals are. We’d love to enjoy the places, being with people, sharing the work, meals and experience.
We were already 3 years ago in Spain for 4 months as workawayers. At that time we helped in running the house, gardening and looking after animals. You can find our hosts’ opinions here on the Workaway website. We were very happy in all these places. That is why we want to repeat the experience this year. If you are curious about our Workaway adventure in Spain so far, check out our Instagram account @van_del_sol.

Who we are and what we are like.
- we love to travel. In the past we used to hitch-hike together across Europe, then we travelled with our children and friends as a „big family”, and now we enjoy our own company. We have been almost all over Europe and in Asia we’ve visited Thailand and Malaysia.
Spain is very special for us – we’ve got close friends in Catalonia and our daughter lives in Granada. We’ve travelled to Spain several times, toured it and know such places as Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada or Cadiz, but the place where we left our heart is Cabo de Gata 😊 We travel by our Ford Focus estate and often sleep at the back or just on the beach.
- we feel happiest staying close to nature. We try to avoid touristy places and prefer bird songs to city hustle & bustle. Forest and beach walks, admiring views is what we appreciate the most.
- music is very important to us . We don’t play any instruments, but home stereo is essential at our home 😊 Reggae is our first love (for ten years Tomek used to host a reggae show on the local radio) but we enjoy various genres, including ethnic music from all corners of the world
- Tomek is a home gardener. You can see his small balcony garden in the photos. He likes to discover new plants everywhere we travel and takes them to grow at home
- I’m good at planning and organizing . I’m also sociable, outgoing and love doing things together with people
- I’m interested in art – I used to teach history of art at secondary school. Both of us are keen on books, movies, culture and cooking (world cuisine).Tomek is better at cooking :)
It’s our second experience with Workaway and we hope again to have a good time and be helpful to people and places we visit.

¡Hola!
Somos Joanna y Tomek, una pareja de Polonia. Nuestra familia es más grande, pero nuestros hijos están lejos de casa viviendo sus propias vidas. Tomek trabaja como profesor de inglés, y yo soy bibliotecaria. Ambos estamos pensando en hacer algunos cambios en nuestra vida, en mudarnos cerca de la naturaleza. Por esto, nos gustaría pasar el próximo ańo en Cataluña con Workaway en granjas con animales o algunas plantaciones. Nos encantaría disfrutar de lugares, estando rodeados de gente, compartiendo trabajo, experiencias y comidas. Ya estuvimos hace 3 años en España durante 4 meses como workawayers. En ese momento, ayudábamos en el funcionamiento de la casa, en el jardín y en el cuidado de los animales. Podeis encontrar comentarios de nuestros anfitriones aquí en el sitio web de Workaway. Si tienes curiosidad por nuestra aventura Workaway en España hasta ahora, echa un vistazo a nuestra cuenta de Instagram @van_del_sol.

Quienes somos y como somos nosotros.
Nos encanta viajar. En el pasado viajábamos por Europa haciendo autostop, luego empezamos a viajar con nuestros hijos y amigos como una “familia grande”, y ahora disfrutamos de viajes solo los dos. Hemos visto Europa casi entera, y en Asia visitamos Tailandia y Malasia.

España es muy especial para nosotros – tenemos amigos muy cercanos en Cataluña, y nuestra hija vive en Granada. Hemos viajado a España varias veces, visitando ciudades tales como Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada o Cadiz, pero nuestros corazones los dejamos en Cabo de Gata Viajamos en nuestro Ford Focus ranchera y dormimos o en su maletero o simplemente en la playa).

Cerca de la naturaleza es donde nos sentimos verdaderamente felices. Intentamos evitar sitios turísticos y preferimos el canto de los pájaros a ruido de las ciudades. Largos paseos por la playa o en el bosque, admirar las vistas preciosas, es lo que nos encanta.

La música es muy importante para nosotros. No tocamos ningún instrumento, pero un buen equipo de música es imprescindible en nuestra casa. El Reggae es nuestro primer amor (durante 10 años Tomek tenía su programa de radio en una emisora local) pero también nos gustan otros géneros, incluso música étnica de todos los rincones del mundo.

Tomek es “jardinero casero”. Podéis ver su pequeño jardín en nuestro balcón en las fotos. Le encanta descubrir nuevas plantas durante nuestros viajes, y luego traerlas para plantar en casa.

Yo soy muy buena en organizar y planificar cosas. Además, soy una persona sociable, extrovertida, y me encanta hacer cosas junto con otras personas.

Me interesa mucho el arte – antes daba clases de historia del arte en bachillerato. Ambos estamos enganchados a los libros, cine, cultura en general y cocina (mundial). No obstante Tomek es mejor cocinero que yo.

Es nuestra segundaa experiencia con Workaway y esperamos tambien pasarlo bien y servir de ayuda a la gente que vamos a visitar.
Interests
Languages
Pets
Cooking & food
Music
Yoga / Wellness
Van life
Nature
Self development
Gardening
Culture
Books
Art & design
Animals
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Polish: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
French: Beginner
More details about my language interests
We would like to learn Spanish language. Tomek as an english teacher can make some english conversation lessons for adults.
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Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
We're interested in:
Life at a Farmstay
Animal Care
Art Projects
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
Eco Projects
Helping around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
Able to teach about:
Languages
More details about your skills
- teaching English
- running a library
- basic cooking (but eager to experiment :) )
- general household duties & maintenance
- general gardening & farm work
Age
57 & 56
What else ...
We always try to take care of the places where we stay and respect the people who we share them with.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements
  We like any kind of food, simple dishes with a lot of vegetables and fruit. We also eat meat, but not necessarily, love seafood.

Feedback

3 Oct 2023

Left by Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz) for host (Help us with some gardening ...)

Our month with Maxine and Klaus in Órgiva was wonderful! Their place is located in close proximity of the town , but you have the feeling of being far away from everything. The house is surrounded by trees, including thousand-year-old olive trees, and you can often hear the sound of water running in the narby acequia.
Maxine and Klaus are two… read more

(Excellent )

29 Sep 2023

Left by host (Help us with some gardening ...) for Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz)

Tomaz and Joanna are a rare couple. They both come from Professional back grounds and have had good careers. A while after their children had grown and flown the nest, they decided to seek a new way of life away from their 30 years or thereabouts of professional life, They rented their home and now travel the world or at least Europe looking for a… read more

(Excellent )

5 Jul 2023

Left by host (Help us keep up with ...) for Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz)

Joanna and Tomek arrived at our finca at the end of October 2022 and they stayed with us until the end of May, i.e. 7 months. We agreed beforehand, that during this time, they would have several other engagements for house sitting and another workaway job.

It was a pleasure to host the two at our ‘little off grid’ guesthouse. Without having to… read more

(Excellent )

14 Mar 2023

Left by host (Stay with a cosmopolitan, ...) for Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz)

Joana and Tomek have been a fantastic Workawayers. We don't usually have workawayers for more than 15 days because we like the energy and new experiences that each of them bring and the more the better, but encouraged by their excellent feedback we agreed to host them for a whole month and it was a real delight. They are a responsible and… read more

(Excellent )

4 Mar 2023

Left by Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz) for host (Stay with a cosmopolitan, ...)

What inspirational people, amazing place and breathtaking views.
We spent a whole month at de les Idees and it was so good that we would love to stay longer! This place enchanted us from the first moments of our stay. It's hard to describe in a few words why it was so difficult to leave the magical forest, but we'll try.
Every day means:
> being… read more in a beautiful region of Catalonia, in the middle of old forest full of cork trees and pines, singing birds and the bells of goats grazing in the area
> admiring the colors of the sky over the sea horizon, which looked different every day or at different times
> discovering the charms of the old Catalan Masia with its beautiful library, living room, kitchen and many more corners
> enjoying contact with the lovely four-legged, furry residents of the house.
But most of all, the time spent means meeting very interesting people. Pat and Jean Pierre are very open and welcoming, curious about people and the world. Frequent meals together were filled with conversations and discussions on a wide variety of topics. If you want to get to know the real face of Catalonia, you will definitely have that opportunity here. Pat is full of energy, new ideas, eager to take on new challenges and interesting projects or meetings. At weekends, de les Idees is often visited by various groups to discuss current issues of the modern world, present some areas of their interest and share their skills, for example handicrafts. On top of that, you have the opportunity to experience real homemade Catalan cuisine, as they cook for themselves on the site, in the wonderfully spacious kitchen. Being able to participate in some of the activities was extremely inspiring and a great joy for us.
We also met Joni, a Catalan who works there helping in the garden and the house. He is a super calm and kind roommate and very patient in explaining things in Spanish. We often worked and had meals together which we really enjoyed. Our accommodation, in a separate part of the Masia, included a bedroom, shared living room, kitchen and bathroom.
During the month of our stay, we worked in the forest, in the garden, decorating the space outdoors, and at home helping with kitchen and housekeeping chores. In their free time Pat and Joni are very eager to play ping-pong, but you can also spend time in the amazing library or walking in the forest.
We hope that after our stay the garden will look beautiful in the spring, and the decorations we made will please the eyes of visitors and residents. I believe that our dreams hidden in bottles and surrounded by this forest have a good chance to come true (there is a tradition started by Pat that every person visiting leaves their dream written on a small piece of paper, placed inside a small bottle hanging on a branch of a tree in the forest). Most of all, however, we hope to visit this enchanting place again.
Thank you Pat, Jean-Pierre, Joni, Bitxo, Rosee and Whisky!!!!

(Excellent )

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3 Oct 2023

Left by Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz) for host (Help us with some gardening ...)

(Excellent )

29 Sep 2023

Left by host (Help us with some gardening ...) for Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz)

(Excellent )

5 Jul 2023

Left by host (Help us keep up with ...) for Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz)

(Excellent )

14 Mar 2023

Left by host (Stay with a cosmopolitan, ...) for Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz)

(Excellent )

4 Mar 2023

Left by Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz) for host (Stay with a cosmopolitan, ...)

(Excellent )

25 Oct 2022

Left by Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz) for host (Help an artist with her house ...)

We felt really happy and relaxed during the days we spent with Susana in her old, magic masia. From day one Susana made us feel at home. We loved having meals outdoors on the patio of her garden or in the one-of-a-kind rustic kitchen. We had a small but cosy and comfortable room at our disposal. Susana is a charming, open-minded and cheerful… read more

(Excellent )

22 Oct 2022

Left by host (Help an artist with her house ...) for Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz)

Joanna y Tomasz son unos seres extraordinarios. Cálidos, hábiles, comunicativos y muy trabajadores. Ha sido un placer tenerlos en casa y espero volver a verlos pronto.
Desde luego, ha sido una gran experiencia y espero que para ellos hayan sentido igual.

(Excellent )

22 Jul 2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz)

We can't thank Joanna & Tomek enough for everything they did for us whilst they volunteered with us at Nirvana. Joanna is quiet and very organised and even her children appreciate her management (Mama-ger) skills! I don't think we've ever had anyone quite as organised or tidy! Tomek is also quiet and very hard working with a likeable and very… read more

(Excellent )

5 Jul 2019

Left by Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz) for host (Come help us ...and learn ...)

*14/09/2022*
We have been work-awaying for Liz and Alan for the second time and it was as wonderful as always!

We were so happy surrounded by the nature with a soothing view on olive trees and the woods. For me (Joanna) it was so great to start every day with petting and feeding the animals. Tomek was happy with garden work. We enjoyed our time… read more at this peaceful place very much, almost without leaving anywhere during that time.

Our commitment was to look after animals - four amazing dogs, two cats and 11 hens. We also did some maintenance work and picked carobs on the land. All that was like a kind of soul healing for us! This time we spent less time together as our hosts went on holidays for a few days, but Liz and Alan’s company is always something unique. They both seem a little reserved at first, but as soon as you get to know them a bit, you will discover their good energy. Liz is also a person full of joy and has amazing knowledge of homeopathy that she will gladly share if you are interested. It is also fascinating to learn about their lifestory and all their journeys. And, last but not least, their place wouldn’t be the same without Lulu, Molly, Archie and Dubhie and the two cute cats! We left them with the hope that we would love to come back, maybe next year?

Joanna&Tomek

*05/07/2019*
Our three weeks in Liz & Allan's masia was a great experience. It didn't take a long before we felt we became members of the family which included Liz, her six dogs, a cat and six hens (Allan came in the last week). During the first week Liz introduced us to everything we needed to know to run the place. The house and the land around it are enormous so there was always a lot to do but we enjoyed it so much! We looked after the animal, tidied around, did some gardening (watering or weeding) or collected wood in the olive trees grove.
We will always remember the time we spent with Liz. She is a lovely, easy-going and energetic person with an extremely positive attitude. We loved listening to her life stories she shared with us. Her life with Allan is so amazing that they could write a book about it! :D
We also had real pleasure to meet Liz's friend Gina and both of them generously shared with us their vast knowledge of permaculture.
Joanna had an opportunity to spend a moment in Liz's beautiful magic yurt and had her knee successfully treated.
The very important members of Nirvana family are Lady, Lulu, Molly, Archie, Dewey, Brodie and Mary! Every day I was wondering which one of them I loved the most.
All in all, we had a fantastic time and gained a valuable workaway experience.
Thank you Liz&Allan

(Excellent )

8 Jun 2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz)

Joanna and Tomek stayed with us for a month.
During that time they worked really, really hard, doing over and above what was expected of them, spending much of their time in vegetable garden, weeding, planting and harvesting vegetables. The vegetable garden has never looked so good and organised as it does now!

Tomak also helped Andrew to… read more

(Excellent )

4 Jun 2019

Left by Workawayer (Joanna & Tomasz) for host (Off grid House sitting six ...)

We stayed with Christine and Andrew for almost a month and it was our first experience as Workawayers. It couldn't have been better! Both Christine and Andrew are lovely, warm people and hosts who made us feel at home (away from home). We mainly worked in their vegetable garden helping to make it even more perfect than it had already been. The… read more

(Excellent )

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