Kei

United Kingdom
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Profile information

Travel information
I am currently
Travelling
My next destination:
Portugal - from Mar 2024 until May 2024
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Description
Hey travellers and hosts!

I am a fresh graduate from university with no career plan set as I decided to switch path.
I am looking to do a few Workaways around Europe from June 2023 for a few months to a year, to take some time off, to see how people in different European countries live and to learn more about the real world.

I have used Workaway a few times in the past. First few times within my 4 months gap year bikepacking trip in rural Japan, 2019. In Devon, UK for a summer Workaway in 2020. A winter experience in Oklahoma, US, during my 2021-22 year abroad in Illinois, US. And as the first Workaway after graduation, I spent 6 weeks at a permaculture intentional community in Scotland and learnt many new skills (detailed in skills section). After a few more Workaways in Ireland, Sweden and Sicily, I am currently on a Workaway in Cyprus.

Websites like Workaway mean so much to me, and imaginably, to people who like to travel in the way that I do. I've always loved meeting and getting to know people who live in different corners of the world. People around the world live such different lives and I have this unsettling curiosity to see how they differ. That was what I couldn't do much of during my physics degree, and part of the reason why I decided to pursue a different path, even though I also had a passion for it.

Now that I am released from my 20 years' worth of studenthood, I can't wait to see more of the world, learn more about the world and get to know more of the world's occupants!
Interests
DIY & crafts
Yoga / Wellness
Charity work
Vegetarian or vegan
Self development
Sustainability
Team sports
Writing
Outdoor activities
Nature
Hitchhiking
Culture
Cycling
Drawing & painting
Events & social
Cooking & food
Camping
Books
Beach
Art & design

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Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Japanese: Fluent
Chinese (Mandarin): Fluent
Chinese (Cantonese): Fluent
French: Beginner
Korean: Beginner
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
General Maintenance
Charity Work
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Life at a Farmstay
Eco Projects
Helping around the house
Animal Care
Art Projects
Helping with Computers/ Internet
Teaching
Able to teach about:
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Languages
More details about your skills
Cooking plant-based meals - Vegan food is very interesting and delicious when recipes from other nationalities are involved (Korean, Japanese, Chinese, American). I have cooked for groups of people (up to 11) in the co-op house I lived in and a permaculture community.

Sports - (volleyball, cycling, swimming, basketball, boxing, Muay Thai) I am fit for physical work.

Art - I enjoy sketching and occasionally painting, especially people, animals and buildings.

Writing - I like writing articles and writing in general.

Taking care of animals - I have a soft spot for animals and I also know how to take care of them - have 2 dogs and 3 (now 2) cats growing up, Workawayed at a donkey sanctuary (Devon), a horse rehabilitation centre (Oklahoma) in recent years, and took care of 5 ducks at a permaculture community recently.

STEM - I have great numerical senses - I have always been good at maths and sciences, I am passionate about physics, just graduated from a Masters in theoretical physics and had frequently coded for scientific simulations.

Teaching - I have taught primary school children in my gap year as a part time job, which involves looking after them and making sure they finish their assignments of the day as they come in after school.

Serving - I have worked part time at 2 restaurants in Hong Kong.

Basic bike repairing - I've gotten a few flattened tires when I was travelling with my bike alone, thus I learnt how to repair them. Not really much more that I can do about bikes rather than that though.

Learning - I am a quick learner and I am eager to learn useful skills (handy work, engineering, maintenance work, sailing...) !

Skills learnt from projects worked on in recent permaculture community Workaway:

- Building a booking system for the website (WordPress)
- Painting and installing some new signs (Wood sanding)
- Welding a new wood burner (Metal cutting, metal grinding, stick welding)
- Designing and building a new front gate pole (Hole digging, concrete making)
- Replacing wooden stairs (Sawing, drilling)
- Watering the polytunnel
- Taking care of the ducks

Skills from three other recent workaways:

- Painting woodwork
- Preparing woodwork for painting (sanding, filling, scraping)
- Weeding
- Plastering, sanding and painting walls
- Insulating pipes
- Olive harvesting
- Fencing (with wooden posts and wire nets)
- Pruning olive trees
Age
24
What else ...
A bit about my background:

I spent the first 14 years of my life in Hong Kong and then moved to the UK. I finished my secondary school education there, took a gap year to work in Hong Kong and have a life-changing bikepacking trip in Southern Japan for 4 months, where I first used Workaway. I then returned to the UK for a theoretical physics degree at the University of York. I did a year abroad for the 3rd year of my degree at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, US, where I lived at a plant-based cooperative housing with 11 lovely housemates as I was curious about veganism. I finished the 4th and last year of my degree back in the UK whilst campaigning for a plant-based campus at my University. I have now graduated as a Master of theoretical physics, yet I do not plan to pursue that path any further. I wish to spend this part of my 20s to more hands-on experiences of the world and with people.

I became a vegan after researching about the whys and hows, and after a year of living in the co-op house. I am passionate about a plant-based future and will be happy to discuss this topic, although I am also curious to hear about what people think of this movement in different parts of the world and backgrounds!
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
  Cat (mildly!)
- Special dietary requirements
  Vegan

Feedback

13 Jan 2024

Left by host (Animal sanctuary and ...) for Workawayer (Kei)

It's been such a pleasure to host Kei! She was an excellent workawayer and friend, helped us so much during the olive harvest and also afterwards on our land and we loved spending time with her.

The first 5-6 weeks Kei was involved in the olive harvest, laying out the nets, harvesting olives by hand and also with our new machine. She was an… read more extraordinary helper, always motivated, always very fast in learning and working and was happy to be in the team or also on her own. She often took the initiative to move the work forward, finished one tree and then started moving the nets to the next tree, even laying them out on her own which is a tiring task she never complained about and by that motivating the group to move as well. We could always count on her which we were very happy about, she was responsible and trustworthy in addition to her great motivation. She has an incredible physical strength and likes to be active for long periods of time so often she was the one operating the olive harvest machine voluntarily, which is a physically demanding task. There was no task she said no to, she carried boxes of olives to the vehicles, helped cleaning the working space and was always available for any work there was to do, actively asking if there was more she could do. In addition Kei showed genuine interest in the process of olive oil making, accompanied us to the press several times, interacting with the locals at the press.

Also after work it was great to have Kei around, she was good company, is funny and smart and integrated well in the group and in the environment. She loved being around our animals, spent a lot of time with them and loved getting involved in their care. She accompanied Christin to the vet and helped with carrying and calming down the animals. She would always be available to help out and was actively looking for additional tasks to contribute to the animal sanctuary side of our project - she built a great chicken swing for example in her free time :) She also got involved in other daily activities after her working time, like distributing hay to the animals.

After the olive harvest period Kei stayed a bit longer and then was our only volunteer, helping us with everyday tasks and work around the house but also with the project of fencing which was another job she was great in. While Luca was carrying posts, Kei took over the responsibility to decide where posts would go after showing her. She took the initiative to often prepare meals during this period as well and cooked lots of yummy food that we enjoyed and appreciated. She was tidy and respectful.

We also had many interesting conversations about different topics and she was always keen to learn about different points of views and explaining hers which led to many fruitful exchanges.

We loved having Kei as a volunteer and would recommend her to other hosts without a doubt. We hope she comes back to us one day! Thank you so much for everything, Kei, you were an amazing olive plucker ;)

(Excellent )

10 Dec 2023

Left by Workawayer (Kei) for host (Animal sanctuary and ...)

Luca and Christin are amongst the kindest people I've ever met. Their genuine desire to help everyone and to make this world a better place for all beings shines through this amazing project and the lives they've chosen to live. An animal sanctuary in this age of time is still a tough space to maintain. On top of the daily routines to care for the… read more

(Excellent )

2 Nov 2023

Left by Workawayer (Kei) for host (Join our community in a new ...)

This is an amazing project. I stayed here for 6 weeks and it was such a great experience.
Everyone is so welcoming. There are so many members living in the collective to get to know and spend time with, each with their own character and story. They took such great care of the Workawayers from our first days. Apart from the extra delicious… read more

(Excellent )

30 Aug 2023

Left by Workawayer (Kei) for host (Help with light DIY and ...)

I stayed with Siobhan in her gorgeous Georgian house for a week after she very kindly accepted my last minute request. She was very caring and always made sure I had everything I needed to feel comfortable staying there. She was very open to trying some vegan dishes that I had made and even cooked some vegan dishes for me which I was very grateful… read more

(Excellent )

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Friends

Photos

River swim in November, Sicily, Italy.

Plucking olives in Sicily, Italy.

Workaway dinner at Hyogo, Japan.

Co-op house in Illinois, US! Plant-based thanksgiving.

Reading on straw rolls in Oklahoma, US.

Burning the paint off a wood burning stove I welded on the Isle of Skye, Scotland

Greenery in the middle of York, UK.

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Angle grinding in preparation for welding wood burning stove on the Isle of Skye, Scotland

K1 match in York, UK.

Lovely co-op housemates in Illinois, US.

Co-op prom! Illinois, US.

Hitch-hiking with couchsurfing host in Tokushima, Japan.

Bikepacking around Southern Japan, 2019.

Staying with a lovely host at Miyazaki, Japan.

A walk in the fields in Hertfordshire, UK.

Feedback

13 Jan 2024

Left by host (Animal sanctuary and ...) for Workawayer (Kei)

(Excellent )

10 Dec 2023

Left by Workawayer (Kei) for host (Animal sanctuary and ...)

(Excellent )

2 Nov 2023

Left by Workawayer (Kei) for host (Join our community in a new ...)

(Excellent )

30 Aug 2023

Left by Workawayer (Kei) for host (Help with light DIY and ...)

(Excellent )

26 Jul 2023

Left by Workawayer (Kei) for host (Nature based, non-profit ...)

My 6-weeks stay here was a wild ride.

The first in person meeting Otter had with me was on the beach. With a heart stone, he asked me questions and listened attentively to understand who I am and the aim of my visit. Then he tried very hard to make sure that I was able to take away whatever I wanted to get out of this experience by the day I… read more board the ferry and leave here. I was touched by how much he cared, and I did get what I wanted by the end.

I am a fresh graduate trying to navigate the real world without much practical experience. So he gave me practical projects and taught me so so much. I picked up a saw and an angle grinder for the first time. He taught me how to work with wood, concrete and metal, and he taught me how to weld. Together, we welded a wood burning stove, and I will not forget my last day on the rock, the tireless help he and Gary (workawayer) gave in order for me to complete and install the wood burning stove through midnight. Thank you. It wasn't only about the practical skills that will take me to other Workaways, it was also about the empowerment of knowing what I can give and do for others.

I am also curious about intentional communities, climate emergency and nature. So he always encouraged me to spend time in nature, talked to me about his vision in terms of solution to the world's problems, had fascinating discussions with me about the balance between humanity and nature, and invited so many amazing individuals into this community who I was able to learn from. Although, it will only be fair to future Workawayers for me to be honest and mention that the first week of my stay was turbulent due to tensions that had been developing in the community. Some people left, the dust settled and new people started coming in to form a different community that seemed harmonious. I would have left if I didn't feel comfortable staying. But I wasn't, so I stayed, and at the end, I am glad that I stayed. It turned out to be a rich learning opportunity about communities as I wished.

There is so much packed on this bit of rock on Skye and it is a bit difficult to summarise. It wasn't all sweet and happy, but that wasn't the experience that I was looking for anyway. It was complex, rich and sometimes a lot to process here, but regardless, I think of it as a 5-stars experience.

Thank you for everything :)

(Excellent )

18 Jul 2023

Left by host (Nature based, non-profit ...) for Workawayer (Kei)

It was an absolute delight to host you Kei. Thank you for your positive influence on our community. Even when things were difficult (as living together with people sometimes can be) your presence was really calming and supportive. Your scientific approach to everything was very enlightening and educational. It is very inspirational to see how you… read more

(Excellent )

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