Becky

Canada
Login to see last activity

Badges (3)

Photos

View all

Give the gift of Workaway

Profile information

Travel information
I am currently
At home
Activities i am interested in:
Nova Scotia, Canada
My next destination:
Greece - from May 2024 until Jun 2024
View all
Description
Writing here on behalf of myself and my 12 year-old daughter, Lola, who will be doing workaways with me.

We are so excited to have discovered this wonderful program, which makes travel affordable and, more importantly, allows workawayers to experience 'real life' in different places.

In June 2023 we did our first workaway for a month with a wonderful family of five in Madrid. It exceeded our expectations on every level and we left feeling that we were leaving family. We especially loved learning about Spanish culture and getting to know our host family. We enjoyed a combination of "tourist" attractions and exploring, with our hosts and independently. It inspired us to carry on with workaways as often as we can make it happen!

We both love the earth, which means a bunch of things. We garden, dry herbs, have a 'wildspace' property. We love farmers markets, hikes, the beach. We love to be outside. Lola adores younger children and animals, and really wants to volunteer where she can help with childcare and/or animals. But we also loved being in the city of Madrid, so open to both urban and rural experiences.

We are community-oriented, which means offering kindness, support and often a portion of our meals or baking to those nearby. We love animals and we love making things.
Interests
Art & design
Mountain
Beach
Cooking & food
Events & social
Plant care
Writing
Hiking
Charity work
Sustainability
Pets
Gardening
Self development
DIY & crafts
Yoga / Wellness
Politics / Social justice
Blogging
Culture
Farming
Nature

show more
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
More details about my language interests
Happy to support others who wish to learn to speak English.
Find a language buddy
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
DIY and building projects
Teaching
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
Babysitting and creative play
Being an elderly companion
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Life at a Farmstay
Eco Projects
Helping around the house
Animal Care
Hospitality/Tourism
Charity Work
Languages
Art Projects
More details about your skills
Happy to help in whatever ways are needed! Help with animals (worked at a stable when I was a teenager), tend gardens, spend time with kids, or pretty much anything else. Professionally, I worked in Communications for a long time, which included publicity, speech writing, event organizing, etc. I've also been a project manager (wrote a legal guidebook). I'm also a qualified, though inexperienced, mindfulness teacher. I've also been a reporter and an editor. On the personal side, I have a vegetable garden, make jams, elderberry syrup, vanilla essence. Physically, I am healthy and fit and love to work outside or in. My 12 year-old daughter Lola is sweet and mature, and would dearly love to help with younger children and/or animals. When her older sister regularly babysits a 3 year-old boy, Lola often helps out. We have two dogs (one an elderly rescue), two cats, and a free-range bearded dragon. We also have close family with horses and I had horses as a child.
Age
52
What else ...
We love nature, creativity, being with friends, meeting new people, seeing new places, experiencing new things. Lola likes ice skating and LOVES animals and spending time/helping with younger children.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements

Feedback

29 Oct 2023

Left by host (English native speaker to ...) for Workawayer (Becky)

Hosting Becky and Lola has been such an incredible experience for our family. It has been the first time that we host two people at the same time (mother and daughter) and since the day we met them in a video call, we knew it was going to be an adventure more than a simple experience. We couldn’t imagine how special it was going to be!

Becky… read more

(Excellent )

10 Oct 2023

Left by Workawayer (Becky) for host (English native speaker to ...)

We feel so incredibly fortunate to have spent four weeks with this beautiful, open-minded, open-hearted family.

In terms of responsibilities, we looked after the kids for about five hours each day with Thursday evening to Sunday afternoon to ourselves. But the truth is, it really was like being part of their family and we spent most weekends… read more doing fun things with them, like visiting the alcazar and aqueduct of Segovia and the unforgettable fountains at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso.

The boys are all very different and all adorable. They are smart, independent, creative, funny, competitive, curious, affectionate, sweet, challenging, interesting children. Hugo is more serious and earnest, Milo is mischievous and funny, and little Nico is just a perfect, precious, angelic baby. The older boys are very active and love sports. They challenged us, amused us, charmed us, and ultimately won our hearts.

From accompanying us to get transport cards, to dealing with my cell phone ineptitude, to including us in enriching experiences like a multi-family park picnic and after school marienda, Pedro and Maria were exceptionally considerate, patient, and engaged hosts. Towards the end of our stay, they even took us to Andalucía so that we could sightsee in Sevilla and visit Maria’s hometown of Carmona and her family town, Santaella. We stayed with Maria’s warm and welcoming parents and met some of her delightful extended family.

We did so much with this awesome family and learned so much about Spanish culture that wouldn’t have been possible on a regular vacation. They explained cultural phenomena like sobremesa, brought home weekend churros (with warm chocolate sauce) from a local third generation churros takeout, accompanied us to the fabulous amusement park near their home, and took us with them to the impressive English library at the American Institute – to name just a few highlights!

But we also had lots of time to explore Madrid on our own and loved the massive Sunday flea market, vintage stores, gorgeous parks, beautiful and historic buildings and plazas. We even (inadvertently) ended up in the middle of a Pride parade! Public transportation was reasonably priced and efficient to use, with two Metro stations and bus stops close to their home.

Pedro and Maria have support from their dear friend Geraldine, who helps with housework and cooking, and childcare when needed. Geraldine prepares gourmet meals, anticipates everyone’s needs, knows where everything is, and basically does whatever’s needed in a very calm and competent way. She also makes the best tortilla! Although we don’t speak Spanish and couldn’t communicate with her much, we really enjoyed being with Geraldine.

We had our own lovely room in Pedro and Maria’s clean, bright, spacious home and we shared a bathroom with the boys. Their building is well located, with a great outdoor communal space, including a supervised swimming pool where we spent a LOT of time with the kids. The sense of community among building residents was a highlight of our time in Madrid.

It’s difficult to communicate all we have to say in the space of an online review, but suffice to say we wholeheartedly recommend staying with this delightful and adventurous family. By the time we left, it really was like leaving family. We could not have asked for a better Workaway experience and we miss them.

(Excellent )