Profile information
Travel information
I am currently
Travelling
Description
Peace be with you! After a decade of jobs that paid the bills but left my mind and heart yearning for more, I quit my job, ended my rental lease, flew to France, bought a used bike, and began cycling to Norway where I spent two months living and working on sailboats. I had never done anything like that!
Most of my life I haven’t thought of myself as very adventurous, but over the last few years I’ve been confronting beliefs about myself and questioning their validity. But what’s most real about me can’t just be thought. It must be experienced. What my actual limits are must be discovered through testing them - then asking for help if I find I’ve overextended. My quest, then, was to test my perceived limits, transcend them when I can, and learn how to ask for and receive help when I need it. And I achieved this!
Cycling through Europe wasn't just about surpassing physical limits. Being an itinerant traveler camping in a tent or relying on overnights hosts led me to examine thoughts and emotions about belonging, hospitality, trust, and surrender. There were moments of feeling utterly free and moments of feeling total failure. It was the cosmic gas and dust of all of life condensed into bike wheels, a can opener, and camp coffee rotating more slowly and too quickly to truly understand how so much beauty spins freely and hangs heavily in the expanding darkness.
I've spent the last three years cultivating the foundation for an intentional community in south Louisiana. We have monthly workdays where we do work projects at each other’s homes. We have monthly roundtable discussions focused on cultural critique and suggestions on how to live more interdependently. And we publish a quarterly newspaper for our local community on topics ranging from environmental concerns to spirituality to political activism. Helping develop this community has been one of the greatest joys of my life. So, I’m looking for like-minded people abroad who can teach me how they do life radically communal.
I’m also looking to learn new skills and deepen my knowledge about building things, growing things, and making things. I don’t currently have a consistent creative expression, but my spirit needs one, so opportunities for artistic activities are also in my sights.
The ways of mental and emotional healing, the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, and what it means to be of service to my neighbor are thoughts and questions that occupy most of my conscious and intentional thoughts. To my future hosts and fellow workaway-ers, I can offer the fruits and insights of this personal, interior work, though I still have much to learn and work left to do in this regard. I can also offer experience in cultivating interdependent community and some manual labor experience including basic carpentry, plumbing, gardening, and maintenance.
Interests
Sustainability
Self development
Politics / Social justice
Farming
Movies & TV
Culture
Charity work
Writing
Music
Gardening
DIY & crafts
Cooking & food
Carpentry
Books
Nature
Mountain
Hiking
Fitness
Dancing
Cycling
Camping
Languages
Languages spoken
English: FluentMore details about my language interests
I would love to learn French. I’m from the French-speaking region of Louisiana, so my mother and grandparents spoke French, but I wasn’t interested as a child. I’m also fascinated by the nuances of language in general, so I would love teaching English.
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Art Projects
Languages
Eco Projects
Gardening
Life at a Farmstay
Some knowledge of:
Charity Work
Teaching
DIY and building projects
Hospitality/Tourism
General Maintenance
More details about your skills
I grew up in the cooking culture of south Louisiana, so I know my way around a kitchen. I’ve managed teams of volunteers operating a second-hand store. I’ve also done tree-trimming and renovation work which introduced me to basic carpentry, plumbing, and demolition skills and the basic tools used in those trades. I’m also practiced in interior and exterior painting. And I’ve kept a personal garden for one or two seasons. I'm also skilled in intentional interpersonal communication (in other words, how to communicate my needs, thoughts, and feelings in an effective, non-judgmental way).
Age
38
What else ...
For fun, I love dancing, listening to thoughtful music, playing guitar, reading fiction and poetry, and writing. I’m really interested in learning how to play violin, how to craft, and playing a role in a play.
Some more information
Smoker
Driver's licence
Allergies
Special dietary requirements
