Mirja

Travel information

I am currently

Activities i am interested in:

I'll fly to Anchorage August 1st, then spend around a month exploring and camping in Alaska (Denali, ...)

Description

Moin (or hey, bonjour, whatever you prefer)!
I am a 26-year old secondary school teacher for Biology and French. Having finished my Master of Education in March 2023, I already work as a Biology teacher for grades 6 and 8 since August 2022. The last mandatory step of being a fully validated teacher starts in February 2024, so I took the chance to use the time between the end of this school year and February 2024 to immerse myself into the canadian and alaskan wilderness and culture (again).
After finishing high school in 2016, I worked and lived as au-pair in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), where I had the chance to travel for short trips to BC and the Rockies, as well as a month-long roadtrip through the Yukon and southern central Alaska (Wrangell St. Elias and Anchorage). This whole experience, but especially the time in the Yukon and Alaska really resonated within me and it was then that I decided to study Biology, inspired by the gorgeous landscape, the people and the variety of wild animals I met.
For a couple of years during school and my studies at the University of Kiel, I worked part-time as a guide and riding instructor (english style) in a small stable, guiding trail rides to the beach (see photos) as well as teaching beginner and intermediate riders of all ages and taking care of the horses. While this was a really great experience, the commercial approach of maximising the financial income instead of the well-being of horses, tourists and employees made me quit the job 4 years ago. Since then, I took care of an awesome icelandic mare (see photo) even while her owner was on a 3-month internship in Tansania.
I really enjoy being outdoors, experienced winters of -40C in Edmonton (including wind chill), and canoed on the Yukon river roughly 300 km from Whitehorse to Carmacks. I also enjoy soccer, swimming (was also a volunteer swimming instructor for 7 years for children ages 5 and up) and spending time cuddling with my cats, of whom my boyfriend will take care whilst I am away.
Dogs (the bigger and furrier, the better) are one of my big passions, as I dream of mushing or participating in dog sports adequate to northern german weather (including little to no snow for most years). I haven't owned a dog myself, but took care of an awesome german shepherd during my year as au-pair as well as the huge bernese-leonberger-mutt of a good friend anytime I can. The only reason I haven't gotten a dog (yet) is my wish to travel for a longer period of time that I had originally for 2020, but that got delayed due to the pandemic. For now, it just isn't a responsible choice to get a dog.

Interests

Languages

Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner

More details about my language interests
Pendant le temps au Québec, parler français est très important pour moi afin d'ameliorer mon expression orale et de plonger dans la culture québécoise (La France domine les cours de français en Allemagne, la francophonie mais aussi les langues régionales et les accents et les dialects y sont mal representés ...). Pendant tous mon voyage, je serais ravie de vous enseigner l'allemand.

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Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Charity Work

Eco Projects

DIY and building projects

Life at a Farmstay

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Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

Animal Care

Babysitting and creative play

Helping around the house

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Able to teach about:  

Languages

Teaching

More details about your skills

horseback riding and horse care (guiding trail rides and teaching children and adults, cleaning, feeding, ...); swimming (and teaching children ages 5 and up); dog and cat care (animal care in general); canoeing; babysitting (lots of experience ages 7 and older, some experience with younger children and babys, but I'm eager to learn); basic gardening; teaching (horseback riding, swimming, german, french, english, but probably also homeschooling as I hold a Master of Education in French and Biology)

équitation et soins aux chevaux (guider des randonnées et enseigner aux enfants et aux adultes, nourir les chevaux, nettoyer, ...) ; natation (et enseigner aux enfants de 5 ans et plus) ; soins aux chiens et aux chats (soins aux animaux en général) ; canoë ; babysitting (beaucoup d'expérience avec des enfants de 7 ans et plus, un peu d'expérience avec des enfants plus jeunes et des babys, mais je souhaite apprendre) ; jardinage de base ; enseignement (équitation, natation, allemand, français, anglais, mais probablement aussi l'école à la maison car je suis titulaire d'une maîtrise d'éducation en français et en biologie).

Age

27

What else ...

I would love to learn how to mush (I went mushing in the Rockies once and it was awesome) both in Alaska and Quebec. I haven't booked a flight from Anchorage to Quebec yet, so I'm really flexible and would love to stay for a longer period of time in a place so everyone profits from this workaway experience. I only know that I'm flying from Germany to Anchorage on August 1st and leaving from Montréal back home on December 18th. I have no problem with remote locations as long as I'm not stuck in the house for most of the day without anything to do outdoors (hiking, canoeing, I'd love to try snowshoeing and know how to ski) as that was the case for my year as au-pair.
I don't do drugs or smoke, but I like an occasional beer - I'm fine with not drinking at all though, I really don't care.
As I got the Working holiday Visa (for Canada) already once, I cannot get it again and will therefore travel to the US and Cadana with an eTa (electronic travel authorisation), allowing me to work for room and board on non-commercial farms etc without gaining money. I checked this information on multiple sites of the canadian government.
Since I never used workaway, I cannot provide any references through the system, but I can provide a letter of recommendation (in English) for my work as a teacher and co-leading a musical theater group at the school since 2015. I can also provide a letter of recommendation for my work as a swimming instructor (in German).
I can also provide links to articles concerning school events etc that I helped organising, although they are also in German.

I am fully vaccinated against covid-19.

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies

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  Special dietary requirements