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Travel information
We are currently
Travelling
Activities we are interested in:
Bike, hiking, nature, eating, friendly people
Our next destination:
Ecuador - from Aug 2024 until Sep 2024 View allDescription
Hi there! We are Ellen & Todd and it's nice to meet you. We met more than 25 years ago in Spain, backpacked the world for 2 years and then moved to the USA, Todd's home country. After two great careers in hospitality and IT, we recently made the step to leave the corporate desk jobs to spend more time doing the things we love most: volunteering, adventuring, and meeting new people and cultures.
In this stage of our life, we are embracing the full-time slow-mad lifestyle, living in one country/region for 1-3 months. On occasion, one or both of our college kids may join.
Our motto is: "traveling is not so much about what you see, but much more about who you meet and what you eat".Interests
TechnologySelf developmentPhotographyDIY & craftsCarpentryArchitectureArt & designYoga / WellnessGardeningHikingCharity workBeachWinter sportsSustainabilityPlant carePetsOutdoor activitiesNatureLanguagesMountain
show moreLanguages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
German: Beginner
Spanish: Beginner
French: BeginnerMore details about my language interests
We love to chat in any of the languages we know and open to learning others.Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
We're interested in:
GardeningDIY and building projectsGeneral MaintenanceCreating/ Cooking family mealsLife at a FarmstayEco ProjectsHelping around the houseAnimal CareHospitality/TourismCharity WorkLanguagesTeachingHelping with Computers/ InternetMore details about your skills
Our biggest skill may be 'tolerance': we simply enjoy helping where we can be most useful and are easy to get along with. Most recently we have volunteered in English immersion programs outside of Workaway, which we very much enjoyed.
About Ellen:
I am a do-er by nature; hospitality is in my heart and veins. Originally from Holland, I studied Hotel Management and worked in luxury hotels for years, yet equally love hostels, campgrounds, and Airbnbs: pretty much anywhere where people from different backgrounds come together. My most recent career job was in recruiting hotel managers, a company that I founded and ran for 12 years. I really enjoyed connecting people to their new dream jobs. Along the way, I've learned a lot about people and running a business.
I love giving back and have volunteered at a Café that serves both guests who can and cannot pay. Also volunteer with Project Cure, an NGO that collects and ships medical goods around the world. And at the Denver Botanical Gardens where I learned so much about native plants.
About Todd:
I grew up as an only child in Dallas TX and realized how big the world was on a trip to Denmark at age 15. After graduating college early and teaching conversational English in Japan for a year and a half, then decided to travel around the world, which is when I met Ellen.
When we settled in colorful Colorado, my career focused on IT, yet my passions have been in the outdoors and in 'building things'. I enjoy working on our house projects and am known to fix things in every house we stay at. My meticulous and thorough work ethic has produced quite a few nice pieces of furniture and funky, functional art. I am excited to once again explore the world, and meet people from around the world. I am inquisitive, eager to learn and contribute.
Ellen likes to cook, and Todd takes care of the clean-up. We enjoy eating lots of vegetables and could be called flexitarian. Not too picky on food as long as it is fresh and has good flavor; Todd's happiest with spice and rice, perhaps in line with his Asian heritage.
We are active and absolutely love the outdoors, and particularly spending time in the mountains: hiking, mountain biking, paddle-boarding and skiing are some of our favorite sports. Not a skill perhaps, but certainly a passion that drives us to spend lots of time in nature.
We enjoy being around kids, more in a mentorship/teaching than a babysitting role. We do not have any pets currently, allowing more freedom as we wander the globe, but enjoy animals all the same.
Hopefully, that gives you a bit of a glimpse of us. Surely, we have lots more to exchange when we meet in person.Age
52 & 53
What else ...
Vaccinated against Covid19
Some more information
Smoker
Driver's licence
Allergies
NoSpecial dietary requirements
No
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Since it was the beginning of the school year, there was a lot of work to be done. We helped teach in all classes and subjects (even without prior teaching experience, we… read more
Evening dinners made for great conversation. Ellen is… read more
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Since it was the beginning of the school year, there was a lot of work to be done. We helped teach in all classes and subjects (even without prior teaching experience, we… read more
Evening dinners made for great conversation. Ellen is… read more