Ellen
& Todd

United States
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Travel information
We are currently
Travelling
Activities we are interested in:
Being active in nature, eco-tourism, engaging with new cultures, teaching and learning, enjoying simple local foods with newly made friends.
Our next destination:
Netherlands - from Jun 2025 until Jul 2025
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Description
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 Colorado, USA, Todd's home country, where we raised our two sons. 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, learning, and meeting new people and cultures along the way.

In this stage of our life, we are embracing a 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
Water sports
Van life
Technology
Self development
Photography
DIY & crafts
Carpentry
Architecture
Art & design
Yoga / Wellness
Gardening
Hiking
Charity work
Beach
Winter sports
Sustainability
Plant care
Pets
Outdoor activities
Nature
Languages
Mountain
Events & social
Cycling
Culture
Cooking & food
Camping
Books
Animals
Adventure sports
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
German: Beginner
Spanish: Beginner
French: Beginner
More details about my language interests
We love to chat in any of the languages we know and open to learning others.
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Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
We're interested in:
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Life at a Farmstay
Eco Projects
Helping around the house
Animal Care
Hospitality/Tourism
Charity Work
Languages
Teaching
Helping with Computers/ Internet
Babysitting and creative play
Being an elderly companion
Art Projects
More details about your skills
Our biggest skill may be 'flexibility': we simply enjoy helping where we can be most useful and are easy to get along with. In addition to various Workaway experiences, we've recently volunteered in English immersion programs (outside of Workaway).

About Ellen:
I am a do-er by nature; hospitality is in my heart and veins. Originally from The Netherlands, 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 homeless Café, 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 from University, I taught 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, has good flavor and is enjoyed with great people. Todd's happiest with spice and rice, perhaps in line with his Asian heritage.

We are active and love being outdoors. Long walks, mountain biking, paddle-boarding, snorkeling 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, mostly in a mentorship/teaching role. We both have some teaching-assistance experience, mainly as volunteers including play and kid projects. What better experience than raising our own two sons, who are both at University? 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
53 & 54
What else ...
Vaccinated against Covid19
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
  No
- Special dietary requirements
  No

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17 Oct 2024

Left by host (Looking for homeschool help ...) for Workawayer ()

We had the pleasure of hosting Todd and Ellen, and they were an absolute joy to have around. They cooked delicious meals, helped homeschool our girls, and were always willing to lend a hand with anything we needed. Their experience as parents brought so much value to our daily routines, and we loved the engaging conversations around the dinner… read more

(Excellent )

17 Oct 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Looking for homeschool help ...)

We had a great month volunteering with Crystal & Tim!
After an initial warm welcome, tour and hugs from the girls, we quickly settled into a daily routine. From 1 to 3 pm, we helped the two oldest with their homeschooling, then enjoyed playtime and visits to the park, followed by meal preparation, getting dinner on the table by around 6 pm, and… read more

(Excellent )

6 May 2024

Left by host (Help me around my home in ...) for Workawayer ()

I was happy to host Tod. He helped me with several small fixtures like assembling a metal shed, install a wood shelf and re-modify a sleeping platform for my old car to my new car. He works verry precisely and approaches each task with the philosophy that he wants to deliver the same quality als he would have done at his own home. There for I can… read more

(Excellent )

2 May 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help me around my home in ...)

Staying with Frank was easy going and enjoyable. I was happy to be able to fix certain things around the house : assemble a small metal shed, install a wood shelf with brackets, re-modify a sleeping platform for a bed and other stuff needed. We cooked dinner together and I enjoyed discussing certain topics that we had in common. One of the best… read more

(Excellent )

22 Oct 2023

Left by host (Help us with our big old ...) for Workawayer ()

Ellen and Todd stayed with us for two weeks at the end of September beginning of October. They arrived late at night due to transport delays but were still eager to get started first thing next morning. The main work we did was restoring windows, doors and shutters, so lots of prepping, cleaning, sanding and painting. They are both very capable… read more

(Excellent )

20 Oct 2023

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help us with our big old ...)

We had a wonderful two-week stay at the end of September, as the weather was nice and warm. Paul and Aine were very hospitable. Paul was the perfect "boss": giving good guidance of his expectations without micromanaging every step of the work. Ellen and Aine enjoyed cooking together while chatting away about life in Italy. The accommodations in… read more

(Excellent )

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17 Oct 2024

Left by host (Looking for homeschool help ...) for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

17 Oct 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Looking for homeschool help ...)

(Excellent)

6 May 2024

Left by host (Help me around my home in ...) for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

2 May 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help me around my home in ...)

(Excellent)

22 Oct 2023

Left by host (Help us with our big old ...) for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

20 Oct 2023

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help us with our big old ...)

(Excellent)

16 Feb 2023

Left by host for Workawayer ()

We are very happy to have you here at our school, you are truly a blessing, we really wanted to continue to be with you but that is how life is, you were humble, attentive, and hardworking and the children were enjoying you, your were ready to help at any time where you are needed,thank you for everything, through you (austin, alec and hellen) we… read more

(Excellent)

31 Jan 2023

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help us to improve conditions ...)

Together with my two college-age sons, we spent a few weeks at the school. Like many before us, our experience was wonderful from the moment we arrived until the very last hug.
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

(Excellent)

19 Sep 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Come help us with our organic ...)

Where to even begin to describe my wonderful week with Michael and Clare?! In short: it was life-changing and heart-filling. Michael has such a wealth of garden and generally healthy food information stored in his head and in his green fingers and is so willing to share it all. We had the best conversations: of course about plants, soil and seeds… read more

(Excellent)

30 Aug 2022

Left by host (Come help us with our organic ...) for Workawayer ()

We really enjoyed meeting and spending time with Ellen. It was a productive and fun cultural exchange. Ellen was a wonderful house guest, quiet, clean, considerate and helpful. She has a lot of gardening experience, knowledge and enthusiasm, as a result we got a lot of work done in the gardens.
Evening dinners made for great conversation. Ellen is… read more

(Excellent)

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