Paula
& Maja

Germany
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Travel information
We are currently
Travelling
Our next destination:
Switzerland - from Jul 2025 until Jul 2025
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Description
Paula:
Bringing joy, harmony and deepness to others makes me happy! I love to share..especially my open ear. Learning by listening. And of course by doing ! I would like to learn old traditional ways of building houses, handcrafts like pottery, gardening/farming, cooking /baking..there is many to learn! I realized that I wanted to do something meaningful in contact with nature. Something that everyone needs to live, to feed and protect themselves. These times feel not safe to me. One day I will create my own creative safe space, surounded by good, respectfull and caring people.
I would like to describe myself as a creative, thoughtful and introverted person who likes to help others and become a part of the whole. I like projects where you reach your goal step by step and have to be patient and perseverant. Creating motivates me. My mind is full of ideas and I dream about making it happen.

What can I help you with?:
I learned housekeeping in the hotel. I can keep the house clean and tidy. I have the confidence to help you build, restore, plant and harvest. I haven't had much experience there yet, but I want to learn. I learned to mill and turn on machines in the metal industry. maybe I can help you with that. Maybe you can cook very well, I'm rather ordinary at it. I want to be able to cook and bake better and become faster and safer at it. I would like to have more time for painting and becoming creative again. Maybe you need help painting walls or decorating your house. I like animals, but have no experience in keeping or feeding them. Maybe I'll get the opportunity to be trained in it.

Maja:
I love meeting people and have conversations about meaning of life.
I'm open-minded and -hearted and curious about alternative ways of living. Working on Business ideas makes me really happy and feeling the flow. Studying Public and Non- Profit Management, i want to do something meaningful and help others to sustain and create.

We see us as a good twin team, complementing each other like yin and yang. We would love to do experience together and also sepererated because each of us has different abillities. Life is surprising and there may come a time when we have to function alone, independently of each other. It is important that we strengthen trust in ourselves and explore ourselves while being alone.
Interests
Performing arts
Movies & TV
Nature
Drawing & painting
Photography
Sustainability
Yoga / Wellness
Writing
Art & design
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
More details about my language interests
We would love to improve french skills and learning new languages like chinese, italien and russia
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Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
We're interested in:
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Eco Projects
Charity Work
Art Projects
Some knowledge of:
Helping around the house
More details about your skills
Maja studies Public and Non- Profit Management with her focus on sustainability. Paula did her education in metall Industry. Besides, we both have experience in housekeeping such as cleaning bathroom and doing the bed. We used to help our parents in gardening where we removed weeds and watering flowers. Today, we know that these plants are important as they store the heat and lower the temperature of the environment.
Age
24 & 24
What else ...
We are interested in spirituality. We would love to grow with Yoga and Meditation classes to find calmness and earn energy. We are also interested in Creative Writing, Ayurveda, Tarot and Human Design.
We feel the most flow and happiness by writing and creating business plans and ideas. We do singing and dancing.. not professionel ..but makes us happy !
We want to improve our cooking and baking skills. We like the texture of sourdough:)
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
  No
- Special dietary requirements
  No

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11 Jan 2025

Left by host (An open ended semi-village ...) for Workawayer ()

The experience with Paula and Maaja was an interesting one. They are two sisters keen to experience new things and the world, this is definitely a positive. What I would like to use this review for is to maybe address a few key points from their feedback and provide some common ground to improve for both of us.
The main challenge was misaligned… read more expectations. They expected an Airbnb-esque experience with a host that was committed to showing them around and accommodating for being new travelers. Though I try to do this most of the time, being Christmas and festival time- it was an extremely busy time with lot of family flying in from different parts of the world and I was juggling many things. They had suggested dates initially, which they messaged and changed a few times to revert back to the original plan. They then requested a pickup, which I arranged our family car for, took them to my favorite fish & toddy spot in the backwaters- and took them home. I made clear the kayaks were available for them to use whenever, the river flows both ways and there is so much nature and wildlife to explore.

It was during these conversations that it was made clear that they didn't plan on getting a SIM and thus had no way to communicate if they stepped out, this would be fine if they were completely independent. They also made clear they did not want to ride scooters as they found them too dangerous, which made it impossible to show them around. It was also clear that they were not well versed with cooking or sorting meals out. They also made clear that staying alone was not an option for them - as they were scared. All of this did become bothersome, here I agreed to hosting- due to their enthusiasm- but I found myself having to juggle between the numerous commitments during this time and having to ensure they were taken care of.

This is the main point- Workaway is an arrangement to for a mutually beneficial arrangement, the hosts are looking to make life easier through this and hoping to offer novel experiences to volunteers. By taking them to my beloved toddy spot, showing them how to make a typical Kerala breakfast (puttu - steam rice + grated coconuts + bananas+pickle), offering kayaks, trail information I hoped I had done my part- even if it was minimal due to the busy time.
What was most troubling- was that they did not know they had to sort out trash- plastic, paper and wet trash- we ended up having to burn their trash for this reason. I go through immense effort to collect plastic waste from the river, clean it multiple times, dry it and send it for recycling- I clean diapers, food waste so much- that is what it takes- this experience of having to arrange for the burning of their trash was a really bad one. And if nothing- I hope this review is a reminder for volunteers to be self-sufficient- to think of your material usage, our lifestyle impacts and how to handle all the waste that we make.

With that said I see great potential in both of them, as they grow and learn - and I am sure they can do beautiful things with the right approach and opportunity. They did also make a wonderful dish themselves from the things on the farm and otherwise, the recipe of which has been put up with other concocted recipes.

(Neutral )

5 Jan 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (An open ended semi-village ...)

Wir sind gemeinsam als Schwestern in Kottayam am Bootssteg angekommen und wurden von Jeffrey mit dem Auto abgeholt. Er war sehr enthusiastisch, freundlich und redselig. Der erste Eindruck war gut. Wir konnten uns sehr gut auf Englisch verständigen. Er hat uns seinen Lieblingsort gezeigt und uns zum Essen und Trinken eingeladen.
Auf seinem… read more Grundstück angekommen, haben wir recht schnell feststellen dürfen, was es bedeutet, in diesem Haus zu leben. Auf den Bildern wirkte das Haus sehr idyllisch, ruhig, künstlerisch, hell und gastfreundlich. Vor Ort wirkte das Haus auf uns wie eine verlassene, etwas heruntergekommene Gartenlaube an einem Fluss. Das Zimmer, das er uns zur Verfügung stellte war gerade so ausreichend. Es waren zwei Betten, ohne Decke und einem Kissen. Die anderen Kissen lagen verschimmelt im Schrank. Über den Betten war ein Loch, wo wahrscheinlich mal eine Lampe hing. Es sind dort Tiere heruntergefallen. Wer sich für diese Erfahrung entscheidet, darf sich auf Wildlife einstellen und sollte viel Mückenspray mitnehmen. Auch eine Mülltüte, eigenes Klopapier und Seife. Bei unserer Ankunft fehlte es an diesen Basics. Trenne bedacht deinen Müll, denn wir haben am Ende unsere Hygieneartikel in seinem Garten verbrannt, was für uns ungewohnt und unangenehm war. Da wir zur Weihnachtszeit kamen, erklärte uns Jeffrey bei Ankunft, dass er sehr viel zu tun habe. Konkret bedeutete das, eine laute Festival zeit im Dorf und Familienzeit ohne Gäste. Zusätzlich gibt Jeffrey 7 Tage die Woche morgens von ca. 7-11 Uhr Online Nachhilfe von seinem Haus aus. Wir hatten somit keinen ruhigen Morgen, da das Haus sehr hellhörig ist. Danach machte er Mittagsschlaf und verließ dann das Haus bis spät abends. Vermutlich fuhr er zu seiner Familie, um mit dieser Zeit zu verbringen. Er ließ offen, wann er nach Hause kommt. Wir haben kommuniziert, dass wir ungern alleine in seinem Haus sein wollen, besonders bei Dunkelheit, denn das Grundstück ist offen und auch wenn wir abschließen konnten, fühlten wir uns aufgrund der Fremde beängstigt und nicht sicher. Er wirkte flüchtig, distanziert, und mit seiner Aufgabe als Gastgeber überfordert, weil er dieser nicht gerecht werden konnte. Wir fühlten uns sehr fehl am Platz und fanden uns als Haussitter wieder, ohne es zu wollen. Wir haben viel Zeit zu zweit verbracht und hätten uns gewünscht mit Jeffrey gemeinsam auf seinem Grundstück zu arbeiten, wie angedacht. Wir hatten im Vorfeld klar kommuniziert, dass wir von ihm lernen wollen. Aber er konnte oder wollte sich die Zeit für uns nicht nehmen. Er hat uns einmal ein traditionelles Gericht gezeigt. Dafür sind wir dankbar. Wie auf seiner Seite angegeben, haben wir 3 Stunden am Tag gearbeitet. Wir haben Gras mit unseren Händen aus der Erde gerissen, in anderen Worten Weeding betrieben. Handschuhe und Werkzeug wurden uns nicht zur Verfügung gestellt. Jeffrey blieb außer Haus. Nachdem er uns spontan berichtete, allein auf ein mehrtägiges Festival gehen zu wollen, haben wir uns entschieden, unseren Aufenthalt vorzeitig abzubrechen. Besonders dazu beigetragen hat ein Erlebnis, wo wir bei Dunkelheit allein in seinem Haus waren und plötzlich der Strom ausfiel. Wir hatten kein Internet und fühlten uns hilflos ausgeliefert. Es war stockdunkel, wir haben uns im Zimmer eingesperrt und darauf gewartet, dass Jeffrey irgendwann zurückkehrt. Eine Erfahrung, die wir keinem wünschen! Erst am nächsten Tag hat uns Jeffrey den Stromkasten gezeigt für den Fall, dass der Strom ausfällt. Dieser fällt in Indien öfter mal aus. Als wir meinten, dass wir Angst hatten, fühlten wir uns nicht ernst genommen, da er daraufhin von einem Mann erzählte, der in einer ähnlichen Situation gewesen sei und ihn vor lauter Angst angerufen habe. Er wirkte dabei gleichgültig.
Zusammenfassend haben wir nach unserer Konfrontation hin einen Mann kennen gelernt, der viele Ausreden hat, dem das Wohlbefinden seiner Gäste gleichgültig zu sein scheint. Wir hätten laut ihm unsere Erwartungen und Wünsche noch besser kommunizieren müssen. Jeffrey hat seine Seite mittlerweile aktualisiert, vermutlich weil er doch gemerkt hat, dass er einiges offen gelassen hat. Uns war nicht bewusst, dass er alleine in diesem Haus lebt und jedem Morgen Nachhilfe gibt. Wir raten Jeffrey für die Zukunft auf seiner Seite erkenntlich zu machen, dass er Haussitter sucht, damit keiner in diese Rolle ohne seinen Willen reingedrückt wird. Wir wünschen jedem Workawayer eine bessere (erste) Erfahrung.

We arrived together as sisters at the jetty in Kottayam and were picked up by Jeffrey in his car. He was very enthusiastic, friendly and talkative. The first impression was good. We were able to communicate very well in English. He showed us his favorite place and invited us to eat and drink.
When we arrived at his property, we quickly realized what it means to live in this house. In the pictures, the house looked very idyllic, quiet, artistic, bright and hospitable. On site, the house looked to us like an abandoned, somewhat run-down gazebo by a river. The room he made available to us was just about adequate. There were two beds, no blankets and one pillow. The other pillows were lying moldy in the closet. There was a hole above the beds where a lamp had probably once hung. Animals had fallen down there. Anyone who decides to have this experience should be prepared for wildlife and should take plenty of mosquito spray with them. Also a garbage bag, your own toilet paper and soap. When we arrived, these basics were missing. Separate your garbage carefully, because we ended up burning our hygiene products in his garden, which was unusual and unpleasant for us. Since we came at Christmas time, Jeffrey explained to us when we arrived that he had a lot to do. In concrete terms, this meant a loud festival in the village and family time without guests. In addition, Jeffrey gives online tutoring from his house 7 days a week in the morning from around 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. We therefore did not have a quiet morning, as the house is very thinly soundproof. After that, he took a nap and then left the house until late in the evening. He probably drove to his family to spend time with them. He left it open when he would be home. We communicated that we did not want to be alone in his house, especially in the dark, because the property is open and even if we could lock it, we felt scared and unsafe because of the strangers. He seemed fleeting, distant, and overwhelmed by his role as host because he could not do it justice. We felt very out of place and found ourselves house sitters without wanting to. We spent a lot of time together and would have liked to work with Jeffrey on his property, as planned. We had clearly communicated in advance that we wanted to learn from him. But he couldn't or didn't want to take the time for us. He once showed us a traditional dish. We are grateful for that. As stated on his website, we worked 3 hours a day. We pulled grass out of the ground with our hands, in other words weeded. Gloves and tools were not provided to us. Jeffrey stayed away from home. After he spontaneously told us that he wanted to go to a festival lasting several days alone, we decided to cut our stay short. One experience in particular contributed to this: we were alone in his house in the dark and the power suddenly went out. We had no internet and felt helpless. It was pitch black, we locked ourselves in the room and waited for Jeffrey to return at some point. An experience we would not wish on anyone! It was only the next day that Jeffrey showed us the power box in case the power went out. This often happens in India. When we said that we were afraid, we felt that he wasn't being taken seriously, because he then told us about a man who had been in a similar situation and had called him out of fear. He seemed indifferent.
In summary, after our confrontation, we got to know a man who has many excuses and who seems to be indifferent to the well-being of his guests. According to him, we should have communicated our expectations and wishes even better. Jeffrey has now updated his page, probably because he realized that he had left some things open. We were not aware that he lives alone in this house and gives tutoring every morning. We advise Jeffrey to make it clear on his page in the future that he is looking for house sitters so that no one is forced into this role against their will. We wish every workawayer a better (first) experience.

(Neutral )