Left by Workawayer (Sumayah) for host
for (Do you love to build, cook, ...)
I spent 4 weeks here with Manfred (host) and other lovely workawayers. Through this month I have fortunate to meet people from different countries ( Germany 🇩🇪 , USA 🇺🇸 , Slovenia 🇸🇮, Palestine 🇵🇸 , India 🇮🇳 , Spain 🇪🇸 , Colombia 🇨🇴, Denmark 🇩🇰, Israel 🇮🇱, Iran 🇮🇷, South Africa 🇿🇦, Syria 🇸🇾 and me from Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 ) to do something I have
… read more never tried before, to learn about different cultures and finally to try workaway 😁😁. So this was my first experience with workaway and I was totally out of my comfort zone !
Over there:
⁃ I’m grateful for Anton (workawayer) who picked me up from Markt Bibart station 🚉 and left my heavy luggage 🧳 to my room.
⁃ I’m grateful for Caro who welcomed me and encouraged me to tell my dream in Deutsch in my first breakfast with them.
⁃ I’m grateful that Manfred showed me my own comfortable bedroom and a shared bathroom.
⁃ I’m grateful that Romy (workawayer) explained to me how to clean the apartment in a simple way ( clean it as it is your home ! ).
⁃ I‘m grateful that I could join Yoga and meditation 🧘♀️ session almost every morning (06:30 - 08:00) in a very nice place with a beautiful landscape.
⁃ I’m grateful that we had all meals together, ( Breakfast (09:00), Lunch (14:00), Dinner (19:30) ) and got to know each other over there since the electronic devices are not allowed 📵.. so we heard stories from each other, experiences and had so much laughs 😄 while enjoying our delightful food 😋.
⁃ I’m so grateful that generous Manfred always provides great healthy food and talented Tammi (workawayer) prepared delicious vegan and vegetarian food for all of us with Koohyar or Tina ( workawayers). 2 people were responsible for the huge kitchen.
⁃ I’m grateful that in a whole month with 3 meals and snacks a day I rarely taste the same things. Everyday, we have new surprise meal from the fabulous chef 👩🏽🍳 ! .. in the weekends other volunteers who prepared the food, so it means other wonderful taste.
⁃ since we start working after breakfast (10:00) until lunch time (14:00) outside, kindly, mid of the day, people who are working with the kitchen that day bring us some healthy snacks or powerful smoothies and cold water to stay strong 💪 until the next meal 🥘. Yeah, the work outside was so hard especially if it was sunny day 😎
⁃ I’m grateful that I have tried horseback riding 🏇🏻without a horse settle for the first time, which I liked it.
⁃ I’m grateful that sometimes I could join the music and meditation night (21:00) with peaceful man Koohyar (workawayer) who plays Guitar 🎸 and Flute incredibly beautiful and he sings as well with Manfred, who plays Handpan , and Soumil (workawayer) who plays the drum. I can remember that night with amazing harmony among all different sounds! 🎶
⁃ I’m grateful that I sometimes walk around the area and enjoy the nature with sweet Miana (workawayer) or sometimes with others👩🏾🤝👩🏽👫🏼
⁃ I’m grateful that almost every Saturday, Manfred drives us to new places to enjoy our free time ( had picnic 🧺 in different areas, swam in a river with very cold water, visited Bamberg and little Italy there, had lunch in Pottenstein ( the name of the location that appears in the top of the picture I took over there ) beside a beautiful lake, visited Shopping area, Relax in salt water (Bad Windsheim) ).
⁃ I’m grateful for vegan Tina (workawayer) that she always makes different salads and experiences tasty dressing 🥗😍 .. and she made a raw vegan chocolate dessert 😋
⁃ I’m grateful for calm Pascal, Tina’s husband, who taught me during the work outside the difference of usage between shadow and shades, I think he is naturally a teacher 👨🏾🏫.
⁃ I’m grateful for fabulous couple Hernan and Manuela, Hernan always tells jokes in his way and makes everyone laugh 😆. One day I asked Manuela to teach me Salsa 💃 dance, so Hernan was the funny latin DJ and MC 🎙🤣 and Manu was our teacher. Previously, at the same day we (the ladies) had spa 🧖♀️ time together ( Facial Mask, coffee ground scrub, nails done 💅, massage 💆🏽♀️) Thanks Manu for this idea 💡😘.
⁃ I’m grateful for Manuela also that she taught me how to plant the tulips 🌷and how to take care of the other plants 🌱.
⁃ I’m grateful for Ignacio who reminds me of my brother when he goes so excited 🤩.
⁃ I’m grateful for gorgeous Flora the horses’ girl who taught me how to take care of the horses 🐎.
⁃ I’m grateful for Aron that he told us about “Shabbat” meaning and the story behind it, so interesting 😍. And also played with us board game in my last night.
⁃ I’m grateful for sweet Miana, my young strong coworker. Thank you for talking, walking, working, dancing, laughing, Tea time, massaging, supporting, and teaching me a lot of new words in English !. I had so much fun with her.
⁃ I’m grateful for Johannes, the quite young man, who works silently with a genuine smile which reminds me of my another brother 😊.
⁃ I’m grateful for all beautiful creatures that I have seen there around the area ( Deers 🦌, greenish blue shiny bugs , a lot of slugs and snails 🐌, horses 🐎, small tiny dog 🐶, chickens 🐓, sheep 🐑, and cows 🐄 ).
Kinds of work that I helped my friends with:
⁃ Setting the dining table for eating 🍽.
⁃ Cleaning Airbnb apartments ( Change the bedding set with a clean one, clean the bathroom and the kitchen, clean the windows in and outside, put clean towels, provide the bathroom with toilet papers 🧻 if needed, vacuum and mop the floor and hygiene everything). 👌🏼
⁃ Cleaning Yoga room.
⁃ Washing the towels, bedding set, table sheets and then hanging them outside to dry 🧼, then fold them and put them in their place.
⁃ Feeding the horses 🐎 and clean 💩 their areas .
⁃ Planting a lot of grasses 🌾 and many of flowers 🌺.
⁃ Took the old wooden fence out.
⁃ Cleaned and organized Manfred office.
⁃ Spreading the wood chips and small stones for the foundation of horses place.
⁃ Cleaning and organizing many rooms with old and dusty stuff.
⁃ Removing all unnecessary plants and grass.
⁃ Washing the dishes.
⁃ Cleaning and reorganizing the pantry.
⁃ Watering the flowers and plants.
⁃ Digging the boarder of the theater 🎭 project.
⁃ Working with shovels and wheelbarrows with different areas and stuff.
⁃ Cleaning the outside floor gaps from the green things with the air pressure machine.
⁃ Shooting a lot of time lapse videos of the process of the work and taking tons of pictures of delicious food, and beautiful people and places over there.
My goals to visit this place were:
⁃ Improve my Deutsch ❌ ( English was the main language) I just practice some of Deutsch with Manfred and others who speak Deutsch.
⁃ Have new friends ✅
⁃ Do something new ✅
⁃ Practice Yoga ✅
⁃ Ride a horse ✅
⁃ Live healthy lifestyle ✅
⁃ Help others ✅
⁃ Be in the embrace of nature ✅
Dear future workawayers who want to visit and work in this incredible place:
⁃ First of all thank you for reading all my words, and please don’t put high expectations when you plan to go there while it was my own experience, you may have different people, different kind of work... so
⁃ Don’t expect hard working, maybe it’s going to be harder.
⁃ Don’t expect to meet friendly people, maybe you meet more friendly and wonderful people.
⁃ and so on... 😊
⁃ Second of all, since we are not in a final heaven yet, you will see around the place the misunderstanding and miscommunication a lot. Can you imagine one place with different people who have different personalities, different backgrounds, different abilities, different thinking styles, different cultures and different languages... so
⁃ Please understand all the differences and accept it.
⁃ Be easy and flexible and don’t take it personally.
⁃ With Manfred, you have to be patient, direct and clear. What do you like, what do you dislike?, What do you need? if you don’t understand the task or how to do it, just ask. Better you talk about the work and the needs after meals not during the meals !
⁃ I’m sorry if I bother you by writing too much details which maybe you already know or experienced, but that kind of feedback I want to read if I were so beginners to explore the world 🌎.
Lastly, dear Manfred,
Thank you for this opportunity to achieve my personal goals through your wonderful project ( Point 12). I hope to see this project completed and ran successfully. Thank you for your generosity and trust. Finally, thank you again for your patience, your hospitality, your beautiful sound, your yoga and meditation sessions, your caring and gratitude for others. As I told you, my siblings would like to help you around and work with you so maybe we will see each other again.
Peace, love, Joy,
Sumayah
Gardening
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Life at a Farmstay
Eco Projects
Teaching
Helping around the house
Language practice
Art Projects
Helping with Computers/ Internet
