Profile information
Travel information
I am currently
Travelling
Activities i am interested in:
I've been travelling now for about 1 year. Right now I'm in Turkey and look forward to keep travelling... next stop: India ✌️🌻
My next destination:
India - from Aug 2025 until Nov 2025 View all
Description
Hey there! My name is Valentina and I'm a 28 year old visual artist and chef living in Montreal, QC Canada. I am originally from Bogota, Colombia but I grew up all around the world, moving to Panama, Dubai, Malaysia and Canada. I've lived in Montreal for about 9 years now and I'm ready for a change! I have a BFA in Studio Arts, and a double minor in Psychology and Sustainability Studies. Currently, I’m getting ready apply for a Master’s degree in Art Therapy. My career interests are quite varied, including childhood, mental health, and marginalized communities, including refugees, and neurodivergent and disabilities communities.
I've been very blessed to have been able to travel with my family to many places all over the world. Because of these experiences, I have come to understand that going to new places and meeting new people and their traditions is the best way to grow as a person since you have to constantly go outside of your comfort zone, problem-solve, and rely on the kindness of strangers. I'm interested in visiting new places with cultures that continue to have strong ties to their ancient land and traditions, like Portugal, Turkey, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Namibia.
My first workaway was back in the summer of 2015 (May, June) at a small organic farm in Chenaud, France. To this day, I look back at the two months I spent working and learning from Genevieve and Eric, with their horse, Tania, working in the garden, meeting and training other volunteers, spending my spare time reading, making art and socializing by the river, as some of my best memories. This experience only served to strengthen my passion for hard work, nature, creativity, and living and sharing with new caring, diverse and inclusive communities of lovely people.
It wasn’t until 2024 that I began volunteering again, this time in three places across Colombia- a farmstead in Suesca, Cundinamarca, a small English institute in Barbosa, Santander and Colegio Fundación Marillac, an incredible school run by catholic sisters providing care and a decent education to vulnerable children and youth with various physical and mental disabilities. The experiences I had while volunteering and the people I connected with made this time in Colombia a truly magical learning experience. I am absolutely thrilled to continue volunteering at places like these.
I love to make art and read and learn about anything and everything. I also love cooking, hiking, gardening, connecting with children, being helpful, talking about life, philosophy, politics, and spirituality, and I looove animals. My curiosity and yearning for personal growth and social/ ecological healing continually drive me towards my dream to be an Art Therapist, and keep me always motivated to do and give my very best and learn as much as possible from every experience.
Lao Tzu said, A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Every day I take a new step, and I am now well on the journey of my lifetime. Will our paths cross?
I hope they do :)
Interests
Water sports
Cycling
Adventure sports
Nature
Politics / Social justice
Yoga / Wellness
Outdoor activities
Self development
Sustainability
Pets
Photography
Plant care
History
Hiking
Movies & TV
Mountain
Gardening
Farming
Culture
DIY & crafts
Drawing & painting
Cooking & food
Charity work
Camping
Books
Art & design
Beach
Architecture
Animals
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
French: IntermediateMore details about my language interests
I have a little experience teaching english and I'd be happy to do it again.
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Babysitting and creative play
Teaching
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
General Maintenance
Eco Projects
Hospitality/Tourism
Helping with Computers/ Internet
Charity Work
Being an elderly companion
Helping around the house
Able to teach about:
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Languages
Art Projects
More details about your skills
My first workaway was back in the summer of 2015 (May, June) at a small organic farm in Chenaud, France. To this day, I look back at the two months I spent working and learning from Genevieve and Eric, with their horse, Tania, working in the garden, meeting and training other volunteers, spending my spare time reading, making art and socializing by the river, as some of my best memories. This experience only served to strengthen my passion for hard work, nature, creativity, and living and sharing with new caring, diverse and inclusive communities of lovely people.
It wasn’t until 2024 that I began volunteering again, this time in three places across Colombia- a farmstead in Suesca, Cundinamarca, a small English institute in Barbosa, Santander and Colegio Fundación Marillac in San Gil, Santander, an incredible alternative school run by catholic sisters providing care and a decent education to vulnerable children and youth with various physical and mental disabilities.
In April 2025 I travelled to Portugal where I got to workaway in two places, both doing gardening and general maintenance work. At both places I got the time and honour to paint murals as well and I was very happy to meet and connect with the hosts :)
Now I'm writing from Türkiye where I have been volunteering since the end of May. I first volunteered near Manisa, at a small homestead where I learned a lot about Turkish culture and got to cook some delicious food and paint a mural inspired by the homestead's wine production. Since mid-June I've been volunteering at Little Prince Academy (Kapadokya), a child-led community center for children and young adults with various disabilities which seeks to support each child's natural abilities and interests, as well as supporting and empowering the children's parents and caregivers so they can in turn support and encourage their children back at home.
— Skills and Experience —
} Experience with Children:
Back in 2016, I lead a short-term MAD science workshop in a primary school in Montreal with 3rd and 4th graders.
In December 2024 I worked with children again in an English institute, helping to run an educational english-language summer programme in Colombia. The best part of this experience was bonding with the children, and witnessing and supporting their development.
} Experience working with people with disabilities, people who are neurodivergent, and other marginalized communities:
I spent two years (2022-2024) volunteering at the Center for the Arts in Human Development, a non-profit organization in Montreal (Canada) which focuses on including people with disabilities and people who are neurodivergent into the greater university and city community through creative arts therapies in individual and group settings. This was an incredibly inspiring and humbling experience which continually drives my passion for art therapy, as I just felt so much joy and fulfillment helping others and belonging to such an inclusive and kind community.
In February of 2025 I had one of my best volunteering experiences yet at Colegio Fundación Marillac in San Gil, Santander, an incredible alternative school run by catholic sisters providing care and a decent education to vulnerable children and youth with various physical and mental disabilities. Here the curriculum is tailored to the needs of the students, with time included for hydrotherapy, equine therapy, music therapy, physical education and ecotherapy. The experiences I had while volunteering and the people I connected with made this time in Colombia a truly magical learning experience. I am absolutely thrilled to continue volunteering at places like these.
I spent 1.5 months in Göreme (Kapadokya) (mid June - end of July 2025) helping out at a child-led community center serving children and young adults with various mental and physical disabilities. The work included participating in horse riding, drama, ceramic, music, and dance workshops with groups of children and their parents, as well as accompanying, connecting, and playing one-on-one with the children who come to the center. After spending 1.5 hours with each child, we would have to write detailed reports of our interactions with the kids, which really helped to track their progress and helped me to reflect on the time I spent with each child. This was an amazing learning experience for me, and I loved connecting with so many parents and children, as well as the people who run the center on a daily basis and the other volunteers.
I am currently completing a counselling certificate, which is already teaching me a lot about what it means to support someone else's growth, and the qualities and skills that I need to become the best healer I can be and help as much as I can to ease suffering.
} Art Projects:
I'm a visual artist so I have a lot of experience brainstorming, visualizing and executing works of art including commissioned works and murals. I have a strong knowledge basis of many art techniques and materials, which I can teach others through classes and workshops.
} Gardening/ Eco-projects:
When I worked in the farm in Chenaud, France, some of my tasks were: sowing seeds, watering plants, laying down watering systems, placing hay as mulch to protect growing plants and retain water, planting seedlings, weeding, transporting hay, soil and organic fertilizer on wheelbarrows throughout the farm, reaping harvest, weighing and preparing freshly picked veggies for the Sunday markets, and tending the market stall, interacting with customers. I also really enjoyed helping to train the two volunteers who arrived after me.
I also have experience with urban food production, and I'm currently on my fourth year of having a balcony garden. I live on the third floor of a triplex here in MTL and even though I only have my back balcony to work with and a short growing season, I have managed to grow tomatoes, potatoes, beans, peas, strawberries, herbs, kale, spinach, swiss chard, and even a small watermelon and squashes! (as well as different kinds of native and wild flowers for our pollinator friends!)
} Housekeeping/ General Maintenance:
In the farm, we lived communally, so we had house keeping tasks like preparing communal meals, cleaning the main house, tending to Tania, the horse, and other general handy-person chores that we would take turns doing.
} Cooking/ Food Production:
I have four years of professional cooking experience and love experimenting with new ingredients and techniques, like fermenting, curing, baking, canning, and making things like yogurt, breads, conserves and even summer wines! I love food and believe that to make the best dishes you just need high quality simple local ingredients, in a true soil-to-mouth relationship. I would love to learn about foraging so if you know anything about it, I'm all ears!
Age
29
Some more information
Smoker
Driver's licence
Allergies
Special dietary requirements
Feedback
She is motivated, independent, relaxed and super friendly and positive - it was great hanging out! You can tell that she's well travelled, a true chameleon who could adapt to many groups and situations :-)
She helped us loads in the… read more
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Friends
Feedback
She is motivated, independent, relaxed and super friendly and positive - it was great hanging out! You can tell that she's well travelled, a true chameleon who could adapt to many groups and situations :-)
She helped us loads in the… read more
