Badges (2)
Profile information
Travel information
We are currently
At home
Description
Eduardo (AKA Jay) and I love getting to know people who are interested in spirituality and the deeper aspects of life. For us travelling is as much about the people as the places. Meditation is a part of our daily life routine. Kate especially loves working with children. She ran a children's home in Ghana (West Africa) for many years, has been a teacher for many more, and we helped start a Steiner School in the Philippines in a village of yogis. Jay loves working with wood and doing DIY projects. He studied architecture in the Philippines, skills which he used to design the building in the Philippines. Jay was a yoga instructor in South America, Sri Lanka and Africa. We both love art and music and play several instruments. Whilst we love having peace and quiet integrated into our day, we also enjoy spontaneous music sessions - playing kiirtan (chanting) and mystical tunes.
Interests
LanguagesPlant careMusicHikingCharity workSustainabilitySelf developmentPetsGardeningCarpentryArt & designArchitectureDIY & craftsCyclingVegetarian or veganYoga / WellnessCulture
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Portuguese: Intermediate
Spanish: Beginner
French: BeginnerMore details about my language interests
I (Kate) have taught English in Brazil. I enjoy challenging myself but admit that I am a beginner in most languages and that people often end up speaking to me in English to practice rather than putting up with my slow attempts at their languages! Jay is fluent in Tagalog, Portuguese, Spanish and English and is intermediate level at French. He picks up languages much faster than me.
Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
Some knowledge of:
Charity Work
Animal Care
Being an elderly companion
Life at a Farmstay
Able to teach about:
Art Projects
Languages
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Helping around the house
Babysitting and creative play
General Maintenance
Helping with Computers/ Internet
More details about your skills
I (Kate) am technology teacher in New Zealand. I work with 11-13 year olds teaching them life skills - cooking, sewing, woodwork, electronics and digital design. I love gardening and interior design. My husband Jay and I have completely renovated our house ourselves and enjoy making garden sculptures (arches, moongates, birdhouses etc). We both love working with wood and we have created our own studio in the garage where we spend most of our weekends making furniture, musical instruments and being creative. Jay is self-employed and does DIY work for people, mainly making furniture and garden structures. He often volunteers at the school where I teach, assisting with a native tree nursery and irrigation systems.
Age
51 & 59
What else ...
Both of us lived for 8 years in Africa, practicing as yoga and meditation teachers and working for an international aid organisation - which involved numerous trips to India. We met in West Africa and then have been mainly based in NZ with many long term stays in the Philippines over the last several years.
Jay loves working with CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and designing and then building structures. During lockdown we built a curved shingled bath-house / garden shed. Jay worked for 3 years in the Philippines constructing a home and site for a Steiner school, whilst I commuted every 6 months between NZ and the Philippines.
Kate started and ran a volunteer organisation (www.kidsworldwide.org) for many years creating websites for charitable organisations and assisting with placement of volunteers particularly in Africa, South America and South East Asia.
I (Kate) am in charge of the networking and setup of computers at the school where I teach in NZ and am the "helpdesk" for all the teachers at my school. Whilst I have done a lot of graphic design in the past, I don't really enjoy being stuck in front of a computer. I prefer to work with my hands and supplement these skills by making computer-aided stencils using vinyl cutting machines and laser cutting design.
We both love animals - particularly cats - we have 2 rescue cats in our home in NZ. Jay used to have a female monkey in Burkina Faso (but she didn't like me - jealousy).
Some more information
Smoker
Driver's licence
Allergies
Special dietary requirements
Vegetarian - no onions, garlic, eggs, mushrooms.
