Kristen & Zach

United States
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Profile information

Travel information
We are currently
At home
Description
Hello!
My husband Zach and I (Kristen) love to travel! We live in beautiful Portland Oregon. We are planning an extensive trip to Europe. This has been a dream of ours for years now and it is becoming reality! We are traveling on a budget for 3 months. We begin in Greece in March and finish in Ireland in May. We intend to see Italy in between and are also interested in Croatia and Portugal (or truly everywhere!)
We are excited to experience different cultures, meet new people and grow through this experience. We will spend some time doing tourist, sightseeing activities. However, we would really love to spend extended time in a few places. To really become familiar with the land and it's people. Due to our budget, as well as our interest in experiencing life (work the land, meet and get to know locals, have a daily routine) in the places we visit, workaway seems like the perfect opportunity!
We are both hard working, friendly people with adventurous spirits!
Interests
Culture
Videography
Vegetarian or vegan
Sustainability
Pets
Charity work
Self development
Movies & TV
Farming
DIY & crafts
Plant care
Music
History
Books
Cooking & food
Gardening
Languages
Photography
Writing
Carpentry
Astronomy
Animals
Yoga / Wellness
Outdoor activities
Sailing / Boating
Nature
Mountain
Hiking
Camping
Beach
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
We're interested in:
Life at a Farmstay
Eco Projects
Charity Work
Art Projects
Teaching
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Babysitting and creative play
Being an elderly companion
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Helping around the house
Animal Care
Hospitality/Tourism
Languages
More details about your skills
We are both good cooks! We have had our own veggie garden for 2 years now and love it. Zach is a manager in a profession that involves intense physical labor as well as handling machinery. We love animals and would love to help on a farm. We both are physically fit, love to be outdoors. Kristen is very good at cleaning and organizing spaces.
Age
45 & 34
What else ...
We are both eager to learn and willing to work hard. We would especially love farm work- tending to gardens, crops and animals. Especially interested in learning sustainable, organic farming. Truly any opportunity to experience a different way of life and help people is a welcome experience!
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements
  1 vegetarian

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10 Jun 2017

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help me to improve my ...)

We spent two lovely weeks with Alexis during March 2017. This was our first ever workaway and we had such a wonderful experience!! Alexis made us feel very welcome right from the start. He is a very generous and kind person and a fantastic host! His property is absolutely beautiful. Waking up to the lovely gardens, historic buildings and pink… read more

(Excellent )

8 Jun 2017

Left by Workawayer () for host (Live the dream in a homely ...)

We spent almost 3 weeks with Juliet and Peter.
I am trying to come up with the perfect words to describe our experience.. To put it simply, we felt loved! As soon as we stepped off the train we were met with big, jubilant smiles and embraces! It felt like instant family. Then they took us home to Peter's freshly baked homemade carrot cake (with… read more which I am obsessed and no other carrot cake will ever compare) and we knew we were home!
In the following days/weeks we spent cozy evenings by the fireplace (which means warm kitty snuggles galore! If you're lucky Stinky will drool on your shoulder and bless you with purring kisses), sharing laughter and sampling limoncello, learning ukulele, handpan and guitar, binge watching Sherlock Holmes, playing games and just generally having a blast!
Our days were filled with more smiles and laughter, long indulgent lunch breaks and glorious Tuscan sunsets.
We were introduced to friends and neighbors with whom we shared more laughter, games, music and cake!
Even the work was enjoyable. I had the chance to be creative when another workawayer, Martine, and I made a natural stone mosaic bridge! This was Juls' creative vision which she trusted us with. It was an honor to help make something meaningful to her in her home. We tilled the veggie garden and tended to the herb garden. Zach joined another workawayer, Tim (professional builder extraordinaire) in restoring an original stone wall workroom in the house. He learned so much and had fun in the process. Basically it is impossible not to have a great day when in the presence of such fantastic company! Juls and Peter roll up their sleeves and get right to work with you. Then on top of that they treat you like family. :))
We were given ample time to go off on our own adventures. Cinque Terre is only an hour train ride away! They negotiated our hours so we could have a 3 day weekend. They gave us rides to the train station. They showed us around their village and took us to a castle. There are endless places to explore (if you can tear yourself away from this warm, inviting home)!
This time is forever cemented in our hearts (we shall be back!) and we love you all so much!! Juls and Peter (our Italy mom and dad), Stinky, Love Bug, Mr. Biggles, Plucky, Little Mo and Giblet <3
If you want to see a gorgeous part of Italy with some of the warmest, funnest and most genuine people you could ever hope to meet- this is the place!!

(Excellent )

9 May 2017

Left by host (Live the dream in a homely ...) for Workawayer ()

Zach and Kristen spent 3 weeks with us, it went far too quickly and we miss them hugely!
They were super-helpful and just the loveliest people to share our home (and cats and guitar) with. We highly recommend them to anyone lucky enough to steal them for a while.

Zach is a godsend to host - the muckier the job, the better! He jackhammered out… read more ancient pointing and got dusty, he drained ponds and got muddy, he made up lorryloads of cement and angle-ground bricks and got blisters, he sanded, stained and painted wood until he was rainbow-coloured, he transported tonnes of sand and hurt his back... and a hundred other things most people would struggle with or complain about - all with a huge smile on his face. A very fast learner, incredibly strong, polite, naturally helpful, practical and super-bright, there is nothing he couldn't or didn't want to do. Our gentle, hardworking Zach :o) Whenever we asked how he was, his answer was invariably "Couldn't be better," "Fantastic," and "Perfect." He is genuinely the most positive and calm person we've ever worked with. And his guitar and limoncello-making skills are legendary! (Although his joke-telling abilities were a bit dubious, but, hey, no-one's perfect :oD )

Kristen is a petite wonderwoman. While not physically strong, the effort, passion and conscientiousness that she put into tasks was second-to-none. Even things that were beyond her comfort zone, she tackled with so much enthusiasm and attention to detail and we respect her hugely for that. She worked her perfectionist magic in the dauntingly weed-strewn veg patch and herb garden, tidying steps, doing the most beautiful cobble-facing on our bridge (far better than we ever could), cleaning hundreds of roof and floor tiles and many other bits and pieces. We trusted her implicitly to do a great job every time and always with a big beam on her face! Our sweet, caring Kristen :o) She was also potty about our cats (and in return they loved her!)

They never clock-watched and took true delight in being helpful, including volunteering to help some friends of ours to move house at the weekend.

They were fab in the home too, treating us to delicious pesto pasta, stacking up logs, washing up, cleaning the cooker without prompting and always asking what they could do to chip in. They are a gentle and loving couple with a wicked sense of humour and it truly was a joy to spend time with them and get to know them.

There is so much more to say but not enough space or time! But in a nutshell, they truly became our "Portland son and daughter" and will be welcome back with open arms whenever they like.

We hope it will be soon because our home isn't right without them.

Love you both and so grateful for everything - a presto, cara famiglia!

(Excellent )

4 Jun 2017

Left by Workawayer () for host (Stay in a 500 year old ...)

We spent 8 days on Rathlin Island with Rauri (and his sweet rambunctious puppy Sam!). It was a fantastic experience! Rauri is an exceptionally kind, fun and accommodating host. He made sure we were comfortable and well cared for. He even gave us his room (and he graciously took the couch) as the spare room was occupied by another workawayer and… read more

(Excellent )

17 May 2017

Left by host for Workawayer ()

Kristen and Zach are the loveliest couple and perfect house guests. They are both very easy to get along with and very hardworking - Zach really knows how to use a shovel!! Although they were only on Rathlin for just over a week - their contribution to the gardens was amazing. Zach is a great cook and apparently so is Kristen :). Both are welcome… read more

(Excellent )

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10 Jun 2017

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help me to improve my ...)

(Excellent)

8 Jun 2017

Left by Workawayer () for host (Live the dream in a homely ...)

(Excellent)

9 May 2017

Left by host (Live the dream in a homely ...) for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

4 Jun 2017

Left by Workawayer () for host (Stay in a 500 year old ...)

(Excellent)

17 May 2017

Left by host for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

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