Matthew

Travel information

I am currently

Activities i am interested in:

Update 11/2025: I'm flying to Nepal at the end of December and then making my way to Lumbini for a 3 month vipassana retreat. When I emerge in April, I'd like to find a workaway host.

Description

Update 11/2025: I'm flying to Kathmandu at the end of December and then making my way to Lumbini for a 3 month vipassana retreat. When I emerge in April, I'd like to find a family or small spiritual community in Nepal to offer service to. I'll likely benefit from doing physically active tasks in an environment supportive of post-retreat integration. I think a farm stay might be a good choice.

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I'm motivated by gratitude and the desire to learn more about our natural world and how other people and cultures relate to it in ways that don't revolve around consumerism and hyper competitive individualism (i.e. American values). I've set aside conventional career goals in order to develop new heart-centered skills that align with wisdom and kindness towards all living beings. Vipassana and metta ("loving kindness") meditation are an integral part of my daily life, inseparable from an ethical lifestyle and livelihood in mutual support with community. By "community" I mean all living things, not just humans.

I am a sincere Dhamma practitioner in the Insight Meditation tradition. I lived with a vipassana meditation retreat center in northern California for the last 3.5 years. My life there revolved around the cultivation of community, coordinating and offering service with other volunteers, and sitting with and supporting many many retreats. If I learn I'm not too old and stubbornly set in my ways, I'm considering ordaining with a Theravadin monastic community in the near future.

The last few years have offered me opportunities to develop better leadership and communication skills, primarily as the senior resident and landscape manager at Insight Retreat Center. During the last year I also spent some of my free time tutoring an ESL student from Mexico. I have a deeper appreciation for the difficulties immigrants face in the U.S. and the many challenges to learning a new culture and language.

I’m fit and healthy and I enjoy outdoor physical labor like gardening. I’m interested in permaculture and sustainable agriculture projects, environmental conservation, animal rescue and wildlife rehabilitation. I completed a 5 month stint WWOOFing on the Big Island of Hawaii in 2021. I learned quite a bit about the joys and difficulties of farming and homesteading. Living and working in close quarters with people I didn't know very well also helped me to learn how to communicate my needs and boundaries more skillfully. I understand how both sharing and personal responsibility are essential components to harmonious communal living arrangements. I clean up after myself and prefer living with others who do the same.

Other relevant experience I can draw upon include include home repair and improvement projects like painting, installing new outlets, fixing a leaky roof, cleaning and repairing siding and decks. I also love cooking with people and discovering new recipes and cuisines.

Overall, I think you'll find I am a "low maintenance" type of guest. Beyond sleep and food, I mostly just need a bit of time and space for meditation and personal study and reflection. I'm a bad fit if you're running a youth hostel / party house. I prefer peace and solitude over escapism and various forms of intoxication.

I am heavily vaccinated : Covid, hep A/B, typhoid, influenza, TDAP

Interests

Charity work

Culture

Yoga / Wellness

Winter sports

Writing

Sustainability

Self development

Pets

Plant care

Outdoor activities

Nature

Music

Mountain

History

Hiking

Gardening

Farming

Dancing

Camping

Books

Animals

Languages spoken

English: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner
Japanese: Beginner

Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Life at a Farmstay

Hospitality/Tourism

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Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

DIY and building projects

General Maintenance

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Eco Projects

Helping around the house

Animal Care

Languages

Helping with Computers/ Internet

Teaching

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Able to teach about:  

Charity Work

More details about your skills

I’m very fit and healthy and I enjoy outdoor physical labor like gardening. I’ve worked as a volunteer horticultural assistant in the rose gardens of Portland's Peninsula Park.

I've worked on many home gardening tasks: mulching, weeding, pruning, composting, watering, soil aeration etc.

I’ve cared for the health and wellbeing of several domesticated felines.

I helped develop hiking trails for a retreat center that involved assessing and mitigating soil erosion.

I worked as a volunteer sous chef for a nonprofit. I enjoy cooking and want to expand my knowledge of different cuisines.

I’ve worked on many small repair and home improvement projects like painting, installing new outlets, fixing a leaky roof, cleaning and repairing siding and decks. I also have a lot of experience with light housekeeping and cleaning.

I’m good at organizing, cataloging and managing information resources and collections. (This was the primary focus of my career more recently).

In terms of “soft” skills, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time developing the introspective skills of meditation. It’s very humbling and the training never ends but integrating mindfulness into daily life and relationships is important to me. I’m very empathetic, reflective, and an excellent listener.

My undergraduate degree is in East Asian Studies and I hold a master’s degree in Library Sciences.

I have excellent English language skills and experience tutoring ESL students.

Age

47

What else ...

Meditation is a big part of my life. I feel the frenetic pace of life in America is not conducive to happiness and I'm dedicated to a contemplative lifestyle that recognizes and affirms interdependence as the natural state of the world. A healthy, happy life for me requires close contact with and sensitivity to the natural environment. I find this by hiking and exploring different biomes, overnight backpacking trips, skiing, kayaking and other wilderness adventures. Beyond recreation, I’m interested in learning more about agronomy, sustainable food production, and mitigating the loss of habitats due to human development and climate change.

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies

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  Special dietary requirements
  I prefer to not eat meat (fish is ok) but I will if it's the culturally polite thing to do.