Fiona

Germany
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Profile information

Travel information
I am currently
At home
Activities i am interested in:
Hiking, swimming, exploring new cities, trying restaurants or whatever else a new place has to offer! I don‘t mind changing my travel plans as well.
Description
*Currently looking for a short-term stay in between September 20th - October 6nd :)) I could use some time somewhere by the sea in Europe during my time-off from uni. Don't mind working outside or getting my hands dirty :)

Hi everyone! I'm Fiona, I'm 20 years old and from Germany. In 2022 I left my home to travel Canada as a work & travel for a year, and came back in June 2023. While my time in Canada was very much not planned through and I came there with zero ideas of what to do, I went to my first workaway in August 2022 on a horse farm close to Kamloops BC and found my love for horses there. I continued traveling from ranch to ranch for almost nine months and gained experience in riding, farm work and of course traveling and being on my own. I haven't been a horse person before and I really started doing this spontaneously, but it was the best decision I could have made. After I came back home last year I immediately started riding in my hometown, helping out in the barn and eventually did an internship as a groom since I'm riding at a reining stable. Now after some time has passend and I kind of got lost in the process of trying to figure out what to do with my life and what I want, I decided to move out and started going to university where I'm now studying information management and corporate communications. But since my passion for traveling didn't pass and I wish to see more of the world, I want to spend my time off uni in the summer traveling around Europe and once again go to different workaways and meet new people and places. I'm an open-minded person who loves to read and go out in nature.What I love about workaway is that I got to meet so many different people and see unique places that all got a place in my heart and created memories I will still talk about in fifty years. I love the exchange between cultures, but also just to see how other people live and work and exist if that makes sense. I'm a quiet person but at the same time thrive in company of people who I can have great conversations with, it just takes me a day or two to warm up completely, but I have found that traveling-Fiona has a much easier time opening up that not-traveling-Fiona. So if you are interested in having me stay with you I would love to get a message from you!
Interests
Gardening
Writing
Vegetarian or vegan
Technology
Sustainability
Self development
Politics / Social justice
Photography
Pets
Outdoor activities
Nature
Music
Movies & TV
Mountain
Languages
LGBTQ
Hiking
Fitness
Events & social
Farming
DIY & crafts
Cooking & food
Books
Beach
Animals
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
French: Beginner
More details about my language interests
This workawayer has indicated that they would be interested in sharing their language(s) or learning a new language. You can contact them directly to discuss this.
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Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Charity Work
Gardening
Hospitality/Tourism
Some knowledge of:
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Helping around the house
General Maintenance
Helping with Computers/ Internet
Languages
Able to teach about:
Life at a Farmstay
Creating/ Cooking family meals
More details about your skills
Farm work:
After working on various ranches in Canada and at the stable in Germany, I have gained a lot of experience but obviously there's still a lot more that I need to learn. I would say I'm an intermediate rider and feel comfortable in all the gaits. I'm really open to learn more and try things out and my instructor asks me to do something I haven't done before I always give it a go and see how it goes. I mucked out stables every weekend in order to pay for my riding lessons and did an internship as a show groom since my riding instructor and her husband are reining riders competing in the NRHA and train reining horses. I'm always eager to help with whatever needs to be done on a farm, even if I haven't done it before :)

Other:
In Canada I stayed at a workaway for five moths helping with cleaning out airbnb cabins and a lodge while also caring for the horses so I have some experience in that department as well. I also did a workaway where I did dog sitting and looked after my host's house while she was gone. I'm good with animals and even though I have never owned dogs I grew very familiar with them in my time in Canada. I also love to cook and bake!
If there's anyone out there with carpentry skills I would love to help with this kind of work as well and get some experience!

Work experience:
Right after I graduated school I started working in retails for a year. After I came back from Canada and finished my internship I started working for a printing company until I moved.
Age
21
What else ...
Short version of hobbies/interests again: I enjoy hiking and being in nature, cooking, baking, reading, languages, taking care of animals, DIY-projects and creative stuff in general. I also absolutely don‘t mind getting dirty or doing hard work, I‘m open to learn more if you‘re open to teach me what I need to know!
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements
  vegetarian/pescetarian (I promise I'm far from picky or complicated when it comes to food)

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2 Jun 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help our family with ...)

I spent two weeks at the farm with Gwen, Thomas, Karla, Matti and the animals and it feels like I've known them forever! They live in a beautiful area of southern Denmark which offers much space to retreat from your day to day life which was exactly what I needed. Staying with the family felt easy and light from the first moment I met everyone and… read more continued throughout my whole stay. I was integrated right into the family's day to day life and helped out with the usual barn chores as well as finishing off the roof of Thomas' workshop or doing something in the house. I got lots of chances to accompany Gwen when she went out for work or with the kids and got to see the area on the danish side as well as some of Schleswig-Holstein. I learned a ton from Gwen about horses since she has a wide knowledge about everything concerning them and it was super fun to work with her to for example train trailer-loading with sweet Jara or going for short drives or walks in the forest. One of my highlights was definitely that I got to drive the sulkie with Prins and that Gwen took me with her to a team penning clinic! Whilst working with Thomas I got to extend my at first not-really existing carpentry skills since we isolated and finished of the roof of his shop as well as installing a heat pump up there. My highlight here was finishing up the isolation under the hot roof while we listened to Taylor Swift! It was really rewarding that we finished up the project on my stay and it was super cool that Thomas let me try out everything like for example sawing and helped me when I didn't know how to continue on with something and was always patient with me. In general I learned just a lot by chatting with Thomas and Gwen since they know so much about various topics concerning their works which was super cool and helpful for my studies as well. Besides the work part we spent lots of time playing board games which I absolutely loved since I'm not used to usually playing a lot of them, but it was a lot of fun and I found a new favorite game as well :D I also got to explore Sonderborg on one day by myself which was a cool city at the sea not too far from the farm. What else can I say? My stay was really nice and refreshing from my usual uni life and I missed just being outside a lot instead of staring at screens the whole day. Doing chores, working with Gwen and Thomas, hanging out with them and the kids and playing games helped to relax and really come back home feeling just happy and refreshed. They took me in like I'm a part of the family which from a workawayers perspective really is the best you can get since it makes you feel right at home. I can totally recommend staying at the farm and I'm sure it wasn't my last time there! Love, Fiona :)

(Excellent )

21 Jun 2023

Left by host for Workawayer ()

I thoroughly enjoyed hosting Fiona recently. She is polite and hardworking. She spent many hours sanding and staining my two decks and they look professionally done! She also helped with some other painting and gardening tasks. We had lots of great dog walks and conversations over coffee. Fiona took initiative to plan some interesting activities… read more

(Excellent )

14 Jun 2023

Left by Workawayer () for host ()

Highly recommend! - I stayed with Suzanne from the end of May until mid June and I had a fantastic time in Nanaimo. The work was really nice, I helped with some things in the garden, we painted the fence and after started the project of sanding, staining and painting the front porch and back deck which kept us busy for a while and was super fun!… read more

(Excellent )

28 Apr 2023

Left by host (Help with rescue horses in ...) for Workawayer ()

Fiona was with us for 4 and a half months and helped us with taking care of our herd and also helping around the retreat center. Fiona is very responsible and has a great positive energy and work ethic. We loved having her with us and would gladly host her again! She is an asset to wherever she goes.

(Excellent )

28 Apr 2023

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help with rescue horses in ...)

Where do I begin? I stayed at Epona for almost 4 months over the winter, and came back for another two weeks in the spring, which probably says enough about how much I loved it here. The hosts Hillary and Sebastian are super nice, laid back people who care for their workers and ensure that everything works and everyone is feeling good. I came here… read more

(Excellent )

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2 Jun 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help our family with ...)

(Excellent)

21 Jun 2023

Left by host for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

14 Jun 2023

Left by Workawayer () for host ()

(Excellent)

28 Apr 2023

Left by host (Help with rescue horses in ...) for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

28 Apr 2023

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help with rescue horses in ...)

(Excellent)

7 Dec 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Work as a trail guide in ...)

Staying with Crystal and Jeff on their amazing ranch with all the lovely animals was definitely my highlight of the year! They are both the funniest and nicest people I've ever had, you get the full canadian experience with them and are treated like a part of their family. The work was never too hard or too much, even when I had my moments with… read more

(Excellent)

19 Nov 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Horse Boarding Facility in ...)

I stayed with Janet and Doug for five weeks and had a good time! They take great care of their animals and have a really nice place where you can see the best sunsets and mountain views. Janet let me have lessons with one of her students which I’m really thankful for, I learned lots about horses from her! They have the cutest dogs Trip and Sadie,… read more

(Excellent)

15 Oct 2022

Left by host (Help us around our home with ...) for Workawayer ()

Fiona stayed with us for just over a couple weeks in September & we wish she could have stayed longer! Fiona is smart, open minded and easy to teach new tasks too. She receives feedback well and aims to do her best and was an absolute pleasure to be with. Fiona is also quite funny and a joy to be around. She fit into our family like she was one of… read more

(Excellent)

27 Sep 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help us around our home with ...)

Staying with Chantelle, Mike and the kids were 2 1/2 weeks of peace, fun and just being happy. I had such a great time and always felt like a part of their family. Chantelle felt like an old friend to me and we had fun conversations, sunset drives, rides or just nice evenings watching a show together. The workload was always well organized and she… read more

(Excellent)

8 Sep 2022

Left by Workawayer () for host (Experience a small connected ...)

Staying with Barb, Brad, Laura and the grandkids was my first workaway experience and I loved it! Barb picked me up from the bus station in Kamloops and later introduced me to her two-legged and four-legged family. I was welcomed warmly and felt very comfortable. After some days of getting used to everything I didn’t feel like a stranger anymore… read more but like a friend who was visiting, and that made the experience even nicer! The family basically showed me all there is to know about farm life for someone who has never worked on a farm before. I got supervised by Barb and Echo while learning about horsecarr and being with them while cleaning out their pens or feeding. Brad and Laura teached me so much about construction and fixing stuff since there is always things to fix on a farm. I learned how to install an electric fence, how to fix a wooden fence (that I broke, ha ha), how to drive a tractor and groom an arena, how to use a prybar, how to saw branches off of trees or other basic skills that I didn’t have or never used before. Barb and Laura also showed me a lot about western riding, gave me some lessons and some of their boarders even took me out on different trail rides. The horses, goats, dogs and cats are so amazing and you will never feel alone here. It was always fun cleaning pens since I always had company from Echo, the dogs and of course the horses! If you ever want a cat in your lap for cuddling I’m sure Fitz will help (you might not even have a choice there haha). And if you want something to laugh about you just have to watch the goats Charlie and Otto for some time :)

Even though they say they don’t go out often, we did so many fun activities like exploring Kamloops, we went to the Barrier Fall Fair Rodeo, we went swimming in the Chase waterfalls and they even took me out on the boat for my 19th birthday! It felt very nice being part of this small community here since they all made sure to introduce me to their boarders so that I could make friends here! Barb and Geo also cooked delicious dinners every day and if you need inspiration for lunch you would just have to ask Geo who always has good ideas :D

The work was never too much and for me it was always fun since I tried out a lot of new things. You still have a lot of free time and get to see a lot of things! And I even got the opportunity to ride which I will always be thankful for! I’m sad to leave this place because it made me feel like I could finally experience the canadian life and extend my knowledge about so many things! I would always come back and stay for some more time :) Thank you all!

(Excellent)

8 Sep 2022

Left by host for Workawayer ()

Fiona is a wonderful young person with a smile that lights up her face, especially when she's talking about animals! Fiona is a quick learner and careful to do her jobs correctly. She is very good with the animals and never balked at the hard work involved with horse care. She advanced quickly in her riding skills and rode several different horses… read more

(Excellent)

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