Kara

& Joanna

Travel information

We are currently

Activities we are interested in:

Farm work, sheep, gardening, homestay, swing dancing, horses, all animals, child care, snorkeling, backpacking, outdoors adventure

Description

My wife (Joanna) and I (Kara) have a love for travel (that's how we met!) and adventure. We both love meeting new people and exploring new places. Back in our normal lives, I am a special education educator and Joanna is a nurse--but we have decided to take a hiatus to spend the summer in New Zealand!

Outside of travel, I have a passion for meeting new people and like to spend my free time swing dancing or doing community theater. Joanna is a big animal lover and spends her free time hiking, snowboarding, or playing Ultimate Frisbee. We are so excited to live and work with some cool people in a beautiful country like New Zealand!

When we traveling, we especially love taking our time in locations rather than breezing through and seeing the highlights. We both enjoy capturing our memories in art--I through water coloring and Joanna keeps sketch diaries of our travels. Meeting new people and experiencing the every-day sort of things are as much of our reason to travel as getting the views and seeing the iconic sights. This is our first Workaway experience, but we have both hosted and traveled using Couchsurfing before.

Joanna especially is hoping to work with her hands and reconnect with the land. Although she has always lived in the city, it has never felt right and is particularly excited to take on a new lifestyle. She is a hard worker, a quick learner, and handy. While she does not have advanced knowledge in these areas, she has worked in tree removal, light construction, remodeling, painting, gardening, and definitely lots of yard work. When her car needs repairs, she prefers to buy the parts and watch YouTube videos so that she can do the work herself. She is an enthusiastic worker, well loved at every job she has had, and enjoys a physical challenge. Her love of animals is surpassed by nothing else--she has hand raised kittens and squirrels, and has some experience with horses.

Kara is a lighter build but ready to help out around the garden, house, farm, or whatever might need doing. Although physical strength is not her biggest attribute, she will enthusiastically throw herself into whatever task is at hand. She is great working with people, especially kids, and has some skill in numbers and spreadsheets. She is looking forward to getting some fresh air, learning new skills, and exploring a new lifestyle.

Whatever situation we might find ourselves in, we are flexible, easygoing, and cheerful people! We are resourceful, creative, and have a strong work ethic. We would love to contribute our time, energy, and skills to your home and look forward to getting to know you and your homeland.

Interests

Languages spoken

English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent

Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

Life at a Farmstay

Hospitality/Tourism

Charity Work

Gardening

Eco Projects

Art Projects

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Some knowledge of:  

Animal Care

Helping around the house

General Maintenance

DIY and building projects

Creating/ Cooking family meals

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Able to teach about:  

Teaching

Babysitting and creative play

More details about your skills

Joanna--nursing/first aide, basic repairs, handyman type skills, cooking (Joanna has been vegetarian most of her life, so less confident cooking meat, but can google!), animal care, horseback riding (intermediate)
Kara--childcare, education, kids with special needs, art, classroom management, tutoring, math, spreadsheets

Age

26 & 29

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
  Not a requirement--but Joanna has been mostly vegetarian. Flexible while traveling, just less confident when cooking with meat