Johanna

Travel information

I am currently

Description

My name is Johanna and I am 22 years old. I would describe myself as a very open-minded and quite adventurous person that is very interested in other languages and cultures. It is one of my biggest desires to discover as much of the world as possible and I have been traveling (as much as possible) since I am 18.

In the past I have volunteered in a primary school for children coming from difficult backgrounds. They were not able to participate in classes of a conventional school as they had a lot of behavioral struggles and family traumas. Our main objective was to create a save space for them where they could express themselves, learn, and integrate into social dynamics. It was a very a challenging, yet immensely rewarding time.

Besides that I was a tutor for children for a few months. Their ages ranged from 7 to 18 and I helped them with their homework, topics they did not understand and prepared them for upcoming exams and finals. The subject varied strongly and it depended on their educational needs and where they struggled. Even though working with children takes a lot of energy and sometimes mental strength yourself, they give you back a lot and I always felt like I was doing something with a ‚purpose‘.

Since the end of 2021 I have been living in Amsterdam where I started my studies of political science. After one year I took a break to travel and work (I am in the middle of that break) and to reconsider my choices regarding my future.
Now I am studying sustainability/environmental sciences in Utrecht and in the future I see myself working somewhere in environmental education, sustainable development — preferably in the field of education, food security, etc.

In Amsterdam I have worked in a hotel as a waitress, bartender, barista. I have been a cat sitter for people on vacation and I did a six-months sales internship at the company ‚BOAS‘. This company is a profit-for-non-profit, meaning all their profit coming from their sustainable online marketplace will be donated to kids‘ charities.

Right now I am working in a different hotel in a restaurant again.

This means that I have a lot of experience in customer service, working flexible hours and tasks, spotting tasks independently
I am a quick and ambitious learner, I am not afraid to ask questions and admit a mistake and I like to get things done while constantly improving the project and myself.



About my travels:

In the beginning of 2020 I spent some weeks backpacking in Asia where I had the chance to stay at two workaway-places in Myanmar. I really enjoyed that experience and realized how much I like discovering the "real" country and people living there instead of being "just" a normal tourist. Unfortunately, the pandemic put a quick end to these travels.

During the pandemic I had the chance to explore Europe and I did a workaway in Sweden (2020) where I stayed for two months. It was a vegan permaculture farm where we took care of cows and horses. Furthermore we learned about implemented sustainable agricultural practices to grow our own food. Besides that we became familiar with planning a project like that, assessing our resources, working in tune with the environment. I also learned how to make sourdough bread, took courses in building a start-up, Swedish, and more.

After that, I did a workaway in Greece (2021) where I ended up staying for four months. It was a cat shelter outside of Athens and we took in injured and demoralized cats, treated them and found them loving homes. Apart from the practical work it was a lot about raising money for the NGO, do educational work, strengthen social media presence, etc.

In 2022 I spent two months traveling in Ecuador and Colombia, exploring the countries and cultures, meeting people from all over the world and making nice experiences everyday.

At the beginning of 2023 I went to Hawai‘i for six weeks to do a workaway in a sanctuary for farm animals. We cared for a lot of sheep, geese, ducks, pigs, cats & dogs and goats. Another part of our work was taking care of the greenhouse, general maintenance of the place, trash separation, trash collection at the beach, and more.

In March & April 2023 I traveled in Mexico— I started my travels at the west coast in Puerto Vallarta and slowly made my way to San Cristobal, where I fell in love with the culture, people, landscape and character of Chiapas! In Mexico I also acquired my free diving license. In this field I would like to improve my skills.

Since then I’ve been back in Amsterdam studying and working and with some holidays in Greece, Spain and Turkey in between while trying to visit all my friends in Europe.

Interests

Languages

Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate

More details about my language interests
I can teach English (very advanced), and Spanish (basic-intermediate). Furthermore I am always interested in learning the local language

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Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

DIY and building projects

Eco Projects

Hospitality/Tourism

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Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

General Maintenance

Life at a Farmstay

Helping around the house

Animal Care

Charity Work

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Able to teach about:  

Languages

Teaching

More details about your skills

Right now, I am working in a bakery where I sell the products, interact with customers, clean a lot, organize the different work processes, etc.
I used to tutor kids, especially in English as my language skills are pretty good, mainly because I stayed some time abroad in Ireland. Besides that I volunteered in a primary school twice a week for several months where children with special behavior and a difficult background are taught. I supervised them during the lessons, did projects with them and generally was there to spend time with them.
I am also familiar with public work as I promoted and supported an organization fighting extreme poverty and sexism (especially in African countries). In addition to that I worked in a restaurant for some time as a waitress.
In Myanmar I did two workaways, one was in a monastery school where we taught children and spent time with them after class. The second one was in a Buddhist meditation centre where we learned a lot about Buddhism and did gardening/building projects.
This autumn I spent two months at a permaculture farm in Sweden where the work mainly consisted of taking care of the farm animals, helping in the kitchen and doing different (building) projects to improve the farm. Furthermore the hosts taught us a lot about the principles of permaculture, waste management, etc.
I like spending time with people and that is why I would like to work somewhere with others. Generally, I am open to different work places and tasks as I would like to make new experiences and collect new skills.

Age

22

What else ...

My interests mainly concern things like languages, cultures, history, animals.
I am very passionate about values like equality, democracy, tolerance, etc.
Also very important to me is the environment and its conservation which is why I support sustainable projects/living and principles like permaculture/organic gardening.

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
  vegan