journeywoman

United States
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Profile information

Travel information
At home
Description
I was born in the desert of New Mexico but have spent most of my life in Los Angeles, California. I am a nomad at heart, feeling disenchanted with big city life and excited about traveling to places where I can see the night sky properly! I am looking to meet and help people in beautiful natural landscapes, learn new skills and ways of living, and share my own skills as I can.

I am an artistic, hardworking, honest woman who enjoys working with others as a team and also independently with my own focus. I am calm natured and highly value quiet time alone but I am also very cheerful and sociable. I try to adapt to whatever the situation calls for.

I studied World Arts and Cultures and Library and Information Science in school and have traveled in the US, North Africa, Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the UK.

My interests besides travel include arts and crafts, world and ancient music, being in nature, museums (natural history in particular), dance, wildlife, ancient histories, folklore, falconry, earth building, sacred spaces, star-gazing and travel photography. I am a spiritual person, also interested in meditation and various healing arts, aromatherapy and essential oils. I have been learning and practicing tai chi for over 15 years.

I love working with my hands doing creative projects. At one WorkAway I made and packaged hand made chocolate, soap, and beauty products and enjoyed every moment! I do some gardening at home and would love to learn more about caring for gardens, trees, crops, etc. I enjoy baking and welcome the chance to learn new recipes. I love animals (had a cat companion for 10+ years) and would like to learn more about animal care. I enjoy living a healthy lifestyle with fresh wholesome foods and welcome the chance to learn more about living closer to the land be it growing food or building homes.

As a traveler I have been interested for a long time in how traveler accommodations such as hostels, BnB’s, and retreat centers are run. I would like to experience helping “behind the scenes” in daily tasks in such places. At one WorkAway I helped with setup, assisting customers, and clearing away/cleaning tables of their onsite cafe and enjoyed the satisfaction of helping to ensure that things ran smoothly for customers and staff. At another WorkAway I did the changeover of bedrooms in a small Bnb. In both cases I appreciate taking responsibility for the tidiness and friendly atmosphere there and I love meeting locals and people visiting from all over the world.

I prefer to stay longer in one place so that I can learn more about the people, communities, culture, and the land where I am staying. My intention is to volunteer with a host for a minimum of one month so that there is enough time to get to know these things, to get a “feel” of my surroundings.
Interests
Mountain
Beach
Nature
Fitness
Yoga / Wellness
Hiking
Charity work
Farming
Gardening
Sustainability
Animals
Pets
Languages
Architecture
Art & design
Performing arts
Drawing & painting
DIY & crafts
Books
Movies & TV

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Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Gardening
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Life at a Farmstay
Eco Projects
Animal Care
Charity Work
Some knowledge of:
Helping around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
Art Projects
Helping with Computers/ Internet
More details about your skills
ORGANIZING
Sorting, de-cluttering, and tidying of furniture, books, kitchenware, papers and clothes. I am the person who sees a mess and gets very excited to tidy it up. For my first WorkAway host I created a detailed reference guide from my own notes on House Guidelines that we printed for future volunteers to use. At my last WorkAway I organized their Library collection.

PAINTING & DECORATING
I have painted the interior walls of my apartment multiple times over the years and have helped family and friends with their indoor paint jobs as well. I also really enjoy decorating. Feeling peaceful in a physical space is a wonderful thing to me and decorating is one way to achieve this.

PHOTOGRAPHY
I have been told that I have a “good eye” for things and this translates into the travel photography which I love taking.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL
I have a lot of experience working in libraries and museums - physically handling rare artifacts and using complex databases and spreadsheets to keep track of artifacts, art exhibitions and workflow schedules. At my last WorkAway I packaged handmade chocolate and beauty products. Both require close attention to detail and delicate handling such as cutting out and attaching tiny barcode labels to products, tying ribbon bows, piping fillings into and attaching nut decorations onto truffles, and counting out exact pieces of chocolates into packaging without transferring chocolate dust onto their bags.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner
Age
49
Nationality
American
What else ...
I am sensitive to cigarette and marijuana smoke and also synthetic fragrances (found in perfumes/colognes, etc).

I have an American driver’s license.

I think children are wonderful but I am not looking to do childminding as part of my volunteering.

I will be traveling with health coverage.

I am looking to stay with a host for a minimum of one month.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
  Most nuts (almonds are ok though)
- Special dietary requirements
  None

Feedback

23/10/2019

Left by Workawayer (Jennifer ) for host for (Help a community of ...)

I stayed at the Abbey for two months this past spring/summer and highly recommend this WorkAway. It is a beautiful and special place and I was sad to leave as I had become very attached to the people, work, and the amazing landscape there. Read BEAU's first review to get a great detailed picture of what to expect.

As for myself, I spread my… read more hours between working in the Soapery, Chocolate House, Tea House and Library (I have a library background) and enjoyed each of them. There was flexibility in the hours and schedule and the people I worked with were genuine and easy to get along with. People were patient in teaching me new tasks and I felt appreciated (and often thanked) for the work I did.

The exchange was very good - reasonable work hours for good accommodation and food. I primarily helped with the packaging of chocolate, beauty products and soap – which I loved doing. I also assisted with filling daily shop orders for these products and therefore also got to learn a bit about the business side of the work. At my request I was allowed to help in the Tea House, busing tables and helping customers (which I also loved), and got a glimpse into the running of a large café catering to visitors from all over the world. Sisters Genevieve and Aiden, Jody the Chocolatier and the staff in the Tea House are all unique, personable people that I really enjoyed getting to know. They were equally interested in getting to know me.

The area is quite isolated but it is possible to hitch or get occasional rides into the local village for a bit of supplemental food shopping, and to visit a few pubs and the local beauty salon that offers different kinds of treatments. Clifden is a bit further and makes a nice day out with some nice shops and cafes. I was able to arrange a mini vacation using my days off and easily caught a regular bus from the village on to larger cities like Dublin.

The weather varied during my stay but each day I loved getting to walk about the large estate, enjoying the beautiful views of the lake, Abbey, mountains, sheep!!, and the amazing mossy green trees and their feathered inhabitants.
My stay in the onsite dorm was good. It was mostly full during my time there at full capacity of 11 women all doing different work/volunteering onsite. The tiny kitchen got very crowded at times but we worked it out and the full house proved to be a fun and lively atmosphere that created a supportive community. Many of these women became good friends.

I have very fond and grateful memories of my time here and plan to return in the future and do another volunteering round. Do not hesitate to pursue a place here if you are interested.

(Excellent )

28/02/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Jennifer )

Jennifer is a darling human who is genuine, talented and easy to be around. I was so glad to have her in my house and in my company. She did so many wonderful things for me like organize my cabinets, my computer, my photos and she helped out in my garden. It’s so great to have workaways that have had interesting life experiences. It makes the… read more

(Excellent )

24/02/2019

Left by Workawayer (Jennifer ) for host for (Come and help us around the ...)

This is a delayed but heartfelt review for my two week stay in early December 2018. As my first WorkAway experience I was very happy with the exchange. Cynthia is a special person (with a great laugh) that I found very easy to connect with. She is a dynamo with a full schedule but she manages to happily include you in whatever is going on. From… read more

(Excellent )

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