McKenna & Simon

United States & Germany
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Travel information

We are currently

Travelling

Our next destination:
Germany - until Sep 2026
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Description

Hello!

We are McKenna and Simon, an American/German couple who met last year while we were thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. The PCT is a 2,650mi thru-hike from the Mexican to Canadian border through CA, OR, and WA. Currently I (McKenna) am working as an English camp counselor in Germany while Simon works remotely just over the border in Austria. After this, I will go back to New Zealand for a few months to finish out my 1 year Working Holiday Visa and then will be returning to the US. Simon and I are looking to do a little bit of traveling in the US this winter and would really love to do a WorkAway somewhere along the west coast of the US.

I spent a total of 6 weeks doing WorkAway in New Zealand (1 week at one place and 5 weeks at the other) and gained a lot of experience working outdoors and for a family. Simon spent a month working on an apple orchard in Canada a few summers ago. We both have experience weeding, line trimming, planting, painting, mulching, and general cleanup. In NZ, I took complete care of 40 chickens and many baby chicks. I am an animal lover and had many different pets growing up and have worked at a farm camp in NC where some of my duties included milking a cow and feeding their farm animals.

About McKenna:
-I love organizing spaces. I have done this before as a side hustle.
-I have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
-I am a native English speaker and speak Spanish as a second language.
-I have a Master's of Natural Resources and in undergrad I studied Spanish and Outdoor Leadership.
-My hobbies include backpacking, playing the guitar, scuba diving, and traveling.
-I love spending as much time outside as possible.

About Simon:
Simon is fluent in English and German. He worked two winters at a heli-ski lodge in Canada, worked on an apple orchard for his food and accommodation, and after hiking the PCT last year, he has started a buisness working as an events manager. He is very organized and doesn't miss any details, both in his career and life outside of work. He loves to travel and stayed with me in NZ for a month living out of our van and road tripping the two main islands. He is a very hard worker and always sees a job through to the end.

Simon's hobbies include trail running and hiking, cooking, fermenting food, reading, and growing vegetables. He studied Event Management for his master's degree and spent a year learning drums after his undergraduate degree.

After this summer in Europe together (and my fall in NZ), we are looking for our next adventure together doing something meaningful and meeting other people with similar interests! Someday we would love to host WorkAwayers, but for now we are excited to be to be the Workawayer.
Interests

Videography

Self development

Culture

Languages

Gardening

Music

Outdoor activities

Nature

Farming

Camping

Mountain

Beach

Cooking & food

Animals

Adventure sports
Languages

Languages spoken
German: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent

More details about my language interests
I am interested in teaching English.

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Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:

Eco Projects

Babysitting and creative play

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Some knowledge of:

Light gardening

Animal Care

Life at a Farmstay

Able to teach about:

Teaching

Hospitality/Tourism
More details about your skills

I am very organized, punctual, and good at following directions. I have 4 summers of experience working with kids from small children up to high school. This summer 2026 I taught English to German kids at a summer camp in Bavaria.
Age

27 & 36
What else ...

I have a bachelor's degree in Spanish and a master's degree in Natural Resources with an emphasis in environmental education and science communication.
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements
  No, we eat everything.

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11 Mar 2026

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join our foodie family of ...)

I had the most wonderful five weeks working at Natalie, Chris, and Sebastian's home. What was going to be only two or three weeks somehow morphed into five, and I still felt reluctant to leave at the end of my stay (though excited to start traveling). Natalie is incredibly welcoming and kind and a deep thinker who loves to engage in deep talks. … read more She gave me some really sound advice about some things that were on my mind, and she even helped me find the van I purchased. She is a problem-solver and comes up with practical solutions for everything. I learned so much from her about life, raising hens, eating well, and even about the joys of motherhood. I looked forward to waking up and spending the first part of the day outside feeding the chickens, followed by making breakfast and a café au lait to enjoy out on their big deck every morning.

Then I would start on my tasks for the day, usually starting with giving the kitchen a good cleaning since our dinners run late and cleanup is always better in the morning time (if you ask me). These are some of the tasks I would do: make chicken food and feed chickens, move the young chicks outside during the day and then back in at night, collect eggs, hang laundry, line trimming, lawn mowing, harvest corn/tomatoes/passion fruit/hops, bottle homemade beer (Chris' project), deep clean the kitchen (this took multiple days to thoroughly clean and organize all the cupboards and pantry), organize the wood shed, make fresh fruit ice cream, make cheese, clean windows and wipe off fly dirt. There were more random little jobs too but these are the most memorable ones.

On Wednesdays is ukulele lessons in town and I went to three of them and had great fun getting out into the community and strumming along to popular songs with a room full of other "ukulelaliens."

I felt so much peace in their home and was always in good company between the three of them and their sweet (and beanie) cat Summer. Dinners are a big part of the family culture and something they pride themselves on. Chris does most of the cooking and he makes such good food that you will want to eat even when your body is telling you you're full. If you want to learn anything about cooking, Chris is eager to share his knowledge with you and tell you all about it. Conversation filled the dining room each night with stories and current events, and fun stories about previous WorkAwayers. There's not a word for it in English, but in Spanish the act of staying long after the meal is finished to keep talking is called "sobremesa." We had long sobremesas nearly every evening which I will forever look back fondly on!

Thank you three for such an incredible start to my time in your beautiful country!

(Excellent )

8 Mar 2026

Left by host (Join our foodie family of ...) for Workawayer ()

We loved hosting and getting to know McKenna. Before she arrived, her messages were very bubbly and upbeat. I initially wondered if that was just the American style of communication, but it was such a pleasant surprise to discover that she is genuinely like that in person too.

She originally came to stay for 2–3 weeks but ended up staying for … read more

(Excellent )

31 Jan 2026

Left by host (Shape my permaculture and ...) for Workawayer ()

McKenna's inherent energy was palpable as soon as I collected her from the bus and was confirmed during her week's stay. She was highly motivated to get involved and always put in the best effort that she could. She showed initiative with the tasks that she helped with and around the house, capped off by her giving her room and adjacent hallway a … read more

(Excellent )

31 Jan 2026

Left by Workawayer () for host (Shape my permaculture and ...)

This was my first WorkAway experience and I had a great week working at Mike's place. There were three of us there (four, a few nights) and it was fun getting to work alongside other WorkAwayers.
My duties included trimming canuka and manuka tree saplings, weeding, mulching, cutting down vegetation for the compost, and odd jobs like washing a car … read more

(Excellent )

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