Michael

& Jena

Travel information

We are currently

Description

Hello! We’re Michael and Jena, we are both from Ireland where we recently quit our career jobs to move to Spain and explore more of the world!

We currently live in Valencia and would love to experience more of Spain, Portugal and Morocco through Workaway exchanges and engaging with their local communities. As enthusiastic surfers, we would love our experiences to involve as much surfing as possible!

We're a friendly and easy-going couple who love trying new things, being in nature and making new friends. We both have a good and honest work ethic and enjoy a culture of surfing and socialising to relax.

Michael:
My career and studies have been in mechanical/energy engineering, however other jobs I’ve had throughout my life have included working on a Macadamia farm, as a machine assembler, waiter & bartender jobs, reception, a maths tutor and as a tour guide! I’m a very active person, love sports and physical activities.

Jena:
For the past several years, I’ve dedicated my career to working with children with additional needs. I find it deeply rewarding to create positive and inclusive learning environments that help children thrive. Alongside my professional experience, I have a strong passion for yoga and pilates. I love being outdoors and trying new sports and activities. I’m looking forward to contributing my skills, learning from others, and being part of an inspiring community through Workaway.

How we ended up with each other - after going to school together, we reconnected nearly 4 years ago through a mutual friend and have been together ever since!

We look forward to bringing positive attitudes to a Workaway exchange and immersing ourselves in your culture! Until then, thank you for taking the time to read our profile and we really look forward to speaking with you!

Interests

Languages

Technology

Charity work

Events & social

Vegetarian or vegan

Sustainability

Pets

Farming

Plant care

Art & design

DIY & crafts

Gardening

Drawing & painting

Animals

Fitness

Nature

Team sports

Yoga / Wellness

Beach

Adventure sports

Outdoor activities

Water sports

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate

More details about my language interests
Since moving to Spain we have been improving our Spanish and would love to continue this, but would also love to start Portugese as well! Jena has been working as an English tutor in Valencia and is TEFL qualified.

Find a language buddy

Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

Charity Work

Eco Projects

Animal Care

Life at a Farmstay

Babysitting and creative play

Helping around the house

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Some knowledge of:  

Art Projects

Teaching

Gardening

DIY and building projects

Hospitality/Tourism

General Maintenance

Helping with Computers/ Internet

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Able to teach about:  

Languages

More details about your skills

General maintenance – we have our own house back in Belfast where we do most of the DIY/handyperson stuff, painting and cleaning ourselves. Michael has worked as a general farmhand on a Macadamia farm and as a machine assembler, so has experience with tools etc. Farm working was good physical work and included tasks like cutting grass in the orchard, digging drainage trenches and fixing fences.

Hospitality – we have both worked for several years as a waiter/waitress in restaurants in Belfast, Michael also did bartender work while in Australia.

Gardening – we love doing different gardening projects in our home and maintaining these - if you like we can show you some photos of the raised beds we built and filled with wildflowers and fresh veg!

Art – Jena is a very talented artist (Michael speaking for her here) and has a great eye for interior design and décor style in buildings.

Reception/front of house – Michael worked in the front desk of a hostel in Australia and as a receptionist for a chiropractic clinic. We both place high importance on guest/customer satisfaction in our work.

Working with kids & group instructor – Jena has a lot of experience working with kids, as a nursery teacher for 5 years and then in a role specialising in kids with additional needs for 2 years. This involved organising and managing different groups of children. Michael has coached basketball teams of varying ages for the past 5 years, this has given us skills in managing a group of people doing an activity.

Teaching – Jena is currently teaching English to adults and children while in Valencia and is TEFL qualified. Michael provides tutoring in Maths and Physics to high school kids but would be happy to transfer these skills to language teaching if required!

Driving – We both have UK issued driving licenses (valid in the EU), Michael is a confident driver, has driven vans before and is happy adapting to different vehicles.

Pets – we’ve both had a variety of pets growing up, love being around dogs and having other animals about. Anything animal related we’ll take to very well!

Social media - Jena enjoys documenting our trips through photography and sharing these on social media. Creating posts and stories that capture the beautiful, fun and amazing places we have explored.

We’re adaptable people and good at figuring out tasks which we haven’t done before.

Age

30 & 28

What else ...

We are both vegetarian and have an appreciation for trying to live life in a more sustainable way. We enjoyed experimenting with growing our own vegetables in our garden, so permaculture projects appeal to us greatly as we’d love to learn more about this!

As mentioned, besides surfing we love other sports and activities like basketball, hiking, SUP, beach volleyball, racket sports, snorkelling amongst other things. I (Jena) am very interested in yoga/pilates and am currently training to be a pilates instructor!

We’re always up for trying new activities, particularly anything water related.
Between us we have travelled to Columbia, Australia, SE Asia, Western Europe and of course around Ireland. We genuinely find great interest learning about other people’s lives and cultures and believe in always keeping an open mind!

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies
  No

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  Special dietary requirements
  Vegetarian, but happy to be flexible if necessary