pali_lina

Belarus
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Profile information

Travel information
I am currently
Travelling
My next destination:
Puerto Rico - from Feb 2024 until Apr 2024
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Description
Hello! My name is Lina (they,them)! Originally from Belarus, I have been living abroad since 2020.
Currently, I am traveling and working at the farms in Puerto Rico. I plan to spend this summer season in Alaska and I am looking for the projects I can do there!

I love nature, art, and animals! I would like to learn more about plants, especially herbs. I am excited to gain new skills in various areas. I prefer physical outdoor work over computer tasks.

I spent over a year living in an intentional community in Virginia. My work tasks included gardening, construction, hammock making, painting, cooking, and cleaning.

I love farming, being outside, connecting with nature, taking care of animals and plants.
I do yoga and practice meditation. In my free time, I enjoy going on hikes, reading books, swimming, and dancing.
Interests
Art & design
Music
Farming
Dancing
Books
Beach
Outdoor activities
Gardening
Sustainability
Hiking
Plant care
Photography
Nature
LGBTQ
Animals
Cycling
Yoga / Wellness
Languages
Languages spoken
Belarusian: Fluent
English: Fluent
Russian: Fluent
Ukrainian: Intermediate
Czech: Beginner
Spanish: Beginner
More details about my language interests
I am interested in learning Spanish. I like teaching Russian and want to offer it too.
Find a language buddy
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Eco Projects
Charity Work
Languages
Art Projects
Some knowledge of:
Babysitting and creative play
Life at a Farmstay
Helping around the house
Animal Care
Hospitality/Tourism
More details about your skills
I have been living in the countryside and doing lots of farming and gardening in the last couple of years. I like photography, taking care of animals and plants, painting and cleaning. I am experienced in childcare.
Age
23
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements

Feedback

20 Apr 2024

Left by Workawayer (pali_lina) for host (Looking for help maintaining ...)

I have had a great experience volunteering at Erick's place. My tasks included cooking, food processing, cleaning, yard work, gardening, and feeding the animals. I enjoyed joining Erick for the coconut harvest trips, exploring the western part of Puerto Rico, and learning about local fruits. He is a great host who has been constantly checking in… read more

(Excellent )

13 Apr 2024

Left by host (Looking for help maintaining ...) for Workawayer (pali_lina)

It's not goodbye, more like see you later.
That is the being Lina is, leaving such a positive attitude every single day! Full of self-care, perseverance, discipline, joyful 😊.
Lina reflects all these gifts, and many more. Lina shares all, with all! They were very polite with friends and family. Communicated with my son, gave so much care, love… read more

(Excellent )

2 Apr 2024

Left by Workawayer (pali_lina) for host (Volunteer at our non-profit ...)

I have had a mixed experience on the project. My work at the farm included weeding, pruning, planting, harvesting, egg collecting and processing, compost-related tasks, cleaning animal pens, washing microgreen trays, cooking, and house cleaning. In my time off I liked exploring the island, hitchhiking, going to the beaches, meeting locals, and… read more connecting with other volunteers. In terms of cultural exchange, there were not many opportunities at the farm since volunteers did not collaborate with local people who worked at the farm (cleaning personnel and animal caretakers).

Since Oscar was away, the farm manager represented the organization. While written communication with the manager worked out fine, I experienced a lack of effective oral communication. It is the reason why I chose to leave after 2.5 weeks instead of staying for a month as planned. After mistakenly putting eggs in dirty boxes the manager shouted at me, told me I could not collect and process eggs anymore, and walked away without letting me respond and apologize. To give another example, on my first day when I let the manager know I saw a cow between the garden beds I received a passive-aggressive response rhetorically asking me what am I going to do about the cow (it was my first day and I was not supposed to work directly with animals except for cleaning the chicken pens). As a person who practices non-violent communication receiving such a response from the manager after mentioning a work-related situation was hurtful to hear. My attempts to be accountable and trying to process misunderstandings were ignored. The conflicts would end with the manager walking away without letting me speak and hearing my perspective.

Some disagreements were related to food access on the farm. Several staples that were provided to volunteers were bought in bulk and expired in 2021-2022 (for example, oats, peanut butter, and condiments). The manager told us that stores already sell expired food on the island, however, I have not seen any expired staples in the stores myself. Non-expired food that was provided included eggs from the farm, bread, rice, beans, greens from the garden, and possibly food from the freezers upstairs. However, volunteers were not allowed to take food from the freezers. We had to ask the manager to bring the food downstairs. They explained it by saying it was needed to keep a food inventory. I felt uncomfortable reminding the manager to bring food from upstairs a few times per day for several days until finally I was told it wouldn't be brought since "there was enough food downstairs". Moreover, to take fresh produce (arugula, radish leaves, mustard leaves, a few tomatoes, and basil) from the garden we had to ask first, and if it was approved we had to weigh how much we took and let the manager know. In the middle of eating, I was asked where the food I was eating came from, meaning that if it came from the upstairs freezer or the garden I took it without asking first. As a human recovering from an eating disorder, the food system created on the farm was deeply harmful to me. Additionally, even after I got food poisoning on the farm (the same day with two other volunteers) I was denied my request to get medicine and fresh produce from the store and was told to get it at my own expense. I understand the food sovereignty on the island is poor, however, I believe this can be presented to volunteers in a humane way.

Furthermore, the farm manager kept changing the house rules and work expectations without communicating and discussing them with volunteers (for example, some dinner shifts were parts of the afternoon working shifts and some were not; the work schedule on the board said the afternoon shift lasted for 4.5 hours, in fact it was expected to be 5).
Also, one of the worth-mentioning rules of the farm is not to post content from the place on social media without it being approved first. They explain it by needing to "keep good relationships and be in a good standing with the community".

Overall, I did not feel respected and heard at the farm and I experienced a strong hierarchy between the manager and myself.

(Neutral )

28 Oct 2023

Left by Workawayer (pali_lina) for host (Gardening and general care ...)

I had a really good time staying with Christy! Me and my friend spent 4 days at Christy's working in the garden and doing some other miscellaneous projects related to art! Christy is easy-going and thoughtful!
In our free time, we went to a museum together, watched a movie, and hung out with Christy's friends! I absolutely enjoyed looking through… read more

(Excellent )

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20 Apr 2024

Left by Workawayer (pali_lina) for host (Looking for help maintaining ...)

(Excellent )

13 Apr 2024

Left by host (Looking for help maintaining ...) for Workawayer (pali_lina)

(Excellent )

2 Apr 2024

Left by Workawayer (pali_lina) for host (Volunteer at our non-profit ...)

(Neutral )

28 Oct 2023

Left by Workawayer (pali_lina) for host (Gardening and general care ...)

(Excellent )

20 Feb 2023

Left by Workawayer (pali_lina) for host (Help us with our many ongoing ...)

My time with Sandy and David was wonderful. I worked on painting the porch which was a relaxing and pleasant thing to do. The moments we shared together were truly remarkable. I felt like a part of their family from the first day. We visited a Ringing Rock place, had a Thanksgiving dinner in September, did kayaking, roasted marshmallows, and had a… read more

(Excellent )

30 Sep 2022

Left by host for Workawayer (pali_lina)

Every now and then, you are lucky enough to have a volunteer that immediately blends in with your family. Li is one of those volunteers. She is respectful and hard working, with a generous level of respect and a sly little sense of humor. Simply delightful is how we would describe her.
Li is an excellent English speaker. Her communication skills… read more

(Excellent )

10 Aug 2021

Left by host (Living with a family on a ...) for Workawayer (pali_lina)

Pali stayed at our place for about a week. We had a really good time together. She did all the work we asked for in a totally independent manner. Additionally she took care for Jonah several times. We can highly recommend hosting Pali :-)

(Excellent )

5 Jul 2021

Left by Workawayer (pali_lina) for host (Living with a family on a ...)

I spent one amazing week with Alwin, Stephanie, and their kids! They all have treated me as a part of the family.
Mostly I was weeding, picking up strawberries, sweeping a floor outside, doing babysitting and walking with the dog. Because of the way they treated me it was really pleasurable to help Alwin's family with everything they asked me. I… read more

(Excellent )

16 Jun 2021

Left by host for Workawayer (pali_lina)

Pali works structured and hard. It was a pleasure to have her around and we wish she would have stayed longer. Good luck on your future adventures Pali.

(Excellent )

5 Jun 2021

Left by Workawayer (pali_lina) for host (Come and enjoy the good vibes ...)

I spent a wonderful month in the surf camp on the island. It was an honor to be the first workawayer there:)
I could easily combine cleaning, checking in-out the guests, and preparing breakfasts with surfing, skating, and dumpster diving at my free time. During the weekdays at pre-season it was very chill at the camp:)
We always shared dinners… read more

(Excellent )

11 May 2021

Left by host (Live at a harbour and help ...) for Workawayer (pali_lina)

Pali is a lovely woman with an absolute nice energy. She is open for many things and feels good if it is good for her. She is supernice to work with and is very clear. She did her work good and with pleasure;she was doing painting, gardening and cleaning. Pali is light and I would highly recommend her.

(Excellent )

4 May 2021

Left by Workawayer (pali_lina) for host (Live at a harbour and help ...)

I spent two amazing weeks living on a boat and working at a harbor. Mostly I painted a house outside, but also, I did some house cleaning chores and a bit of gardening for 4-6 hours per day with breaks. It was a pleasure to work with Anna as well as to participate in some of her spiritual ceremonies.
Thank you very much, Anna and Jacob, for… read more

(Excellent )

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