Come join our multi-cultural, multi-lingual family in Calca, Sacred Valley, Cusco, Peru

Infos

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  Description

  Dear Women of Workaway:
  if you are further interested in who we are, descriptions of our day to day, and what our life entails down here - I invite you to scroll on down, and below the stars, you will find all that info.
  Otherwise, the following is what I (Steph) am looking for, for the months of MID-MAY -- JUNE.
  
  It is very specific, delicate, intimate, and will only be able to fit/work if the right one of you is here, available, and connects with me. Also, in my professional realm, and my experience, I trust deeply the first interactions that I share with folks from this site (or from couchsurfing). If there is a real click, I am often able to feel it from the start. Given that what I am looking for at this very special time is so intimate and so important, I will try my best to be clear and concise about what it is I will need/want for this time.
  
  I write this at having just entered into my third trimester of pregnancy. As one can see in our profile, we have two daughters already (Mila 8, Quetzalli 5+) and will welcome this fifth member of our family somewhere toward the end of APRIL-beginning of MAY. That being said - dates need to be somewhat fluid and I need to reserve the right to cancel last minute, depending on how the birth goes, and who is born (barring any sort of emergencies, etc)
  
  I am looking for someone to stay with our family in this very very intimate and important space that will be the early postpartum. Since birth is a fickle philosophy - the dates need to be flexible and reasonable. When this baby is born, Christian will take between 2-3 weeks off of work, so the nuclear family can quietly welcome this new little one, and nestle into what it means to be a family of five.
  
  I suspect, that by mid-MAY, Christian will have to go back to being present at work and the girls will need to shuffle back into their school schedule and weekly momentum, while I... continue to respect and regard the first 40days of "cuarentena" which, in this local tradition, sees that the new mama and baby stay in bed/room, rest rest rest, and slowly evolve back out into the real world. This, for me, will be something of the majority of MAY and JUNE. In this very vulnerable space - it is so deeply important that the right person comes to weave themselves into our family.
  
  Some Non-Negotiables:
  
  - a woman, travelling alone
  - age somewhere between mid20s - mid30s
  - a driver's license
  - ability to cook - and ok with cooking meats and healthy meals
  - a firm grasp on English - a confident grasp on Spanish (market shopping, understanding our girls, managing school pick up/drop offs, etc... not advanced, just confident)
  
  - a sense of humor and flow and play and creativity but also, activating, initiative, responsible, reasonable.
  (In this space, I will need to be able to trust that you can manage things without needing my guidance, and without needing me to tell you "what next". But and also.... someone who can be with the girls creatively, patiently, and lovingly as they rummage toward their new roles and new space as two older sisters - this is no trivial task....)
  - you must have a big heart, understanding of childrens' emotions and a disposition that allows for grace and space when things get slippery.
  - my two eldest daughters will need to connect with you, trust you, and like you - What experience do you have with children? What history do you have with not only child-care, but also loving children where they are at?
  
  The basic description for this short time frame will be home maintenance:
  I will be resting and tending to baby the entire time - but will need food to be cooked for breakfast and lunch.
  A bit of company for sure, and a comfortable, quiet, vulnerable, sensitive, and compassionate human who remembers to check in, ask if I need anything, and come into our family caring about helping us through this delicate space.
  Also, Christian will be around for the morning routine, and evening times. In essence, he only works four days a week, so the ideal woman is able to flow, go, groove with Christian in his parenting role and all the duties that will fall to him.
  
  so:
  - laundry will have to be taken care of
  - breakfast and lunch will need to be prepared - and cleaned up after
  - there is a seemingly constant duty of dishes, sweeping, and general tidying up.
  - small trips to the market, from time to time, and in tandem with Christian.
  - potentially needing to run the girls to school, or help pick them up - this is determined by what type of dance you and Christian will be able to create between you two.
  - also... I am one of those people that is highly clean, some would say neurotically so. It is true, that in this time I will not be out in the living room and cooking, etc.... but my expectation is that the house it up-kept and reasonably kept clean, orderly, and that you are able to stay on top of it all. Mila and Quetzal definitely participate in the home's needs and the daily duties - but of course, will often need calm reminders and healthy pushes toward working as a team.
  
  
  The other important small detail is that this be a comfortable space for you. Quiet, welcoming, kind, compassionate, vulnerable, soft, assertive, aware, initiative, open.... all a sprinkling of the tiny adjectives that feel like they belong in this sort of accompaniment. I am a doula and beside working in birth and pregnancy, I work with women providing spaces each month, following the lunar/astrological/wheel of the year calendar, where we gather together and recreate the ancestral circle of women that once existed. I am a Reiki practitioner and have provided this sort of healing service to many women in the last 3+ years. I hold in very high regard a healthy balance and recognition of feminine/masculine energies, our spiritual growth, and our vulnerable attempts to continue growing and changing even as we venture through "adulthood." (to get a better glimpse of my project and my work you can find me )
  
  We participated in couchsurfing for the entirety of our initial time together as partners, Christian and I. Two deeply experienced backpackers ourselves, we felt that it was time in our lives, in our 30s+, to open up the space we had for the new generation of travellers to come in and be welcomed. We did this until I gave birth to Quetzalli, in 2018. Since then, the few experiences we have had with our three WorkAwayers have been deeply transformative and sincere experiences.
  These three women, wove themselves seamlessly into the fabric of our family and we not only have continued to stay in contact, but with each one we continue to visit them, and be in touch with them as the family grows and their lives continue. Since this is my experience, I am certain that it can also exist this time around - and that you are out there. I trust the synchronicity of the Universe and that when things need to happen, they do.
  
  
  
  Thanking you kindly for having read through this with intention and curiosity. Please feel free to ask questions and be in touch prior to feeling like you need to dedicate yourself to something so special. I also work far better and with more ease on WHATSAPP and prefer to not always have to have the laptop as a tool. In your responses to this, those who are interested, I ask for your patience but also that you leave me your whatsapp contact - and there I can be in touch with you as soon as I work through the emails and balance life here in the last trimester with two kids on Summer Break from school.
  
  hugs, Steph
  
  
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  hello everyone! We are a family of four - with our two sweet girls (8yrs & 5+yr) Mila and Quetzalli. While we come from the States (her) and Austria (him) we have lived in Perú now for almost ten years and are going strong. Our home is an open tale - continually growing and learning, mostly from all the lessons that the girls offer, daily. We have been active hosts (also on Courchsurfing) for the last 10 years (with a break in 2018 + for the Coronas during 2020) and have grown to absolutely love this aspect of our life - our open home policiy. Offering our home to new folks, travelling spirits, and more ideas and stories, inspires us as parents and has made a profound mark on the growth of our children. The amount of experience and wonder to which Mila and Quetzal have been introduced really does inspire us, as their parents, to keep alive the organic spirit of opening our home, sharing our meals, and inviting people into our hearts.
  
  Christian and I (Steph) really love to engage in good conversation from anything in politics (especially!) to travel stories (we both were once wanderers!) or home traditions and recipes to the last good movie or concert you saw. We really felt, over the past few years of constant couchsurfers, how our home simply lit up with personalities and how it repainted our take on the day to day canvas - which has a tendency to become a bit too routine, perhaps.
  
  some specs on how we live and who we are:
  we have three kitties - Apu and Hoja and K'intu. they're cute cute cute!
  we wake up early (05hr-05h30) and typically go to bed by 21hr. - but this is totally subject to change!
  we speak fluent English, German, and Spanish... steph veut practiquer et reprendre son French !!!
  we are non-smokers
  we are usually happy to have a drink
  we are intentional about our eating - we have cut out some specific ingredients to be more conscientious consumers, and we really enjoy meal time as a space where the family can truly come together and share in cooking, serving, helping, talking about our days our gratitude and our ideas.
  we are also working hard hard hard to become greener and greener as time comes and goes - all the little ideas we come up with, we tend to try and adopt as habit
  
  Here in Calca (Sacred Valley), we have a variety of projects bubbling up in our existence:
  1) We just moved into our new adobe house in Calca (aprox 15-20 min walk to the Plaza) - there is still plenty of work, especially in the garden!
  2) Our girls have started at a new school in Huaran - a forest school.
  3) Christian has started a Coffee shop/Roaster in Calca
  4) Steph works with women in circle - energy work - healing - ceremonies // and is now pregnant and due with baby toward the beginning of MAY2024

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Projets artistiques

  Enseignement

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  Baby-sitting et jeux créatifs

  Cuisine/repas pour la famille

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  The cultures and languages and ideas that are mixed in just our house is enough to promise someone a weekend of learning! But, even on top of just our own cultures - where we both come from - seeing what that looks like when it is transplanted to a third country and culture - and furthermore, how it looks to raise children in that dynamic, is a rainbow of adventures! For instance, our 4 year old understands three languages perfectly - but almost strictly uses Spanish as her form of communication - it's cute, it's sweet, but both sets of grandparents would definitely have another opinion ;)
  
  
  And just outside of our walls, you will just be in the mountains, discover the andean culture, walk to ruins and enjoy the mild climate of the sacred valley and the special vibes here.

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  Projets impliquant des enfants

  Ce projet peut impliquer des enfants. Pour en savoir plus, consultez nos directives et conseils ici.

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  Aide

  We will be getting into summer break (mid january2022 - march2023) here in the southern hemisphere and we wanted our daughters to have something of a different experience for their summer break (from school). We made this amazing decision to do WorkAway for the first time last summer(jan2020) and LOVED our experience. We still talk about the prints these folks left on our lives (how to cook potatoes like Dominique!) and even visited our dear dear Annika in our last trip to Austria! it was really an experience that positively affected not only our family, but also our closest friends here in our community.
  
  Helping us would be with both girls in the morning hours (it gets too hot here by midday to be outside).
  Essentially - and each day can/will change some and we are super open to ideas and change and growth - the idea is that you help us for 3 - 4 hours in the morning with the girls, outside of the house. After eating breakfast in the morning (something before 08hr) the idea would be to head to the park with them - and their stuff (blanket, futbol, etc).
  
  Babysitting - pretty much that. We are open to both couples as well as individuals, we just ask that you know thy own self well enough to know if you can hang with the both of them at a park without going crazy (they are well behaved little ones, and the oldest is mostly an awesome big sister.... mostly.) We are very open to small families - while the stay would be tight, having other kids here is absolutely an option. And, we would really prefer that the girls hear as much German or English in this time, so we will be looking for native speakers in those two languages. If this profile fits you, or interests you - this could be great! When it comes to stuff around the house, our expectations are simply that you become part of the family and part of the home and help around where you see there may be a hand: in picking up extra toys, clearing the dishes from the table, washing the dishes after dinner, etc... just things that everyone does in a home to help take care of the basics.
  
  Of course, you will be taking care of our babies - so other expectations definitely involve not going out all night long during the week and displaying a certain level of common sense, respect, and that you have some experience already with taking care of children - either your own, or someone else's.
  
  GARDENING: We finished our house in April 2022 and there is still a lot to do in the garden. A passionate gardener is therefore highly welcome

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  Langues parlées

  Allemand: Courant
  Anglais: Courant
  Espagnol: Courant

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  Hébergement

  We live in an adobe home that we built between 2020-2022. The house sits on 1400 square meters of land and garden, on the side of Apu Pitusiray - a sacred mountain in the town of Calca. Just far enough away from the plaza to only hear the animals and the sound of water running through the Valley, but close enough to the plaza to walk down to the town and to the market in 15 minutes, we live in a very comfortable and beautiful setting.
  
  Being an entire house we have lots of space to live, work, sleep, escape from the daily routines, or dive into family life. Your room specifically, is set with a queen size bed, and a loft above with yet another twin bed. There are two bathrooms in the house, and one is right next to the guest room.
  
  We have a washing machine and hang our clothes outside so the wind and sun accompany the laundry process. With garden space, two patios, a hammock, chickens, and kitties... there is more than enough room to find your own little corner. Our kitchen is fully equipped and whoever stays with us is absolutely encouraged to make themselves at home and melt right into whatever the kitchen has to offer as a space to create.
  
  We see food like this:
  we are more than happy to provide breakfast for everyone. We also sit down and eat a full breakfast together in the morning - you are welcome to that. Or, you could have free range of the kitchen to create your own breakfast - oatmeal instead of eggs, eggs instead of yogurt&granola, etc. Lunch we also have every day sitting together, and you can either choose to be around and hang out with us or to be gone. We're also happy to share meal prep and really enjoy having folks eat with us or share their own recipes. But, we want you to feel free to stay and eat or leave and find your own thing.
  
  We usually have a stash of alcohol, chocolate, nuts in the house that are all on the pricey side here in Perú. While we are happy to share those things - they aren't really up for grabs whenever you fancy a cocktail or stashing away trail mix for the next 15 hour bus ride. But, in general, we are super generous and want folks to feel at home - as long as the energies are shared and respected - it can be really amicable and symbiotic staying with us!

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Un

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  Nombre d'heures attendues

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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