From: Finland
Couple account
Australia
23/01/2019 - 20/02/2019
Our Story
We're a duo of friends who have known each other literally from the first day possible, so since birth. In our lifetime we've been neighbours, co-workers (twice!), roommates and travel companions in addition to being friends. This autumn we realised that the beginning of the year 2019 could perhaps be the last chance for us to travel around the world together as soon we both could be studying or tied down to other responsibilities. With this in mind Anriika took a semester off from her studies and Pihla started planning the trip. And now we're here, enthusiastic about our upcoming travel and finding places to go, see and explore! We want to see the world but also help others while doing it. Through this site, we'll also get a chance to get to know local people better and see the everyday life which regular tourists will most-likely miss on their trip to Australia.
Previous Volunteer Experience
Pihla has been in collaboration with ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) in Albania, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Vietnam. Average trip lasted 2 weeks per destination. In addition, she has been volunteering in Israel for 3 months (autumn 2017) working as a helper in Jewish hospital.
Anriika has been volunteering for an IT student association at her university as an international officer. Through this she hosted events, interpreted talks from Finnish to English and made sure that the international IT students wouldn't be forgotten. She has also volunteered as a radio host for a program called DeiPark, been a friend to a lonely grandma through an organisation called Mummon Kammari, and volunteered for ADRA Albania for two weeks. She was also an au pair in Germany for three months.
Gardening
Babysitting / child care
Elderly Companion
Cooking / shopping
Farmstay
Other
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Animal care
Helping with Tourists
Charity work
Language practice
Art project
Help with Computers / internet
Teaching
BASIC SKILLS:
babysitting, cleaning, computer skills, cooking, taking care of children
Babysitting
Both Pihla and Anriika are comfortable around babies and small children. As Anriika has two much younger siblings, she has practical everyday life knowledge of taking care of babies (she was 9 yo and 14yo when these siblings were born).
Cleaning
Anriika's and Pihla's mothers haven't spared them from good housework ethics. Pihla has worked two summers as a cleaner in a school building.
Computer skills
Since 7th grade, Anriika has been one of the students who tended to help the teachers with IT problems. Nowadays she's studying IT and has an interest especially in the field of user experience. Therefore you can ask her about many basic computer problems. She might not know everything, but she knows where to find the information.
Cooking
Anriika and Pihla have both worked at a summer camp center as kitchen helpers and in the summer 2018 both got promotored as kitchen chefs. As chefs they were in charge of making vegetarian food for approximately a 100 people per meal. Many different diets were presented at the camp center so even a yeastless, starchfree vegan wouldn't give us too much of a hard time. Especially Pihla has knowledge in preparing vegan meals. Pihla has also worked for four months as a chef in a school of 300 students and employees.
Taking Care of Dogs
Both Anriika and Pihla like animals. Pihla has a lot of experience with dogs. In her lifetime she has been around three dogs and two packs of puppies which she took care of with her family.
Taking Care of Children
Pihla and Anriika have been working as childminders on camps and for private families. They're both the oldest children from their siblings so they have been watching after the other siblings for their whole life. Pihla has one sister and Anriika has one brother and two sisters. Anriika has also experience as an au pair in a German family for three months in Berlin, Germany.
EXTRA SKILLS
baking, decluttering, handcrafts, knowledge about diabetes, photography, recycling, social media
Baking
Anriika and Pihla have both baked on their own since they were in elementary school. Pihla has especially developed this skill of hers and baked all of the cakes for her graduation party by herself. You can see one picture of those cakes in the photo album.
Decluttering
Anriika has learned about this lifestyle in her family and has started gradually adapting to this lifestyle herself. In case you need any help with the basics, she's happy to help!
Handcrafts
Knitting, crocheting and other "soft" handcrafts are skills which both Pihla and Anriika posses. In addition to those Anriika especially loves scrapbooking.
Knowledge About Diabetes
Anriika has a sibling who has had type 1 diabetes for over five years now. Despite that she hasn't lived at her parents much during this time, she has basic everyday knowledge on diabetes.
Photography
Anriika is a hobbyist photographer who has organised many photoshoots with her friends, documented one wedding and been part of a group of event photographers at her university. If she just had more time alongside with her studies, she would do much more of this beloved hobby of hers as she enjoys creative activities. Unfortunately she isn't planning to take her camera gear with her as it would be too heavy but she knows how to get proper shots with a phone from the correct angles still. If you have any interest in this skill, please mention it beforehand :)
Recycling
In Finland, many households recycle their litter. Anriika and Pihla both know the things and recycle to save the world.
Social Media
Pihla and Anriika both know how to manage Instagram and Facebook. Anriika has been previously part of a social media marketing team for a program called Teknoloikka. With the interest for photography, this makes her skills great for marketing on social media.
AND PROBABLY A FEW OTHERS WHICH WE DIDN'T REALISE TO LIST. JUST ASK AWAY IF THERE'S SOMETHING! :)
Finnish (native), English (excellent), German (Anriika conversing), Italian (Pihla conversing), Swedish (Anriika beginner)
20 & 22
Finnish
Smoker
Driver's licence
Allergies
Special dietary requirements
Vegetarian, preferably vegan. But no stress about it! :)
