To quote from their site “Workaway.info is a site set up to promote fair exchange between budget travellers (sic), language learners or culture seekers and families, individuals or organizations who are looking for help with a range of varied and interesting activities.”
If farming is your thing, then you will want to know about WWOOF World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Both organizations offer people of all ages to avail themselves of new experiences.
Shortly after signing up with Workaway, we received dozens of requests for volunteers. At the time, my main objective was to find someone with SEO experience to assist with my three professional websites. Those who were qualified wanted a stay weeks long. Those who could accommodate a short stay had no experience in SEO. After tweaking the needs multiple times, it seemed less than likely for us there was no match made in heaven or in virtual reality.
As a last ditch effort, I changed our needs to one less arduous. I was looking for someone who had talents and expertise in Photoshop or Lightroom. With over 7,000 photos on my computer, there was a need to cull from the herd those that were salable. Once that was done, there were spots or objects that needed ‘healing’.
After receiving a request from Taylor, I knew she was the person for the job. She claimed she had the skills I needed and only wanted a short term stay. Multiple e-mails later, she appeared at our door late in the evening, but was ready for work the following morning.
Taylor endeared herself to us immediately. She is intelligent, hardworking and courageously has embarked on an around-the-world trip for one year. After careful planning, she arranged her airline ticket with over 15 stops in various points in the world. To extend her budgeted money, she has wisely involved herself in Workaway to ease the pain of paid accommodations. As it turned out, Taylor edited over 1,500 photos in her short stay with us, but more importantly, she carved a place in our hearts. We included her in a couple of special dinners held at home with friends and she joined us for beers with a group of my former students.
When it was time for Taylor to move on, next stop Istanbul, we were close to tears. Still, Taylor shared the link for her blog, so we can continue to feel close to her and her adventures. She is a good writer and has some great photos. Let me share the link with you here.
No needles, no thread, but Taylor did an incredible amount of sowing herself into the fabric of our lives.
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