Where's Ivy? Workaway 4, Sicily.

We must be the most disappointing New Zealanders ever! Our hosts, Lorenzo and Margherita, found a sheep on the road yesterday, which they brought to us at the country house to keep an eye on. It's sad looking; sort of droopy and brown, with a big fat tail. Given we come from NZ, which has 6 sheep per head, it's surprising that neither of us knows anything about looking after them.

Anyway, we have called her 'Ivy' and as we potter around the estate, picking peaches, doing a bit of sweeping or weeding, we keep asking each other -
"Where's Ivy?" as we hope she hasn't snuffed it, or wandered off too far, or been attacked by dogs.

Other than this slightly worrying responsibility, we are loving our time here. We are learning all about modern rural life, from the inside, and a lot about wine and olive oil production. Here's a pic of Mario with our hosts, and yes, that's Mount Etna in the background.

They (Tenuta Rustica) have just released their wine called 'Sparviero' - that's sparrow hawk in English. It's a moderate tannin, bright red, pure tasting wine made from the Nerello Mascalese grape. We feel very lucky to have dropped into their lives through this Workaway, to have tasted this wine, and lived briefly on the land that produced it.

Lizzie 

Italy, again...

It's 20 years since I first visited Italy; our kids were 12, 9 and 6 years old.

My parents had emigrated from the South, to NZ, and we were keen to see what they'd chosen to leave behind, and how it had changed since their childhoods. It was fun discovering it with our own children, back in the nineties.

So, here we are again, many visits later, but planning to stay a lot longer this time. We are starting off with a quick visit to our daughter Maria's home in Rome. This will be our base between Workaway stints. My parents have passed away now, but our first two-week job is in the Basilicata region, where my Dad was born. I've been trying to brush up my Italian on Duolingo - got up to 45% so far. Now it's time for the immersion test.

With her husband Eugene, Maria runs a business called Creative English
They have 2 beautiful sons. This whole blog is really just an excuse for a proud nonno to put these photos up:

Ciao,
Lizzie's Bloke
(guest blogger)

10 Steps to Workaway

Friends have been asking how we got started. It took a bit of time and research. Workaway seemed to offer thousands of hosts, and different jobs and categories. Here's the first 10 steps we've taken...

1. Join the website. Even if you never actually travel, it can serve as a sort of 'travel porn',  where you can fantasize about lots of different countries and work experiences. It costs  $US29  to join as a single and $US38 to join as a couple: https://www.workaway.info

2. Leave your job. Why work for money when you can work in exchange for things like places to stay and things to eat? Travel can be soulless and expensive when you are just hanging out on the edges, observing other people's lives and cultures. This way you can wade in and be a part of something.

3. Write a profile. Honest and interesting, saying what you can do with some recent images of yourself looking useful. For example, painting a fence, playing your flute, pruning trees, or taking part in a meeting.

4. Start checking out possible 'hosts'. Bear the distances between jobs in mind, and the logistics of travel between them. You don't want to waste time and money zigzagging backwards and forwards between Spain and Italy, for instance.

5. Read their reviews and comments. If every second guest comments on the remote location and hard work, avoid. If a host comments about too many people leaving after only a few days, don't go there.

6. Check the timing. The site listings show which months help is needed. Also, check out what the accommodation is - it can range from a separate chalet, to a caravan, to a room in a family home, or the west wing of a castle!

7. Write your prospects a short friendly message offering your help and saying what might be relevant to their situation. If it's an animal refuge, don't bother saying you are a raging carnivore and have a fear of dogs! Just offer 1-2 weeks; if it works out well, you might be asked to stay on.

8. Sit back for a month or two and wait for the offers to come in. We sent 30 messages, and got about 20 replies, and inquiries from people who just saw our listing. It takes time to get the dates confirmed. We have nailed 7 bookings over 6 months, and we have another 7 on the reserve list, in case we have a cancellation. 

9. Choose some good sensible work clothing if you are going for physical work. The majority seem to need gardening. I want to look like I've come to help, not like a tourist.

10. Start on some prep. We are going to be at an organic orchard business, so I'm reading up about biodiversity. We are making an effort to get fitter too, running round the local park. Most of the hosts ask for about 25 hours labour per week. I want some energy left, after the olive or grape harvests, to go out and explore. 

Lizzie