The Working Traveller
Working Holiday Ideas For April And Beyond
IN THIS ISSUE=>
* Get Down To Greece For The Season
* Door Whores
* Spermcuzzi
* Greece: Entertain & Animate
* Greece: Jobs On The Sea
* Look Out For Kids In Greece
* Volunteering With Refugees In Greece
* Help Ukrainian Refugees
* Opportunities In The EU For Ukrainians
* Entertainment Jobs In Greece For Ukrainian Artists
* A Helpful Panda’s Tips For Teaching In China
* Upcoming English Immersion Programme Dates
* TEFL Internship Application Dates
* Skiworld Quick Out The Blocks For Ski Season 2022/23
* Make An Impact In Honduras
* Work For Beer In The USA & Canada
* ELF Festival
* Help Exchange Projects At The Beach
* Volunteer Work Exchanges In Cave Houses And Cave Hotels
* Two Opportunities In Palestine
* Squat The Planet
* Foreign Correspondents
* Workers Of The World
* At The End
| Chiang Mai, Thailand |
Get Down To Greece For The Season
Small year round populations, a lack of skills locally and a desire for workers that speak the language of their clientele drive the demand for seasonal workers in the Greek islands.
Chatting in passing with a cafe owner in Benitses, Corfu, even one of the editors of this newsletter was offered work as a cook. A pulse seemed to provide evidence for his suitability for the role.
Our time there was before the mother of all tourism downturns from Covid and it remains to be seen what this year will bring. Our prediction is resorts will be back to something resembling pre 2020 seasons.
Whether it’s working for a club on the strip in a party resort or a quiet expat bar showing episodes of Only Fools and Horses on a loop, most tourism jobs in Greece are best found by jumping on a plane before the season begins and going door to door.
But if you do want to find work before you go
For current recruitment adverts posted by smaller businesses in Greece, we recommend Greeka.com and Just Landed, who have a useful Greece guide including a section on work permits. The gist of which is “If you don’t qualify to live and work in Greece by birthright, family relationship or as an EEA national, obtaining a work permit may be difficult or impossible.”
Apply to tour operators
Most of the recruiting was done months ago but some jobs will be back to needing filled due to dropouts. We list many tour operators on the Tourism, Catering & Hospitality Jobs page of our directory. Wade through them.
Olympic holidays are one that devotes themself almost solely to the Hellenic world. They say they are always happy to receive a speculative CV from talented individuals who believe that they have the skills and experience necessary to join their existing teams. When we last looked they wanted a resort manager and a resort representative administrator for their overseas roles.
Become an English-Speaking Mentor and discover 7 European countries for Free
| Advert | Angloville |
Help language learners build confidence speaking English and enjoy fully-sponsored board and lodging in beautiful hotels and free city tours. Explore Malta, Greece, Hungary, Poland and the UK for 2 to 5 weeks while interacting with European language students through a series of conversations and fun-packed activities. No teaching, just conversing. Still not a qualified teacher? Become TEFL-qualified in weeks using an AngloTEFL Scholarship! Join more than 8000 people from all over the world for an Angloville experience this year. Apply now.
Door Whores
If you come from a country that holidays in Greece in decent numbers there will be resorts where the menus are in your language and the bar hoppers and club goers will prefer their own country people enticing them in.
Kos provided jobs for the working age children of some of the expats we met when we first moved to Turkey. Unable to legally work in Asia they found work a few miles away on the nearby Greek island. Other popular resorts in Greece for seasonal workers are Faliraki, on Rhodes; Malia, on Crete; and Zante, on Zakynthos, but any decent sized island popular with tourists may provide an income for the summer.
We spent our first week on Corfu in Kavos, the lairy resort at the bottom tip of the island. Most of the hiring was already done when we arrived in May but, despite the economic downturn then, we still saw plenty of jobs offered signs when we popped back to watch World Cup games in mid June. The resort has around 100 bars and restaurants, give or take, and jobs mostly consist of cooking, bar staff and Pring, also known as door whores.
One working traveller writing on their blog, Euroslacker, describes the door whore role as “generally a guy’s job. This job entails standing outside the bar and enticing passers-by to go in. There are a lot of ways to go about it and everyone has their own style. You can hustle and bustle and be very loud and aggressive which is probably the most successful, or you can just get chatting to people which will also work. It’s a fun way to spend a night, you can go out partying afterwards and you meet a lot of the revellers on the island.“
It’s not for the faint hearted though – one PR we met in Kavos mentioned he was shopping for a stun gun to defend himself when things get a little out of hand. Another was covered in bruises from a self inflicted injury after a turn in the ‘Dentist’s Chair’
Once customers are enticed in the floor whore takes over. “The life of a floor whore can be explained in one of two ways,” says Euroslacker. “The first way could be told like this; It is a dream job, you get paid to party every night. You get free drinks all night and get paid and all you have to do is dance and chat to the guys that come in. At about 3 or 4 you finish and keep on partying at other clubs.”
“An alternative way to describe it could be that – it is disgusting, these creeps come in and grope you and try stick their tongues down your throat all night. You can’t leave and the boss prefers it if you kiss them because it is good for business because he knows they will come back. It isn’t a job for everyone but some girls are in 7th heaven, if you like to party and dance and can handle a few creeps then this job is for you.”
The jobs page of Zeros Club in Zante doesn’t seem to have made the cut during their website redesign. It was put up in response to all the people going in there to seek employment and said their positions include bar staff, security, promo, PRing and glass collectors. More recently we’ve seen them using their Facebook to hire a cleaner too.
Faliraki’s DC Club were using theirs in January in search of bar women and female hostess promoters. Other years they’ve sought dancers, PRs, shot girls and the like once the season is underway.
Spermcuzzi
This season Brits working outside or inside clubs and bars will have to take their pay under the table and pretend to be regular punters should the authorities come around, but other nationals have always had it this way and done alright.
American Turner Barr visited Ios during Greece’s economic crises and reported that opportunities abounded for the English speaking party crowd - and we are including Aussies in this - though staff turnover was high due to the long hours. Australia Day is said to have become the biggest holiday such are their numbers on the island.
Turner himself tried to get around needing a work permit on Corfu by volunteering at the Pink Palace, regarded as one of the best party hostels in the world (American Dad’s Roger once spent $600 on ouzo there).
Though he didn’t get a gig as a bus boy, Turner describes the staff that worked there exuding “a sort of pleasant, yet exhausted attitude from the 12 hour work day, endless buffet of 1 euro staff cocktails, and new sex partners whose names they can’t remember daily.”
You can join the staff, though perhaps not in the spermcuzzi, by visiting https://thepinkpalace.com/jobs/. Pre Covid, the Pink Palace people got in touch with JAB in early March to say they were always looking for happy and easy going volunteers to help with getting their buildings ready for the new season: painting, cleaning, decorating, carpentry, etc. (We intended this post to go out last month until The Working Traveller got way too long, but they may still be worth a try in April).
On the same side of the island, family run Sunrock Backpackers is a better option for volunteers looking for something a bit quieter. Work is available on their organic farm or in the hostel itself through their ‘Pay Your Way’ volunteer programme.
Greece: Entertain & Animate
Greek hotels are particularly notable for making use of animators to provide entertainment for their guests. Crete’s Anastasia Hotel is just one of the many hotels on the island that does this. Their animators keep the kids amused for four hours a day and adults for another three, with Sundays off. Experience in animation for children or working in children’s clubs in hotels before is appreciated, as is experience in easy evening games like bingo, quizzes and karaoke. Agency Remarc is an agency of long standing that trains and places entertainers in partner hotels around Greece.
| Agency Remarc |
Greece: Jobs On The Sea
Greece's big selling point is the sea and numerous positions are available in, on, under, and beside it. Investing in yourself will improve career prospects and is a popular gap year choice in itself.
Numerous companies provide watersports instructor training in holiday locations, including Flying Fish, which is active in Vassiliki on the island of Lefkada. There’s a guaranteed interview with Neilson Holidays with them. Otherwise, take your RYA qualification to nearby windsurf merchants and TUI brand, Club Vass. They also take on chefs, kitchen porters, bar staff, waitresses, resort reps and kids club staff. Zeus Bar, describing itself as the god of windsurfing bars, may need bar staff too.
On the north of the island, Milas Beach Resort hire instructors, bar tenders and beach assistants to service holidaying kite boarders and windsurfers. Vassiliki is also the home of Ocean Elements, the summer arm of Alpine Elements. Several other tour operators also operate in the resort. A tourist boat based on the island, the M/S Christina, sometimes has vacancies for crew members.
Yachting
Applications to Seafarer to work as skippers and watersports instructors should be submitted in January. So, next year then. They run beach clubs on Kos and Lefkas and sailing holidays in Greece, Turkey, Croatia and Thailand. The jobs page for Island Sailing has gone but they may still be worth speculative enquiries. The recruitment for Sunsail and The Moorings is done via https://yachtsrecruitment.travelopia.com/.
RYA cruising instructors and skippers are taken on by Sail Ionian. For those that can’t sail but would still like to head out to Greece the company also hires a holiday sales advisor with good computer skills. Yacht jobs can be found with MedSailors. They provide sailing holidays for 20 to 35 year olds in Croatia, Turkey and Montenegro, as well as Greece. They have a Train to Work Programme for qualified and unqualified future MedSailors Skippers.
Look Out For Kids In Greece
Childcarers can earn for looking after the children of summer holidaymakers in Athens, Corfu, Mykonos, Kefalonia, Crete, Santorini and Rhodes. Kids in Greece look for qualified nannies, nursery nurses or primary school teachers, or those with at least two years’ experience with babies and children.
Applicants should be non smoking fluent English speakers with a warm personality and a genuine interest in children, be well organised, reliable, flexible and easy going, and have first aid training. Multi lingual hospitality trained swimmers with a clean driving licence are particularly welcomed to apply.
More information and details on how to apply can be had at www.kidsingreece.com/index.php/jobs. They began recruiting for this summer at the beginning of February but we usually see them offering work later in the calendar on their Facebook.
In the winter the people behind Kids in Greece find childcare staff for families in the Alps. Summer positions may also be found in the Portuguese Algarve.
Chambermaid In Mykonos
| Advert | Alkistis Hotel |
We are looking for experienced and energetic housekeeping staff for seasonal job in Mykonos from May to October. Each chambermaid is responsible for the cleaning of a certain number of hotel rooms and occasionally the common areas. Accommodation in double rooms, as well as breakfast and lunch are offered in the hotel. The applicants must be able to communicate in English and some Greek language knowledge is an advantage. The working hours are usually 8, sometimes 9, including weekends. Salary: 1200 € + bonus at the end of the season. Travel expenses will be covered. EU nationals only. Apply to hrcapra04@gmail.com.
Volunteering To Aid Refugees In Greece
Hopefully sometime next month we will have made it home to Turkey for the first time in nearly six years. The flights are booked but we ain’t counting no chickens.
We left for a trip to Thailand in 2016 and though we stayed there a couple of years more than planned, events both personal and global have since conspired to keep us away far longer than we could have imagined.
Lacking an onward ticket from Thailand and with a Turkish entry stamp dated five years previously our outward journey from Istanbul to Bangkok was more troublesome than usual, but nothing compared to that of people fleeing war zones around the world.
At the sort of airport office where those with far weaker passports than us - despite Brexit - are frequently called to explain themselves, we convinced emigration our residence permits are why we hadn’t overstayed in Turkey.
We then encountered problems with Thailand’s insistence on travellers holding an onward ticket, but blagged our way onto a scheduled air route by looking pitiful and promising we’d get one during our layover in Delhi.
All in all, it was a nuisance but at no point did we have to risk our lives and we can expect our home to be still standing when we finally get back. The six years away were spent either in hotel rooms or with family and we took our job and source of income with us.
As usual, we witnessed someone get shouted at by Thai immigration but departed the airport in an hour or two, free to go where we pleased and stay as long as we liked, as long as we didn’t take the piss, through a combination of visa extensions, border runs to Myanmar and visa runs to Laos.
Some of the people who left their own homes in entirely different circumstances to us depart for Europe via some of the quieter beaches in and around our town in Turkey. They risk their lives in a small boat and end up largely confined to refugee camps on Greek islands.
Survival help to refugees and other vulnerable groups is given by the organisations listed below, who are in turn helped by generous volunteers. Obviously and reasonably, any donations received by these NGOs are spent on helping refugees so all the costs related to living expenses, transport, and accommodation are usually borne by volunteers. Discounted housing may sometimes be available or help is often given with finding somewhere to live nearby.
English teachers able to commit for eight weeks are required by Samos Volunteers. Your activities probably won’t just be teaching so an open mind and a flexible approach to work are essential. A teaching qualification is not required but would be great should you have one.
Founded by Alaeddin Janid, himself a refugee from Syria, Happy Caravan was born as a street school in 2017, growing to serve hundreds of children each day with the support of a thriving network of volunteers across the world. They teach English, maths and art to vulnerable refugee children with little or no access to education.
Starfish began in 2014 as a collection of local individuals and international volunteers working together to support refugees arriving in Molyvos, Lesvos Island, with a warm welcome, food, water, dry clothes, shelter, information and access to medical support. Volunteers can help fill a variety of positions for a minimum of three months.
Volunteers help Za’atar NGO deliver a variety of services to refugees at their Orange House in Athens, the largest of which are language classes in Greek and English. Experienced teaching volunteers should ideally hold an undergraduate degree and TEFL qualifications and commit to six weeks, though longer is better. General volunteers must contribute a minimum of two weeks. Tasks include teaching languages (different from above, no experience necessary), cooking and cleaning. For the moment, teaching is online due to Covid.
Current volunteer vacancies with Second Tree, a community led, volunteer run, grassroots NGO that supports refugees across Northern Greece, include qualified teachers, general volunteers, youth programme volunteers and coordinators. Remote volunteers are required for some roles.
Volunteers from a diverse range of backgrounds including architects, engineers, civil servants, teachers, economists, lawyers, sports instructors, yoga, dance and theatre teachers, artists, musicians, photographers, medical students and doctors, and construction workers have had their skills put to good use in the Eleonas Refugee Camp in Athens by Project Elea.
More than 8,000 field workers from 70 countries have contributed to Dråpen i Havet’s activities since 2015. Present in Samos, Lesvos, Athens and northern Greece, they also operate in Bosnia and are in the early days of establishing themselves in Poland to help refugees fleeing Ukraine. Coordinators are also needed.
METAdrasi relies on the valuable support of committed volunteers in a number of activities, including teaching Greek and foreign language courses, and providing sports, dancing, and computer lessons, the safe escorting of unaccompanied minors, and administrative support.
| Samos Volunteers |
Help Ukrainian Refugees
When we added the piece above on volunteering to help refugees in Greece to our writing calendar, Ukrainians were safe in their own homes but in a short space of time the Russian invasion of their country has seen displaced people on the move in Europe reach numbers not seen since World War 2.
Western countries have quickly mobilised to offer their support on governmental, regional, and organisational levels and we expect many of you will want to pitch in too.
No doubt, as in Greece, many new small NGOs will be formed by exceptional individuals moved by the crisis but for the moment even established organisations will take a little time to set up.
At the time of writing Refugee Support was setting up an operation in Moldova on the Ukrainian border. They are accepting volunteers from May 30 for a minimum of two weeks and up to six weeks. Also try Moldova For Peace, or check here to find out if you can be of help in Poland.
Other ways to help can be found via https://ukrainewar.carrd.co/ and https://linktr.ee/razomforukraine. The latter, provided by Razom, an organisation that unites Ukrainian activists throughout the US, includes a form for volunteering with them in Ukraine.
Opportunities In The EU For Ukrainians
EU Neighbours East lists opportunities and schemes in the EU for Ukrainians. These include:
Volunteering opportunity in Finland for young Ukrainians - closes April 17.
Job opportunities in Lithuania for Ukrainian refugees - closes April 30.
Volunteering opportunity for youth participation in Italy: open to young Ukrainians - closes April 30.
SALTO Resource Centres offer jobs for refugee Ukrainian youth workers - closes April 30.
Paid traineeship for Ukrainians at the European Institute of Innovation and Technology - closes April 30.
Volunteering for renewable energy initiative in Helsinki – for candidates from Ukraine - closes April 30.
Help for refugees: volunteering opportunity in Poland for Ukrainians and Belarusians - closes April 30.
Rural Youth Festival in Romania։ volunteering opportunity for Ukrainians and Moldovans - closes July 1.
Growing together: volunteering opportunity for young Armenians and Ukrainians - closes July 21.
EU4Culture offers mobility grants for Ukrainian artists and cultural professionals - closes April 30, 2023
Entertainment Jobs In Greece For Ukrainian Artists
Agency Remarc, specialists in hotel animation entertainment in Greece and Cyprus that we have mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter, are offering their support to Ukrainian artists, art workers, entertainers, students and other hospitality job seekers forced to leave their country.
More information on the agency can be found via sunseafun.com or complete the forms below:
Help for Entertainer from Ukraine - https://forms.gle/RGhywWqwe6ZQHcXG9
Help for Hotel Staff from Ukraine - https://forms.gle/yFAQqSjdSVmh8Wxr6
A Helpful Panda’s Tips For Teaching In China
Mike Cairnduff from The Helpful Panda website got in touch to tell us that they’ve listed every recruitment agency for teaching in China. We thought he’s a helpful fella and decided we should push our luck and ask him for some tips too.
One of the agencies is Mike’s own, Hello Teacher! which specialises in placing Australians and New Zealanders in public and private schools all over China. Native English speakers from the UK, Ireland, USA and Canada can be placed too. Based in Melbourne, Australia, you can rest assured knowing you have local support with international expertise. Even if you’ve just graduated from university, they can help you find a great teaching job in China.
Though China has been sealed off to foreigners since the start of the pandemic, sooner or later the restrictions will ease and foreign experts will be welcomed back into classrooms across the country. For when they are, here are some of Mike’s tips for teaching in China:
You really do need a degree - Only dodgy schools hire teachers without a degree. The only exception is if you’re teaching in China as part of a reputable internship program. Interestingly, ABC Australia recently reported that two-thirds of the 400,000 foreigners teaching in China in 2017 were unqualified.
Beware of dodgy schools and job boards - Job boards like Dave’s ESL Café have loads of ads for teaching in China. While there are some good jobs available from reputable schools, make sure you do your research. There are plenty of teach in China scams.
Beware of dodgy agents and recruiters - Slimy agents or recruiters may receive a portion of your salary every month, without you even knowing it. Avoid these unscrupulous providers at all costs.
Over 55? China is not for you - If you’re over age 55, your chances of getting a teaching job in China are slim. Although the official limit is 60, unless you’re already working in China as a mature-age teacher, you're better off looking for a TEFL job in another country. The requirements to teach in China are getting tougher.
If you’re a non-native English speaker, expect hassles - The major, reputable teach in China recruiters (including Hello Teacher!) do not hire non-native English speakers. This is due to the strict guidelines set down by China. But as they say, where there’s a will there’s a way – you’ll still see job board ads that accept candidates who don’t meet the guidelines.
First impressions are lasting impressions - Make sure your resume is up to date and error-free. If you do get an interview, speak clearly and articulate why you would be a great teacher in China. And remember to dress well if your interview is on Zoom or Skype.
Ask lots of questions - To ensure you get the job and conditions that are right for you, ask your recruiter as many questions as possible before accepting a TEFL job offer. And once you arrive in China, ask the locals questions. The more you ask, the more you’ll discover!
Consider teaching in a third-tier city - Although he works in bustling, modern Shenzhen, British teacher Tim Robinson believes smaller cities in China are worth considering. “You can save the same on half the salary in a third-tier town and have twice the experience, but you will have to be more adventurous,” he says. You can even go one step further and teach in rural China.
More of Mike’s tips for teaching in China can be found at https://www.helloteacher.asia/blog/tips-for-teaching-english-in-china.
Upcoming English Immersion Programme Dates
Have you been talking this week but paying for your own accommodation and meals? You fool. All around Europe there are opportunities where chatting away earns a hotel room, food and drink.
English immersion programmes need native English speakers of all ages and backgrounds to help create an English speaking environment in which to immerse their students. Some organisations will welcome non native speakers, with excellent English, to help make their foreign field temporary England.
Many of the organisations listed below hold both adult and junior or teen programmes, providing a great opportunity for younger volunteers to participate too. On the opposite end of the age scale, older travellers often wish they had discovered the concept earlier and hold these programmes as one of the best ways for travellers their age to get involved in volunteering.
This isn’t teaching. It is conversation. All you have to do is talk. Teaching experience isn’t required as participants simply have to speak English on given subjects with Poles, Czechs, Spanish, Italians, Germans, Hungarians or other nationalities, helping them to overcome their fear of speaking a foreign language.
There is no need to speak the languages of the countries where these programmes are held. In fact, it is frowned upon and could get you kicked out.
The concept was pioneered in Spain where Pueblo Ingles has long been known to working travellers for using English speaking volunteers to help create a fully English speaking environment in Spain. Paired up with Spanish students all the volunteers have to do is wander the streets of the village, eat three course meals and enjoy a few glasses of wine, all the time creating an immersive experience for their partner by talking in English the whole time.
Poland is currently the hottest spot for the idea. JustSpeak, a regular Jobs Abroad Bulletin advertiser based in Poznan, explains the “idea is to bring participants from English speaking countries together with Polish individuals of all ages in a fun, relaxed learning environment. We want to stimulate conversation in a natural fashion on topics that are interesting for each individual. There will be several different activities every day including conversation sessions, group activities and games. These change every hour to keep things fresh.”
The volunteer English speakers are often called Anglos and are teamed up with a local student, business person, or anyone else that wants to improve their English skills.
It’s possible to do more than one programme. Angloville says most of their volunteers and returning volunteers sign up for three to six weeks over the summer. Free transport is provided to the hotel venue but volunteers will have to pay their own way to departure cities.
JustSpeak (Poland)
JustSpeak is an English language immersion programme based in Poznan, with the ambition to raise the level of spoken English throughout the country by way of conversational English courses.
Their courses are on the following dates:
April 30-May 4 - Adult Program
June 6-10 - Adult Program
June 11-12 - Weekend Program
July 24-30 - Junior and Youth Program
August 8-12 - Adult Program
August 14-20 - Junior and Youth Program
January 16-20, 2023 - Youth & Adult Group
January 30-February 03 - Youth & Adult Group
February 20-24 - Youth & Adult Group
Transport to the course venue leaves from Poznan for all dates.
More information: https://justspeak.pl/just-speak-english-native-speakers-info/
Angloville (Poland, Malta, Greece, Germany, France, Hungary, UK)
Angloville has grown to be the biggest provider of immersion programmes and is now active in several countries in Europe. Most of their programmes are held in Poland and Hungary but they have a selection of dates in the summer for other countries on their junior programme.
Upcoming dates:
April 24-29 (dep. from Poznan)
May 1-6 (dep. from Warsaw)
May 8-13 (dep. from Budapest)
May 8-13 (dep. from Krakow)
May 13-15 May(dep. from Budapest)
May 15-20 May (dep. from Warsaw)
May 22-27 May (dep. from Wroclaw)
All the dates above are for their adult edition. See https://angloville.com/calendar-2/ for their full event calendar up to August.
International dates in July and August (see their calendar for dates in Poland and Hungary):
July 3-12. Corfu, Greece
July 7-16. Malta
July 9-17. London
July 10-16. London
July 14-23. London
July 21-30 July. Malta
July 23-31 July. London
July 30-August 7. London
August 4-13. Malta
August 11-20. London
August 18-27. Malta
All the dates above are for their junior editions.
More information: https://angloville.com/apply/
Speak (Italy)
Speak is the first company in Italy to offer English language immersion summer camps. They offer both an adult and a teen programme. In previous years, Speak offered more dates previously but they seem to be still finding their feet after Covid.
Upcoming dates for their teen programme:
June 25-July 4. Valbonella, Emilia-Romagna
July 4-13. Valbonella, Emilia-Romagna
Speak has yet to publish dates for their adult programme.
More information: https://www.speakinitaly.com/anglos/teens
Englishhausen (Germany)
As of March 30, Englishhausen say most programs are now fully booked but there will be openings to cover cancellations, so contact them if you are interested. Courses are in Hesse unless other stated.
Their dates are April 17-22, May 8-13 (Bavaria), June 12-17, July 10-15, August 7-12, August 21-26, September 18-23, October 2-7, October 9-14 (Bavaria), November 6-11, November 13-18 (Bavaria), November 27-December 2, December 11-16.
More information: https://www.englischhausen.de/volunteers-english.html
Pueblo Ingles (Spain) and Villaggio Inglese (Italy)
Englishhausen is part of Diverbo, the same group as Pueblo Ingles, which has similar volunteer opportunities for adults and teens in Spain. Villaggio Inglese, is the Italian arm of the business, but what we assume is their page for Anglos is, oddly, in Italian only. The only exception is the words “If you are a native English speaker and you want to volunteer with us for our Italian programs please request information here: volunteers@puebloingles.com”
EnglishStay (Czech Republic)
A non profit organization in Prague, EnglishStay aim is to raise the English language literacy of Czech students by enabling them to interact with native English speakers in a multicultural exchange. Information on volunteering to give one on one conversations with their students can be found on their dedicated website at www.praguevolunteer.com.
Who’s done it?
There’s no shortage of travel bloggers who have written about their experiences and shared their reviews of volunteering on English language immersion programmes.
Terry Anzur volunteered recently in Spain with Diverbo’s Pueblo Ingles having learned about them from a Facebook group for expats in Slovenia. She enjoyed her time and suggests for those that take part this ‘free vacation’ could turn out to be a valuable life experience too.
Brittany spent her week with Pueblo Ingles in 2015, while The Professional Hobo, Nora Dunn, volunteered there in 2010. Brooke volunteered with Pueblo Ingles after a couple of weeks in Poland with Angloville.
Dani Leigh is another traveller that has tried more than one programme. Beginning with JustSpeak in Poland, she went on to take part in 16 Angloville programmes in eight venues in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Dani first heard of Angloville when she met Sherrill Madden on her first JustSpeak programme in Kwiejce. Since starting travelling in her sixties, Sherrill has participated in more than a dozen English immersion programmes in Spain, Poland - with both JustSpeak and Angloville - England, and the Czech Republic.
Jennifer Flett and Henry Lecky have also reviewed Angloville, after volunteering with them in 2019, in the Czech Republic, while Bri hooked up with Englishhausen in Germany. Silvana Clark and her husband, Alan, also volunteered with Englshhausen and in Spain with Pueblo Ingles.
TEFL Internship Application Dates
These won’t be for everybody but those thinking about teaching abroad that are a little reluctant to go on their own, arrange their own work, visas and accommodation - who maybe won’t go at all without that little extra incentive of having someone in their corner whispering encouragement - TEFL internships are a great way to get abroad long term for the first time.
The deal with these is travellers pay a fee for their internship bundle of training, guaranteed job, orientation and ongoing assistance, travel out to their destination of choice with a like minded group of people and recoup the cost of the internship with their wages. This is an inexpensive way to turn what would otherwise buy a short holiday into a much longer adventure.
Location, duration, start and application dates are given below. Check the links for more details on wages, what you get, how much it will be, and other important details.
Chiang Mai, Thailand: 5 months. Native English speaker with degree required. Apply by April 18 for Sept 22 start.
North, Northeast and Central Thailand: 4.5 months. Native English speaker with degree required. Apply by May 15 for October start.
Myanmar: 5 Months. Native English speaker. No degree. Apply by July 10 for Sept 25 start.
South Korea: 12 months. Native English speaker with degree required. Apply by June 15 for Oct/Nov start.
These internships are with Premier TEFL, with whom we have an affiliate arrangement, meaning we get a small fee, at no extra cost to you, should you sign up to one of their internships via our links. We compare several organisations which offer Thailand TEFL Teaching Internships in a post we did a while ago (so some details may not be current) whereas other choices can be found on our website. Each of the organisations mentioned there will arrange internships in other countries, not only Thailand.
Skiworld Quick Out The Blocks For Ski Season 2022/23
The end of season ski resort festival, Snowbombing 22, has barely ended but already some companies are putting out their feelers to find staff for next year. One of the quickest off the mark is Skiworld.
They want resort managers, chalet managers, chalet chefs, chalet hosts, and maintenance people to staff their operations in France and Austria. Read more at https://www.skiworld.co.uk/recruitment and follow the links for each job to apply.
One point to note though - and Skiworld are not alone in this - while we have seen them advertising their positions on more than one recruitment website in the last few days, the dates on their application forms haven’t been updated from 21/22. Ignore that.
Next month in The Working Traveller, we’ll be doing a full round up of companies that are already looking, or will soon be looking, to fill their winter roles.
| Skiworld |
Make An Impact In Honduras
Bilingual Education for Central America is seeking volunteer teachers able to stay a year for their volunteer teaching programme. BECA is a non profit organisation with three locally managed partner schools in Honduras, serving 650 children and their families every day. The schools operate at low to no financial cost to the families whose children attend.
Living expenses are covered and financial assistance may also be available. Volunteers come from different backgrounds. Some are educators, but others are recent college grads, marketing professionals, lawyers, or retired.
BECA is also currently looking for camp counsellors for their annual summer camp which provides students three weeks of games, activities, and English lessons. Counsellors are expected to contribute or fundraise $1,000 to help defray costs. We This post was going to be about the summer camp programme until we saw the cost. A reduced contribution may be available for college students with a demonstrated need.
More volunteer options in Honduras can be found in our Free or Cheap Volunteering section at https://www.jobsabroadbulletin.co.uk/free-or-cheap-volunteer-work-abroad/free-or-cheap-volunteer-work-in-honduras/.
Work For Beer In The USA & Canada
We like beer. Do you like beer? Who doesn’t like beer? Okay, one of the editors of this newsletter doesn’t like beer so we’ll chuck in some cider options here too.
For those that do like beer, the chance to earn actual beer tokens, vouchers or tickets is a perk given by many festivals to volunteers willing to pull pints for a few hours. T-shirts, cups and beer glasses are other trophies to try not to lose on your way home. Other roles can involve working the gate, distributing ice, setting up, and selling merch.
Pour the beers for three and a half hours at the fifth Portland Craft Beer Festival (July 1-3) and you can expect ten beverage tickets to redeem later at the festival. Do more shifts for more tickets.
Over 70 craft breweries, ciders, kombucha, seltzers, and wine will be on site at two events organised by Surf and Suds: one in Carpinteria State Park (Aug 13), the other at San Buenaventura State Beach on October 8.
More festivals that have roles waiting for volunteers include Elmhurst Craft Beer Fest, 15 miles out of Chicago on September 17; The Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival (June 4 & 5); and The Great American Beer Festival, in Denver (Oct 6-8).
The Oregon Brewers Festival (July 28-30) will begin accepting volunteer applications sometime in early May. Despite being held on May 7, Murphy’s Craft Beer Festival, in Texas, hadn’t opened volunteer registration when we dropped by but they can use up to 40 volunteers.
Held in mid April it is way too short notice for volunteering at the Seattle Scotch & Beer Fest, while Dallas’ original craft beer festival, the Big Texas Beer Fest, will have already been and gone by the time you read this. Check back next year for these two.
North of the border, events in Calgary, Edmonton, Banff, Jasper and Revelstoke are organised by Alberta Beer Festivals. Find volunteering info for these here. Nova Scotia’s Halifax Seaport Cider & Beerfest say they depend on an amazing crew of volunteers to make their festival happen. In Ontario, there’s the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest (Sept 23-Oct 18).
ELF Festival
Volunteer selection for this year’s Experimental Learning Forum (ELF) has begun. ELF is a volunteering project funded by the European Solidarity Corps programme which gathers volunteers from all over Europe to bring change through non formal education in the rural community of Hârja, in Bacău county, Romania.
Two teams of inspiring volunteers are needed from June 17 to August 16 or August 24 to September 30. Travel, accommodation and food are covered by Erasmus+, and there’s pocket money too.
Volunteers should be resident in Europe, aged 18 to 30, and interested in ecology, art and painting, research, social media or organization and implementation of activities with children and adults.
Applications will be open until May 10. More details from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LauJq3yPP98gciXy6DHj0hic7GJdfaKC/view.
Help Exchange Projects At The Beach
A relaxing life beside the sea awaits travellers prepared to work for it. From Thailand to the West Indies here are some places where volunteers can swap their skills for a room, beach hut or ocean view tent.
Help host volunteers at our marine turtle conservation program in Parismina, Costa Rica - Be prepared to learn all about marine turtle conservation here. Though your role will be helping day to day with the running of a busy volunteer programme, once confidence is established that you are competent with all the hosting tasks they can, if you so wish, organise for you to participate with turtle work. After volunteering you can hike, sunbathe on the beach, read a book in a hammock, play sports make friends with your co volunteers and world travellers and of course learn Spanish. Conditions are quite basic, in the surrounds of dense jungle and wildlife. If you don't like creepy crawlies or are afraid of the dark this isn't for you.
Enjoy a beautiful place in the Tropics and help make it better! Saint Lucia - A polyglot family welcomes guests to live with them near three beaches, waterfalls, and rainforest trekking trails in exchange for maintenance work, various chores, or office and computer work. The family have a website where, among other things, potential volunteers can be put in touch with Saint Lucian schools.
We are looking for an animal lover to help us with the house chores in our home/shelter in Palomino, La Guajira, Colombia - Animal lovers can help this pet hostel and shelter with daily chores in the kitchen or garden, or with feeding, washing and walking the dogs. While volunteers should be prepared to get their hands dirty and sweat a lot, the beach is only a ten minute walk away. Those with energy to spare can hike the nearby mountain and float back down the river.
Be a part of our creative Thai cooking and cocktail/wine classes while helping an animal rescue charity on a tropical island, Thailand - Junie teaches cooking and cocktail classes and puts the profits into her animal welfare charity on the island of Koh Lanta. She needs a bartender with good knowledge of both cocktails and wine to teach classes, someone with their own laptop and video editing and social media skills to help a rescue animal get adopted, and positive reenforcement animal trainer/behaviourist.
Teach Yoga in a paradise, Puerto Sandino, Nicaragua - Two hours a day teaching yoga here earns bed and breakfast. The minimum stay with this surf camp on Nicaragua’s west coast is eight weeks and a little money can be earned by giving massages.
Let's make beautiful our campsite in Akbuk Bay, Turkey - Serdar gave up his job to move by the sea where he and his family manage an eco campsite. They need a volunteer to help with the house keeping and another to help with maintenance of the camp ground, as a handyman. They are also looking for musicians, either as an individual or up to three in a group.
Volunteer Work Exchanges In Cave Houses And Cave Hotels
Compared to some other countries Turkey doesn’t have a huge range of volunteer work available. Also, volunteer work that is a genuine exchange of sweat for stay is an increasingly rare commodity in a world of paid gap year programmes.
It is also unusual for us to meet a representative from one of the volunteer programmes we promote on our website and newsletter so it was a rare treat to meet Andus Emge of the Cappadocia Academy for Art and Culture – all the more so because we stayed in his hotel, dug into the soft rock of the Cappadocia’s lunar like landscape.
It was one of the most comfortable and fun places we have ever spent the night.
We were only able to stay for five days in the Fairy Chimney Inn but perhaps one of you reading this will be able to stay much longer. Overlooking the wonderland landscape of Goreme, in the heart of Cappadocia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Fairy Chimney often looks for a volunteer not just to help out around the hotel but also to initiate and implement a small cultural project of their own choosing for the Cappadocia Academy.
Volunteers should be computer literate, able to work well with others and preferably have a basic education in the field of tourism or anthropology – though personal enthusiasm will go a long way if not. Applicants should speak English, German or Turkish and be able to oversee a small project of their own choosing from start to finish.
For more information visit the website of the Fairy Chimney Inn and take a look at the volunteer page.
One of our readers, Brandon Fralic, did exactly that. He applied for and got the position, emailing us from his cave room to tell us so, the same one we stayed in, and where Michael Palin interviewed the owner on one of his televised journeys. We told Brandon how the hotel cat gets into his room and, in exchange, he sent us a report of his experience volunteering in Cappadocia.
Should Andus no longer be hiring, or the position is currently filled, work exchange websites are your best option to find something similar. Browsing through Workaway we expected to come across several more in Turkey but instead were surprised to find that the current cave house and hotel work exchange hotspot is Spain.
Cave house experience helping with farm and horses in Granada, Spain - Though riding isn’t part of your work, this host needs a happy enthusiastic person with a passion for horses willing and able to get up in the morning with a smile. A room in a large cave house and expert instruction from a British Horse Society senior coach is yours in return for support with the horses, farm work, fencing, painting and gardening.
Help us at our cave hostel in the middle of Göreme, Turkey - After years of experience in hospitality, these two young Turkish guys decided to run their own hostel. Help them out, on reception, leading walking tours, or with other tasks and in return they would like to share their food, accommodation, experience and loads of laughs.
Remote, eco-friendly, off-grid cave house where you can share fun and happiness in Andalusia, Spain - Drink some coffee, watch the sunrise and enjoy living off grid a half hour drive from civilisation. They want house sitters year round, help in the garden, and are open to your own ideas as to why you should stay there. Minimum age limit is 22.
Craft activities, animal, plant care, natural gardening and sustainable environmental life at my cave home in Sicilia, Italy - The host here, a retired artist living a somewhat alternative lifestyle in a garden with four different caves, can teach you Italian and German, sculpture and drawing, plus how to make alternative energy.
Social and literary volunteer at cave hotel in Göreme, Cappadocia, Turkey - This beautiful cave hotel is looking for people to write for their blogs or who are good at social media marketing, making short movies and taking professional photos.
Help out a family in a cave dwelling one of the famous “troglodytes” of the Loire Valley, France - Over six years, French couple Anne and Laure restored their cave dwelling in an ecological way. They live there with their two children and want a bit of help about the place, mostly with cleaning and outside chores.
Help us out at la Cueva del Pucho - There is a sparsely furnished cave in it for you for helping in the garden and improving the property. The family’s main goal here is to keep the cave in use.
Renovating 2 old antique and cave house in Cappadocia, Turkey - This roving former couch surfer has settled down in Turkey with her boyfriend to renovate two antique Turkish houses. At the moment, your potential accommodation is described as rugged but perhaps your DIY or building skills can change this.
Come and help in a cave house in Baza, Granada - A Swiss troglodyte family with a menagerie of dogs, cats, ducks, hens, parrots and a pig are looking for help renovating their cave property. French and Spanish speaking - volunteers able to stay a month would be best.
Desert experience hiking, camping and ECO tourism in Petra, Jordan - Bedouin families used to live in caves in and around the historic and stunning Petra site until they were moved by the government into modern housing in a nearby village. Ghassad, who returned home from living in Germany, looks for volunteers to clean, feed, and herd goats in the mountains. There’s a spare room but staying in a cave is an option depending on the time of year.
Sign up to Workaway to apply for the positions listed above. Membership costs €43.00 for two years (€52 for a couple or two friends).
Two Opportunities In Palestine
We don’t see many opportunities going in Palestine but while laying out upcoming JobSpy posts on our website we noticed we have back to back Palestine scheduled.
The first is a paid position posted to Dave’s ESL Cafe for English and science teachers by Pioneers Baccalaureate School in Nablus. All teaching positions are full time, amounting to about 24 teaching hours per week (with additional time commitments for planning and school duties). Native level English fluency is required for all positions. First year teachers receive 2200 New Israeli Shekels per month and housing is covered with a shared apartment.
The second is a fully funded summer cultural exchange shared in Voluntouring.org by Logica Community Center. They are organising one month in Palestine from July 16 to August 20 for international volunteers to share their skills, exchange cultures, and help connect the local kids with the global environment.
Squat The Planet
Ultra budget travellers can save on accommodation costs by staying (briefly) in a Russian Oligarch’s mansion. A further night can usually be had in a police cell. Joking aside, Andrew Fraieli, who wrote for our website a few years ago, told us when in Ljubljana, Slovenia, a homeless guy about his age saw his backpack and brought him to a squat in the city to sleep.
While we don’t expect this is for everyone, Squat the Planet, which describes itself as a social network for misfit travellers, can help with advice on the topic. Join their community of DIY nomads and learn how to explore the world by any means necessary. Most forums are accessible by anyone but Money, Work & Food requires registration.
Foreign Correspondents
Forest Lee chats with Tim Newton, founder of The Thaiger News, on building a news media business in Thailand.
True Budget Travelling eats Sri Lankan food like a local.
Chiang Mai Burning Season 2022. Walk-About Wayne asks how bad is it?
Deep & Divya present part one of their Kashmir in winter travel guide.
Here’s 11 tips to travel to Zurich, Switzerland on a budget, courtesy of Alexis & Louis.
Maisie Craddock shares her tricks and trips for saving money when Interrailling around Europe. Check out her archives for Camp America vlogs.
Workers Of The World
Working travellers past and present share their ideas and experiences working abroad:
So you’ve scored your first job as crew on a superyacht. Holly Overton does the introductions to everyone you will meet on board.
While on a six week hiking holiday through the Greek islands J. Kathleen Thompson was convinced to do something to help refugees. She volunteered with Samos Volunteers, a grassroots humanitarian organisation on the island of Samos that has taken on the job of supplying the refugees with basic survival needs, and with Medicins Sans Frontieres.
Overseas nurses in the UK forced to pay out thousands if they want to quit jobs, reports Shanti Das for The Observer.
Irene García Felipe tells us about her hostel work exchange in Port Barton, the paradise of the Philippines.
Czech travel bloggers, Adriana & Matěj, share their New Zealand Working Holiday Visa application hack.
At The End
Machu Picchu has gone by wrong name for over 100 years. Peruvian historian and US archaeologist say the pre Columbian town was called Huayna Picchu by the Inca people.
Unable to do their usual jaunt in a jalopy to Mongolia, motor vehicle loons The Adventurists are off to Georgia instead. Monies raised go to the Disaster Emergency Committee.
James Clark reports on the desolation of Khao San Road, a backpacker ghetto without the backpackers.
While that’s a sad sight, the absence of crowds only adds to the wonder of Angkor Wat.
Thousands of young, anti war Russians are voting with their feet, fleeing to cities like Istanbul.
More than a year after it seized power and ousted Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s military has announced it plans to reopen for tourism and resume international flights on April 17, but tourists are urged to avoid the country.
Free Advertising in JAB
Reach tens of thousands of resourceful young people looking for a new challenge. We offer free and premium ways to publicise your organisation and advertise vacant jobs. We do not charge for advertising if you are offering a job abroad or certain jobs in the UK. To post your vacancies to the Jobs Abroad Bulletin website please use our form at https://www.jobsabroadbulletin.co.uk/jobpost.shtml
More information for employers is available at https://www.jobsabroadbulletin.co.uk/freeads.shtml
Red Tape
JAB is thrown together quickly on a shoestring and contains information and advertising that we believe is authentic and currently available. However, we recommend checking things out for yourselves as we could be wrong about everything. We remind our readers that there are many scams on the internet aimed at people looking for work abroad and suggest reading our Warnings, Safety and Spotting Scams pages.