Ryan Martin & Ioana

Travel information

We are currently

Description

Ryan:

Hi, I’m Ryan!

Despite being technically Dutch, I feel more Australian than anything else, though identity is a complicated thing for me. Having grown up across Oman, Syria, Dubai, Holland, and Australia, I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy a range of experiences so far! Almost 3 years ago I moved to Spain in search of ‘is this it?’. That’s where I met Ioana and we both felt we are the ‘this is it’ for each other.

As for my motivations and passions, I love working with and teaching children — the most meaningful work I’ve ever done has been as a guitar / music teacher, where I taught students of all ages and skill levels. This fulfilled me enormously and I would love to continue this in another capacity!

Ioana and I are currently on a sabbatical, travelling through Latin America for a year. Our intention is to really immerse in the cultures of the countries we’re visiting and we hope that’s going to be enhanced by the fact that we speak Spanish fluently.

I’d love to contribute to the local communities, learn more about the way people live, and how I can make an impact. Thanks for reading!

Ioana:

Hi, I’m Ioana!

I’m a creative and enthusiastic person and like to bring energy into everything that I’m a part of and do. My partner and I have taken a year off to travel through Latin America to immerse ourselves in different cultures, better understand various ways of life, and improve our Spanish along the way.

A core part of who I am is writing. I’ve been doing it since I was very young and for the past 3-4 years this took the shape of poetry. On top of writing and performing, I’ve worked with several schools facilitating poetry workshops, and beyond this I’ve organised dozens of creative events that involve music, poetry, and dance, experiences which have fulfilled me so much!

Another great love of mine (Ryan is, undoubtedly, number 1 😊) is working with people and guiding them to a better version of themselves, no matter how that looks like. There’s something called ‘holding the space’ (or allowing people to just be how they are while gently showing them new ways of being & learning) that I learned about 8-9 years ago and people say I’m quite good at.

I think this will allow me to easily get along with people and adapt to new cultures and ways of living, which I’m really keen to do!

Thanks for reading!

Interests

Mountain

Culture

Writing

History

Music

Books

Fitness

Nature

Events & social

Languages

Yoga / Wellness

Hiking

Cooking & food

Dancing

Cycling

Performing arts

Animals

Outdoor activities

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
Romanian: Fluent

More details about my language interests
Ryan: I was brought up bilingually (English and Dutch), and always went to schools that taught both. This gave me a sense of how different it can be to communicate in different languages (as well as to two separate families) at an early age. I learned Spanish later in life after moving to Spain, which helped me rediscover the challenges of learning a new language starting from zero, and has given me useful tools to pass this on to others! Ioana: I started learning English when I was 7 and grew up studying it so I could go abroad to university. Writing in English came naturally and now my brain is comfortably bilingual. I learned a bit of Spanish since I was in school as I used to watch telenovelas, so I picked up a lot from them. When I moved to Spain, I dedicated more time to learning and my teacher says it’s time to call myself fluent. I think writing in three different languages gives me a deeper understanding of the differences between them and I’m a bit of a ‘precious’ student - asking many questions and trying to understand things logically, which I’d like to support others with too!

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Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

Charity Work

Animal Care

House sitting

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Some knowledge of:  

Babysitting and creative play

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Helping around the house

Helping with Computers/ Internet

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Able to teach about:  

Art Projects

Languages

Teaching

More details about your skills

Ryan:
- Teaching and playing music (guitar).
- Coaching football teams.
- High proficiency in computer skills / literacy.
- Speaking three languages (English, Dutch, Spanish).

Ioana:
- Writing poetry and facilitating workshops and events in the creative space.
- Supporting people to achieve their creative goals.
- Yoga teaching.
- Speaking three languages (English, Romanian, Spanish).

Age

30 & 28

What else ...

While Ryan is a football fanatic and Ioana a cooking enthusiast, our common interests and hobbies include reading, playing card games, hiking, listening to Spanish music, and going on cultural tours/adventures.

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies

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  Special dietary requirements
  Ioana: lactose intolerant