Yoga classes, my own room in a house shared with seven other volunteers from around the world, plus bread made from scratch still warm from the oven for breakfast? Yes please! In a village so remote that Brazilians themselves haven’t even heard of, I was introduced to meditation, awareness, and an alternate way of living.

 

 

What Is Workaway?

Workaway is an international organization helping travelers volunteer without involving an expensive third-party company. I have dedicated an entire post to discussing the diversity of projects, invaluable friendships and immersion, and logistics of doing work exchanges, as well as how Workaway has earned itself a permanent role in my life story.

A helpful excerpt from the post:

“…paying to volunteer is stupid. Think about it: paying to volunteer.

With Workaway, volunteer anywhere, anytime, for free. Most jobs ask for 20-25 hours a week with weekends off. Many include lodging and meals.

I gravitate towards diversity, and Workaway is defined by it. From picking strawberries in Polynesia to making açai bowls for a kite surf shop to hand-crafting chocolate to saving wildlife to teaching orphans English to making jewelry on the shores of volcanic lakes to helping huskies in Scandinavia, the adventures are actually endless.

Linking this site to friends has changed their lives.”

 

 

Source Temple

This particular Workaway was one of the highest rated in Brazil, with spots fully booked months in advance. I was lucky to join last minute due to cancellations.

The community was a group of 30-40 adults who permanently reside in unique houses built around the property. Everyone brings their savings and works together to maintain a sustainable community. Tasks are done in the morning, a healthy lunch is served for everyone in the main house. Afternoons are for mindfulness and spirituality activities, are done in the afternoon, individually or in group classes.

In the mornings us volunteers were divided among residents who needed us to help paint, rake, cook (usually me). Every Thursday a few volunteers go to the neighboring primary school and teach a lesson with James. In our free time we hiked, or attended classes residents were holding, which included yoga, flow arts, martial arts, and meditation. Although none of us were particularly spiritual, we were all open to learning more about it. We had our own set of food and kitchen in our cozy house, The Guest House.

 

 

The Other Volunteers

Céline, France– She was always there to pamper us with coffee before we woke and did our dishes before we had the chance. Master of meditation and crêpes. She only stuck to Workaway (no Machu Picchu) and was so badass that getting arrested for standing up for the environment didn’t phase her. Voted the one we would pick to be with us if we were stranded on an island, I would never fight her. Simply put, she was the best of us.

Madhu, India– A loving 38-year-old with the spirit of a 25-year-old. With a degree in computer science, he left his career for adventures around the world, featuring months of trekking and climbing out west in the States.

Malte, Denmark- A crazy kid on his gap years before starting university this fall. He baked chocolate cakes on a Colombian coffee plantation and worked for a hostel in Sri Lanka where he surfed every day for four hours. Hilariously immature, we couldn’t handle the things he would say or keep up with what he’s onto next.

Nahuel, Argentina- Being a vegan from Argentina was almost a disbelief. He moved softly through life, and sometime pauses, in an elegant acro yoga pose. I’ve watched him add broccoli to his breakfast oats and make jam out of banana peels; he definitely leaves the smallest carbon footprint.

Parbinder, Canada– Attached to my hip, our relationship involved some serious codependency. Like me, she hopes to one day be a physician. She finished undergraduate but doesn’t want to apply to medical school until she’s done traveling, which has no end date at the moment. Gorgeous on the inside and out, I trust this girl so much. Best friend I made on my trip.

Sebastian, Germany– An introverted fellow who preferred to hike alone and knew how to make a sexy spiced oatmeal. At home he would teach vegan (he is one) yogalates where all proceeds are donated to save animals. And brush his teeth with B12 infused toothpaste.

Shing, United Kingdom– Quick to get organized and quicker to voice her opinion, she could talk to you all day about what makes a good English breakfast or her intense experience working with 50 others on a Chilean farm. We all witnessed her brief period of Brexit-induced depression. I’ll never forget the way she said “basil.”

 

Daily Journal

Day 42

Wow. Throw the fact that no one understood any of the languages I speak on top of the stress of just arriving to a new country.

I needed to arrive to Source Temple by four in the afternoon.

My bus didn’t go to the terminal, or rodovaria, that I had prepared for it to. It was also an hour late, 10am.

The walkway led to so many train, bus, and airport service options. I eyed acai bowls but cheaped out and instead asked for help at tourist info. They kinda just looked at me and handed me a pre-typed slip of paper. They seemed to have several piles of these slips for common questions.

The single sentence was surprisingly sufficient for navigating the 15 line metro system.

I realized my best shot in Brazil was to speak in Spanish, listen to the response in Portuguese, comprehend about half the numbers, and make a move.

I had another bus ride followed by a trip in a shared taxi before the public transport ends. The final 12 kilometers were by no means flat. I turned in the direction of the village and was crazy lucky to be picked up by the oldest buggy ever, taking me all the way to Source Temple.

I met everyone and we had orientation sessions. We followed James and Alice touring the complex, visualizing our home for the next two weeks.

 

Day 43

Breakfast blew away all the other mornings of eating cheap refined carbs in hostels or a couple bananas on the go. Then I painted a fence for the first time in my life. When the green ran out, I helped the kitchen.

I watched with interest as Ama mixed oats, soy sauce, onions, carrots, and kobi greens to bake as a savory oatmeal. Too much fun in the kitchen, worth every moment of the plentiful cleaning.

All the volunteers attended yoga in the afternoon.

Day 44

When the milk gets delivered its still warm from the udders.

At night, Ama delivered to our house this milk after tweaking it with cocoa, cinnamon, sugar.

 

Day 45

The bread here was like a drug. I got thirds for lunch because creamy potatoes was the perfect comfort food.

Malte was a spaz; we finished throwing together the vegan squash-carrot-passion fruit- lavender- oat cake.

“Rebirthing” didn’t have an effect on me. I saw it as a dark room full of hyperventilating people lying on their backs. I tried my best to keep it up but was so close to sleeping that Ananda actually asked me if I was, which got Parbinder laughing from across the room. Others actually felt temperature changes and paralysis in the hands, but I was plain cold.

Madhu whipped up a curry chock full of vegetables for the 15 or so who showed up to Simone’s house, named Hawaii. Harmony brought out the thickest, pinkest ice cream.

 

Day 46

Ananda let yoga in the morning. Malte and I went for a run and got Madhu to swim with us in the lake. No cases of hypothermia.

Lovely (undercooked) brownie and coffee at the cafe. We walked to pimento waterfalls and even threw in a bit of acro yoga.

 

Day 47

Couldn’t get enough of Céline’s crepes.

 

Day 48

I really like working with Ananda in the kitchen, she’s very open and lovely. Sebastian was a great pilates teacher. Then we paired up and he gave us a massage tutorial.

 

Day 49

Christian decided to cook today, so everyone showed up to eat. A party of spices for his famous Bombay potatoes.The entire kitchen looked bombed with food scraps as we wreaked havoc and eyeballed our way to perfection.

Forget eyes full of tears, I was chopping onions until my hands cramped. They were needed for everything: papaya pineapple chutney, the curry base, the yogurt sauce. An innocent beetroot, apple, carrot slaw also was then doused in homemade mayo.

 

Day 50

Cuddling is the cure to the painful cold.

 

Day 51

All I do is cook then eat then sleep. At least I cook.

 

Day 52

Parbs and I found the hidden house called Source Temple, used for multi-day meditation, and the accompanying waterfalls.

 

Day 53

The Europeans were emotional, bickering about Britain leaving the EU, and I was on the outside, watching with amusement. At the same time, the Colombian civil war had just ended.

At night the stars were incredible. From the dock on the lake I watched shooting stars.

 

Day 54

The community sangs mantras on Sunday mornings and Alice’s voice was addicting to listen to. I remember the room was so sunny and warm. I looked around to see people from all different backgrounds happy to coexist, singing with their hearts.

 

Day 55

Chocolate pancakes and hash browns, made by the American within me, were a success in the Guest House.

 

Day 56
Cleaning, strong goodbye hugs, Rio here we come!

 

 

Final Thoughts

My experience was not life-changing, but I value that I can now find moments of mindfulness in everyday life. I realized that I don’t have to pursue spirituality to apply what I learned about being aware and present to academic or social anxiety in a fast-paced world back home.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed sitting in on Sunday mantras. The effectiveness that meditation had for so many made an impression on me as well, a theme that would resurface later on my trip. As far as feedback to Source Temple, we all agreed it would be nice to rotate future volunteers through the different tasks so that we weren’t always painting, or sweeping. I was so grateful we had our own house and facilities for those nights sipping tea by the fireplace. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the different cultural backgrounds we all came from.

The Workaway isn’t an absolute must because there are so many communities and team projects out there that have caused participants to experience “persisting as love” and positive energy without involving a spirituality component. It was very cool to see how the residents lived harmoniously, but I could not live on a community so isolated with a routine life. I think the important thing is to do any Workaway with good references than to any one particular Workaway. If you’re passing through Brazil and have two weeks, definitely stop by and check it out!