How to Travel the Arab World: Workaway
By: Waverly Nohr/ Arab America Contributing Writer
While we read about the wonders, landscapes, and treasures of the Arab world, visiting the countries can seem both intimidating as well as expensive. With hotel prices, transportation costs, food expenses, as well as simply not knowing where to go within the country, traveling can seem overwhelming. Many people who are not avid travelers choose to not go the extra mile of doing extensive research to find out where to go and where to get the best prices for whatever they would be doing. Instead, they go on an easier, less hassle, less expensive trip to a more traveled part of the world. Luckily, the innovators of this generation have found ways to avoid the usual obstacles of traveling in the Arab world. In this series, a few different traveling organizations will be featured to aid you in finding a unique way to travel and making sure your trip is as authentic as possible. In this article, the organization, Workaway, will be explored.
Featuring Hosts in Egypt:
“Help out in a top rated dive centre in Dahab”
Workaway is similar to Wwoof in that it offers housing In exchange for help around the homestay. Wwoof typically only offers a place to stay at organic farms, Workaway has more range in what they ask of their guests. As an example, this host in Dahab, Egypt says “We are looking for scuba divers who can help with guest relations , social media & marketing in exchange for diving activities.”
This host asks that guests stay a month and the work that they would be doing would be assisting at their diiving resort in Dahab, Egypt. The host says, “We are looking for scuba divers who can help with guest relations , social media & marketing in exchange for diving activities.”
“Help us around the house and be part of our family in Obour city in Egypt”
Other people are hosts because they want to add guests into their family. Similar to a host family, they want you to be a part of their daily lives and want you to make yourself at home. By helping this family in Obour city in Egypt, you would be helping the youngest siblings practice their English as well as other things around the house. The host says, “We don’t have the time to practice English with my younger sister so, we need someone to practice with her (: and we also have a little turtle that we call speedy haha, and sometimes we forget to feed her so it needs to be fed. Also we got a few plants in the balcony needs some water everyday and that’s it. Plus we love food exchanging culture, so we would like you to make us a special dish, that can speak about your culture.” This host is much more interested in a language and culture exchange rather than work for housing. While this might be more involved than some are looking for, it is definitely an intriguing way to travel Egypt.
Join our farming & Art space project in Nuweiba, South Sinai, Egypt”
Following along with the trend, there is one more Workaway site to visit. The headline reads, “Join our farming & Art space project in Nuweiba, South Sinai, Egypt” There are so many niche projects you can find while using Workaway and this is one that calls for all artistic people. The host says, “At the center of our land sits this brain: a one-story building we also built ourselves where, for the past few years, we have had the pleasure to build our ever-growing community of artists and collaborators. On our porch, we’ve hosted sculptors, painters, potters, writers, filmmakers, musicians, and more.” In their quest, they’ve found fulfillment in sustainably farming and learning from artists that come to Egypt.
Workaway is a new and interesting way to explore new countries. If you choose to travel the Arab world anytime soon, think about stepping out of the shoes as just a visitor and think about putting on those of an adventurer, someone who is more immersed in the culture of Egypt as we’ve seen in this article or other countries in the Arab world.
