Nicholas

Travel information

I am currently

Activities i am interested in:

My key focus is to improve my French language speaking ability. Therefore I am hoping to find workaway opportunities in France to help with this.

Description

I have taken early retirement, following a career in automotive engineering, plus our son & daughter are now in their mid-twenties, and so my wife and I are now finding fun and interesting ways to enhance our personal development while we have this great opportunity available to us. This includes socialising, travel, cooking, hobbies, health & fitness, etc., and whilst we participate in the majority of activities together we are also taking the opportunity for individual experiences so that we continue to have new things to talk about between us.
Having been hopelessly mono-lingual all my life, excusing myself as more maths and number oriented, I now find myself with an extended French family, some of whom have limited English. Therefore I am making a concerted effort to learn to speak French and so would love to find workaway opportunities in France to help me in this endeavour.

Interests

Farming

Events & social

Culture

Technology

Self development

Carpentry

Music

History

DIY & crafts

Books

Cooking & food

Gardening

Languages

Outdoor activities

Fitness

Hiking

Cycling

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Beginner

More details about my language interests
I now have an extended French family, as my brother-in-law has a lovely French wife... who's family would love for us to visit them in La Reunion. After a lifetime of relying on everyone else that I've met and worked with to be able to speak English to me, this has provided the reason and motivation for me to make a real effort to learn to speak French. Therefore over the last year I have applied myself conscientiously to this goal and hope that I am ready to make the transition from beginner to intermediate level. Looking for opportunities to push myself further I have discovered the workaway community and would love to spend time with people in France to really immerse myself in the language.

Find a language partner

Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Charity Work

Eco Projects

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Some knowledge of:  

Light gardening

Creative DIY projects

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Helping around the house

Languages

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Able to teach about:  

Light maintenance

Helping with Computers/ Internet

More details about your skills

I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering, am a Chartered Engineer, and have been a very practical and hands-on person all of my life. This includes being good with engines, cars, bikes, horticultural and light agricultural equipment, etc.
I am competent at many types of home maintenance, including plumbing and electrics (where regulations allow), having taken care of the family home over the last 30+ years, I have also always been involved in gardening and horticulture.
Home cooking is a great pleasure and I love to create meals for friends and family to enjoy, also attempting homemade bread (/pizza) baking - with varying degrees of success.
One of my long-term hobbies has been home brewing beer, including a focus on the history and science of beer brewing, therefore the deciphering of complex chemical formulae and processing all of my brew data through spreadsheets into informative graphs is something that I am always happy to share - along with the beer itself.

Age

59

What else ...

I am a clean, tidy and conscientious person and do not wish to have any negative impact on others while seeking opportunities to have a positive impact on those around me wherever possible. I am happy to work as part of a team, or independently if required, and always wish to see any task through to completion.
A past hobby ("mid life crisis") was learning to play the drums which led to me joining a function band, playing for many parties and weddings over a 10 year period, during which time I was always a dependable member of the group.
A more recent hobby was learning to play chess to a moderate standard at my local club. When the club team was short of players for matches in the local league I got press-ganged into playing competitively, again to be a supportive member of the group, although each individual game was a challenge that I had to face alone.

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