Nicolas

Travel information

I am currently

Description

My motivation used to be: 'how can I have the greatest positive impact', which saw me on a very winding road, from International Developtment, to Sustainability, to consulting for purpose-driven organisations.

I can't pretend it hasn't been an exhausting path, committing myself to something which I had convinced myself I needed to do at a very young age, and finally getting there, only to realise that it wasn't my sweet spot, my 'zone of genius', if you will. Cue a reflective period and more soul-searching, in my 30s, after leaving the corporate life quite recently. There's a quote from Baz Luhrman in there somewhere, I'm sure of it.

All of that to say that my recent reflections have helped me to realise that my motivations come from spending time with people and helping to make a difference in their lives, alongside creative problem solving, and making music.

I love to sing, learned to play guitar to facilitate that, and love to write songs when the grey-matter allows it. More recently, I have been pushing myself out of my comfort zone to try and perform publicly, and not hiding myself from the world so much. It's exhilarating and terrifying in pretty equal measure.

Interests

Vegetarian or vegan

Cooking & food

Astronomy

Yoga / Wellness

Mountain

Hiking

Dancing

Camping

Adventure sports

Water sports

Outdoor activities

Nature

Music

History

Sustainability

Self development

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent

More details about my language interests
I absolutely love languages and etymology, but wouldn't consider myself anything of a linguist. I've some experience in Finnish, Vietnamese, and Spanish, but tend to be fascinated by languages more broadly. That said, my partner is Icelandic and has a little one who doesn't yet speak English, so learning Icelandic would be an absolute treat. Best dust off the the ol' revision cards...

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Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Eco Projects

DIY and building projects

More details about your skills

My brain is a bit of a winding maze, which I consider myself very fortunate for. My creative problem solving can be something to behold and can be applied to anything once I understand the problem moreso. I do consider my superpower to be my interpersonal skills, and absolutely love mentoring. I've built whole suits of resources for people in different stages of their career, and absolutely love seeing people evolve and change on their growth journey's.

I'm a vegetarian, and can be rather handy in the kitchen, but don't plan on that being the main focus for what I'm doing at a host's place. That said, I love to feel like part of a community, so taking it in turns and having our places is something that makes me very happy.

In the past, I've done lots of groundwork for family friends, and recently helped my brother rennovate 2 houses, meaning I can be quite handy. The renovations for both houses meant gutting the houses first and building up from the bare bones, so I'm not too shy to get involved with anything - including elements of plumbing and electrical work (moving plugs and lights, etc). Anything too in depth and I'd need a guide or spend a wee bit of time online to make sure I'm doing things the right way.

More recently, I spent time remotely project managing the construction of a new university building, and I've spent a large portion of my career advising organisations on sustainability, and their everday operations, so I know I add significant value there, if asked. With that, I'd be happy for it to be a large focus of my time, as long as it was well balanced with creative and face to face time.

Age

32

What else ...

I love adventure sports; climbing, hiking, camping, surfing, and skiing. Unfortunately, I've been out with injuries over the summer which has been a bit of a pain! No dad-joke intended...

Board games would be cool; Risk, Catan, Hero Quest - anything of that sort of nature? I'm in. That said, I'm pretty open minded and down to try anything new.

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
  Vegetarian, I'm afraid!