Herve

Travel information

We are currently

Activities we are interested in:

I do gardening (for food), building work (as in building houses), teaching, cooking (vegetarian), technical advice.

Description

"Do what you love. Love what you do."
I try and apply this rule every minute of my life, whatever lemon comes at me :)

I believe in actions rather than words.
Things that make me get up in the morning:embracing new ways of life, contributing towards honest and altruistic people's goals, knowing that my contributions will be appreciated.

I am a rather down to earth guy. I have some experience with building and repairing houses, growing food, taking care of hens, cooking, teaching, building and running a business, writing software. Let's reformulate: I've done all of that in recent years and I'm still involved in doing all of that as I type.

I am a dual national (Fr, NZ). I lived in France, New Zealand, Belgium, Greece, and Norway. I currently live in Germany.

I met wonderful people, and that's the whole of my wealth. As long as I am in good health, I'd like to keep adding to this kind of wealth, by getting to know other fellow humans.

I am currently travelling with my partner, Alexandra, yoga teacher for over 20 years, conservator specialised in old buildings, and a kindred soul. She has been a workaway host for several years.

Important things for you to know:
- We like to get things done.
- We are autonomous.
- We hate waste, whichever the resource. We like to reuse discarded materials.
- I put much emphasis on functionality, durability, and efficiency, especially when there's lots to do and few hands around.
- Alexandra does all the above, with aesthetics coming first.
- We are rather altruistic.
- We want to do stuff to serve the altruistic goals other people, or for people in need of help but can't afford it.
- We do not want to be exploited. Please refrain to accept our visit if you intend to make money with the product of our work for you. That happened.
- We have great difficulties waiting for people to make decisions past the proverbial sleep on the matter.

Interests

Dancing

Writing

Yoga / Wellness

Van life

Vegetarian or vegan

Sustainability

Self development

Sailing / Boating

Politics / Social justice

Languages

Farming

History

Drawing & painting

Books

Camping

Carpentry

Charity work

Cooking & food

Astronomy

Architecture

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
German: Beginner

More details about my language interests
I have taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to French pupils, and I liked it. I write in English for business on a regular basis. I can definitely help a wide audience with getting better at English, which should always include (a) getting the information out in the order compatible with English thinking, and (b) using verbs to the fullest. I have helped adolescents and adults with learning French as a second language. French has a specific "story telling" approach to expressing things. French adjectives make up for the dearth of verbs. I am currently learning German. There is a lot of sensibility and subtlety in the way to express things in German, and very often things come from a different place from French or English. I love it.

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Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

Some knowledge of:  

Charity Work

Eco Projects

Gardening

DIY and building projects

Life at a Farmstay

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Helping around the house

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Able to teach about:  

Languages

Teaching

Helping with Computers/ Internet

More details about your skills

I studied computing (MSc, 1994) and neuroscience (PhD, 2018).
I founded a company that provided food and work to a handful of people for 12 years: I learned how to do it on the job, and tried to not do the things I didn't like from my previous employers.
Other things I learned on the jobs: DIY, building work such as timber walls, timber roof, stone + lime masonry, lime plaster, electricity, plumbing, insulation, painting, wood work, repair work all around the house.
I learned to do things with the materials around, I learned to be more patient, I learned "good enough".
I speak French and English fluently, and learned bits of Greek, German, and Norwegian to be polite but not enough to have a decent conversation.
I like sharing the knowledge I gathered in my studies and my life experience. I taught English in secondary school, some AI to Master students, software programming to a variety of people.

Age

56

What else ...

I like playing board games, mostly cooperative games (Pandemic, Flashpoint), chess, tock. And some card games.

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. Not meat'etarian nor vegan. Just in between ;)