Alex Vayakis

Alex Vayakis has spent the greater part of his life outside of the UK, primarily in France but also in Greece, Germany, and Japan. He has worked before with the team for a short while, and is currently studying for a Masters in Physics at Durham University, and will hopefully start his third year this October. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, playing computer games, daydreaming, and napping.

A Few Questions to Alex Vayakis

What motivates and inspires you?

A great motivator for me are the striking views of melded natural and human spaces around my family home, placed in the hills of Provence. Just a short walk and a dozen minutes on the hill above my home fills me with awe at the sheer diversity and beauty of the lands beneath.

I find inspiration in many places, primarily in my field of study (such as when I read on an interesting topic), as well as works of fiction and of poetry.

What are your strengths?

I have a diverse array of interests that allow me to interact with new people more easily, I am a very fast reader, I am good with my hands, and I have been told that I am very patient.

What will be the highlight of working for Go Beyond Holidays?

I hope, as it will be the first time, I will be working at Go Beyond Holidays, that the highlight will be helping those coming to Go Beyond Holidays to the best of my ability and my satisfaction. I am also looking forward to my workplace, as it will be very new to me as I have barely explored England.

Do you have any personal ambitions?

Apart from getting through my physics Masters and perhaps getting a doctorate either in physics or a related field, I have none in, apart from having a marked effect in the fields that I will work in. Aside from that, I hope to be able to live a long, useful, and fulfilling life. I would also like to one day write a book.

Finally, if you were set adrift on a desert island which three albums, three films, three books and one luxury would you take?

For music, I would bring 666 by Aphrodite’s Child, Satie: Gymnopédies, Gnossienes, Sarabandes by Erik Satie, interpreted by Håkon Austbø, and Jazz på Svenska by Jan Johansson (maybe not appropriate for the climate).

Film-wise, I would take Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and Howl’s Moving Castle and From Up on Poppy Hill, by Studio Ghibli.

My choice of books is The Knowledge: How To Rebuild Our World From Scratch by Lewis Dartnell (sadly not that useful for the situation, but a fascinating read), Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey, and Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini. (Those last two are fairly mutable as I have not read them in a while.)

Finally, my luxury item would be a boat modelled on the Austronesian camakau. (I do not know how to sail one, nor how to navigate, but I like the idea of being able to do so.)

Image of Alex Vayakis