We stayed for a long weekend in Guernsey to celebrate my birthday a week before Christmas. We met Andi waiting at table and he told us he was a trainee and had been at the hotel for 2 months.
Seeing my 'go-everywhere' little camera on the table, he offered to take our photo. Afterwards I explained my strangers' project and asked Andi if he would be in it.
He was very happy to agree and when I told him I would be posting the portrait online, he said, with a big smile, "I wanna be famous." So it was back to the room to collect my Sony a6000 plus portrait lens.
I commented that the wall lights would be a bit intrusive in the photo and Andi promptly turned them off. It was good to have the time to take a few shots.
Andi used to work in the hospitality industry at Sharm-el-Sheikh. There he learnt some Russian because many of the visitors were of that nationality. He also learnt a bit of Arabic, Italian and German.
I asked Andi if he learnt English at school in his native Romania and he said there were a few English courses but that he is mostly self-taught.
He came to Guernsey because his brother was already working there.
Andi likes drawing and painting and has drawn cartoons, and sketches for interior design as a hobby. He used to paint in oils but found he was too much of a perfectionist, sometimes taking 5 or 6 hours to finish a painting.
He told me that when in Egypt, in addition to working in a hotel, he had various other jobs, including one as a snorkelling guide. He's a big sports fan.
There is a very international mix of staff at Best Western de Havelet Hotel, all with a ready smile and so efficient.
It's great when the subject is really as enthusiastic to sit for the portrait as I am to take it!
This is my #2 submission to the Human Family Group. To view more street portraits and stories visit:
www.flickr.com/groups/thehumanfamily/ 