The Guppsters

Felipe the Russian Mexican from Canada Felipe is a PhD student working on guppy parasites. He comes down here for months at a time to work with the fish, but this time he only came for 2 weeks to collect fish to take back with him to study in Canada. He was born in Russian (where his mom is from) and moved to Mexico (where his dad is from) when he was young and stayed there through college. He then went to work on his PhD in Montreal but spends a lot of time in Trinidad. He speaks Russian and Spanish fluently, and English and French very, very well but with a Spanish/Russian accent that you can probably only imagine. He has spent a lot of time here so he knows a lot of people and good places to go. Every time he went into town I would try and go with him to meet his produce guy and such, and get to know the town better. Felipe could also do the Mr. Bean Dance spot on! He left a few days ago but it was really great to have him around and I hope to stay in touch if I ever get into parasites (Nick!?!). Captain Jack the Hunter Gatherer Jack is the tall blond Viking that was supposed to pick me up at the airport. He didn’t but he is still around helping out. It is his 4th month here and next he is heading off to Ecuador to visit some friends from when he was abroad there. We chat about that a lot. He spends most of his time talking about various fruits that are ready to be picked and about to be ripe around the house and at the field sites. He roasts coffee and makes coco from cacao. We always have bananas on hand. When he is not gathering food he is making bowls and jewelry out of coconut shells and various seeds he has collected from the forest. He is very sweet and just wants to live in simpler times, and man he would have been good at it! Reasonable Max the Cook Max is the oldest intern having been out of school for two years. He went to UC Berkley and spent a year in panama doing plant research. He now has a great mustache and worldly manner about him. He is our levelheaded old man who likes to just discuss things and go to bed early. He is the amazing cook who puts a lot of time and energy into his meals, focusing on the little details, adding things like fresh ginger to his orange juice and a hint of red wine to his stir fry. I am learning a lot about the little things that go a long way in cooking, but he gets a little intense about it. He is very smart and witty and says funny, clever things all the time. Meredith the Hoosier Lady Meredith is our only non-west-coaster and she is loud and proud about it. She is a super funny and can make great animal noises, really spot on. She is great for funky dancing, goofy outfits, and discussions of Indianan corn. This is her 3rd month, so she knows the whole process well, and she will be here till December. We get along really well and I’m glad she will be around my whole time here. Zoe the Scrippsie!!! Zoe is a sweetheart. She is very easy going, is always making things simple, and has a really refreshing honesty to her. It is really nice to have someone around who knows the same people, the same professors, and the same places and references from school. It creates a nice transitional space where we can just talk about the good old days as it were. Especially with school starting up again and thinking about not being there, its great to have someone to talk to and feel connected to. Also, we have are very scrippsie moments, and she is always there to make me feel better. Even though the group is great, there are always things people say that would not fly at the Claremonts or things that happen in town that we have a different awareness of than the others, and we can understand each others frustration with a situation. She will only be here the first month and I will miss her when she is gone. Will the Boss… Not really Will is the Field Manager so he is technically my boss but he is only 25 and prefers not to be seen as a figure of authority. He does keep things moving and in stickier situations, especially in the field, he really knows what he is doing, but the rest of the time he is really relaxed and fun to hang out with. He is very much that shy, nerdy kid from elementary school who wore dinosaur t-shirts but all grown up now. All you need is Lev Lev is the most difficult person to describe I would say. He is really into marshal arts, especially the ideological side of things. He does poi, which is the spiny firey balls that you see street performers doing sometimes, and he is teaching me with tennis balls on a string. He is very thoughtful about the things around him and loves just talking to people. He is also makes very funny faces and often says things that are really off the wall but hilarious. So that’s the group. Also, Amelia you will like to know that none of us are first children in birth order, and we are mostly last kids and an only child. Although, I shared your theory and we don’t believe it; some of us have very crazy older siblings. I will keep you filled in with turn over and such but I imagine the laid back dynamic and nerdy outdoorsy vibe will remain.