Week 3 - The crazies I live with

This week is focused on the people here on base. I'm a bit lazy this week, so my content is a bit limited.
(Actually, I've been preoccupied with reading The Martian, which I started reading on Wednesday.
It's damn good. I don't know if the movie is out, but if it is and you've seen it, keep it to yourself)

So I'll give some brief - my version of brief - updates on the week, then the rest will be mini-profiles about each person I live with.
Happy? Sweet.

Things that happened this week:

• I found a Pizza place in a city 2 hours away from base.
• Passed some tests.
• Failed some tests.
• 2 volunteers are leaving for home.
• Played Shooty Hoops - drained goals like Tiger Woods.
• I cut open another coconut and drank its insides.
• Went to a Filipino hospital (only an ear infection, relax Mom)
• My hospital visit cost $4
• Bought a new hard drive - Now I can store GoPro footage and steal other peoples' TV!
• Painted part of a boat.
• Ate pizza!!!!
• Miscellaneous tomfoolery.
• I got dick of the day for forgetting my chores
• Ate Pizza!!!!
• A Filipino woman called me Prince Charles. Prince is almost King.

Here's a quick little clip of my activities.

Updates:

So far I've lost 5 kilos in my 3 weeks here. 5 kilos is 11 pounds. But the scales here aren't American, so I don't know how much I trust them...
Running and diving every day is finally working off some of that extra poundage from a summer of no rugby.
Also I can't snack 24/7 here, which is cruel and unusual punishment, but it has its upside.

I've managed to get an ear infection so I'm out of the water for about 5 days. Which means lots of reading and pretending to blog.
 (The team here has been nagging me constantly about getting my blog up this week because they know they're featured in it. So the way I get them to leave me alone is to pretend I'm working on the blog)

This week's activities were once again dedicated to further training in coral/fish identification. I'm slowly progressing. Slowly.

It's not a good thing if everyone cheers when you pass a test.
When I finally pass a test on the first try:

Bossman: "Hey Travis, after your test retake, mind helping us paint the boat?"
Me: "I passed the fish test on the first attempt. I'm done"
Bossman: What?? Seriously?
Me: Yeah
Bossman: Hang on, are you being serious right now?
Me: Yeah..
Bossman: Wow!
All the while, the entire porch is laughing at me.


Lessons Learned:

• The Purge is a terrible movie.
• Filipino buses are not made for American men, especially not American men with large backpacks.
• 800mb of data a day is not enough to properly watch the Rugby World Cup.
• I'm not great at painting boats.
• Orange soda is better in the US
• Filipino hospitals are nothing like US hospitals
• Marine Biology is still hard
• Pizza is even more incredible when you've been craving it for 3 weeks.

So, this week is about the people I'm surrounded by. A group of us came up with some questions to ask everyone, and then we proceeded with the asking of the questions.


Questions I asked:
1. Where are you from?
2. Why did you come here?
3. Favorite color?
4. What do you think of Hogs?
5. What do you miss most about home?
6. Favorite Sea Creature?
7. Who is the most annoying person on base?
8. What are your thoughts on watery oatmeal?
9. Favorite part of living on base? (Besides diving)
10. Should Travis shave his beard?

My favorite part of these little interviews was question #4 asking everyone's opinion of Hogs. They don't know the real meaning, so the answers are pretty hilarious. Have a read.


Tine:
1. Where are you from: Greifswald, Germany
2. Why did you come here: To gain some practical skills alongside my studies
3. Favorite color: Green
4. What do you think of Hogs: Cute
5. What do you miss most about home: Body contact, with my friends. Everything included.
6. Favorite Sea Creature: I like the feather stars, because they come out and walk at night
7. Who is the most annoying person on base: Zack
8. What are your thoughts on watery oatmeal: I like it. I prefer it with milk, but water is ok.
9. Favorite part of living on base? (Besides diving): Sunsets and Saturdays
10. Should Travis shave his beard: No. No way.

Tine is one of our two Germans. She is very passionate about conservation efforts, and makes a significant effort to only buy orgainc/biodegradable products and such. She's also a vegetarian, and is the only vegetarian on base who REALLY sticks to her code.  She is quite generous and really enjoys helping people. She has helped me on my chores more than once, and never says a word about it.


Alvin:
1. Where are you from: Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte, Philippines.
2. Why did you come here: First for my future career, and marine biology needs diving. And for the fishing department.
3. Favorite Color: White
4. Opinion on Hogs: Big and yummy, delicious.
5. What you miss about home: I miss my dog.
6. Favorite sea creature: Barracuda
7. Most annoying person: You!
8. Thoughts on watery oatmeal: I never eat it.
9. Favorite part of living on base: Saturday night - for the karaoke and the drinks.
10.Should Travis shave: No, it's nice.

Alvin is one of our two Filipino students here on a scholarship paid for by our organization. He's a bit quiet. but when he decides to speak, he can be quite funny. I also like Alvin
because he and I are the farthest behind in the science training, so I always have a buddy to comisserate with. We are simply taking our time and
REALLY learning the material. Alvin also taught me how to say "breakfast" in Visayan - the local dialect - which is pronounced "Mama-how," which sounds a lot like
Mama Haugen. Mom and breakfast. I always knew there was a link.


Janvie:
1. Where are you from: Malitbog, Southern Leyte, Philippines.
2. Why are you here: For the scholarship.
3. Favorite color: Blue
4. Opinion of Hogs: They're slutty.
5. What do you miss about home: My bed.
6. Favorite Sea Creature: Sharks. I really like sharks.
7. Most annoying person: Travis!
8. Watery Oatmeal: I don't like it. Like, I don't like it.
9. Favorite part of base life: Food. I like the food. Except breakfast.
10. Should Travis shave: Definitely not.

Janvie is the second of our Filipino scholarship guys, and he's even quieter than Alvin. However, after finding out he thinks I'm the most annoying person on base,
it's quite possible he's just quiet around me because he doesn't like me. Not to fear. I will win him over with my goofy boyish charm and winning smile.
(A certain Seinfeld episode comes to mind.)
If not, he leaves in a week, so I'm sure I'll get by if I can't win him over.
Janvie is quite clever and has been passing the science tests quite quickly. Maybe he can tutor me and I'll use that time to win him over.



Shrimp:
1. Where you from: Napantao
2. Why did you come here: I was stolen in the night.
3. Favorite Color: Red
4. Opinion of Hogs: They taste good. I love Hog in my tummy.
5. What do you miss from home: He misses his siblings.
6. Favorite Sea Creature: Crabs. Tasty, but hard work.
7. Most annoying person: Tata (our chef). He's Filipino and always acting all brown.
8. Watery oatmeal: I don't like it. Not as tasty as crabs.
9. Favorite part of living on base: The slops pit.
10. Should Travis shave: No, I love fur. Humans should have more fur.

Shrimp is our racist guard dog. Weighing in at a solid 17 pounds, he is one tough badass. He spends most of his time in the slops pit (where we discard our food scraps)
and being thrown, mopped, poked, chased, pulled, and pestered by Joe.



Elena:
1. Where are you from: Luxemburg, Switzerland.
2. Why did you come here: I was here in 2006, but this time I joined because Yann got the position as the instructor.
3. Favorite Color: It changes, during life it can mean so many things. Right now, I'm very much into green and blue. All colors are amazing.
4. Opinion of Hogs: They are quite intelligent, but can create a big mess.
5. What you miss most about home: Music festivals, definitely.
6. Favorite Sea Creature: I really don't know, but I guess Whale Shark.
7. Most annoying person on base: There is no annoying person on base.
8. Watery oatmeal: I miss the breakfast from 2006. We had porridge with REAL milk.
9. Favorite part of base life: Being together with everyone.
10. Should Travis shave. No.

Elena is probably the sweetest person on base. She's always willing to lend a hand, wish you luck, help you study, and sing on karaoke night. She is engaged to
Yann, our scuba instructor, and has come here with him while they travel together. She is very knowledgeable about the marine life here, and is incredibly passionate
about it. She made french toast the other morning to break the normal breakfast routine, and it was amazing.



Zack:
1. Where are you from: Gold Coast, Australia.
2. Why did you come here: Wanted to travel and get experience in Marine Biology.
3. Favorite color: Sapphire
4. Opinion of Hogs: I think they're wild.
5. What you miss most from home: My dad, my mates, and quality scotch.
6. Favorite sea creature: Nudibranch
7. Most annoying person on base: Adam
8. Watery oatmeal: I'm not into self-inflicted torture. Buy cereal and milk. Or go hungry.
9. Favorite part of base life: The company and Saturday nights.
10. Should Travis shave:
 Zack - "Is America a state of Canada?"
Me -  "You mean the United States of America?"
Zack -  "Yeah."
Me - "We're talking about #1 here, right?"
Zack - "Yeah."
Me - "No, we're not a state of Canada. Gross".
Zack - "There's your answer."

Zack is a bit of a character, to say the least. He's one of our Aussies, and is a constant source of entertainment/noise.
Zack is a regular nominee for Dick of the Day, and his antics often win him the title. If there's ever a moment of silence, have no fear, Zack will break it up with a
mischevious laugh or inappropriate comment.
On a serious note, Zack has something like 4 degrees in science, knows a ton about marine biology, and loves Nudibranchs - essentially a sea worm.
Dude knows how to have a good time, and still manages to be a good diver/biologist. I'm sure I have plenty to learn from him.



Shannon:
1. Where are you from:  Perth, Scotland.
2. Why did you come here: Basically to get work experience, in the tropics.
3. Favorite Color: Pink. No, green. Green.
4. Opinion of Hogs: Pumba is pretty cool.
5. What do you miss about home: Cheese.
6. Favorite Sea Creature: Porcupine fish.
7. Most annoying person: Joooeeee
8. Watery oatmeal: Porridge is only good in Scotland. It sucks in the Philippines.
9. Favorite part of life on base: Puppies. Especially Coral, she is my favorite and I love her more than Shrimp.
10. Should Travis shave his beard: No.

Shannon is our Project Scientist and is in charge of analyzing/presenting the data we collect on our surveys. She's a smart cookie,
has her Masters in Marine Biology, and is quite passionate about her work.
She's also passionate about her Scottish citizenship and her Cholula brand hot sauce. It's Cholula brand, so it's kinda meh, but I can't fault her for ignorance since she
hasn't had Sriracha sauce before.
She has an irrational hatred of our new puppy, Coral, and makes sick jokes about Coral meeting an untimely demise.
She's the team captain for our trivia team, and takes it VERY seriously. She really hates losing. Unfortunately, ever since I showed up, we haven't won a game...
Shannon is also the person I argue with most about properly spelling words. It's yogurt, not yoghurt. Color, not colour. And center, not centre. Silly UK people invent a language
and can't even spell it right...


Olly:
1. Where are you from: London, England.
2. Why did you come here: Bad luck.
3. Favorite Color: Red.
4. Opinion of Hogs: Delicious with an apple in their mouth.
5. What do you miss most about home: Lamb Dhanzak. To be clear, he pronounced the "z" as "zed".
6. Favorite sea creature: Juvenile Spotted Drumfish
7. Most annoying person: As the field base manager, I cannot have any form of....alright, Charlie.
8. Watery oatmeal: Better than boiled eggs.
9. Favorite part of living on base: The beautiful views.
10. Should Travis shae No.

Olly is our Field Base Manager, which means he's the head cheese. His voice also doubles as the meal bell, which is producing some mildly concerning
Pavlovian associations in my brain. Olly keeps everyone in check and makes sure we don't kill each other, while still treating us like the adults we are.
Besides being incredibly well-versed in all things marine, he's also getting his degree in Physics (I don't remember exactly what kind, because it's a complicated
name I can't hope to remember.) He creates our weekly trivia quizzes and I believe he takes joy in watching us squirm trying to answer his difficult questions.


Joe:
1. Where are you from: Zaragazo, Spain.
2. Why did you come here: Umm.. escape real life.
3. Favorite color: The color of an English forest in Summer. It's a very particular green.
4. Opinion of Hogs: Sorry? Good hunting. I imagine they are amazing to hunt.
5. What do you miss about home: A nice gin an tonic.
6. Favorite sea creature: Shark. Any shark, I'm buzzin.
7. Most annoying person: I love him, but Shrimp when he barks. Coral's not annoying, she's just shit.
8. Watery oatmeal: I walk to San Fran every week to get milk. That answers it.
9. Favorite part of living on base: Sunshine.
10. Should Travis shave: Yeah, it clashes with your hair.

Joe is our Science Officer, has his Masters in Marine Biology, and is in charge of teaching/training us in how to be useful on surveys. He's also the most animated person on base, and damned hilarious.
He's born in Spain, but has spent most of his life in England, and has a pretty strong British accent.
I think it's Joe's phrasing and terminology I've been unconsciouly mimicking. Ironically, he talks like a Southern California surfer, using words like rad, gnarly, and duuuuuuuude.
Joe spends 10% of his time doing his scientific duties, and the other 90% of his time playing with our dog, Shrimp.
Joe sings a song describing whatever he's doing to Shrimp to the tune of "Spider Pig."
Some of Joe's songs include:
Mop dog: Mop dog, Mop dooog, he's a mop dog, mopping the floor.
Parrot dog: Parrot dog, parrot dog, he's a parrot dog sitting on my shoulder
Spinny dog: Spinny dog, spinny dog, spinning the dog, cuz he really loves it.

(as I write this, Joe is telling a mosquito to "piss off, you flying twat."


Yann:
1. Where are you from: Bienne, Switzerland.
2. Why did you come here: To get 4 months of relaxation.
3. Favorite color: Yellow.
4. Opinion of Hogs: They have too many kids.
5. What you miss most about home: Bread. Real bread, Americans can't understand it. The cold. Skiing.
6. Favorite sea creature: Manta Ray
7. Most annoying person: ....long pause. I reckon it's Olly.
8. Watery oatmeal: Has no taste.
9. Favorite part of living on base: Seeing the water every day.
10. Should Travis shave: No, I will have more fun with it like that when he does his Divemaster.

Yann is our scuba instructor here on base. He's been a scuba instructor in various places around the world, and I don't even want to know how many dives he has under his belt.
He's got a sly sense of humor and never misses a chance to rib me for being a lazy/bloodthirsty American.
He has assured me that he actually likes Americans, but has problems with American politics. Seeing as how I feel the same, no problems here.
Yann charges a chocolate bar every time you're late for a dive, he has to provide you with extra weight, and other miscellaneous screw ups we occasionally make.



Lea:
1. Where are you from: Berlin, Germany.
2. Why did you come here: To meet people interested in Marine Biology.
3. Favorite color: Dark Green.
4. Opinion of Hogs: They make it hard to be vegetarian.
5. What do you miss most about home: Sauerkraut, my cat, and flushing toilets.
6. Favorite sea creature: Whale shark
7. Most annoying person: Zack
8. Watery oatmeal: Better than toast with scrambled egg and hot sauce.
9. Favorite part of base life: Coral (the dog)
10. Should Travis shave: NOOOO

Lea is our sweet little German girl on base. She's 18, and is often seen offering a piece of fruit or sharing her coconut with anyone nearby, without any prompting.
She's our best student in the marine science work, and has helped me study multiple times - because I suck.
She also helped me invent the title "Captain Feuer Bart" in German which means Captain Fire Beard.
Apparently I've been pronouncing her name wrong, but I have given up trying to say it correctly because it's impossible.
Her English is quite good, and one of the reasons she came here was to work on improving it.
Due to the slight language barrier, I think Lea keeps a bit quieter around us than she would at home. However, she makes up for this plenty with her facial expressions,
which are often better at saying "no, stupid" than words ever could.
Beneath her innocent exterior, she has a bit of a darker sense of humor which shows itself during Cards Against Humanity. Hopefully we get to see more of it in the coming months.


Adam:
1. Where are you from: Higham Ferrers, England.
2. Why did you come here: To get my Divemaster.
3. Favorite color: Black
4. Opinion of Hogs: I think they taste good.
5. What do you miss about home: Being able to eat at any point in the day.
6. Favorite sea creature: Great white shark
7. Most annoying person: Zack
8. Watery oatmeal: I could live without it.
9. Favorite part of living on base: Seeing the sunset every day.
10. Should Travis shave: Just the neck.

Adam is an 18 year-old from...well, kinda all over the place. He's an English citizen but has lived in Switzerland and the US for a number of years, and I'm not sure
which nationality he claims. He's really into the NBA and knows more about shooty hoops than I do. He's got a Blake Griffin jersey, which it turns out is not the name
of a famous golfer, but in fact the name of a famous slamma-jammer in the NBA. He can ALMOST dunk, and we're hoping to find a hoop around here that is conducive
to a good dunk show.
Adam is also always willing to share his TV/movies he brought from home. More than once he's shared some movies with me, often going out of his way to do so.


Charlie:
1. Where are you from: Tumbridge Wells, England.
2. Why did you come here: Conservation experience.
3. Favorite color: When I was little, it was yellow. So yellow.
4. Opinion of Hogs: I like them. I like to eat them, but I'd also enjoy them as a pet.
5. What do you miss most about home: My dogs, cheese and fruit, nudity, being able to be nude in my own room, washing my hands right after going to the lou instead of fucking about and .... (inane chatter)
6. Favorite sea creature: Reggae shark.
7. Most annoying person: Coral, the little wanker.
8. Watery oatmeal: You know what, actually......not bad. No seriously, like, I add evaporate milk which makes a huge difference. (more chattering)
9. Favorite part of living on base: The fact that I can walk around in a towel all day.
10. Should Travis shave: You know what, I never really noticed that you had one. (5 minutes later, "I don't think your beard is that distinctive, really. I just don't really notice it")

Where to start with Charlie....
"Charlie is the most beautiful woman I've met in my life. How I do not quiver when I'm next to her, I do not know. Taaaanks."
- Dictated by Charlie, as she tries to read my blog over my shoulder as I write it.

Charlie might be the biggest/most fun personality on base. She's the kind of person who's always wearing a smile and laughing and cannot be phased no matter how much shit people give her.
She's the person who pretty much asks to be picked on because she takes it so well. She's like the team punching bag, but a bag that laughs and giggles when you hit it.
To be fair, Charlie can dish out the trash talk rather well, so she's not completely defenseless.
Charlie often says your name twice in a sentence. Just now in an effort to suck up and improve my description of her she said, "Travis, have I ever told you how
handsome you are, Travis?"

As I write, Charlie is naming off a list of qualities she hopes will eventually work their way into my blog. They will not make it here.

Charlie is the epitome of grace and proper womanhood.
The above sentence is a complete lie.
After dinner, you can always count on Charlie to to pick apart the chicken bones and get every last bit of meat, cartilage, etc.
She is a complete goofball, and her British accent adds to her goofball charm.
Again, as I write, Charlie is reading my last 2 blog entries and pretending to laugh, hoping it will buy her some goodwill on this post.
Charlie is leaving us this coming Wednesday, and after knowing her for a brief 3 weeks, I can say it will be a huge loss.


Josh:
1. Where are you from: Gold Coast, Australia
2. Why did you come here: To become a Divemaster, and learn more about marine conservation/biology.
3. Favorite color: Maroon
4. Opinion of Hogs: Have you ever head of pigging? Aussies go hunting for wild boar with just a knife.
5. What you miss most about home: My church friends.
6. Favorite Sea creature: Humpback whale, it's what got me into Marine Biology.
7. Most annoying person: I share a room with him. Zack.
8. Watery oatmeal: Avoid it at all costs.
9. Favorite part of base life: The relaxed environment
10. Should Travis shave: He could use a good trim, definitely needs to get rid of the neck beard.


Josh is on Team Australia with Zack, and is possibly the most genuine guy on base. He helps out on chore times even when he's not assigned to them, offers help
for just about anything, and is always giving advice. Back home he spends a lot of time with his church group doing good deeds and other stuff that helps people.
Josh also introduced me to Milo cereal. Milo cereal is essentially a chocolate flavored, Captain Crunch knock-off, and it's damned good. Compared to the watery oatmeal,
Milo is basically prime rib. Zack and Josh also team up every Friday morning to make pancakes, which is probably the most noble of all their actions. Mainly because
it saves me from watery oatmeal.


Kieran:
1. Where are you from: Washington D.C. America. USA. #1
2. Why did you come here: Experience in conservation.
3. Favorite color: Blue
4. Opinion of Hogs: Bacon
5. What you miss most about home: Pizza
6. Favorite sea creature: Killer whale
7. Most annoying person: Definitely the roosters outside our window.
8. Watery oatmeal: It's actually growing on me. It makes me feel healthy in the morning. Good fiber.
9. Favorite part of living on base: Intercultural discussions. Linguistics, politics, culture, jokes about America.
10. Should Travis shave: Never.

First of all, Kieran's American so...great guy.
Second, he backs me up in my assertions that America is nothing short of a gift from god and breeds the best human beings possibly.
Third, and perhaps more importantly, he sets a more responsible American example for our foreign housemates.
(I've asserted America's greatness and #1-ness so much, I think people are starting to think I'm an egocentric nut. Or just an American)
Kieran and I are roommates, and when together we are aptly named Team America. He's my workout buddy cultural-reference-deciphering-buddy.
Kieran is an EMT in his previous life, and has lived in Austin, Texas and New York. He's quite intelligent and shows me up in trivia night quite often.
We have a strict "stand your ground" - America - policy in our room regarding spiders. If a giant spider invades our personal space, we reserve the right
to annihilate it. Same goes for cockroaches.

So that kinda sums up the group of maniacs I'm living with - I say maniacs with love. This blog in no way captures the real essence of these guys, but it will serve to give a basic and broad introduction. Hopefully everyone here on base doesn't hate what I wrote and conspire to drown me. That would suck.

Life is great. 8 more weeks. Still very excited.

Thanks for reading.

Hogs Wild