Julian, also known as Pappa Peters, the King of Bavaria, or the Governator (because he not only looks, but also talks just like him).He lives down the hall from me and has become my favorite lunch and dinner company and closest buddy on campus. A self-proclaimed misanthropist, it's sometimes hard to get him to smile, but he is always the first one there to cheer me up, calm me down or just provide for hours of heated discussions - on every topic from football to monogamy. He and Cameron are the stars of the rugby team, so when it's pub night, I've got my personal squad of bodyguards to keep me safe.
Cameron, or Gramps, is the oldest undergrad on campus at age 29, but age does not stop him. He managed to get a job at the Blank Center for Entrepreneurship, the university's most prestigious institution, interviewing in a pair of old pants and a smelly old T-shirt. He can pull off tight running shorts and a red ribbed tank top at rugby training and rides his race bike to a from his off-campus home every day. He knows everyone on this planet and manages to get exactly what he wants just because he is never too shy to ask. Running two businesses in Australia via Skype and Internet and taking a full course load here, he spends his (seemingly extensive) spare time goofing around campus on his longboard, shooting pictures for his photography class and partying the nights away with Julian, his wingman. The big question is - when does the guy do his homework??
Montse, or Monchito, is a little Spanish lady with the biggest smile. She is 5 foot (or, for those among us who use the normal metric system, 1,50m) tall and weighs no more than 100lbs (45kg). She's an absolute beauty, as you can see, but so frail that when a big guy hugs her, I am always afraid that her bones might snap. Her strong Spanish accent and uncontrollable squeals of laughter always provide for a good time, especially when she shakes her head in utter desperation over an insurmountable cultural difference between Spain and the States.Favorite quote: (munching on some raw broccoli:) "Now I know chhow feels my rrrrabbit!"
Ah, Francesco. He refers to himself as "italianissimo", and since he is a real Sicilian from Palermo, no one dares to disagree. However, if the Cosa Nostra depended on him, it would be a lost cause - he is the gentlest, most friendly guy in the world. Always complaining about American food ("Ma che e questo - questo si chiama pasta!!?? Ah, gli Americani, incredibile!!"), he piles tons of salad onto his plate at lunch and shuns the American-style Italian specialties offered at the cafeteria. Francesco is a man of culture - if someone gets him started on the Latin origin of Italian words, he'll gladly lecture you for 20 minutes. However, his facial expressions when he is in "professor mode" are priceless, so I just sit there and enjoy lo spettacolo. (Which, incidently, comes from the latin word spectaculum, spectaculi, meaning sight, show, or spectacle...)To be continued.
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