ANDY from England. A man of few words...but when he has something to say it is always cheeky and hilarious. He wins the award for best smile. Some of us ladies thought he would look really good wearing a batman mask (nice bone structure) hehe. We'll never forget the night we found him sleeping in the bed of the wrong truck outside the bar. He'll probably have a hard time remembering it. ;) Keep on smiling Andy!
APRIL from Ireland. A wonderful lass who has done many interesting things with her life. Some of my favorite memories with April include sitting on the roof of the cottage around sunset and chatting, her teaching me how to swim like a pro (well, I'm not quite there yet coach), and one night at the garden, far away from the water April decided to put on all her snorkel gear and hike around... and then we proceeded to pour a beer down her snorkel while she funneled it. Bloody Brilliant.
CALEB from New Zealand. Caleb has also done many interesting things with his life. He spends his winters way up in Canada breeding eskimo sled dogs (there are only 400 left in the world) and hanging out with Polar bears. Then he spends his summers galavanting around the world and diving in tropical places. Perhaps unfortunately for him, he is an excellent guitar player and singer and he became our personal musician. At parties he would try and stop to hang out and socialize and everyone would beg him to keep playing. Play till your fingers bleed Caleb! :P The garden is way too quiet without ya.
DAN the Man. From Portland, Maine. When he arrived he instantly became friends with everyone on the island. Even the dogs. Wait, make that especially the dogs. He gave these two beach dogs (whom he named Penelope and Roscoe) lots of love and they began following us around everywhere. The night before Dan left, Roscoe chased our truck all the way from the beach up through town. It was like he knew! Then they dropped me and my brothers off and Dan yelled "bye coral! that was our last friday night ever!" and so I joined Roscoe and started chasing the truck yelling "don't leave me guys!"...laughing, but fighting back tears. Pathetic? Yes, but I'm shameless. I'm totally going to miss these guys. Anyway, Dan was my New England buddy and we bonded by talking about things like playing ice hockey (go bruins!), being on boats in stormy weather, Sam Adams, you know... stuff like that. Hopefully, Dan, Gill and I are all going to meet up in Boston in November and have a good ol' New England time.
GILL from Canada. I am so bummed that Gill was only here for a month. I feel like I was just getting to know her, and then off she goes! (To go diving in the Galapagos with Caleb....LUCKY!) Gill was our Canadian wild child. Always oout and aboout, having a grand ol' time. She is always up for an adventure...especially if it involves scuba diving or swimming late at night after many hours of dancing. She and I were always the last ones on the dance floor. Even at 4 in the morning they would have to peel us away. We would keep saying "ok, we gotta stop" and then 2 seconds later we'd be right back out there making fools of ourselves again :) Miss you lady!!! But remember, big girls don't cry-ee-eye-ee-eye! I'll see you in Bean town in a few months chica!
RAYMOND from England. The energizer bunny. He is full of great energy and enthusiasm, as well as hilariously random questions like "if you were a (mythological creature, insect, dessert, fill in the blank) what would you be?". One time a few of us were riding in the back of the truck on the way to the garden in the middle of a down pour. So not only is your ass killing you, but you're getting pelted in the face with rain. We were all wearing raincoats except Raymond who forgot his, and I look around at everyone grimacing and looking rather uncomfortable, except Raymond who has the biggest smile on his face. I will always remember him that way!
TRACY from Texas. She left a month ago, and wasn't able to meet some of these other volunteers (too bad--she woulda fit right in!). She was the oldest of the group in years, but the youngest at heart. A free spirit with a passion for conservation efforts. She totally kicked my butt one day when we had to do a really long surface swim back to the boat... she is a power house! Nadio's reaction: "She's too real, man! She's too real." So true :) ....Statia misses you!
ZOE from England. The clumsy one. The sweetheart. She was always bumping into things and her legs were covered with bruises and scars. When I bumped into her (which I seemed to do a lot) she would always say "Sorry!" even if it was blatantly my fault. She loves people and is always sincerely interested in what they have to say. She is very generous and was constantly offering everyone Pringles and other snacks. I have spent quite a few hours laughing uncontrollably with her and Hillary (another totally awesome volunteer who thankfully is still here for 3 more weeks!), but those are stories I'll share another time. When it comes down to it, the three most important words I have for you Zoe are: Nutella and Bananas. :)
So those are the members of the botan clan that just left us. I just tried to upload a few pictures of these beautiful people, but the internet just couldn't be bothered with that. I'll work on it.
Anyway, what it all boils down to is these guys are the BEST! And I really REALLY miss them. All of us who are still here do. Because of you guys I have had my cheeks hurt from laughing more times in these past couple of months than I have in my entire life. Thanks for that. My cheek muscles are looking great. ;)
You are all IRREPLACEABLE! You are my family, and I love you! Please Don't be strangers.
