meet Trevor

It’s been about three months since I landed in Kimberley. When I landed, I was naïve, slightly scared, still questioning what I was getting into, and a little nervous that the only American for kilometers was the crazy person walking off the plane with me: Trevor. I had some doubts about Trevor… he seemed crazy, he intimidated me a little bit and I wasn’t sure I could keep up with him. After three months of living with Trevor I can say with full confidence that Trevor is indeed crazy. But he’s the good kind of crazy. He’s the kind of crazy that gets you to think out of the box. He’s the kind of crazy that makes you laugh even when you’ve had the worst day. He’s the kind of crazy that had become my best friend. So today, I decided that everyone back home should get the chance to meet Trevor. The following is an interview I had with Trevor. For the most part, his answers are verbatim. He also interviewed me. If you want to check out that interview, go to his blog: http://trevors-sa-adventure.blogspot.com/ Now for the main attraction: Trevor

Age: 22

Birthday: 8 March 1989

Hometown: Nashua, New Hampshire

College: Connecticut College in New London Connecticut

Majors: Economics and International Relations

Favorite Animal: Babijan (that’s Afrikaans for baboon)

Favorite Color: Orange

Favorite Season: Winter – New England winter, not South African winter.

Favorite Movies: Super Troopers, Superbad, Clerks 2, Shawshenk Redemption, V for Vandetta

Favorite Music: Rap and Hip Hop
Favorite Food: Pasta with chicken and broccoli in any sauce.
Family: I’m one of two kids. Got my mom, Pam, or P for short, my pops, Tom, and my little sis, Juliana, aka Bank Book (her rap name).
Heritage: Greek Orthodox. I definitely associate with the Greek side of my family because my mom’s family is bigger and we all live close together.

Me: All right, let’s meet Trevor – the GRS intern. Why did you decide to become a GRS intern?

Trevor: Coming out of school I wasn’t ready for a desk job and my internships in the sports marketing world and finance world didn’t really… didn’t really hit home or didn’t really show my passion for what I do and I like to be passionate about what I do. GRS was travel, soccer, working with kids and volunteer work, which are all things I enjoy.

Me: What do you think of Kimberley?

Trevor: A lot. The wealth gap is huge between the whites and blacks and coloreds. I think it’s small and there’s not a lot to do, but that in being small it’s easy to get to know the place and I feel like there is definitely a strong communal feel in the townships where we work. I like that community as well as our working community.

Me: What is your leadership style? Can you explain what that means?

Trevor: My leadership style is lead by example, but I think that was more sport related and school related. For GRS I think I am more of a people person and I try to keep strong relationships while helping others when they need it. In GRS Orientation terms, I am a ‘North’ meaning I like to analyze something quickly and get it done. (I asked this question because I am a ‘West’ and so often these past three months Trevor will say to me, “that was so West” and I will say to him, “that was so North.”)

Me: What are some of the things you do at work?

Trevor: Cost share reporting (Trevor visits all of the schools we work in and asks Principals to sign a letter explaining that we work in their schools for free – in this way, GRS “raises” it’s own money), filling out Driving Logs (a task I used to have to do and I’m so glad he has to do it now), working with Bloemfontein to make sure everything is going all right, which hasn’t been much work with Mandla there all the time. Car maintenance, and I think that’s it.

Me: Tell me about one of your typical work days?

Trevor: I don’t think there is a typical work day for me, but I do think most of the time it’s get to the office in the morning and throughout the course of the day, some form of transport, some desk work and some communication. But for the most part my tasks are more project related and so there will be days when I have free time to follow my beloved Patriots – who are shitting the bed right now – and read other articles on BBC and ESPN (a luxury I – Lauren – don’t have and yes, I am a little jealous).

Me: What is your most memorable moment that you would like to share about GRS thus far?

Trevor: Probably going to the Pirates vs. Chiefs game and getting to see the atmosphere of a top notch Premier League game in South Africa and getting to cheer with and against fellow interns in a very fun and competitive afternoon.

Me: Coolbeans. Now, lets meet Trevor – the Goober. I know you like to quote movies, what are your favorite movie quotes?

Trevor: “And that was the second time I got crabs.” (That’s a quote from Super Troopers.) Anything from Super Troopers, Clerks 2 and Superbad are fair game at all times, and then other comedy movies as well, or main lines from famous movies. I really like quoting Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings just to be goofy and feel like a nerd and see if other people would pick up on it. Yeah, I just love movie references, and if you are ever around Eric (his best friend from home) and I, “that will happen – that will happen.” (That was a movie reference, but I couldn’t ID the movie…)

Me: Tell me the nicknames that you have here and explain why you have them?

Trevor: First was Babijan, which is a baboon (in Afrikaans), which was self-proclaimed after learning the different animals names in a class I was working in. I also gave everyone I worked with an animal name. Next was Makwele, which is potato, or slang for ball sack, and I got that one trying to buy makweles at a corner stand in Galeshewe. I spoke in Setswana then, which was funny, and I really liked that makweles were only five Rand. And I love the word so I became makwele.

Me: What super power would you most like to have and why?

Trevor: I would like to fly because my favorite thing to do is run around and jump and feel weightless when I am in the air so I think flying would be pretty special. And I could do cost share really quickly.

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up (because you are still not an adult)?

Trevor: I agree (chuckle). Next.

Me: What is the craziest food combination you have ever made?

Trevor: Three things come to mind: eating an orange with peanut butter, which is really good for all you haters; making a steak glaze one night with every condiment I had in our fridge at home, including syrup, which again was outstanding (you can ask my parents about that one); and then other combinations – I put a pickle in a smoothie once, but that’s very bad. So don’t do it.

Me: Continuing with food, are you ever full from eating?

Trevor: No! I wish I could have a food IV hooked up to me, but that my taste buds could still taste it.

Me: If you found the perfect pair of soccer cleats – they fit your foot beautifully, enhanced your performance and were guaranteed to last for life, but they cost $10,000 USD would you buy them you cheap skate?

Trevor: If I had $10,000… maybe.

Me: What if they were $1,000?

Trevor: Yes. Definite yes, you ass hole (I make fun of Trevor for being frugal but he’s a great sport about it).

Me: Now let’s meet Trevor – the Babijan. You’ve jumped over walls, the Tazz and many things I am probably not aware of – what do you plan to jump next?

Trevor jumping the Tazz...

Trevor: Maloof (the skate park where the Skateboarding World Championship was held this year). I want to run around and jump off the skate park fixtures. There are a couple dirt mounds around Kimberley I want to go explore, too. And the parking garage at Game if I could possibly wall run it, but that could end in some hospital time.

Me: What is the craziest thing you have ever done?

Trevor: Craziest thing I have ever done… difficult… I don’t know. I’ll generally fool around in high places or other places where people get nervous. The craziest thing I’ve ever done… oh! A belly flop off of a 16-foot platform at soccer camp for 60 bucks and two pizzas. I couldn’t breathe right for two weeks. I knew the stomach would hurt, but I didn’t think about the throat…. And yes I got all my money.

Me: How do you like to sleep?

Trevor: Naked.

Me: Tell me, how do you feel about people drinking your water?

Trevor: I don’t like it. I despise it. Especially at soccer *shaking fist*

Me: If you knew the world was ending tomorrow, what would you do right now, right here in Kimberley?

Trevor: I would definitely plan to jump into or around the Big Hole with some form of parachute. Or just to free fall it. If it was the 23^rd hour and 59^th minute I would just run and launch myself into it and die really happy I think.

Me: Wow. I’m not at all surprised. Moving on, it’s time to meet Trevor – my roommate. What is your favorite thing about living with me?

Trevor: Your like a puppy who cooks and cleans. *Laughter* No, I don’t mean that. My favorite thing about living with Lauren… her attitude in the morning, No, seriously, you are down to earth and can have fun doing nothing, just like me.

Me: What is your least favorite thing about living with me?

Trevor: Morning attitude. Or your rationality when I am wrong in an argument.

Me: What is your biggest pet peeve?

Trevor: In Kimberley, when coaches treat me like a taxi driver and tell me where to go by each turn, because if I know the end destination I can get there and I’d rather think about my travel route.

Me: We’ve had some pretty great conversations, what were some of your favorites?

Trevor: The talk about whether people are born equal or if they have some innate ability (a subject that we continue to talk about and I encourage all of you to think about it – are we all born as blank slates and are then only shaped by our environment and experiences? Or do our environment and experiences play a role, but innate ability or genes play another?) And then probably our talk about work on the hammock, it was just a good talk (we talked about what we wanted to change in GRS and what we wanted to do better ourselves).

Me: Okay, in order to wrap things up (and plug GRS a bit), let’s meet Trevor – Skillz 1.1 version. What are the Three Skillz to win?

Trevor: Know the game. Build your team. Make your move.

Me: What are the four fluids that can transmit HIV?

Trevor: Blood. Semen! Breast milk and vaginal fluids.

Me: How can you protect yourself from contracting or spreading HIV?

Trevor: Abstain! Use a condom. Be mutually faithful.

Me: Who is your Star Supporter in life?

Trevor: I’ve got a lot. But family, Eric and my Goober crew from Conn.

I hoped you liked that! Trevor and I had a lot of fun doing these interviews and I think we're going to do more to try to spice up our blogs a bit so stay tuned!