A Welshman, an Englishman and a Spaniard

So I should really introduce you to my housemates. Roberto is a very warm, instantly likable 57 year old Spaniard who lives in Barcelona. Amazingly, he has only been speaking English for 3 months but you'd never believe it. Whilst his vocabulary is pretty impressive, his intonation and pronunciation still needs some work and we regularly get stuck on a word or a phrase that he is trying to say. Siarads style gesticulating usually gets us there.

In Spain he was working in the natural energy industry but here in Cameroon, he is working on a project to help locals build mud stoves to help them cook their food cheaply and efficiently. He left Spain because his sons had grown up and he was tired of the big city. He wanted to work for a good cause. He has made me laugh several times already with his stories and occasional confused words. His face can change in a second from extreme concentration as he peers over his glasses to a hearty chuckle as he realises he has said something wrong. He makes good coffee.

Phil is a 19 year old boy wonder. He has a chequred past which includes frequently getting into trouble at school and some sticky fingered work. Despite this, he was an A* student and there is no doubt that he is extremely bright. He says part of the problem in school was that it was too easy. I am continually amazed by the knowledge he churns out about history, geography, religion, philosophy, politics and actually pretty much anything.

Phil is driven by an overwhelming passion to help young people have a voice in their communities. His speil, which I have heard several times already, is Bob Geldof-esque in its nature. He has come to Cameroon to set up a sports project which brings football and education together and which aims to challenge the long standing Kom tradition and belief that children should be obedient, disciplined and punished. The concept is a good one and I will be working with Phil on the project. From my first few days with Phil, I have learned that he is very confident and that underlying his very mature and unfaultering vision of a better future for young people is an every day teenager who breaks wind, belches and talks a lot. But he is super keen, very receptive to ideas and suggestions and extremely positive and upbeat. I think we'll get along just fine.