#05 - Richard Craig (Rick)

Nationality: Irish

A song: The Darkness – Get your hands off my woman 

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“Sorry?” That’s probably the word/question that I’ve asked Rick the most.

This guy is the ultimate challenge for your English skills. Ok, Rick, I must confess: I must have missed 50% of the things you said in this period, especially in the beginning. Rick is Irish and their accent is my level 3 of difficulty. And more: it was not only myself! The other guys used to face the same sort of problem. =)

“Hey, Leo! Yesterday I was bhdsj hhdue h reuhu reuhr eu udhdeuhdue. It’s weird because I dhuahs hueudhuhsuh hudehuh dhusha. Don’t you think?! Hehehe”

[Oh, my God… Think fast, Leo! THINK FAST!!! Say something clever and that fits to any situation!”- I’d think with myself.] "Mmm... mmm... Cookie?"

It used to make me feel stupid. You know… first, the guy says what he has to say. If you don’t understand, it’s ok to ask him to say it again. If you need a second round, you start to feel a complete ignorant, but you ask anyway – the communication must be established. By the time of the second, if the sentence was a joke, the mood is completely gone and, instead of a funny atmosphere, what you get is impatience and the need to be understood, which makes everything really awkward. So, instead of asking again, for the third time, you just accept you didn’t get it and laugh as if you did.

Nowadays, I’m doing quite better, I must say. Not majored, but I only ask him once, but with a warning: Try to slow down the pace, man!

Rick is the final element of the “Monopoly Dudes”. Actually, he was the first one to get excited with that: “We SHOULD DO IT!”. We did it and it turned out to be really good for all of us.

A short story:

It was my second week in Brunel. Me and Rich were at the Post Graduation Welcome party. Just two new friends talking, walking around and trying to meet new people.  In the middle of the conversation, Rick abruptly interrupts whatever he was talking about just to say: “Oh my God… She’s beautiful!” From this moment on, he couldn’t talk about anything else. The beautiful woman in green was the center of his universe. All of sudden, I was alone as he started to walk around, trying to find a way to look at her properly. With his slightly frenetic way of walking, especially when he's excited, and pointing the finger up as if he was about to say something (so peculiar), he asked:

“Yes... She is beautiful. Do you think I should go and try to talk to her?”

“Of course, man. It’s just a conversation, isn’t it!? Go slow and smooth and you’ll be ok” – I’d say.

And he went. Both seemed pleased with the conversation. He was really comfortable with that and made her feel comfortable around himself at the same time. I was sure he was fine. He was definitely fine. And, you know… They are perfect for each other.

Rick is like this: nice, kind, friendly and extremely intelligent. Owner of a really good sense of humor and always available for a good chat, especially if there is beer involved (he’s Irish, remember?). F1 enthusiast, this guy has a special attachment to Brazil, since it’s his hero's birth country: Ayrton Senna. 

You know… he promised me he would come and visit. I really hope he will. I’ll be waiting for the perfect couple!