M.A.R.E. 2019
Here it is, SuperÉrica: A great little warrior who comes from not too far (about 2000km) and who brings with her the love for the sea and the passion for work, especially the one shared with a team of motivated people! Living in the Atlantic all her life, will the small Mediterranean Sea make her feel at home? So far it seems yes!! She jumps from the canoe to underwater to do scuba diving in a second, from labs with children to scientific graphic designers without flinching. She has been the only one that has spotted a turtle from the MPA Punta Campanella boat in 7 years of project MARE, it seems that she has a special magnet for this type of animals!! She doesn’t need to sleep and eat while she is working for MARE, maybe she feeds on salt water and zooplankton!! A great contribution of strength, passion and love that makes this 2019 a special year.
Ala arrived almost a month after the other 5 volunteers, tired after a very long journey, with a suitcase full of food and sweets to offer everyone, with a shy look and a great desire to do and work. And actually, these are the very things that characterise him! He was very busy and in a short time he learned Italian. He likes to work and and being always active, especially when he has to assemble, disassemble, cut, glue, build, transport, swim, jump and mainly climb…without a doubt he is made for the life in the open air and at sea! But at home too, he gives the maximum of himself: at the stove he made us dream by cooking 70% of Tunisian recipes before, during and after its cultural evenings.
Always helping others when they need it, always trying to have a kind word for those in need, caring for others more than for himself, Ala has also shown us in these months the most beautiful and precious part of his character: a big heart and great sensitivity, which are vital energy in the M.A.R.E. family!
Arrived from Latvia, without knowing how to greet people. At first he looked like a gentleman who could not be touched, but after breaking the ice he showed a tender heart of almost 2m in height. He knows the land well and is our farmer, always cares for (almost) living plants. When we talk about bees, his eyes shine, he is their best friend and at home he always saves us when something enters with wings that scares us.
Used to flat land, he always has problems with altitude, but he also wanted to try the underwater world, even if he didn’t understand much about the sea. Now, with the immersion course he says that “it is the closest feeling of my dream of going to the moon” and about moon he understands well, it is the favorite place of his head. He is very happy, he enchants with everything he sees and he always wants to know more.
He is a great communicator and has learned Italian fast, being Latvian! He is our head of activity with children and is always ready to talk to people. When he doesn’t understand something, he always uses the phrase “I don’t understand, how do you write it?!” He was our English teacher, but now he no longer knows how to speak it, now only Italian.
She is our Spanish, 1.50m tall , she is always full of enthusiasm and energy to sing and dance, even when we are all tired she gives us positive energy, we always see a smile on her face. She has a good heart, she always tries to help everyone else and this is the most important thing, because she doesn’t leave anyone alone. She is an organised person, she likes to organise everything, both at home and at work, and she is a person with whom it is very nice to work, even when it is difficult to break with her thinking.
She gave us a good knowledge of her country, even if some of us have never seen Spain or do not have a great idea of Spanish culture, thanks to her we have been able to know this Iberian culture and every day we feel a bit like the Spaniards speak: his accent is very funny and doesn’t let her hide where she comes from. Now, we really want to visit this country to see its beauty and to have a guided tour of the ocean with dolphins, which are her great passion.
My pleasure to present you the youngest member of our team, lovely French from Reunion island, and not from Africa – Etienne. He grew up connected with an amazing sea, which made him doubtful between live the nature or tell the nature by the tip of a pencil.
He is always ready for action… or anything else dangerous that looks fun. Because, why not? Spectacular jumps from a 15m cliff, fly between 2 mountains at 120km/h, kayaking in a rough sea or handling bunch of Napolitan teenagers – piece of cake for him! Braveheart like this hides a gentle, he is a shy person that is always ready to take care and help the others.
Like a real French, he loves to cook, wine (we broke his favorite and only wine fancy glass that we had in the house) and art. He doesn’t leave the house without a white sheet and pencils, and his drawings are a really good bunch of energy, as well his dance moves! And, of course, our MARE 2019 logo was made by him and all the people love it!
Tall, handsome, adventurous, with lovely smile and curly hair – that is our Etienne.
Lidija, our strong and indomitable Serbian. Biologist, lover of plants, now also of algae. Sometimes it’s like our mother, who fixes things when we don’t know how to do them, especially related to food. The queen of the reuse of food, always has a recipe in mind. Although it comes from a region without sea, she moves like a fish in the water and always leaves us speechless when we go swimming and when it jumps from the rocks into the water.
One of his most hidden abilities is to draw, at the beginning she didn’t show it so much, but when we saw her draw for the first time we couldn’t believe it… and she helped us with lots of algae drawings for games with children. She is also very good working with children: with them she is affectionate, attentive and despite the difficulties with the language, she knows how to understand and have fun with all the children she meet. But, without a doubt, what she likes the most is dancing, she dances in any places, in the room, in the kitchen, on the terrace … our experienced dancer is a true Shakira (maybe better) !!
Simona, Sincere, Impeccable, Mild-mannered, Open-Minded, Napoletan, Amiable, an acronym that describes really well her. She arrived to the project like a shooting star, she dedicated herself fully to the volunteers. She is a person you can trust on, if it’s not related with being on time (but this comforts us!). Her passion for the nature is obvious, is like a carob tree, which with its proud and sinuous trunk maintains a thick crown, which always gives a moment of rest to all those who pass below it. Being together is always pleasant, and the conversations with her are always interesting.
Her calmness and meekness are an example of how to deal with the most disparate and desperate situations! A fundamental component for our project! This is how we see Simo, and even if we don’t spend much time together, because she is so busy lately, we can see a lot of good things in her, as her transparency, for example, a quality that not many people have nowadays.
P.s .: Actually .. sometimes she is too mild… Simo, you could take care of yourself sometimes, come on!!!
Like dawn, it is she who brings warmth day after day with her beautiful smile. He is always there caring and taking care of others, perhaps it will be the natural instinct since he is the mother of two beautiful princesses! And, from the first moment, we were greeted by the big arms of this octopus and also the project’s mother. Alba pushes us to creativity and enriches our imagination. Each arm of this octopus shows us how we can be multitasking and how to give 100% of us in every situation. But the most important thing is that you know how to listen to others, understand them and trust them. So she always repeats the same phrase “If you think you are stupid, it will seem stupid” and with this we understand that when we do things from the heart we always show bigger things.
For us, she will always be the beautiful Siren of Ieranto! And as long as she asks, “Give me a smile,” so we’ll do it.
Here it is, our boss Sgambati !! He has been for seven years the manager of the foreign “children” who come every year to collaborate in this beautiful place, the Sorrento Coast. The most experienced in marine biology, he always shows us and teaches the most beautiful things. It seems that he was born with a special competence to communicate with love those topics he likes. And as he does not know how to live without the sea, obviously his favourite animal comes from this environment, but even you cannot survive without land. Here we talk about the turtle, and he, as if it were one, arrives late with all the appointments (we love you !!). Mimì is the father of two beautiful little girls, but every year there are other children to watch. As long as there are problems, he is available to help us, find a solution and make us feel better, like a real dad. He has a very big heart and for this (almost) everyone loves him. When it comes to children, it’s really nice to watch their interaction with Mimì, everyone loves him, from the first minute they are with him, perhaps because he is a nice person who conveys confidence and positivity. For him, all the things that don’t work are always the fault of the same volunteer (joking). At the end of this project it will be impossible to forget his kindness, his messy hair, his energy, his delay and his love for the marine environment.
