Player: AsdrubaelWho
Character:Quint Zdebuuki
Activity: High for now (unemployeed)
Location: Midwest, USA (Indiana)
Time Zone: GMT -5/6 I'll have to check (Mac doesn't give me GMT)
Contact: email: asdrubaelwho(cat)yahoo(spot)com or pm though CN.
Can get a gmail account if necessary.
So, my character:
Name: Quint Zdebuuki
Birthplace: Born in 1952 in Nairobi, Kenya
Gender: Male
Married: Yes
Ethnicity: Kenyan
Religion: Christian, though not devout
Physical Description: 5’ 6” tall, 140 lbs, One leg several inches shorter than the other so walks with a severe limp. He is thin and long of limb for his stature.
Skin: Medium brown
Hair: Short and very dark
Eye Color: Golden hue
Occupation: Teaches African Studies, Swahili and Somali at University of Toronto.
Education: Primary education in Kenya, University at University of Limoges, France, Post Graduate at University of Toronto.
Activities: Reading, researching, scholarly conversations, collecting African drums and musical instruments (though not any good at playing any), model trains and performing shadow puppets for children at the Children’s Hospital, of which he is astoundingly adept.
Background:
Quint’s ancestors were farmers in Central Kenya until their lands were usurped by the Imperial British East Africa Company at the turn of the twentieth century and given to British and European settlers. His grandfather was an itinerant farmer who worked the lands that once belonged to him and was allowed a small plot of land to use to farm for his family until he was conscripted into the Carrier Corps, a military support organization, during World War 1. As a porter in the Carrier Corps, his grandfather labored long and hard portaging supplies from The Port of Mombasa to military operations in the interior. During his service in the Carrier Corps an Indian military officer Sarpal Deendayal of the British Indian army took note of his work ethic and leadership and took him into his personal service at the end of the war. As his options were next to nil, he was forced to stay in service to the Deendayal family in Nairobi to support his family. As his grandfather before him, Quint’s father worked in service to the Deendayal family.
Quint was born in 1952, in Nairobi. His mother did not survive the birthing and Quint had to be pulled from the womb. It was a very difficult birth. Quint’s left leg was broken seriously and, improperly set, healed badly, leaving it several inches shorter than the right.
Quint was cared for by the servant women of house, then, once he turned five, by his eldest sister. Physical work being difficult, Quint was often required to stay out of the way and took to hobbling around the manor. He would often go to where the linen was hanging to dry and practice making shadow puppets on the sheets. During one of his walks around the manor, Quint was told by a young Deendayal, Vedprakash, to sit and hold a book open whilst he read. Vedprakash informed Quint he was being educated to become an ambassador. As time passed Quint and Vedprakash became good friends. As Quint constantly asked Vedprakash what this word was and what that word was, Vedprakash took to teaching Quint to read and write. Quint was a very quick study and soon was on par with Vedprakash so Ved began teaching him other subjects.
Though the Mau Mau rebellion for Land and Freedom was over, neither youth was allowed to leave the manor, as there was still a great deal of tension between the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru tribes of the Mau Mau revolt, and the British government.
Thus they spent much time together adventuring around the manor.
The boy’s friendship and Quint’s education continued until 1964. The previous year, Quint had the honor of being alive when Kenya achieved independence from British rule. In 1964, the Deendayal family moved their household and assets back to their family home in India. In 1965 Vedprakash took a trip to Limoges France to visit the university and Quint and his father went along. Once there, Vedprakash, as he and Quint had planned, enrolled himself and Quint in university. Quint studied political science and, six years later, graduated cum lauda with minors in African history and Swahili.
Vedprakash had returned to India but Quint decided to travel to the United States to observe society and the developing political awareness there.
He traveled the country for a few years then traveled to Canada, where he settled to attend University of Toronto. Four years later he received his Doctorate in African Studies and took a position in the Political Science department.
Quint currently lives in a small cottage/house full of the things he loves with his wife Melanie, who is a professor of anthropology and early human language. He met Melanie here at University of Toronto when he was 28 and finally convinced her to marry him when he was 35. They have no children of their own but spend much of their free time traveling and doing social work with children's organizations.
Though relatively happy, Quint has observed the degradation of societies around the world and has written several books concerning the topic. He sees the socioeconomic and political situations appear to be coming to head and is unsure of where this will eventually lead.