by Gina Scarpa

Season 28 of The Real World (yes, you heard me right) is upon us and after watching some Retro MTV this weekend, I couldn't be more ready! This season is set in Portland, Oregon - an unlikely location but all these seven strangers need to do is feast their eyes on their amazing house and they'll be good to go. It's got an elevator, pool table, phone bed (instead of a phone booth), hot tub, and so on! Without further ado, let's meet the new roomies.

Averey is a proud Hooters waitress, living in Arizona. She has her own apartment and car and feels she's more independent than many of her friends with college degrees. She brought her trusted and adorable dog Daisy along with her, seemingly her own close family member. With a rocky family history, she's not quick to trust guys but she IS quick to hook up with Johnny after he defends her at a club.

Speaking of, Johnny hails from Massachusetts and has the accent to prove it. He seems a bit insecure, since he mostly worried what everyone thought of him when he first met them. Though he has a good heart, clips from the season shows that he may have a darker side as well. Speaking of a dark side, Jordan showed his before the first episode was even over. Upon first glance, he seems like the golden boy - he excels at everythIt looks like this behavior continues through the season and he except at everything from wake boarding to cheerleading, and hit it off with everyone in the house. After a night of drinking though, he got into a fight and was quite mean to Anastasia, who everyone thought he liked. Is it a bad edit thus far or is he just a jerk?

Anastasia, aka Bird, is a dorky girl turned model with a fairly serious boyfriend back home. She proved in the premiere that she takes offense to being objectified and poor treatment of others - you know, normal things that anyone wouldn't like but the guys just can't seem to understand it. As the season unfolds, we'll find out that there's more behind Anastasia's emotions as she recently lost a close friend in a drunk driving accident.

Jessica's a small town girl from North Carolina, who came to The Real World to try to figure out who she really is. When the group heads out for a night at a burlesque club, she realizes that she's a little more out of her element than she thought, even if she did parade around the house in a thong bikini within a few hours of being there. Joi, an athletic model who once posed for Playboy, seems quite comfortable with who she is. Girly but edgy, she's caught the eye of Marlon, a preacher's son from Texas, who was a football star in college. According to his bio, he's done some things that his roommates will be shocked to hear about - any guesses on what it is?

And then there's Nia, who we have yet to meet. Why does she come into the season late and is her stay in Portland short lived? Based on the fights she gets into in the sneak peek of the season, my guess is yes.

The Real World Portland airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on MTV.

(Image courtesy of MTV)

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