They say time flies when you're having fun but I think even now that is the biggest understatement of the century. As I write this I am midway through the final journey of this epic adventure which is Zambia. It feels like yesterday that I boarded that plane in London in May to begin what was going to be the summer of a lifetime and now we are fast approaching the end of this adventure.
Three weeks ago we bid farewell to the second group of students and welcomed the third and final group. It was crazy and a little scary as to how attached you can become to a group of people in such a short period of time. Reflecting on my time spent with Group 2 has reminded me of the 'why' behind my application to become a Team Leader, and that was one for my obvious love of Zambia, this place and the people but two, to play a part, no matter how big or small, in allowing the students the chance to fall in love with this place I call my home from home. Now half way through Group 3 and the memories continue to be created, the good times continue to be had and I am falling more in love with this place every day I spend here. The first half of Group 3 has been jam-packed full of memories and it's safe to say I am doing my uttermost to make the most out of this experience before the end arrives. The past three weeks have had so many highlights that it would take too long to write but there's one I would like to share for the time being.
Last week I was invited to be a special guest presenter at Zambia's 'Born N Bred Music Video Awards' at the Government Complex. Initially I didn't know much about this event apart from the gentleman who invited me was a local football analysts who I had become friends with since arriving in Zambia. He had been invited to present an award and I was his co-presenter. In true Zambian style I didn't know much but it wasn't until I was at dress rehearsal on Wednesday night followed by the event on the Thursday that the true magnitude of it became real. It was very much like the VMAs in England and was a big deal over here. On arrival I was escorted to a room downstairs where we had to wait until it was time to walk the red carpet. Little did I know that on that carpet would be a number of Zambia's biggest artists all of who had attended to either present an award or perform. Walking down the carpet I soon found myself being interviewed LIVE on Zambia TV about my thoughts on local music and videos... Thankfully I was able to remember Jay Rox and his song Joanna which has become a little bit of an anthem for my summer here. However, for those who have seen the video you would understand why saying that was my favourite probably wasn't my best idea! Favourite song yes but the interviewer did ask about my favourite video and I just couldn't think of anything else!
The room soon started filling up and we were taken back stage to wait until it was time to present our award. Myself and Nsama were presenting the award for the 'Most Consistent' artist and we had a football orientated speech prepared which despite my initial hesitation actually went down really well. Nsama started speaking in Spanish / Portuguese about the Ballon d'Or and I gently had to remind him where we were and the audience in front of us. As you can imagine it sounds quite cheesy but the crowd loved it and we had some fantastic feedback about it. Not bad for my first time presenting at a music award ceremony. The evening was packed full of awards, live music performances and some great entertainment. What was even better is that I was able to take Jackson, one of our Peer Leaders from Munali, to the awards with me which was priceless. For someone like him opportunities such as this would never be available and therefore it was my privilege to have him as my date for the evening. You only had to see his face to see how much it meant to him to be there live.
A very unexpected evening spent in Zambia but one I wouldn't change for anything. Another memory to add to what is truly an adventure of a lifetime!
Three weeks ago we bid farewell to the second group of students and welcomed the third and final group. It was crazy and a little scary as to how attached you can become to a group of people in such a short period of time. Reflecting on my time spent with Group 2 has reminded me of the 'why' behind my application to become a Team Leader, and that was one for my obvious love of Zambia, this place and the people but two, to play a part, no matter how big or small, in allowing the students the chance to fall in love with this place I call my home from home. Now half way through Group 3 and the memories continue to be created, the good times continue to be had and I am falling more in love with this place every day I spend here. The first half of Group 3 has been jam-packed full of memories and it's safe to say I am doing my uttermost to make the most out of this experience before the end arrives. The past three weeks have had so many highlights that it would take too long to write but there's one I would like to share for the time being.
Last week I was invited to be a special guest presenter at Zambia's 'Born N Bred Music Video Awards' at the Government Complex. Initially I didn't know much about this event apart from the gentleman who invited me was a local football analysts who I had become friends with since arriving in Zambia. He had been invited to present an award and I was his co-presenter. In true Zambian style I didn't know much but it wasn't until I was at dress rehearsal on Wednesday night followed by the event on the Thursday that the true magnitude of it became real. It was very much like the VMAs in England and was a big deal over here. On arrival I was escorted to a room downstairs where we had to wait until it was time to walk the red carpet. Little did I know that on that carpet would be a number of Zambia's biggest artists all of who had attended to either present an award or perform. Walking down the carpet I soon found myself being interviewed LIVE on Zambia TV about my thoughts on local music and videos... Thankfully I was able to remember Jay Rox and his song Joanna which has become a little bit of an anthem for my summer here. However, for those who have seen the video you would understand why saying that was my favourite probably wasn't my best idea! Favourite song yes but the interviewer did ask about my favourite video and I just couldn't think of anything else!
The room soon started filling up and we were taken back stage to wait until it was time to present our award. Myself and Nsama were presenting the award for the 'Most Consistent' artist and we had a football orientated speech prepared which despite my initial hesitation actually went down really well. Nsama started speaking in Spanish / Portuguese about the Ballon d'Or and I gently had to remind him where we were and the audience in front of us. As you can imagine it sounds quite cheesy but the crowd loved it and we had some fantastic feedback about it. Not bad for my first time presenting at a music award ceremony. The evening was packed full of awards, live music performances and some great entertainment. What was even better is that I was able to take Jackson, one of our Peer Leaders from Munali, to the awards with me which was priceless. For someone like him opportunities such as this would never be available and therefore it was my privilege to have him as my date for the evening. You only had to see his face to see how much it meant to him to be there live.
A very unexpected evening spent in Zambia but one I wouldn't change for anything. Another memory to add to what is truly an adventure of a lifetime!
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