Hey Guys *in typical Lyndsay high-pitched voice!*
Well here we are after almost 5 days in Lusaka, and it already feels like we’ve lived here for months! We’ve just finished our two days training, and what a few days it’s been! After a slight change of plan due to a power cut (yes we didn’t have power for two days) we spent the first day having a tour of the placements on the back of a truck, which was amazing...and we met some incredible people that work for Sport in Action. We were made to feel like celebrities after being interviewed for ZNBC (Zambia’s National television station) and several Radio stations. The media coverage has been outstanding since arrival! After a tiring day, we all retired to our humbled abode to be greeted by another power cut, so ambience was found through candle light and takeaway pizza! Refreshed and ready for action, the second day of training was based on site at the Sport in Action office, where the morning was kicked off inspirationally by Pearson, one of the site co-ordinators who was found by chance by Sport in Action when they were short staffed...he was tiling the roof at the time. After teaching us many traditional games and chants, we’re definitely getting to grips with the Zambian passion for singing and clapping! The day continued with other Sport in Action members taking the lead and training us in various sections of their work and teaching us about Zambian culture, what to expect and a few basic Bemba and Nywagee phrases. The training was finished by Kizito, an incredible teacher who spoke excellently on HIV/Aids, helping us understand the Zambian mentality behind the virus. In the evening we were treated to a traditional Zambian meal, cooked by the Sport in Action Crew. Caterpillars and chicken feet were all sampled (along with more stable potatoes, rice and nshima)! So, after two days of intense training, we are all feeling very excited for the weeks to come. From tomorrow we will be working in our student pairs in our placement sites along with our Site co-ordinators and peer leaders. We can’t wait to see what the next few days will bring, and hopefully we will get to share our thoughts and experiences with you very soon.
Lots of Love,
Lyndsay and PZ
p.s. Katie sends good luck to all the Cricket girls in their BUCS Knockout game...x
