group 1 - day 1

If you’ve ever wanted to know what It’s like to be famous, spend a day in the rural villages of Zambia. The children flooded the streets following us, holding our hands and even stroking our hair. The feeling was surreal, but humbling. We desperately tried to learn the local language so that we could interact with the kids on a deeper level, rather than just high fives and fist bumps. ‘Muli shani (meaning how are you)’ was about the only thing we could remember, and even then we butchered the pronunciation. It wasn’t just the kids who were so friendly the adults too were keen to meet us. In fact, Remy was asked inside to share a glass of ‘shakey shakey.’ He kindly refused.

In the afternoon we had a practice training session with some local Zambian volunteers. Although this predominantly involved stuck in the mud and bull dog, it became surprisingly competitive and feisty. Even so, it was good to dust off our training boots and learn about communication and the key of demonstrations. I’m looking forward to meeting all the kids tomorrow and seeing them develop their skills in preparation for tournament day on Friday.

Sophie Lewis xoxo