Update...a continuation

So we have finally arrived in Newcastle and are having a well deserved break. The perfect time to update this blog!

So as I wrote last time we did our training in Telscombe near Brighton. We actually lived like Amish for a week as we had no TV, no Internet and no phone signal so we were completely cut off from the world. But it was actually fun and quite nice to be uncontactable and not to be surrounded by technology and a constant stream of information and updates. It also meant we never lost focus of what we were training for and that we all got to know each other really well.

Day 2 - Training Week - Telscombe


So on day one of training we actually got to meet each other properly. In our little Telscombe home was Hasinah and myself, El and Lydia, Mikel and Marlon (who were amazing facilitators last year and would be teaching us all how to facilitate), Bonani, Esnart and George (the three speakers for this years tour), Anna and Lotti (from Restless Development) and Mum. Later in the week we were joined by the final two facilitators Katarina and Charli. So that is the Dance4Life family! We were in the worlds smallest hostel so it was quite an intimate way to get to know each other.

Our Hostel

The first day of training was all about HIV and Aids. It was an intensive day but so very interesting. We learnt so much and I felt well prepared to be able to talk to the young people we would be doing the workshops with. It also made us all realise just how important it is for people to be educated on the facts about HIV and Aids to be able to protect themselves and also to dispel any myths and stigmas.

Day one was also Mikel's birthday. It was great to get everyone together and celebrate and it was the first time people properly got to speak.

Marlon had arranged an amazing birthday card and cake.

Day two was all about facilitating. Marlon and Mikel did some really great games with us, including Facebook, where everyone says a status and then if you could write the same status you go towards the people in the group you think would also have that status. For example we had 'I know how to put on a condom with my mouth'. So we got to know a lot about each other in that session! It was a really fun day but we also got to learn a lot. Marlon and Mikel are amazing and made everyone really excited and comfortable about facilitating. They are also great when on stage so they really gave us something to look up to! They are both really cool guys and I think everyone joined the M & M fan club pretty quickly!

The other great thing about day 2 was learning all the routines! We had about 2 hours to learn all 5 routines and we only went through them once, but thankfully they weren't too hard. The hardest thing was getting the songs out of our head. They are very catchy but (some of them) very annoying!

Day three was all about learning the script. But first we had to sort out the schedule for the tour. The only downside of the week so far was that everyone had been given misinformation about the tour. So all of us thought that we were doing the whole two months but it turns out that there would only be 2 facilitators at a time which meant we would only be doing 2 weeks each. This caused loads of problems as everyone had turned down other work for the tour. So this took quite a long time to sort but thankfully the girls were amazing and we sorted out our schedules.

Next we needed to rehearse the script. Especially since we were just told that the next day we would be going into a school to do our first workshop. Scary! We split into our groups. In mine was Hasinah, George and myself. We renamed ourselves the Dream Team AKA the Cherios. We literally ran through it twice by ourselves and once with Marlon. Thankfully our run through with Marlon went well and I was really excited to get into the school!

Well this has been a whistle-stop tour of training week, even though it has managed to be the longest blog! Next time what happened in training when we weren't working and how the first school went!

Til then!

Finally...an update!

So I have fnally got around to writing an update! The last time I wrote I was heading off for training. Now I have completed the weeks training and the first week of the tour! So much to talk about!


Training - Week One - Telscombe
So on a rainy Sunday me and Hasinah headed off from London Victoria to Brighton, the destination for our training. Or so we thought. In actual fact we were headed off to Telscombe about 30 minutes away from Brighton. But first the journey! We got onto the most packed train I have been on in ages, the doorways were rammed with people. It was like being on a rush hour tube. Luckily we (and our huge array of luggage) got seats! When we arrived in Brighton we followed instructions to get a bus. Simple enough, except the next bus would be in an hour and 20 minutes. I forgot just how lucky we are to live in London and have public transport every 3 minutes. London I love you!

So we soon realised we didn't want to stand in the cold for that long to headed back to the station. Thank godness we did as about 20 minutes later Anna from Restless Development (the charity we are working for) arrived to collect us. We had no idea we were being collected so this was a big relief! This would be the first of many miscommunications but this all adds to the experience!

We also met Lydia and El, our fellow facilitators. Both Lydia and El had completed dance degrees (much to mine and Hasinah's panic - we later found out that we were the only people with no formal dance background!). They were both lovely and it was great to know that we would be spending the training week with friendly, fun people. We also met Ash who was going to be our driver for the whole tour. Ash had already been christened Mum by the time we arrived, and she had only been with the Dance4Life team for 4 days!

We then had a lovely coastal drive to Telscombe. It is literally in the middle of nowhere and only has 10 houses in the whole of the village. But the surroundings were beautiful and so peaceful! When we arrived all of te speakers were resting so we didn't really meet them. Instead me, Hasinah, Lydia and El went for a walk up the hill by our hostel and into the fields. It was getting dark and we were joking about us actuallybeing in a horror film as we were in the middle of nowhere with no mobile signal, in the dark and in a field. Perfect set up. But it was great all going up on the hill and getting to know each other.

After we got cold we all headed back to watch a film in the hostel. Four Lions if you want to know. Always great to get to know people over a comedy about terrorists. But it was really relaxed, little did we know it would be one of the only nights we would have t relax. So it was really great.

The next day the training started properly...but I will save that for another blog. Right now as I type this Hasinah is asleep so I think it is time to rest before our drive to Newcastle tomorrow. So I will relive the past two weeks via blogging tomorrow.

Until then have fun people!

Pack. Unpack. Repack. Panic.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" - Confucius

So I think I am ready. Well I hope I am! This morning I have been panicking about how much stuff I have so have been taking things out, re-adding them, shifting stuff about. But I think I have managed to strip it to the bare essentials...for a lady anyway! I am just eager to get going now. (Although I am sure once I head off I will hate myself for the heaviness of the stuff I am gonna be lugging around)

So today is the start of our adventure. Me and Hasinah leave London and head to the forest just outside Brighton for training. I am excited to meet the other people on the tour. I hope we have loads of fun! I am worried about not knowing the script well enough but I think once we start the training everything will fall into place. I am most excited about getting dancing! No matter what this is definitely gonna be a great experience and something quite unique so I can't wait to get experiencing it

When I next blog the adventure will have begun! Until then...

The girlies - Hasinah and Sophie

It's the Final Countdown!

"A life without cause is a life without effect"

So in less than 24 hours we head of for the start of our month long travelling adventure with Restless Development. I can’t believe it is here! The project is visiting schools up and down the country, giving 2 hour workshops with information about HIV / AIDS to 13-25 year olds using dance. I am excited to start the project as it sounds so fun and is such a great way to spread an important message. I am also excited about moving away from TV and trying out something completely different!

Today has been all about packing. I am sure I have too much stuff but how is a girl suppose to survive out a suitcase for a month! I am most excited about the fact that we do our training in a lodge in the woods. My first thought was hide and seek. Such a child at heart! And I have had big deliberations about what DVD’s and book’s to take. Now I must try and focus this much energy into memorising the script!

But in all seriousness it will be great to combine my passion for dance with educating future generations about HIV / AIDs. It is just the change I am looking for as I want to get away from the vacuousness and exploitative nature of TV. I am also really looking forward to working with young people because I have such faith in if we educate and encourage young people they will reach their full potential. I’d love to work either in a charity working with young people or I am even considering retraining as a youth worker so this will be a great opportunity to see if this is the right line of work for me.

Over the tour I am gonna update this blog with all the stories and photos of our adventures and also give a better description of me!

So for now it is goodbye to normal life! Today marked our final dance lesson at Pineapple Dance Studios for a month. I am so gonna miss the class and the thrice weekly routine! Luckily we have a lot of good friends in class who will keep us up to date with all the moves, and all the gossip! But we went out on a high…both physically and mentally. Me and Hasinah both struggled today, Hasinah with a misaligned spine and me with a head close that was making me all  off-balance. So I think mentally we both had our head in the clouds! But our choreographer was really fun today and I couldn’t have asked for a better final lesson (even though my dancing was shocking!). At least we now have a month to get that particular routine down!