Speed Dating Review

UNDERCOVER SPEED DATING

One of my blog followers loved my dating posts and suggested I write about the Speed Dating event hosted by Real Life Matters Zambia.(RLMZ)

This was the picture sent to my phone by on of my regular readers

So I called the number, bought the ticket after work on Friday. I was not asked whether or not I was single, no background check, not even asked for my last name. I was not required to show ID to prove that I was over 23, even though I look younger. ;)

This exercise was purely experimental. I wanted to find out if speed dating works in Zambia.

I couldn't find anyone else to be my guinea pig"," I figured it couldn't possibly be as bad as the experiences I mentioned in the Let Me Explain post. Like a good little researcher, I took a look at the on their Facebook page find out what exactly happens at speed dating. I had only ever seen it on TV so this was a first for me

"TINA BANDA (RLMZ ORGANIZER)WROTE : "it's just 1 day to go for this event for the Singles event be it divorcees,widows or widowers.You are really going to enjoy this event.Don't worry or think of how you gonna mingle with the other singles.we have it all planned out.Since the men are the ones who go out looking for women to marry,they are the ones we shall move from one table to the other.They will sit on each table for 10min.Make sure you chat or exchange numbers if you like each other.Dress nice and appealing.Make sure u feel confident about yourself.Its important to feel good.Be original,don't fake anything.No one is interested in being with a person who can fake the whole relationship.Know what you want.we have this platform for you to meet fellow singles so be presentable too.Dress code is SMART CASUALFRIDAY 18 hrs at Edirnburgh Hotel"

"should their be anyone who needs a ticket,feel free to call 0965899643 or get them from edirnburgh hotel see emily 0977186024"

"We are more than ready to receive you and make u feel comfortable. We shall be at our best."

I'm glad to say I was not disappointed. I expected nothing and got exactly that, nothing. I arrived just after 9pm Central African Time, and seated at a table with two other women and two men. The turnout was average for a pre booked event in Kitwe; there were as many men as there were women. As I walked in there was entertainment in the form of a group of local artists and would you believe it they were lip syncing

I was told by the lady who sat next to me that the only thing I had missed was the speeches (why do Zambians insist on boring people with long speeches at events?) I was given a print out which had NOTHING to do with single people, it was written by the MC,ALEX BASOPO KAZIMIRO (NJOVU) who is a marriage councilor his email basopo09@gmail.com or basopo2010@yahoo.com (you can ask for a copy of the print out he gave us for clarification. Here's just a preview of what was on the print out:

"Give your partner enough sex and participate actively during the act, we men enjoy being touched by our partners."

The whole print out was more suited for someone who is in a long-term relationship. It was completely irrelevant to single people.

*ANYONE ELSE INTERESTED CAN CONTACT ME FOR A SCANNED COPY OF IT.

The music was so loud that I could hardly hear what anyone was saying to me. I and a few other people repeatedly asked the MC to turn down the music but our request fell on deaf ears (obviously because they couldn't hear either). How was I supposed to find out if was worth my phone number or not? The girls at my table were really friendly and I met one interesting guy. I think I was a FBI agent in a former life. What he didn't know was that I checked him out on Facebook since he told me both his first and last names. He's in a serious relationship so I wonder just what RLMZ did to check that everyone there was single. There was a member of a famous Zambian Male duo from Lusaka, who last time I checked wasn't single either.

The food was a joke, and as I mentioned earlier the entertainment was way too loud. The MC kept on disturbing couples at tables by loudly asking them how they were finding their dates. And to top it all off, one of the organizers took lots of pictures of people on their dates. I asked why she was taking pictures and what RLMZ were going to do with them she said "I don't know, Tina just told me to take pictures."

To answer the question "Does speed dating work in Zambia?" Yes and no, anything is possible if it's well organized. Someone had been watching too many romantic comedies and did not follow through and to make matters worse, they had an article in the SUNDAY MAIL written by believe it or not the MC Mr Alex (Basopo) Njovu conflict of interest and the article had no research done, at all. The article claims they were no married people in attendance. Ha! I'm an amateur, not even a journalist, and look at how much I found out within 5 minutes of being there. I"m sending Alex Njovu, Tina Banda and the rest of the RLMZ a link to this post. If anyone knows someone in Solwezi attending RLMZ's next speed dating event, I suggest you let them read this article.

-AG.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Facebook, Real Life Matters Zambia.