Yale University Students on The Experience!

Ben Marrow & Alicia Alvarez

Ben and Alicia (above) were our guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz, our weekly radio show airing every Tuesday evening at 20.30 hrs CAT for an hour live on Zambezi 94.1 fm. The show is a lively mixture of international and Zambian pop music, interspersed with chat with our guests.

Ben Marrow and Alicia Alvarez, third year students at the famous, prestigious Yale University, an American private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Ben is reading Ethics, Politics and Economics, Alicia Economics and Mathematics. High powered? You bet! The guys told us that their college had educated four former US Presidents with a fifth – Hillary Clinton – perhaps on the way to the post. This provoked a discussion about US politics in general and Donald Trump in particular – there’s a surprise! Ben hails from New Jersey while Alicia is from Madrid, Spain. This was their first trip to Southern Africa, visiting family friends in Lusaka, so the guys were determined not to miss the chance of a sight of the mighty Victoria Falls, just 10 kms from Chanters Lodge where they were staying whilst in Livingstone.

Our visitors told us that they had only arrived in Livingstone on the day of the show, having flown from Lusaka with Proflight and having been met at the airport by Richard. Chanters Lodge offers free airport transfers from/to Livingstone Airport for all their guests on arrival and departure. Were the couple ‘an item’ Milli Jam wondered? They claimed they were not but ‘just good friends’ who had met at college and liked to travel together. Alicia seemed a shy mathematician, Ben a more outgoing student. While in town they hoped to have a bike ride to the Falls as well as doing the rhino walk in the Mosi-o-Tunya National Park.

The music on the show was good, with tracks from Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson, Zayn, DNCE, Willz ft Red Linso, Tinashe, Alpha Romeo ft Macky 2 and Tommy Dee, as well as Yemi Alade. The guys said they had no particular favourite music or artists but listened a lot to Yale’s own radio station while they were studying. Ben did say he favoured Kanye West and Chance The Rapper.

Alicia surprised us by telling listeners that she was into the sport of fencing and was in Yale University’s fencing team. I warned Milli Jam to control himself otherwise the young lady might take out her foil and sort him out! Coming from where she does it was no surprise to learn that she supports Real Madrid though other members of her family are for Athletico. Does she miss Spain? Not really the States is apparently ‘more exciting’….

Ben comes from a family of academics – both his parents are university professors. Part of his education had been in UK during the time his father was involved with Cambridge University, he had therefore played cricket, rugby and field hockey, as well as mysteriously ending up as a Manchester United supporter. Thereby knowing much more about sport in UK than his peers in America! We moved on.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Alicia said she would like to have finished her studies and to be working for a big international organization, while Ben said he would like to be working, travelling and to be involved in research. We wished them all the best!

 

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Elizabeth Rogers

Elizabeth Rogers

Meet Elizabeth Rogers, a guest at Chanters Lodge, pictured above, who appeared on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient ft Jay Hillz. The Experience is our weekly radio show airing every Sunday night on Zambezi 94.1 fm – Livingstone’s leading commercial local radio station, reaching a radius of about 75 kms around the tourist capital and broadcasting 24/7.

Elizabeth told listeners that this was her first visit to Livingstone which she was very much enjoying, despite the low level of water in Victoria Falls. She had managed to cross on to the Zimbabwe side of the Falls where there is always more water at this time of year – mainly due to our electricity company in Zambia diverting the Zambezi above the Falls to power their hydro electric system. She had really enjoyed the day on both sides of the border.

Elizabeth is a pharmacist by profession, holding a PharmD following 10 years of tertiary education in Virginia, USA from where she hails. We were shocked to learn the length of time she had to study but not really surprised to hear that she was contemplating more studies when she returned to the States. “Do you have student loans to repay”? I wondered. She replied in the affirmative but seemed pretty cool about it! She told listeners that she had been working in Lusaka in public health for the past year – mainly with matters concerning the HIV/Aids epidemic.

The music on the show was good featuring tracks from Ariane Grande, Coldplay, Axwell > Ingrosso ft Pusha T, Omi and Sygma ft Rita Ora. Jay dropped ‘I Love You’ by upcoming Zambian outfit Urban Hype, telling us that he had had the pleasure of interviewing the group during the week on the breakfast show he hosts daily on Zambezi 94.1 fm. He strongly tipped the band for a bright future.

Elizabeth told listeners she had enjoyed a wonderful day out in Chobe NP in Botswana, during her visit where she had been lucky enough to see lions as well, of course, as hundreds and hundreds of elephant. She had experienced a super lunch at Chobe Safari Lodge. She was very excited about the cheetah encounter she had booked for the following morning before her flight back to Lusaka.

She is single, and from the time she leaves Lusaka to return to the States, probably unemployed. We voiced the opinion that neither of these statuses would last long. Music wise she loves Rascal Flatts,and sports wise she is an avid supporter of the USA Ladies Soccer Team – the world champions.

Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing ten years’ from now, she told us that she would like to be married, a mother to her children, and working in pharmaceuticals specifically in the field of drug safety. We wished her all the best!

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The Mark Scarbrough Experience!

Mark Scarbrough

Meet Mark Scarbrough, frequent visitor to Zambia, valued client of Chanters Lodge and once again guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient ft Jay Hillz, our weekly radio show airing every Sunday night at 20.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 94.1 fm. Milli Jam and Jay were very happy that Mark brought them t shirts and hats as well as a very special pair of flashing dark glasses for Jay! I kid you not! I was delighted to be given some Charley Pride CD’s, and for sure Mark is one of the most generous, gentle people you’re ever likely to meet! Mark hails from Oakridge, Tennessee.
Mark told listeners about his latest project to build a clinic and house near Choma in the Southern Province of Zambia, as well as providing a well for the project. Each new project will be branded under the name ‘At Waters Edge’ although the logo and website were not yet finalized. One of Mark’s major undertakings is to identify and rein in corporate sponsors. Mark also has dealings with Karen Wheaton, a seasoned Christian minister whose music and preaching has provoked listeners to pursue God in passionate worship for many years. Karen’s efforts are primarily focused at the Ramp with a view to empowering young people of all races and faiths. Two of the t shirts the guys were given were from The Ramp.

Mark told listeners that his musical tastes ranged from Nat King Cole to Stevie Wonder! The music on this show featured tracks from Justin Bieber, Elly Goulding, Ariana Grande, Pia Mia, Mr Veezy ft Exile, Miguel, Calvin Harris and Tio. Some great Zambian tracks in there!

Mark is a divorcee with two daughters and two grand children. He also has a Zambian son Alec, recently married in USA and now proud dad to baby Olivia born in September. “Awwww!” We said! This trip would take him to UK as well as another week or so in Zambia.
Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing in ten years’ time he would like to be with his daughters on the Milli Jam and Jay Hillz radio show! Nice one!

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Power of Love Foundation on ‘The Experience’

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Why the Power of Love Foundation Experience? Well, the Power of Love Foundation is a secular United States charity focused on developing innovative, cost-effective solutions to address the AIDS epidemic. They work directly with women and children impacted by the AIDS epidemic and create long-term solutions that go beyond handouts. The Foundation is very active in Matero, Lusaka where there are some 5000 children infected with HIV/Aids. Matero is one of Lusaka’s huge sprawling low cost housing ‘compounds’. The Foundation is caring for some 275 of these children providing medication, care and support. Amongst other things the Foundation has provided some 20,000 mosquito nets into Matero in the past few years. They have also provided over 550 loans to small business.

On the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient ft Jay Hillz, we were lucky enough to have Alka and Suresh Subramanian with their son Jay, as guests on our programme. In the photo Suresh is on the right, Jay next to him and Alka 4th from the right, (they were on their way to Chobe). Alka and Suresh are the prime movers of the Power of Love Foundation. Alka told us that she had given up her job as a professor at the University of South Dakota in order to concentrate full time on her work for the Foundation. Suresh is a Vice President with Hewlitt Packard, and when the couple are not visiting Zambia they are home in San Diego, California. Funds are raised in the States for their Zambian project.

What had first inspired the couple to help Zambia specifically? Wondered Milli Jam. “We fell in love with Zambia at first sight” they replied. “We just love the Zambian smile!” They told us this was roughly their seventh trip to Zambia.

The music on the show was up to our usual high standard and a good mix with tracks from Deorro ft Chris Brown, Axwell / Ingrosso, Miley Cyrus, Bruce Springsteen, Chef 187 ft F-Jay, Sockodie ft Ace Hood, DJ Cosmo ft Kayo and Major Lazer. Alka’s musical taste is locked into oldies with the Beatles and Abba her favourite bands. Suresh loves jazz.

This engaging couple told us that they had met while they were at school together in India, they had been married for 34 years and had two other offspring apart from Jay. They had moved to USA to do their doctorates and now US citizens they had lived there for more than 30 years. They love it. No, theirs was not an ‘arranged marriage’ they responded to my question on the matter. Nor had they ever met Sachin Tendulkar and they could not explain how India had failed to win the recent cricket World Cup!

When not working Alka likes to hike in the mountains near their home, while Suresh has his own small plane which he loves to fly, telling us that one day he would love to fly across Africa! They do enjoy football but this turned out to involve Real Madrid and Man U. Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years from now Suresh said he would like to be retired and together with Alka spending more time in Zambia helping more communities. We thanked them for coming on the show and for the great work their foundation was doing in our country!

 

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