Procrastination is my best hobby. Obviously I pondered for weeks on what to write about my travels this summer and how I was going to attempt to impress 2 teachers I had actually never met before and maybe the killer opening sentence was not the best way to do so.
Nevertheless, as soon as I saw the word 'journey' a stereotypical thought of mine was 'Ooh I'll write about my holiday to Greece!' I could ramble on forever about how the disappearing ocean glimmered under the harsh midday sun, or how the financially inauspicious local's seemed so melancholy. But, one day I was stood supervising a Nigerian wedding of 400 guests from the Hausa tribe and I had a sudden realisation that I only had to travel 15 minutes down the A37 to the Marriott Hotel to discover a completely new culture and way of life.
I arrived at work the day of the wedding to discover hundreds of wedding guests piling into the foyer of the hotel and that it was my duty to serve canapes to them, but once I clocked eyes on the tray I'd be carrying I let out a little yelp like a lost puppy. To my horror I'd be carrying fish heads, pounded yam and goat soup. Now, I appreciate different cultures and welcome them with open arms, but the stench of that food was foul and it's safe to say I will never look at a goat the same way again. Later in the evening I got to supervise the room whilst the bride and groom made their entrance. To my surprise, the song that was making the room shake was 'Run The World - Beyonce' remixed with some bongo drums and coconut shells, I was in shock. The entire wedding party broke out into a crazed, unrehearsed dance and it was honestly one of the best things I have ever witnessed in my 17 years and deserves to be a YouTube sensation.
The African outfits astounded me. they were so densely packed full of material, I could barely walk through the aisles yet the women seemed to dance so effortlessly once the traditional band began to play their Udu's and Kakaki's. The wedding vibe was amazing, there was so much love and compassion present and it really touched me, so much so, I actually cried during the speeches and in turn received a very austere glance from my boss. Finally the bride and groom performed a ceremonial 'coconut smash'. A traditional way of saying that they have started their life together. An odd way to emphasize it, even so it was a sweet gesture.
To add to the wonders of working for such a diverse brand, I've also had the pleasure of working at an Indian wedding of 500 people, where arranged marriage was rife and the women were so neglected they took out their rage and anger on the staff. Another culture I got to have a dose of was the Gypsy culture where they had a very 'low key' and 'small' wedding of 550 guests as well as a 20 stone barbie pink wedding dress that looked like it had been made by the offspring of Louis Spence and Mr Blobby. Mysteriously 400 pint glasses went missing that night and to this day we still cannot fathom what happened to them...
I only hope my job continues to be so diverse and high speed because it's helped me find myself and realise that there is a world out there and one day I am going to explore it on a journey for myself.
Jessica Lacey 12A
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