Meet Exeter’s Zimbabwean fresher

Kayla Alexander is from Zimbabwe. She’s more used to having monkeys in her garden than having to put four layers on just to walk to the club.

What’s the nightlife like back home?

It’s mental, so much more wild than here – so far. You hear a lot about the British culture of binge drinking and underage drinking and whatever but at home, it’s just crazy. I’m from Harare which is the capital of Zimbabwe. Its literal translation means the City that Never Sleeps. Obviously it being a capital city, it makes sense that the clubs are a lot bigger than in Exeter. Also, the concept of pre-drinks here is completely new to me – we don’t do anything like that at home, you just go straight to the club. That’s what I’m struggling with – getting as drunk as I would on a normal night out before you even leave the flat.

What’s the craziest night you’ve had in Zimbabwe? 

Me and a group of friends had gone out for someone’s birthday and on the way there, my friend’s heel snapped. She was limping along for ages until she screamed at some random guy to carry her because it was her birthday – he actually did! She was swanning around the club in his arms like some kind of queen, ordering him to take her to the bar and to the tables and stuff. Then, one of my friends got grabbed. The guy pushed her into a wall and she broke two of her fingers so we tied them together with somebody’s shoelace. We then lost one of my other friends when he went off to get some cocaine and promptly dropped it down a drain – raging was an understatement.

You mentioned grabbing – what is that?

It’s where a guy will come up to you and just start trying to kiss and be all over you. Sometimes, it’s just innocent and you can tell them to go away but some guys can be pretty rough about it. Most clubs will turn a blind eye to it because it’s common, you have to look after yourself really. That time where my friend broke her fingers was one of the worst I’ve heard but people tell some real horror stories about girls getting dragged off by their hair and stuff – but I’ve never seen anything like that.

So, the guys here are more polite?

So polite it’s almost painful. It’s like oh sorry I pushed you, oh sorry I stood near you, oh sorry I breathed. Everyone I’ve spoken to has been really lovely and it’s actually really nice how most of them treat the girls with such respect.

Is cocaine widely used in Zimbabwe?

It didn’t used to be but it’s getting more and more popular among our age group, particularly with other drugs like nyaope, a South African drug, becoming more widely available. It’s pretty common for people to take it on a night out – you’ll usually see a few get a bit shifty and slink off and come back later all bright eyed and bushy tailed. I’ve never actually taken it – it seems stupid to pay so much for like a half an hour high then feel terrible for the rest of the night.

You’ve also mentioned moonshine?

It’s basically home-brewed alcohol, so stuff that people have made themselves. Because all of our alcohol is imported, it makes it so much more expensive. So people are turning to their own devices, making this stuff which can be called moonshine or scud or lots of different street names and selling it for a profit, because it costs nearly nothing to make. It’s normally called moonshine because all of the brewing is done at night because it’s obviously illegal. It can sometimes be quite dangerous. If people don’t know what they’re doing, the alcohol content can be crazily high.

Did you bring any to the UK with you?

No, unfortunately not! It tastes pretty foul anyway – think I’ll stick to the Jägerbombs.