No wonder Kwesi Appiah describes discovering he was going to be representing Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations as surreal.
Only 15 months after making his Cambridge United debut against Gateshead in the Skrill Premier and grabbing his first goal against Nuneaton, the striker was showcasing his skills on the big stage in an international tournament.
Having played his part in helping the U's get promoted to the Football League during his first temporary spell in 2013/14, Appiah was back at the R Costings Abbey Stadium on loan from Crystal Palace at the start of this season and contributing to their first campaign back in Sky Bet League Two when he was called up to the Black Stars' provisional squad for the competition in Equatorial Guinea.
And so the 1-0 home defeat to Southend on Boxing Day proved to be his last game for United as he jetted off to another continent.
"It was pretty surreal, to be honest," said Appiah. "It was a dream of mine to play for Ghana, so having gone to an Africa Cup of Nations with the squad is unbelievable.
"Once I got out there it started to sink in, but to start with it was a bit like, 'wow, this is happening'.
"It wasn't my team-mates that it took a while to get used to, it was more the condition of the pitches that was the initial problem. I had to adjust to the weather conditions, but the players were all cool and to play with quality players makes life easier.
"It couldn't have gone much better for me. I made my debut against South Africa and then started and scored in the quarter-final, so it was massive."
Appiah came off the bench in the 2-1 win over South Africa which secured Ghana's place in the last eight, and he found the back of the net on his first start as they knocked out Guinea to advance to the semi-finals.
Crowd violence marred their last-four showdown with hosts Equatorial Guinea, with riot police needed to quell the disturbance while a police helicopter hovered close to the pitch.
But Appiah, who won a penalty in the match which was converted by Jordan Ayew, and his team-mates kept their focus throughout a 30-minute stoppage and secured a 3-0 success to book a date with Ivory Coast in the final.
"Before all the trouble you could feel it was different to the other games," said Appiah. "It was against the hosts and you could feel the different intensity from the beginning.
"We didn't really make much of it (the crowd trouble) at the time in terms of disturbing our game. It was more afterwards that you realised what had happened and that it was more serious than you'd thought, but at the time we had to focus on our game.
"I made my contribution in the semi-final and we got through to the final, which was wicked.
"The excitement started as soon as we finished the semi-final, and playing against Ivory Coast made it an even bigger occasion because of the talented players they've got."
The sides were locked together at 0-0 in extra time when Appiah was substituted by Ghana boss Avram Grant, and he had to watch from the sidelines as an Ivory Coast team containing Yaya Toure, Wilfried Bony and Gervinho, and led by former United coach Herve Renard, triumphed 9-8 on penalties.
"My participation came to an end and so it was down to the other players," said Appiah. "It's taken a while to accept we lost and got the silver medal – the satisfaction wasn't there straight away because you've lost a final and you're annoyed you've not got the gold.
"Once it sinks in, you think about how far you've come and the final was a tight game. Losing on penalties was disappointing, but that's football."
There was also a bit of a surreal moment for Appiah after the final as he was named the fair player of the tournament.
He is not quite sure why he was chosen for the award, but it was another feather in his cap and could boost his chances of earning more caps for his country in the future.
"I won the man of the match in the quarter-final, and in the semi-final I won the fair play award," said Appiah.
"After the final I got presented with the fair player of the tournament. I'm not sure how the award is decided on, but it's always nice to get personal accolades."
Source: Cambridge News