Gabes' final night...

This was hilarious when Nate bought Judy her coffee in this cup... you should have seen her face.

And again, Gabs makes the most amazing apple pie, and Nate gets the credit for the epic pastry triangles on top.

I am so guttered that I have only been able to know this girl for under two weeks, and she is already leaving! I cannot wait until she comes back later in the year.

Waiting for our egg-rolls and more guests to arrive... too hot to do much more.

Look at what I found in my room....!!! Indian music hits, and Bollywood dance workout. Can things get any better??

Scribblings from my first Bangla lesson!

Gotta love a self-portrait. Just so you know where I am am when I am writing to you, or emailing etc. I think most of my friends back home would think/expect me to be in a full sari, with Indian music playing, and typing away. (Well, it is half true... I am listening to the music CD I found....)

This fan is both a blessing, and a sleep-aid. It makes a rhythmic noise while it spins, which helps to get me to sleep.

One of my walls.

The tiny window in an alcove above my head. I love the pebble design on it.

Above my head.

I had thee biggest chocolate craving in the world. And then I found someone selling Cadbury Silk. And then I didn't crave it so much anymore.

I took this photo of myself, as I feel so separated from the life I had back in NZ. When I looked at it, it helped me to remember who I am, and to bring everything back to reality. It is easy to feel like I am living in a dream here; sometimes bad, sometimes good, but disconnected from time.

Namashkar!

Many firsts have happened this week.

I saw a man peeing on the side of the road right next to me for the first time.

I saw two grown men holding hands out of friendship for the first time.

I tried my first egg-roll (where have they been all my life?!).

I went to my first Bangla lesson.

There have been a few other things too. This week started off pretty down, because I was ill with a really bad migraine, a stiff neck, sore stomach, and aching eyes. I an better now, and we have been busy at work! I am now becoming a bit more independent in my work, giving Nate a bit of a chance to not stress so much, but I am still learning - which is a good thing! I love learning, but knowing that I understand what is being said, and that I enjoy it.

The ladies here at FS are just so lovely. They have the largest smiles, and they talk to us in Bangla, and either laugh or get frustrated when we can't figure out what they are saying. One of them, A, calls me 'Aana-di', because 'Alanna' is a bit hard for them to pronounce, and 'di' as a sign of respect. I love it.

Love you all.

x

Parachute 2012!!

The two week countdown is on!

To start it off, here are photos from my time at Parachute's Indie Craft Market:

Welcome to my stall!

Thank you Britty for letting me use this owl-house!

I was stoked that I was able to see so many of the people I hold close to my heart! Made my day that much more amazing.

And the lovely Laura! :)

I ended up shoving some paper into my typewriter for people to have a play on - the kids were probably the most excited about this! It was funny how many people I had to turn down when asked if it was for sale.

The beautiful sunset; cute decoration/father-son at Jono + Geneva's performance; Rose excited for The Rocket Summer!

Super stoked to see The Rocket Summer live! And to top it off, Relient K followed after! Eeee!

Ascend The Hill's performance. So amazing. This photo makes me think that it looks like God's presence is raining down... love it.

And now I will just show some photos from the days leading up to Parachute - the rest of the crafts/bit-n-bobs I put together with help from such generous friends.

DIY stamp-a-message onto reels of fabric to do at the stall.

Bunting waiting to be finished off, a floral pin-board (that Christine bought!!), and some decorative items for the stall.

Smokey thought he would help out... by ankle-tapping me throughout the night.

Bags waiting to be sewn and pressed for the chalk-board necklaces!

Some of the bags that Kirsten made for me - legend!

I thought that I had better start my final drawing at 2am...

The subjects of previous image.

Final drawings!

The super cute chalk-board necklaces! Thanks Sinead for the adorable bows! And Uncle Black Beetle's for the chain :)

The selection of collar guards I made! I was also so happy that Jahnea and Jessi bought one each! I love that they went to people I appreciate.

And finally, these are some of the collars I was selling! Haha awkward self-portraits much?

This year's Parachute was probably my favourite thus far... I was surrounded by the people I love, doing what I love, and getting 'paid' for it! I feel so blessed to know the people I do. You all know who you are (pretty much everyone I saw at Parachute), and I want you to know my love for you is so great, and you never fail to astound me at how generous, and caring you are.

So, back to the Indie Craft Market - it was the best event!

And to make it even more amazing, from the generosity of Parachute punters + friends, I was able to make just over $700, all of which is going to help me fund my trip, and cover my accommodation etc. The majority of this was made purely from purchases of my items, and the rest so kindly donated by a few people I had never met, but who had the greatest hearts. To those people, if you read this, thank you. Thank you so much.

Right, so now I am going to list off my favourite moments of my day, mostly so I can come back to this post to reminisce.

- driving to-and-from our cars with fellow crafters, on the back of a small open-sided freight-truck: we looked like a side show, and we made a big deal of making out that we were famous to one kid who believed us, as we were driving through the site at walking pace... haha

- Jessi Mee taking over my stall at one point, and selling a few items like a boss! (mostly involved her stepping in front of me, telling people why/what they should buy, and convincing them to make a purchase :) Love it!)

- Relient K + The Rocket Summer, with Larissa, Rose, Renee, Joshy, Christine + Jacob, Anna, Kaitlin, and Laura!

- Larissa telling a guy who had his sweaty armpit resting on my shoulder, "Escuse me, but will you be paying by the minute?"

- Hot chips/dogs with Larissa + Josh to keep warm

- seeing my reflection at Hunter Gatherer after a day in the sun, and being mortified at how sunburned my face was

- not really a 'favourite' moment (because it made me super sad), but saying farewell to Josh, Suze + Marcus until next year, and then Keegan, were emotional, yet treasured moments, resulting in me reaching my car at 12am in tears

- cracking up with Josh at our weird head-bobbing moves + looks during Relient K

- hearing the excitement in people's voices and comments when looking through my crafts

- meeting people who knew people from FS

- Sending Chalice + Stacy to get me an EP of a band they had just listened to, but bringing back a piece of deep-fried bread that resembled a lump of fat, because the EP had sold out! Hahahaha, but it was actually so yummy...

- many of the moments where you see someone you haven't for a long time, and excitedly jump up and hug them!

- getting to catch up with Marcus at random points throughout the day

In one day, so many amazing moments were shared.

One word of advice - don't drive at night if you are exhausted.

To be completely honest I shouldn't have driven home last night at 12.30am, after 2.5 hours sleep the night before... I eventually made it home, but I have learnt my lesson. Next time I am taking up the offers to crash in someone's tent for the night! It's too scary to drive that tired.

Thank you all for being so cool. No really, you are.
You're even cooler if you read through all of that.

x