3 months and counting...

Good morning!

On Saturday it was the beginning of my three-month countdown towards my departure... I am both excited and also nervous.

My mum bought me these gorgeous pants for India! They are incredibly lightweight, and will be so cooling in the heat:

They are a tiny bit too long, so we are either going to take them up or I am thinking about adding elastic to the bottoms so that they add a bit more shape. But I am just in love with them! I love the detailing on the waist!!!!

So, in terms of where I am at with preparations for India, I have just made an appointment for an interview with The Weekend Sun, our local weekly paper. Eeee! Hopefully this will work in a few ways, by raising awareness, and maybe helping with finding a job and fundraising etc. That is the hope anyway!

My arms have finally recuperated from the injection of an assortment of diseases, and I can actually sleep on my arms now - thank God!

Mum and I went and checked out Kathmandu, as we had a voucher that gets a staff discount on most items, and I bought a few travel essentials! Some travel toiletries like shampoo + bodywash sheets (you wet them and they dissolve and foam! So cool!), a travel towel, a head torch (for the sometimes dodgy power), an alarm clock, and this cool back-pack that folds down to a size that you can just put into your pocket! So it is all very exciting, and becoming so much more real... 

I received an email from one of the ladies that lived at the flat that I will be staying in next year, and I have found out (with relief), that my rent is going to be so much cheaper than originally thought. Instead of 12,500 rupees (Rs) (about 320 NZD) per month, it is actually Rs 6000 (about 153 NZD)!! And around Rs 500 for food per week (around 12 NZD)... so cheap! It's crazy.

The flat has three bedrooms (2double + 1single), with a small lounge and two toilets (one western, one squatting - both flushing).

Oh! Mum and dad (and hopefully my brother) are going to make a trip to visit me for a week or something while I am in India!! Best news! It means that I wont get toooo homesick knowing that I will get to see them within the year :)

Things I need to sort out:

- renewing passport

- filling out 'In the Event of Death' form

- writing and signing my will

- look into travel insurance

- dentist/optometrist/hairdresser

- begin learning the language (Bengali)

- vaccinations

- visas

- find a job

From now on this will be my blog that I will be using for my trip next year! I may change the name, but I am not too sure just yet.

I will continue adding updates and will probably begin putting random pieces of information or facts that I learn along the way, as well as some different words in Bengali, so you can learn with me!!

First lesson - pretty much all the months of the year are pronounced the same in Bengali as it is in English!!!

x

Sustainable City Showcase Pt. 2

Here are the rest of the photos from the showcase that we (AUT textile + fashion students) participated in:

Vanessa added to our collection with some of her own garments - she constructed them all in one weekend = legend! 

Vanessa's dress: She constructed this out of a printed fabric that she designed. If anyone is interested in her garments, you can go here.

Mel's children's bedding samples (with Carol's behind)

Carol's screen- + digital printed swatches

My workspace (With coffee-bean-sack-bag in progress)

This is the mock up bag I created (all hand-stitched!)

Close up of the hand stitching... was a pretty rough attempt, but then again it was a mock up!

Info Poster for our area

In action! From left: Rachel, Rachel, Kahli, Carol (with Diana behind her)

Rachel's work with our products

Sitka's display 

I cannot remember the name of this business, but what is amazing about them is that they use all natural dyes for their fabrics i.e. using beetroot, tea, coffee etc.

The mock up bag again.

Myself, Carol, Kahli and Diana

x

Sustainable City Showcase

Today and yesterday I have had the pleasure of participating in the Sustainable City Showcase at Shed 10, Queen's Warf! Myself, some other AUT fashion + textile students, and out tutor Kim Fraser, have been showcasing some of our projects. 

There are items from: screen/digital printed textiles and garments made of FairTrade cotton (courtesy of Pravin Sawmy from Fairtrade AUS/NZ), to up-cycled and recreated clothes.

Here are a few pics from the set up day!:

Garments designed by Donna Cleveland

Our products

Kim Fraser's dress made from recycled mens trousers

Fairtrade cotton

Kahli Maseyk's up-cycled garments

Carol's prints, Kahli's garments, and Elise's amazing top!

Rachel's cotton garments she designed

The super awesome sitting area! I love the old coffee-bean sack stools!

Donna Cleveland's gorgeous dress made from a recycled blanket

These two dresses are made from old t-shirts - so cool!

The fashion area

Our quaint little area!

Half-scale mannequin... I just love it! Donna's husband made it!

My little area

We have the sewing machine set up for live demos!

Oh I just LOVE these so much... the little black shorts are also fairtrade

Super sustainable wall made of boxes! I'm beginning to see 'sustainability' everywhere...

The fairtrade coffee-bean sacks that Pow got from Allpress, soon to be unpicked and recreated into something else!

A close up, just for kicks!

I will upload some photos of some other exhibitions later!

x

My Bucket List (so far...)

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details. 

1. To swim with whale-sharks. I mean, they are the most amazing creatures!

2. To travel overseas to see a special someone who I have not seen in four years... I miss him!

3. To visit Chernobyl. Just the mystery of it is so enchanting.

4. Participate in Holi Day (I can tick this off next year!!)

5. Live in India for a while (I can tick this off next year also!)

6. Go to Cire Trudon (it is a candle shop) in New York, and buy a candle.

7. Climb Half-Dome at Yosemite National Park, USA

8. Go to space. (Highly unlikely, but still possible!)

9. Climb Mt. Ngarahoe again.

10. Skydive... I hate heights, so this will be interesting.

11. Save a life.

12. See my family come to faith.

13. Visit Venice. I have dreamed of this place...

14. Visit Ukraine. The people are so beautiful there.

15. Hold a Kiwi. (Done!)

x

A few thoughts.

Today I had the 'pleasure' of getting my first round of vaccinations in preparation for India. I received a typhoid/hep-A and a Polio vaccine, one in each arm, so I went and bought myself some food to console myself afterwards haha. I am just waiting now to see whether I will get the common side-effects of nausea and a fever...

So right now I am really on the inspiration buzzzzzz, and here are some images that are getting me on that high!!:

I like to think that I take most opportunities to have a bit of a peep outside of the box, to stick my head through the top and have a quick look. Sometimes I need to just clamber on out and jump away from the box altogether.

I love this image. I have seen a few like this, and I just love how it inspires me - when I am in India, I really want to make a scrap-book or just some way of collecting different photographs/items/notes etc. You can see more here.

I so want to see this movie! It is called 'Hanna', and it has the lovely actress Saoirse Ronan (also in The Lovely Bones  and Atonement).

I love these collages by Ashlie Chavez. It makes me want to pick up an old magazine and hack away!

When I one day have my own space, I really want to have just that. Space. I want to live in a large, open studio area, and have awesome clothes hangers like above, with inspirational quotes on the walls in large type.
Image found here.

And this image is just too awesome to ignore! I so want to do this with some of the old encyclopedias I have at home some day.
Image found here.

x

Immunisations!!

 So this week has been very eventful! Larissa's final performance for this year at uni, Phantom of the Opera 25th anniversary screening, my final essay/assignment in for the year, fireworks, last night as a flat together, and booking my first immunisations!:

Ugh, I am getting my first immunisations in preparation for my year in India on Monday... I think I am getting my Hep A + Typhoid, and Polio. For about $110! Photos to come as I will try ask the nurse or the doctor (I have to see both apparently for this) to take some!

I cannot wait to get real henna done over my entire hands, and I will take over my nail polish in that colour pictured! Instead of my own attempts at henna on myself and friends haha.

Snuck a quick photo of two of my flat mates in the front yard; Lydia was dying Larissa's hair in the sun, I just love the comical look of those two!

Lighting sparklers for Guy Fawkes!! (A night early though, but it was Britt's last night at the flat).

Gotta love the cliche 'I Love U' written with a slow exposure!

Moi.

Our final night as a flat!

So from now on, I really need to work on getting my act together and sort out different ways in which I can begin to fundraise and create awareness within my community about my move next year... I haven't yet been able to find a job, so I hope that there are people generous enough to help me out over summer! Still have about 6 or 7 grand to find in three months... eek!

x

Currently loving this song!