MissIsGoode

Life | F is for Fundraising

By Unknown - 20:11

Well hello again, I'm slowly catching up on this...!

I've said before that my A to Z challenge focus is all about being at home and my progress towards fundraising and learning about Thailand in the months before I go away. So I have to apologise now if I ramble on a lot, but I'll be trying my best to keep things fresh rather than repeating myself too much!

Now fundraising wise, I haven't done a lot towards it so far but I've got 4 weeks back in Cornwall now and I'm dedicating this month to fundraising (oh and those few thousand word essays I've got to crack on with!).

Here's my total so far:

My family and friends have been really generous, and I've saved up about £90 myself so far, with the hope of obviously putting more towards it. In all honesty I find this a hard thing to fundraise for as it's not your typical charity 'event' as it were. And whilst I will have an amazing experience out in Thailand, the reason I'm going out there is to make a difference to people lives.

Onto my fundraising plans!

Car boot, car boot, car boot...in my house we have box after box and an already packed car boot full of generously donated bits and bobs (some I want for myself!) that we can sell on. I hope to make quite a bit considering the amount of stuff we've collected so I'll be doing a few car boot sales during the 4 weeks I'm home, with the first being on Easter Sunday in the Sainsbury's car park!

Bake sales! - who doesn't love cake? Don't say you don't! I've got my sister by my side (Cupcake Mumma) to help me do some baking and I'll be filling a table up of cake and treats to sell to help me raise funds, so if you live around Porthleven keep an eye out!

A dinner party - I thought a nice idea whilst I'm home would be to throw a Thai themed dinner party for my friends as I barely ever see them any more. As many of my friends are students or young working chaps, I won't be asking for big donations, just anything little and a lovely night in with them (I'm sure it won't be as sophisticated as it sounds!)

The Great Run - I signed up for the run a while ago, and will be doing a post on this for 'G', so all I can say for now is there's a nicely sized group of us VESL volunteers training for this!

I'll keep this post updated if I come up with any more ideas, but I hope with only a few hundred left to raise I should be well on my way to hitting my target after doing all this. Wish me luck!

MissIsGoode

2 Comments

A to Z challenge

Life | E is for Essays

By Unknown - 22:13

Funnily enough my last A to Z Challenge 'E' post was also essays...because when are holidays ever truly holidays?

This time round I have three 2,500-3,000 word essays to write, so nothing much really! Two of the topics I have to come up with myself, which I always hate before starting but prefer to a question given to us when I make it to the finish line. I find it hard coming up with essay titles or questions, hence the panic I've been having with my dissertation, but once I battle through that, out pops a decent essay...at least I hope so anyway!

The other essay is one in which we are given 12 questions, and have to chose one to write a long and intellectual essay on. I've gone for 'Can we even call Oedipa Maas a detective?' - referring to the protagonist of Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49. I haven't got an answer for this question yet, so I'm no where near beginning to write the paper, and the book itself is a tough old read because you have many more question to ask than whether or not the protagonist, who is one crazy character, is actually a detective or not. So before I tackle that question, I need to get my head around the plot...

Fortunately (and unfortunately at the same time) I have no job over Easter like I usually would, so this means I have plenty of time to sit on my butt and get these essays written to a first class standard (well I doubt that will happen but it rolls off the tongue better than a 2:1 standard). The additional fact that I'm absolutely skint means I also won't have much of an opportunity to catch up with friends - although since university happened I'm in contact with very few, the best ones stuck around though - and that also means I have even more time to work on these essays. Whilst the pennies from working would have really helped towards my flights for Thailand, shopping for Thailand and also general money for the next few months before I head off on my adventure, I have to say being free for the Easter will be quite pleasant, especially with my boyfriend coming for a visit in a few weeks time!

So off I go, to tap at my keyboard, read books written by people whose intellectual level I shall never reach, and to study poetry that I really don't enjoy...ah the joys of the Easter holidays!

Though at least I get four weeks off...I should probably stop complaining...

MissIsGoode

6 Comments

A to Z challenge

D is for Dissertation

By Unknown - 12:28

8 Comments

A to Z challenge

C is for Culture: Thailand Update

By Unknown - 20:56

On Wednesday I briefly posted about a day spent training for my volunteering in Thailand. Along with being given ideas for lesson plans, information on insurance and health and safety guidelines, we also got told a bit more about the Thai culture we'll be experiencing. There was a few things that I was quite surprised about:

Firstly, you shouldn't throw away rice

- I don't think throwing away food is a good thing as it is, but specifically rice surprised me. Though it shouldn't have done considering we've been told how much we're going to be eating.

You shouldn't point your feet towards people

- This is considered quite a rude gesture apparently. As is pointing your feet towards Buddha! I may find this one a bit hard as where I point my feet isn't usually something I think about!

You shouldn't brush past or sit next to a monk

- I'm already quite aware how important monk's are to people in Thailand, but didn't know that if you're a female especially you have to ensure you keep yourself well away from monks. You cannot speak to them unless they speak to you, and the front seats of buses are reserved for monks, so if you chose to sit in them, you have to move. I hope I don't accidentally bump into any monks - but I'd really love to meet and talk to one!

You shouldn't touch people's heads

- It's not like I go around touching people's heads in England, but I just found this surprising. It's also quite a disrespectful thing to do, similarly to pointing your feet towards people. This is something I'll have to keep reminding myself if I'm playing games at school with the children and going round in circles numbering them.

You shouldn't step on money

- Once again it's not like I go around stamping my feet on coins and notes, usually I snap them up and put them in a jar in my room! But in Thailand it's considered extremely rude to step on money because it has the King's head on and in Thai culture, to insult royalty is punishable by imprisonment. I shall definitely just not bother mentioning any royalty at all to avoid any misinterpretations or misunderstandings!

We learnt a few other things too, and from the sounds of it, Thai culture's going to be hard to grasp but with 6 weeks to spend getting used to the place, I'm sure I'll be keen and ready to make another visit in the future. I'm also really interested in the food and can't wait to try lots of new things and hopefully learn a few recipes! I've been told to expect a lot of sticky rice and eggs. As I'll be living with a host family, I'll be trying all the traditional home cooked dishes and I bet it's all going to be amazing, and hopefully not too spicey!

source

I also must keep in mind the Thai greeting: wai - this involves putting your hands together in a prayer-like gesture and bowing your head slightly. Apparently the height of your hands is dependant on the status of the person you are greeting, I just hope I don't unintentionally insult someone!

I'm also quite excited to wear some traditional Thai clothing and to experience the Buddhist religion. Buddhism is a religion I've always been quite fascinated with so I'd love to learn more about it.

I'm certain there's plenty more I need to learn before I go away to Thailand, and I'd love to have a bit of basic Thai in my head before I leave in summer as I find learning the language a respectful thing to do whenever you go to a foreign country. For now I've got my passport to send off, my visa to apply for and a bit of shopping to do.

If anyone has visited Thailand, especially the north, I'd love to hear about your experience, so do leave a common or feel free to email me - missisgoode@gmail.com.

MissIsGoode

4 Comments

A to Z challenge

Life | B is for Bargain - A Dress for the Ball

By Unknown - 18:44

I've been searching around for a few months now for a perfect dress for our 'Midsummer Nights Dream' themed humanities ball and finally I think I've found something! Many of the dresses I looked at were so bloomin' expensive that my dwindling budget just couldn't be stretched, and whilst I wanted to spurlge a bit on something pretty, I just had to keep searching until I found something in my price range. So I stuck to my guns and carried on searching and finally, I found this:

The photos just don't do it justice!

I absolutely love the design around the bust and waist, it's exactly what I was looking for. It's not entirely in keeping with the theme of the ball but never mind! The colour hasn't come out quite right here due to the background I had to use, but it's described as 'blush' and I think it's gorgeous. I don't usually wear shades of pink but it appears to be a colour that is becoming more prevalent in my wardrobe. The dress is actually floor length (the PicMonkey collage was having a battle with me about getting it to show the whole image - so I apologise!) and perfect in my opinion because paired with some lovely heels it still just about brushes on the floor. I often find with many floor length dresses once you team them with a pair of heels they skim way above you toes and I just prefer them to still fall to the floor.

The absolute best thing about this dress is definitely the price I got it for. After expecting to not find anything lovely and decent below my £20 - £30 budget, I found this for a fiver! YES five whole pounds. I couldn't believe it when I saw it and I just bought it straight away. When I woke up the next morning they were all out of stock, so I'm chuffed! And the even more surprising thing about this dress is that it's actually from Tesco's F&F line. Yup I bought a dress for a ball from Tesco for a fiver, have I any shame? Nope! Not when it looks like this and only cost me a few quid! The fabric hasn't been skimped on either and I find it lovely and soft to touch. Maybe it's not the most extravagant of ball gowns, but I love it and can't wait to wear it!

Having you found any bargains lately?