Less than two weeks to go!!!!

So today it is 12 sleeps until I leave for Canada! Tickets are here, seats are booked and travel insurance is organised. But there is still so much to do!!

It still doesn't feel real to me that I am actually going in less than 2 weeks.... even with all the paperwork here, overflowing suitcases in my bedroom, farewell event posted on Facebook, and accommodation arranged for the first couple of weeks. I think it probably won't even seem real when Amy and I are standing there in front of each other at the airport! 

So for those not in the know, here is how the first part of my trip is going to pan out (after this bit it is all an adventure and who knows what will happen)!! 

On Thursday October 14th I will fly out to Auckland at 11.30am. That flight will only be 4hrs and 15 mins. I then spend an hour in Auckland (time to walk to the transfer gate) and board my flight to Vancouver, which is 13hrs and 15 mins. Not too long, I seem to recall my trip to London being a lot longer than that. I arrive in Vancouver on the 14th of October at 1.15pm. So I arrive only 2 hours after I leave Adelaide despite being on a plane for 19 and a half hours! Weird.

When I arrive in Vancouver I will be staying with my friend Amy who lives about an hour-ish out of the city. And then from November.... anything is possible! 

I do have a working visa so I am planning to get a job as soon as possible. I don't really care what I do at least for the first few months, just anything that pays money. I have to get a medical done once I arrive if I want to be able to work with children, so I plan on doing that pretty soon after I get there.

I am SO excited and SO nervous and cannot wait to get there!! Now back to packing and sorting....

Another year wiser?

So, yesterday was my birthday. I try to avoid it a little, mostly because I don't want to face the fact that I am getting older! But of course my family (and some others) manage to remember and remind me every year!

I had a nice day, I spent the morning organising my bedroom! We had a flood 3 weeks ago and my carpet was ripped out, I've been camping out in the lounge for that time. So on Wednesday the new carpet went in, my stuff went back into my room and then I had to start getting it organised! I've been trying to get rid of a bunch of stuff in readiness for Canada - I don't want to take too much with me and I don't want to leave too much here taking up my parents house!

A lovely friend of mine took me out for lunch and Lindt hot chocolate (soooooooo good!) and we talked for about 2 hours, lol... And then I came back anmd continued on my room... managed to get 6 green bags of clothes and about 10 or so pairs of shoes together to give away, plus chucked out 3 rubbish bags of stuff. Pretty happy with that effort but a while to go yet still!

I went out for dinner with my family and a couple of my friends, it was really nice and I had a great time!! And of course there were presents =)

My friends Georgie and Dave gave me some Canada money! So I can use it when I get there for whatever... such a good idea and it's so PRETTY!!

My sister Steph and her husband Zeph gave me this Oxfam lemur... isn't he cute! It makes sense when you see the rest of the present...

A lemur experience at the zoo!! I'm so excited that I get to feed and play with these guys next time I go to the zoo (which hopefully will be soon)! Awesome present =)

So overall it wasn't so bad after all! Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday greetings despite my birthday not being public on Facebook, lol. I felt very loved.

{gemma}

For $2 a day you can change a life!

There's not much you can get for $2 these days. A bottle of water, a bus ticket, a chocolate bar. Well what if I told you for less than $2 a day you can change someone's life forever? You'd want to know how, right? 
Well for just $44 a month for Basic Sponsorship or $56 a month for Sponsorship Plus you can sponsor a child through Compassion. You can take a child living in poverty and despair and give them hope a future. Surely that's worth more than your daily Mars fix?!
Sponsoring a child is one of the greatest things I have ever done. My current sponsor child, Celine, sends me letters and drawings and tells me how my sponsorship money is changing her life. I know that I have given this beautiful little girl a chance to get out of poverty and live life to her full potential.
Emilck and Isabel both need sponsors. If you are interested in changing the lives of either of these gorgeous children, or any others, please comment here, message me, email me or leave a post on my Facebook. Feel free to contact me with any questions. I would LOVE for these children to hear that someone has chosen to sponsor them!
{gemma}


ISABEL HAS FOUND A SPONSOR!! CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS BEC =)
This is Isabel. She was born on September 3rd 2006. She lives in Mexico with her mother and has one sibling. Isabel likes playing house and playing with dolls. Wouldn't it be great to find Isabel a sponsor for her birthday this year!!?

This is Emilck. He was born on March 11th 2006. He lives in Honduras with his stepfather and his mother. He likes playing with cars and playing ball games. Your sponsorship could change his life!




If you are interested in sponsoring one of these children or another child, please contact me or go to one of these sites and click on "Sponsor a Child":
Australia: http://www.compassion.com.au 
Canada: http://www.compassion.ca/ 
US: http://www.compassion.com
Do something better with your daily coffee money and change a life today!!

Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Sooooooo.. on Wednesday night Steph and I got to go and see Scott Pilgrim vs the World at a special early preview!

I was super excited to see this movie.... I love indie type movies and when I saw Michael Cera (from Juno, Arrested Development and Youth in Revolt) was in it I was even more keen. When I checked out the trailer it was funny and looked really different to any type of movie I've seen before. It's adapted from a comic and lots of comic/video game elements have been preserved in the movie. If you're a comic or video game geek, you will most likely love this movie!

Anyway Steph and I both really enjoyed it, and I will be seeing it again. Highly recommended. Check out the links below and then go see it for yourself!

{gemma}

Check out the trailer, synopsis and other good things here: http://www.scottpilgrim.com.au/

Movie Poster:
http://www.contagiousnetwork.com.au/promos/Scott_Pilgrim/Scott_Pilgrim_Keyart.jpg

Facebook Group:
http://www.facebook.com/ScottPilgrim?ref=search

Adventures of gemma launch!

Hello friends and others!

Welcome to my blog =) I am going to use this primarily to update everyone on what I have been up to, travelling updates and general life stuff. I might also write some random ramblings of things that happen to be on my mind. From time to time I will probably also tell you about things I have seen/tried/heard about that I think are cool.

I love hearing feedback so please comment if you have something to say!! Also if you want to be my friend on Facebook my address is: http://www.facebook.com/gemdoesstuff

Welcome and thanks for reading =)