Poetry reading and Home-schooling with Te Kura...

 

Last week, I was invited to read some poetry, at our local library, of some poetry pieces that younger writers, who weren't able to attend a function at our local library, who had submitted poetry for our latest book that I'm currently collating regarding local intergenerational responses to COVID-19.

The VIP (very important guests) were from the Turnbull Library, in Wellington and they were archivists on a nationwide roadshow to promote their attempts to archive the COVID-19 public information both digitally and in hardcopy.

I decided, to instead, ask our middle child to read the poetry as it seemed more apt to be heard from a younger voice. The audience responded very favourably to both the poems and the speaker, and I was very proud of her.

This was especially possible in that she has decided for the last two years of her high school to be Home-schooled and to complete her NCEA National Certificate of Educational Achievement as a current, Year 12 student, through the Correspondence school, Te Kura.

The interesting thing was that I was asked to be a guest speaker at one of the correspondence school's group meetings that they had and unbenounced to me that my daughter would the following week make that decision to change modes from attending high school to working from home.

I applaud her and the many students who have joined the Correspondence school, Te Kura in learning from home as I know that in the early years, our middle child had preferred that mode of learning but because we weren't able to support her then. It's a real blessing to finally be able to support her in this.

In speaking with an educator from Te Kura, she spoke about how many families have since the situation with COVID-19, pulled their children out of school and enrolled them into Te Kura to keep them safe at home with opportunities to digitally connect or to attend group connecting meetings.

The neat thing is that at the age of 16 years, NZ students are able to freely change to this mode of learning. I'm not sure that many people of aware of this as sometimes schools aren't the best places of learning with not only the COVID-19 situation but also as places of bullying, teaching values and principles that often are sometimes not shared by the family and in having some questionable practices that I don't always personally agree with and I say this as a former high school English teacher.

So now we've been able to discuss community projects for her where she will be able to continue her learning in the community and in some real-situations. I see her now more confident and happy with our decision and already she's thriving.

It's definitely a decision that I would support especially for students who are self-motivated, can work without supervision, and who are often introverts (like me) i.e. as people who draw their energy from doing things alone rather in crowds...

An old 'birdie' 1970s song...

 

Now this song is a throwback that goes way back to the early 1970s and for some reason I recalled it today after many years (maybe some 40+ years of not singing or hearing it). That's what's so amazing about our brains is that there are so many memories that we may not be able to recall but in song form they are somehow filed away ready to open up on demand.

So I found myself singing this song that I must have recalled from my childhood on the radio as I don't ever remember singing it at school. And the interesting thing is that the song discusses about people going missing and especially the mother and it's sung in a catchy way but it begs the question about why was this song sung?

I'm not sure what the original intention of the song was but it would definitely not be one that would be encouraged to be sung in school. The catchy tune probably made it popular back in those days but I don't think that it would be P.C. (politically correct) enough to sing about a mother leaving (I assume children behind).

It was also interesting to note the singer's clothing back in the 70s which reminded me of the Swedish ABBA group and some of the outlandish clothing they could get away with wearing back in the 70s much like the style of clothing that the lead singer of this song wore that we could never get away with these days...

The movie "Cousins" a sad story...

 This week I got to watch the movie "Cousins" with my middle child. I had been anticipating this movie as Patricia Grace is one of my fave Maori women writers and I'd studied particularly one of her books at Uni called 'Potiki' that had absolutely captured me.

So I was looking forward to watching this movie although I couldn't remember if I'd read this book to the end as I'd read many of her short stories and even taught some of her stories when teaching in high school.

I must say that I was rather disappointed at the Cinematography and the storytelling as although it had some beautiful parts, I did think that some of the parts were rather disjointed and it wasn't as fluid as I had hoped for telling the story. Although I thought the story itself would have been beautifully told by Patricia.

So it was a bit sad for me to leave the theatre feeling a little letdown. It was interesting to note that some of the audience clapped at the end of the movie before leaving. I just couldn't join them due to my disappointment as I had wanted to take my class to watch it but it left me feeling sad about it...

Happy 10th Birthday to our youngest...

Yesterday, we celebrated the 10th birthday of our youngest (yes, double digits) with our family. Sadly with the current COVID-19 community cases with lockdowns we thought not to take any chances with party but to keep it low key for her without her friends.

As I didn't want to have a potential spreader event whereby someone came and infected others in the group who would have attended the birthday party.

So we got creative and took her to an early breakfast at a local cafe she likes. She was able to spend time at a Timezone games arcade and won a prize. 

We did a little shopping excursion for her and had a home after school party for her with the family and then took her to an evening movie, pierced her ears with new studs and an after-party sushi and Boba tea night drive that she enjoyed very much and went straight to sleep upon arriving home for school the next day.

I guess these are some of the after-effects that we have in being aware that the virus could turn up at any event and that keeping cautious with three generations at a party is very important. All in all, it was a blessed day and she enjoyed herself immensely. We thank God for these lovely opportunities with our little one...

 

Recruiting for Tikanga course level 4...

 

This is the last week for recruiting for a Tikanga (Maori cultural traditions and protocols) level 4 course at Te Wananga o Aotearoa with an Indigenous Research lens.

This is the course that I've been teaching for the past 3 - 4 years since 2018 with the two prior years of teaching Indigenous Research.

Now I'm able combine both and it's been an interesting journey for me as a kaiako/tutor and as a tauira/student at two Wananga (Maori tertiary institutes of higher learning) i.e. Te Wananga o Aotearoa (my place of work in Tamaki Makaurau/Auckland) and Te Whare Wananga o Awainuirangi (my place of studying through based at Whakatane).

I must say that it has helped for me to position myself as an Indigenous (SamoaNZ) Researcher and I've learnt so much about myself, my gafa (family genealogy) and culture since teaching this paper.

I would definitely highly recommend this paper for those working in the community as the level 3 Tikanga paper has been attested for cultural competency i.e. in that studying these tikanga papers from level 3 - 6 supports the learning of understanding bi-culturalism and also from my Indigenous Research perspective, a multicultural perspective.

It is a 36 weeks (one academic year) course with Tuesday tutorials at either: 10am - 1pm or 5 - 8pm (with Zoom availability if not able to attend classes). It's also a FEES FREE course which means that you don't have to pay course fees.

We have 8 weekend noho marae with all meals, transport and accommodation paid for from Friday evenings to Sunday at lunch whereby we go on fieldtrips to Marae, Museums, sacred sites, places of interest or importance to develop an understanding of Mana Tangata (people), Mana Whenua (land/s), Mana Ao Turoa (developments), and Mana Reo (Indigenous language/s).

So if you or anyone you know of would like to know more information you are most welcome to contact me via email on: helen.filisi@twoa.ac.nz or mobile (021) 0411 328. It's been an exciting journey for many students and you are never too old or too young to learn... 

Sharing collaboratively resources and blessings...

Last month on behalf of our Samoan bilingual Early childhood education centre, we received some new plastic light blue bowls and contrasting orange cups for use from another neighbouring Samoan Aoga (school).

A big shout out goes to my colleague Lelili'o Alice, the Centre Manager from 'Taeaofou i Puaseisei' Samoan bilingual Early childhood centre that's about a 5-7 minute drive away from our centre.

She's also a senior member of our local church so it's neat when communities are able to share resources and the blessing of an overflow to other centres as well.

Today, the Ministry of Education has announced a second pool of funding that Early childhood centres, schools and other education institutions or education researchers can apply for with a due date in April of proposal and applications to be handed in.

I'm looking at working collaboratively with 3 other neighbouring centres i.e. Cook Islands, Niuean and Samoa centres to see if they are able to access the Pacific Education Innovation funding that has a pool of about $6 million.

The reason being that it's really important that local centres are able to access that funding to support the cultural and educational needs of this funding and just won't go to the mainstream education spaces who already do get a lot of funding.

An exciting time, as our centre is now beginning to roll out plans and organizing our funding project that was accepting for our 'Measina a Samoa' project. Kicking off this month with a workshop open to our parents for learning more about the cultural treasures of Samoa. But more on this to come in future blogs. Enjoy your weekend...

 

Ph.D. noho at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi...

 

For the last 4 days, I've been very privileged to attend a Zoom noho (digital overnight stay/study) with other Masters and Ph.D. students from Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi including a number of post-graduate distance learning indigenous students from the islands of Hawaii and North West USA.

The beauty of being able to attend but also continue with work and other writings whilst still being present in the zoom sessions was excellent and appealed to my multi-tasking abilities.

Zoom is amazing technology that allows for being present in places that I would otherwise have not been able to i.e. the sessions are taking place in Whakatane (some 3.5 hours drive away from Auckland) and being able to converse with people across New Zealand and then including other world nations is pretty incredible.

Yet, still being able to share ideas, listen and participate in discussions with my other learned colleagues and being able to consider indigenous research and what that means for me as an individual and what does that entails in being an indigenous diaspora woman writer or researcher? a neat space to be in.

This has certainly been an interesting and exciting event that has gotten me ready for the last sprint of writing up my thesis with a deadline to hand in next year. It's also the same for my lil' sis to finish off her Master's exegesis by the end of year. All the best for all students studying out there... 

Disney's "Raya and the last dragon"...

 A couple of nights ago, my lil' sis bought on Disney+, premier access to watch "Raya and the last dragon" before it hits cinemas this month. It was neat to watch as a family and everyone really enjoyed it. I've still gotta say that "Moana" is my fave Disney movie but now our family has a new film to add to our list of faves.

It was also interesting to go to our local "The Warehouse", on a recent shopping trip, to find Raya, dragon dolls and paraphernalia that I was quite surprised was already on shop shelves, especially during these COVID times, as I remember looking for Moana dolls, bags etc. when it was first released, and there wasn't stock for weeks even months at our local shops.

I'll not talk about the movie spoilers but what I did find interesting was that the two prominent roles were young female warriors. This is interesting as some years ago, one would not see any women in hand-to-hand combat roles in Disney Princess movies but things have changed to where it is accepted as is seen in the real world with women in the armed forces.

Definitely, a highly recommended movie to watch for the family to watch this autumn/fall season...

Strawberry Ice Cream treat at Alert level 2...

Yesterday, I took our youngest to our local Strawberry Farm to buy a treat that she's been looking forward as in a Strawberry Ice Cream in a Waffle cone for about $4.50. They also sold smoothies for $5.50 as well.

They also sold vegetables there which were straight from the garden to the table i.e. for a $1 each you could buy: a bag of Courgettes, a large cabbage, a large humongous marrow (for that curry), a large bell pepper with lots of other veges as well.

We decided to fill our bag with veges and bought a couple of ice creams then took off our masks and then social distanced ourselves on some picnic tables whilst enjoying the ice creams.

I've heard that people come from all around Auckland to enjoy this local treat and the sad thing is that there aren't a lot of these types of market gardens around now who sell directly to the public as a lot of local market gardens have been sold to make way for new housing developments.

So it was a nice Sunday treat to just relax and enjoy the atmosphere as other families had decided to do as well. Often there are long lines but we decided to go in the evening where there were less crowds and where we could just relax with the first day back in Alert level 2.

Now to await whether Auckland will be joining the rest of NZ into Alert level 1 freedom on the weekend with no new community transmissions in the last 6 days. I, for one, am very supportive of this cautious approach that the government is taking that is very difficult for businesses but very helpful to to local communities to ensure that the spread of this new COVID-19 variant is kept at bay...

 

Samoan siapo at our local hospital...

Here's another siapo (tapa) that I found hanging on the walls of our local hospital when I was walking around.

It didn't have any acknowledgment about the source of the siapo i.e. who gifted it and where it came from and any title (if any).

It looks heavily influenced by Samoan siapo designs as I can see similar iconography in the stars and the leaf-like designs.

The colouring is also similar to what looks like plant-based dyes that are found in Samoa. The lineal designs also look a lot like those found on Samoa siapo.

I surmise that it is a Samoan siapo of a more contemporary design and somehow the local hospital got a hold of it and has displayed it. There were other artforms but this was one that I particularly liked as my art is also influenced by tapa designs.

I think this is neat as when someone like myself or others with Samoan heritage sees this, they will know that they are acknowledged through having an artform displayed albeit a smaller version of what one might see displayed in Samoa...

 

Coping with natural disasters in 2 days...

It's been an interesting couple of days. Yesterday morning waking up to news that some in our household had felt tremors at around 2am in the morning, as we live on the side of a dormant volcano (with a huge crater).

And then having a Tsunami warning for people living on the coast to evacuate and move inland to higher ground and especially those living up North.

Where we live is quite safe as it is near water but through an inlet rather than direct ocean, like our home in Samoa.

It was a sigh of relief to later get the Alert alarms on our mobiles with the message that the Tsunami warning was no longer in place and that people could go about their daily lives without fear.

Then yesterday evening we were told via our Prime Minister that as there had been 5 days of no positive COVID-19 tests in nationally (except for those who were already in Quarantine facilities) that we would be moving back to a level 2 on Sunday at 6am and I'm sure that many people sighed again in relief.

I'm just thankful to God that although these circumstances can be a little disconcerting to some, that it was good to see that there are systems in place if ever there was a real very serious threat to the general population.

Now I can go about my weekend and catch up on some studies with a pack that I received today, in the post, from my education institution 'Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi' that included a Student study guide, A guide to accessing their online library services, an M&Ms lil' packet, a Nescafe Caramel latte pouch and last but not least a Cookie Time cookie.

Now I'm set for some studies that are long overdue especially now that I won't be able to visit and do fieldwork at my beloved Samoan, and will have some R&R this weekend and may even throw in a little painting to start up this new year. Enjoy your weekend...

 

COVID cake and 60 mins a day...

A big shout out to my lil' sis for the rainbow cake (COVID cake we called it) which had 7 layers of different coloured cake.

We'd started our one-hour intense writing labs for our studies which means focusing on a particular area of study and then writing for 60 minutes non-stop.

It's been an interesting exercise to do because usually when not focusing during these lockdown times we usually end up getting distracted and doing other things.

But in doing this focused exercise, we've been able to get things done that would have otherwise been left for another time or another day i.e. procrastination. However, because we know that we only have a focused hour on this task, it gets done.

I've read about this focused exercise that some women use for daily focused house-cleaning/tidy for 15 minutes a day. So it is also possible to do this same exercise for other areas in your life that you want to get to but don't always have the time to do it.

So why not try this exercise for something that you've been wanting to work on (or attack) in little bite-sized times during the week and then see how it can work for you. It's the same for exercise (which I need to pick up again on too) for just half an hour a day and it can take you a long way...
 

Seeing beauty despite difficult times...

 

Yesterday, I went for a brief visit to our local hospital under COVID-19 Alert level 3 lockdown rules i.e. strictly keeping to only those who need to be there.

As I was walking along one of the corridors, I came across this neat print i.e. woodcut on paper by my fave Samoan artist Fatu Feu'u (2004) called "Vai Afiafi" translated as: vai - water and afiafi - evening.

So perhaps it's symbolic of water in the evening but then again it's best to get the story from the artist as his work is very symbolic and the spaces he creates evokes a different story to each viewer.

I've blogged before about Fatu Feu'u's work that I most admire because I like his use of bold contrasting colours, the Samoan iconography that has been heavily influenced from Samoan tatau (tattoo) patterns and Siapo (tapa) patterns that are so dear to me and I use also in my paintings etc.

It was a happy coincidence as sometimes when busy thinking about the more serious things in life especially when visiting in hospitals, I was reminded through this print about the beauty that is in life, especially during our current lockdown circumstances.

I thank God that the virus is still contained within NZ and that we aren't in similar situations like what is happening globally in other parts of the world. The 1 -2 persons with a positive case can lockdown an entire city to stop it from spreading as in other parts of the world this action has been far too late.

So if you're feeling a little down and out and not enjoying what's going on around you, take a stroll outside and look up instead of looking down and see what beauty there is around you. It could the innocence of children playing as if nothing's going on, or looking up in the clouds, in your/a garden, or seeing it in a painting or woodcut like me...

Day 3 of lockdown Alert level 3...

It's the third day of our lockdown Alert level 3 and I've been able to catch up with some overdue work, studies, and also overdue housework.

All this whilst in self-isolation as when I took my youngest to the doctors for a checkup on Sunday for a sore throat, the symptoms she was presenting were within the range of the COVID-19 virus so we were told to go get a test with a negative outcome before they would see her.

This had me a little worried as I know that with sore throats in children that you have to be very careful and watchful as it can develop into a more serious case if not tended to. So we went to the Airport testing station that opened at midday with few people there (at the time).

It still took 90 minutes and I tried to take a nap during the time. When it came to the actual test, I found out that it's quite painful if you've had a broken nose (which I did have in a serious car accident that I was involved with in my twenties). So finally we got the test results yesterday and it was a negative for both of us but now our youngest feels better, is recovering and doesn't need to go back.

So much for the COVID test but it did remind me that we still need to stay vigilant as this deadly virus is being contained in the Quarantine facilities but there has been community transmission so the best thing is to stay home and not be in contact with people and places where it could spread i.e. Alert level 3 lockdown guidelines...

Parker vs Fa (Heavyweight boxing) and a lockdown level 3...

 

It's been such a busy weekend that I didn't get to post on my blog so although this post is a little behind the times, now that the nation is at Lockdown level 3, I thought to post it anyway.

On the weekend, (Saturday) I watched the Heavyweight boxing match between Joseph Parker (NZ Samoan) and Junior Fa (Tongan) live on TV with Spark Sports

I'm not a big boxing fan but my Dad is and we were able to watch it through paid viewing which was around $50 and could be viewed on different devices.

Joseph Parker won the match at the end of the night but it was quite difficult to tell at times as both were strong fighters.

And so with the Super Rugby on as well, Sports fans would have had a ball but then only be told at 9pm on Saturday that we would be facing a lockdown (Alert level 3) from Sunday morning at 6am for 7 days.

That means no school for children, no church for many (except online), working from home for those who are able to and generally staying home and staying in your bubble. Although with the amount of cars on the road that I see around, I wonder if some people are becoming complacent.

With this particular variant of the COVID-19 strand, I think it pays to still be vigilant and to limit contact with people except for those in your bubble. So for me, watching TV and not attending any super-spreader events is important especially as in having seniors who are vulnerable in my household. 

So stay safe and be kind out there. As this virus is no respecter of persons...