Samoan language week 2023...

 

This week is our national celebration of Samoan language week with its theme: "Mitamita i lau gagana, maua'a i lou faasinomaga" which translates as be proud of our langauge and grounded in your identity.

Our Samoan bilingual Early childhood centre is celebrating all well with Samoan foods and activities that will be so neat for the children to participate in.

I remember when I was growing up in primary school that we didn't have anything similar but I do remember classes coming together to taste fried taro as my European teachers weren't so used to it. Incidentally, all the children got to taste it too except that it was a staple at my house with my late dad enjoying to have it sometimes as part of our Sunday meal growing up.

Nowadays, it's a big thing with most schools celebrating this day with items, foods, dressing up in Samoan clothing or styles and those who are Samoan are able to show off and be proud of their culture. I'm looking to be a guest speaker at our centre and perhaps read a Samoan book but I do have a couple of books that I'm working on right now to hopefully launch in the next couple of months.

The pic above is one of our Team leader at the centre and the beautiful measina project 1-2 items that parents have made i.e. the tuiga or ceremonial headress, kiki fulufulu moa or feathered waist adornment used in ceremonial occasions as well as a mini ie Toga or fine mat that we were taught to weave at our last year's workshop.

So much to do also as we look forward to launching our new series of measina a Samoa workshops starting next month. That's where we're also looking to hopefully extend our workshops to include those who are interested from around the community to attend...

Pō Siva (night of dance) fundraising...

 

During the weekend, I had the privilege of attending (and planning for) our Pō siva which translate as a night of dance, in Samoan, as a fundraising event for our Samoan bi-lingual Early childhood education centre.

It was also the birthday of my late father i.e. 27th of May and when we were planning for it, I also wanted to honour my dad as I knew that he loved to prepare for such occasions.

What made it even special was my eldest daughter dancing the siva (dance) Samoa as a second generation diaspora New Zealand born and raised Samoa much like myself.

The neat thing was that my mother-in-law and sister-in-law as well as her cousins who were born and raised in Samoa etc. were able to show her how to siva Samoa (on the week of the dance and day before) that she had enough confidence to dance for our family.

It made me so proud and happy for her as it was something that she had wanted to learn and as I was the second eldest girl growing up, I didn't have that privilege of learning as it was my elder sister who was taught by my aunties etc.

It was a successful night and we raised over $23K for our centre's teachers and families to support in resources and also for paying off centre payments for our parents. This has especially been a difficult time with so much competition out there for teaching children in the mainstream who often offer free food and free transport and it's something that we as a centre are working towards as well.

So that pic above was taken when I didn't know that there was a phone/camera facing me and I'm dancing my moves i.e. keeping it simple in my black long ie (long skirt - material) lavalava, kimono-type long jacket with some accessories. I did over 14,000+ steps that day and that was without breaking a sweat! Just busy!

All in all, it was a successful event in not having hosted one before and only in memory through my late father's hardworking efforts when first trying to establish the church as a foundational member back in the 1960s. A true blessing that brought back many such special occasions with my father...

Class room with a view at Manukau...

 

I've been really enjoying the recent change of scenery as I now teach at Manukau campus of MIT (Manukau Institute of Technology).

This happened as a result of the first floods that occurred earlier in the year and left our campus flooded out with a whole new reno' that has to happened.

As staff, we were first told that we would be back on campus in April but after extensive investigation with the assessors, I think that they realized that the extent of the damage was far reaching and we've been recently told that we won't be back on campus at least until September.

So whilst the big renovation is happening on campus, I get to drive into Manukau, often trying to beat the traffic on the motorway (highway/freeway) which is about 15 - 20 minutes from home on a good day but when the traffic is crazy, I either try to drive on the backroads or leave earlier before peak traffic hours.

It's been good as I get to check out the shopping centre mall, if I have time, or just cruise around to see the other local shopping or organizations out there. At night, the atmosphere is definitely different with lot of lights and seeing the city sprawl from the third floor at night is quite amazing.

Add to that, there's an underground train connection that one of my student is able to connect from out in West Auckland all the way to South Auckland and it only takes 30 - 40 mins. It would be a lot longer via car and especially in peak our traffic.

I'll be soaking it in for the time being and enjoying the ride to my new place of work engagement as hopefully my students will too, except that most like to zoom from the comfort of their homes. Here's another opportunity that comes out of the blue, that I'm so grateful and thankful for too. A sure blessing...

American Idol Winner 2023: Iam Tongi...

 

Congratulations to Iam Tongi who's the first Pasifika person to just won 'American Idol' this week in the United States.

I remember watching his first video when he auditioned and sang a song by James Blunt that I hadn't heard before but was so beautiful that it brought me to tears in thinking about losing my own father a couple of years ago.

But then to make it all the way through the heats and then to actually get to sing with James Blunt? Wow! What a blessing! and his journey, I think, brought a lot of hope for people in that he was still mourning the loss of his father of whom had shared his love of music with his son and that Iam carried on despite that difficulty.

It was amazing to watch his journey and listen to his very distinct tone in voice. He always came across as humble, down to earth and not at all contrived. So very much Pacific and also Tongan. It was even touching that he dedicated songs to his late dad and mom, and kept true to himself through his song choices.

Already, I'm told, his first released song is no. 1 on ITunes and wishing him all the best for his future. It was really touching to see who he also shed tears whilst singing with James Blunt (I sure did!) but James held his own as it was a song very close to his heart about his dad too. You just have to view the video that I did when wanting to see the origin song to see the love that James Blunt had for his dad.

For me it reminded me of the relationship that I had with my late dad and I think Iam's story resounded with so many in those special people that come into your life for such a time and then must leave when they've been called to their heavenly homes. 

I'm just so glad that I got to hear this song sung by both artists and that in mourning the loss through grieving the loss of special dads - many of us could relate and it brought us comfort and good memories in remembering that we then carry their baton to share that love for another generation...

Paint by No's a sure pick up...

Here's another example of the pre-printed paint by numbers canvas that I picked up as I simply love painting big bold flowers that can brighten up any room or hallway.

I have this hanging up at my mum's hallway with pictures on either side that just brightens up the whole space. It works wonders for an empty space that just needs something to make it stand out.

I also like the colour combination although I could have changed it as I'm not big on the colour orange but it did seem to merge well with the colour palette that was chosen.

I have a few more canvases that I've picked up to paint. The funny thing now is trying to figure out where to display them once I've finished them.

I have gifted a couple of these paintings that have been quite well received. Although I do think that for me as an artist it feels like I'm cheating somehow because I'm not coming up with the design or the colour palette or the composition but it sure does feel good when I finish a painting i.e. it certainly gives me a sense of satisfaction of having completed this neat task.

Perhaps if you haven't already, I'd highly recommend this to any who would like to give it a try and see where it takes you. You could end up with having one of these on your wall or you could end up giving it to some deserving person to brighten up their day...
 

Paint by no's and chillaxing...

This month I've been busy painting pre-printed canvases similar to paint by numbers that has been very relaxing and quite neat to do.

As an artist, sometimes one just wants to paint without having to care about the planning of each painting etc.

With these paintings, you can buy them at local chain stores and they come with canvases pre-printed, paint and brushes and some instructions.

I enjoyed painting these canvases because I didn't need to do any pre-planning as all had been done and all I needed to do was to match the paint to the right area for painting. It didn't take a lot of effort but just time set aside to relax or call it mental wellbeing time too.

The other neat thing is that you can change up the colours or add/delete things that you don't want to paint on the canvas. For example in the blue of the water, I decided that I didn't want to have blue and white stripes on the water and it worked out for me too.

I have more paintings that I've finished this month and I'll post some up with this particular three canvases blending in well with the background. I've received a couple of comments on the canvases which I think is neat being DIY (do it yourself) rather in forking out a lot of money for similar 3 set canvases that are often on sale.

So if you haven't already tried it, like how I've also enjoyed colouring books for adults - just cause I want to colour in without having to think about it when wanting to just enjoy the finished product. It does wonders for my relaxation and mental wellbeing. 

If you haven't already, why don't you give it a try? you don't even have to be an artist to paint it. Just give yourself time to get used to holding a miniature paint brush and start painting whenever you have free time or just want time for yourself to chillax...
 

Trying to "calm down" with so much going on...

 

(Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to this music), however, it's great music to calm down when there's a sea of things to catch up on and do as well as deadlines to fulfil and a thesis to be written and planning for overseas trips in the next few months again.

My youngest and lil' sis introduced me to this song some months ago and I've been jamming to it at home, in the car, on my earphones etc. I just love Afro beats that I can dance to i.e. the faster the beater so that I can catch that often elusive 10K steps per day goal.

If you're having a crazy day then have a listen to this song and maybe kick your heels (or jandals) off and try moving to this beat. It beats fretting about things and worrying about things (as if worrying about it is gonna make it any better?). My advice to you is just dance to the beat and let the worries of the day take care of itself whilst you..."calm down..."

A very long Mother's day celebration...

 

This Mother's day was very special in sharing it with my mum and starting a whole day earlier as we thought to take my mum out to breakfast on Saturday when it wasn't so busy. We had a great time and then went out for some retain therapy and then some Fresh Strawberry ice cream.

The today on Mother's day we both got woken up very early, at 5.30am for breakfast in bed by my youngest and lil' sis. We then had my older two arrive with flowers and a second breakfast and also a visit to my mum by my nieces.

We then had a nice lunch and a church service with a lot to be grateful of in being able to spend this day with our mum. In the evening we decided to go take her out to the movies to watch the 3rd installment of 'The Guardians of the Galaxy'.

It was interesting to watch but I still enjoyed the first movie of the trilogy and won't give any spoiler alerts as it would probably pay to watch it for those who are die hard 'Guardians of the Galaxy' fans because then you can decide for yourself if the third installment was indeed worth the wait...

Pink Breakfast fundraiser for Breast Cancer Foundation...

 

Today, I was able to host a Pink Breakfast at our Samoan bilingual Early childhood centre to celebrate our upcoming Mother's Day and show appreciation to our teachers as well.

This is in association with the Breast Cancer Foundation that encourages the hosting of Pink breakfasts during the month of May.

For our breakfast we were able to sell: cupcakes, chocolate ricies treats and muffins with buttercream toppings, with ribbon leis as well.

When I signed up to host the breakfast, the Breast cancer Foundation sent a hosting pack with the bunting flags, signage, pink ribbons lapels that are free with a donation. We also sold files, pens, beads key rings and were able to raise just under $200 including donations.

It was a real privilege to be able to host events such as this although it does take some arranging and I thank my middle child for assisting with the cupcake recipe and baking as well as looking after the stall when I was out and about running my errands.

I definitely enjoy supporting a lot of worthy causes out there who are looking for volunteers who don't mind taking some time out of their busy days to support their efforts. I'm just so glad that there were interested people who were able to support the work of this important foundation...

First day teaching at MIT Manukau...

Today, was the first day that I taught my class at MIT (Manukau Institute of Technology) in Manukau at their new campus there. (See pic besides).

It is a fairly new campus and it was quite interesting to see the five levels which have an open space at floor level and then rooms including class rooms surrounding the four walls.

I like the space except that they have these new open classrooms where there might be three classes sharing a space and you can see everyone in the other classes (you can hear them too).

It's the new concept of open classes which they are promoting in primary and new builds in secondary schools as well. I personally don't agree with the concept and prefer the ability to be able to close walls albeit with sliding doors if it's more appropriate with the noise control.

Except for that, I enjoyed the new space and the challenge of having to walk from the shopping mall carpark, where it's free, to the complex. The walk helps to up my goal of 10K steps per day and gives me exercise between sitting sessions when teaching classes online through Zoom.

And then the rain started pouring and I walked to the shopping mall to do some banking and received an Auckland Emergency alert that there was flooding in parts of Auckland. I drove home to make sure that my family was safe, and they were but saw that some local schools had let their children out early and they were soaked in the rain in trying to get home. (Not a very wise choice).

I also then received an email that the campus that I had just been teaching at was closed due to flooding and that they had to close the campus down whilst they investigated it. As below the campus, there is an underground train terminal for people to connect with trains if they are wanting to visit other local areas...