It has definitely been a very busy couple of months and especially hurling towards Christmas! with so much happening since my last post.

Just yesterday, I was able to double-team with my eldest at a Career's Expo at a local school of around 800 students called Papatoetoe Intermediate school. 

I was invited as an Author and Publisher and I was able to share some tips, considerations, ideas and answer questions from the students as well.

My eldest was able to give her perspective as an avid reader, and law student on how enjoying reading and writing had helped her to get into law school with other tips about publishing on Whattpad and AO3 (Archive on your own).

There, we exhibited with 9 other career "experts" that included a lawyer, entrepenuer, a CEO, police, virologist, environmental scientist, general manager of a hotel and an artitect.

It was a really interesting experience as we got to have 8 groups of students over a period of 4 hours. The neat thing about my eldest was that they got to introduce themselves and we played a game with them of making up their own story with each student contributing three words each. It was hilarious at times.

I was able to thank Vilimi, the careers coordinator, for inviting us there as they served us with a lovely lunch and even gave us a box of biscuits as a Christmas gift. I was also able to respond in kind by leaving two of my books for the school and will keep in contact too.

One of the highlights of my day, apart from having my eldest accompany me, was that there were some students who recognized my books from the earlier schools they'd attended. One in particular remembered some of the books that she had seen at her earlier school library and at an ECE Early Childhood Education and that family members had bought some. I in turn had to give her one that she didn't already have in her collection and that was a real blessing. 

It was also interesting that she explained that "Sina and the Tuna", my first book that I published in 2015 almost 10 years ago (next year) was her favourite of them all. The neat thing was that I had already considered to re-publish books in a different format so looking to re-launching the books with a different look but still retaining the same text. Roll on 2025...

National Shake Out Earthquake & Tsunami drill...

 

I've been so busy lately that was just reminded that tomorrow is our National Earthquake and Tsunami drill.

This year, I've registered and will take part with my family to also consider what our Emergency plan would be too i.e. better to be prepared than not.

Tomorrow the drill will be enacted by mostly schools and organisations nationwide but individuals, families, and other groups can also register and join in. The idea is that at 9.30am everyone drops, covers and holds and then considers what other preparations need to be made and kept in mind.

It's called the nation 'Shake out' and all are encouraged to have an emergency plan and to check out what potential natural threats you might have close by eg. Tsunami for those close to open waters, Earthquakes (NZ on Pacific Fire Rim) etc...

Books as special wedding gifts...

Last weekend, two of my former students who were a couple were getting married and asked after some of my books as gifts for some special family members.

It was a real honour and privilege to be asked of this for their special day and I obliged willingly. As I must say that I've had a few couples come through my class as part of their learning journey together as a couple which has been a really neat.

The pics you see are bundles of books that I had made up for them and you are most welcome to contact me if you are interested in any book bundles too.

I'm also looking forward to the end of the year as I have some new titles being released and looking forward to seeing how they are received.

I've also been very encouraged by such requests as it reminds me that these ancient Samoan stories are still relevant today as they were when they were first being told. As there are a lot of information that's shared when these stories are brought to life through books or theatre (films & plays)...
 

Latch-hooking break from academia...

 

One of the neat things that's been keeping me busy and connected with my artsy side has been latch-hooking with a kit that I picked up not so long ago.

It was real helpful for my thesis writing too as it's a creative practice-led thesis that allowed me to add in pics and ideas from some of my art work then when it got too wordy and I wanted to take a break from academia I started hooking this rug.

I started this artform back in my late teens early 20s but it was quite expensive to do back then as the kits were coming from abroad and I only had a big rug that I've kept for ages.

Since then, I've hooked a cushion cover, another two smaller rugs and am going for another cushion cover that I'll be giving away as gifts for some unsuspecting family member who would appreciate the time and effort put into these works of art.

It's definitely not something that I see a lot of people doing as it's not as accessible but there are definitely more kits at affordable prices these days. It's also good for one's mental health in creating an artistic piece from a different type of medium that's not so commonplace...

Anticipating WIPCE 2025 Nov...

I'm so looking forward to the WIPCE World Indigenous Peoples Conference of Education for 2025 that's taking place in Auckland next year.

It has one of my fave academics who will be one of the keynote guest speakers whom I've been following over the years regarding indigenous education and research.

Her name is: Prof. Linda Tuhiwai Smith and she has received awards for her groundbreaking work on Indigenous research and has made a lot of positive in our indigenous communities and western university institutes.

She's challenged research paradigms and has been pivotal as one of many pioneers of encouraging Māori language medium schools to thrive throughout New Zealand as prior to the year 2000 there were few and far between indigenous Māori schools in the nation. 

Now there are many throughout the nation and that's so encouraging for the Māori language to continue to grow. It also encourages 'Indigenous Research' to take place as a very different way of finding out new information...

Just "Own it!"...

 

During the weekend noho (overnight stay) of two nights with my cohort of post grad' students, my colleague asked us all to pick a card from her pack of inspirational sayings and I picked "Own it".

This was quite fun because there's so much I've been through in the last few years that there's nothing left to do except to 'own it'. I interpret that as the way one talks, and walks, thinks and sings.

Your swagger (if that's how you rock) and they way you move your hips (if that's how you roll). It was just funny to pick out this card as I'm also there now in getting my thesis ready to roll out the door.

Sayings like this are encouraging because it reminds me that we don't have to be like everybody else but can be our authentic selves without having to compromise to be who anyone else wants you to be. 

I've gotta say that especially in reaching over 50s, it's my perogative to enjoy life without worrying about what anyone else thinks and encouraging women in similar situations to just enjoy the freedom of 'owning it!'. To be unapologetically me...

Manawa Bay Parking exclusivity not inclusivity...

 

This weekend, I got to have a look at the opening of Manawa Bay Outlets stores during its opening week with their specials. The car parking was free for the first four days and then it reverts to paid parking.

I was honestly surprised. I've been to big stores in different parts of the world, most recently in Melbourne, and to find out that there was paid parking was alarming. 

As a social Geographer (from back in the day) such ploys made by businesses could be seen as a way of excluding certain peoples from shopping there i.e. the locals as it is situated near a lower socio-economic location.

It makes me wonder why they used a Māori word in their naming of the Shopping outlet centre. They should have just used an English word because when using a Māori word there are certain esoteric values that go with using that language. They should have just named it 'Heart' instead.

I guess it concerns me because there are a lot of Māori and Pasifika people who live nearby and I read this as a hostile move by the powers that be to exclude certain people from the local community from shopping there. I mean why else would they make such a bold move in a time of a socio-economic crisis (still in NZ).

Or are they chasing after the mighty dollar of overseas tourists and don't really care about the local community. It just reads as privilege and discrimination and yes, I'm a local who won't be shopping there either. I'd also encourage other locals who have the monetary discretion to refrain from shopping there also. 

Obviously, they don't need our money and they don't want to be inclusive so I'd rather take my discretionary monies elsewhere and if you feel the same spread the word. There are just some people who are about elitism and not inclusivity....

New Post-graduate Office space at TWOA...

 

Here's a pic of my work desk moved into our newly refurbished Post-Graduate office here at TWOA Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. Loving the new space and looking forward to the window treatments to come.

I'm all for windows in any rooms that I occupy as I've been in teaching classrooms where there are no windows and it's just not the same.

I also like a bright and airy room with lots of space as I've also been in cramped working conditions with offices spaces where people are almost on top of each other. Definitely not cool!

As you can see, the first thing I put up after sorting out the desk were the artworks. I've got my lil' sister's art piece that she created for me last Christmas which was such a joy and also smaller art canvases that I painted a while back.

Having double screens is a real plus too because I can work on my documents and also check on my emails and multiple other sites too. So I guess I'm not so minimalist as some people are in there workspace. I'm definitely all for making the space mine i.e. you can tell it's mine with all the artworks around and almost always a lot of colour i.e. that's my bright Samoan side :)...

"Heartbreak Anniversary" song by Giveon...

 

I heard this song on the radio and thought I hadn't heard this tone before. It's a song about heartbreak, and it's around three years old, but I still thought I would share it, especially for those going through difficulties with relationships at this time.

I also heard the radio announcer speak on the artist's name, Giveon. She said that when he was named, his mother chose it for the purpose that he would "give," and he's definitely lived up to his name with this song.

I also found it really interesting with his music video setting that apart from the bedroom setting, the music video looks like it's set in an urban industrial area where there's a lot of barrenness in terms of greenery and I guess that echoes the barrenness in his soul...

"Mini Challenge" changing lives...

 

Have you ever had an unexpected conversation that changed the trajectory of your life? That happened to me almost 10 years ago, on January 23rd, 2015. 

I had a conversation with a business mentor called Maria and it was my sister Maria's birthday. The conversation was only supposed to take a 30 minutes but a couple of hours later I walked out with a plan in my mind and determined to make my dream come true in throwing caution to the wind and self-publishing my first book.

It was a 'mini-challenge' but it had an astronomical effect on me and it cut through all of the years of self doubt and considerations that had held me back for years. In fact, it's hard to believe that I'm coming up to the 10th anniversary since self-publishing that first book.

I blogged about it, at the time, because three months later, I launched my first book of the bilingual picture book series called "Samoan Origins series". Now I've published 20 books in several genre of: bilingual picture books, poetry, short stories, plays, non-fiction and now I'm considering novels.

My first book sold out twice with the small print runs that I started and on its 10th Anniversary next year in March, I'm looking to re-launch it again using markers as the art medium. The book itself is the most popular in the series and its been distributed all over the world in University libraries and in local community libraries and with families too.

As I move into completing my thesis, I'm interested in moving into a new space in supporting and coaching other women of colour to throw caution to the wind and go for their dreams. If this sounds like you and you'd like to consider me as your coach then drop me an email for a free "discovery session" via a virtual meeting and we can go from there.

At this stage, I want to grow it organically and am not interested in putting out ads. I believe that if you've been reading my ad-free blog over time, you probably understand what I'm about and my interests in supporting people in my teaching, and with friends and family.

If you think this is for you? then email me on: helenftauau@gmail.com and we'll go from there. The graphic that this blog leads with is some artwork that I'm considering for the virtual coaching platform and I'm using with my maiden name in honouring my late father who was my first mentor and believed that I could achieve anything I put my mind to...

New Māori Queen ushers in great expectations...

 

Yesterday, at the tangihanga or funeral of the late Māori King, Te Arikinui, Kīngi Tuheitea Pōtatau te Wherowhero VII before he was laid to rest atop Taupiri maunga (mountain), it was interesting to note that he was taken by a flotilla of Māori waka or canoes to the maunga.

It would have been such an amazing experience to observe this occasion and I learned that some of my students and colleagues were going with their families to be present at the tangi or funeral.

It was also interesting to note that upon the passing of the King that an announcement was made by the Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage that all New Zealand flags be flown at half mast until the day of his funeral which was yesterday.

I remember over the last few years of teaching tikanga (Māori cultural practices and protocols) I learned more about the Kingitanga movement and the prospects of who might become the next successor with many believing that it would be his youngest daughter and not her two elder brothers. Now she has rightfully been honoured by the privilege yet saddened in the passing of her father.

The new Māori queen has been given the title of: Ngā Wai hono i te Pō it's an interesting name and would have been given after much deliberation. She is second to the only other Māori Queen who was her grandmother.

At 27 years old, she has a lot of expectations to meet as her late father and Māori King was seen as a person of kotahitanga (bringing together as one). He earlier invited iwi (tribes) to come together for discussions at his Marae of Turangawaewae in Ngāruawahia.

This was especially in the wake of the new coalition government's policies that have been confronting to Māori and many people who have lost jobs, or had their government jobs restructured under the tight economic squeeze of this present government's fiscal belt tightening. This comes at a time when NZ's unemployment rate has soared with new government policies.

We wish her well, as this will not be an easy time to ascend as a young Māori women steeped in tikanga of which she has a Masters degree with the expectations of many for her to rein similarly to her paternal late grandmother and late father.

Aotearoa New Zealand now ushers in a new monarch, although not constitutionally recognized, she still holds great mana (esoteric power) and prestige in her position. I believe that she will carry her role with dignity and the high expectations of her people in this post-modern age...

"The Forge" recommended movie for men...

 

I'm loving this first official week of Spring as the mornings are lighter and the days stretch out into the night. During the week, I got to watch the movie "The Forge" and would highly recommend it, especially for men. It is a faith based movie with some good wisdom for our times.

I've always enjoyed viewing the Kendrick brothers films, over the years, ranging from: Fireproof (2008), Courageous (2011), War Room (2015), Overcomer (2019) which is currently on Netflix and their current offering.

No spoiler alerts here, except to encourage mom's to take their sons, women to take their partner / husband, young women to take their boyfriend / fiance and especially for young men to see. I think it's particularly hard for women to understand the battles that men face on a daily basis and it's better for men to tell men how to be good men...

Upcoming Ah Siu Family Reunion in Samoa...

 

This year, I'm looking forward to attending our Ah Siu Reunion which is set for 19 - 22 December in Samoa at a Marist Brothers school with details still to be confirmed.

It will be our second reunion but already there are many who won't be attending as it was just announced around April but many had already made travel plans with families a year ahead.

Last week, I was asked to be a guest speaker at a class at our neighbouring Wānanga (that I happen to be a student at) called Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi translated as the house of higher learning of Awanuiārangi.

The class was a Zoom class and there were about 20 adult students attending. My topic was on genealogy and indigenous research methods and I shared my story about my search over 30 years on my family tree.

In starting with only knowing the names of 1:16 of my great, great grandparents and now I know 10 of them. The pic on the left is a pic that I just recently found that was shared on a family reunion Facebook page. It's a pic of my great, great grandmother Asia Ah Siu who was married in an immigrant to Samoa from Shanghai, China named Shing Ah Siu.

It was really interesting because in joining the first Family Reunion, I was able to find out so much information about her and her husband and the homestead that they had in Samoa which is still standing and I hope to be able to visit the grave sites of my ancestors as well as the places of significance.

Interestingly enough, their eldest son was named Aialaisa George Ah Siu and he was the eldest of the children. His daughter was my grandmother and she was named after her grandmother Asia and my brother, George, was named after our great, grandfather, in his memory.

I'm quite looking forward to the Family Reunion, as I'm hoping to learn more about my ancestors and the lands they were guardians of and lived upon. I did stay in Matāutu, near Apia in 1989, with my grandmother and got to safe on our ancestral lands there at my great, grand uncle Paulo's house. He was my great-grandfather's brother and the last of his generation...