PolyFest 2026 Cook Islands stage...

Yesterday, my family came out to support our youngest, who performed at the 2026 PolyFest (Polynesian Festival), i.e. the largest Polynesian Festival in the world.

She chose to represent her secondary (high) school on the Cook Islands stage as one of the principal drummers in their band, and we were so proud of her.

They had been practising for practically 6 days a week for at least a month to get ready for the festival as they supported the dancers in the drum beats.

Cook Islands drumming still remains as my favourite drum beats to listen to, and so to have our youngest as a drummer for their school was a bonus for me too. As I had learned to dance the Cook Islands drum dance when I joined our Cook Islands dance group as a young dancer, which is a lot harder than it looks.

We're now awaiting the results of the competition to see how our youngest school fared in the competition and also to see what they may need to improve on after reading the judge's comments and scorecard. 

It was approximately a 20-minute dance routine with music, songs, dances, and costume changes. It was also good for me to see other parents as Samoans, Tongans, Māori etc. also encouraging the child to join from other cultures as it promotes a better understanding of the different cultures' protocols, dance and teachings.

This year, our youngest brought along four of her friends to join in the drumming group and she also wants to continue next year and we are fully supportive of her continuing next year. It was so neat to see the commeraderie and the support that everyone gave as such a blessing for an important event each calender year...

Happy 15th Birthday to our youngest...

 

Yesterday, we as a family celebrated my youngest's 15th birthday party after picking her up from school, having finished her Polyfest practice and whisked her away to a family dinner at the Valentines Restaurant on North Shore.

We had an absolutely lovely time together with lovely surroundings and delicious food. There were three generations present with my mum, her grandmother, her auntie, siblings, a friend and we as parents.

This is the party vibe birthday cake that we picked up for her as a vanilla cake with strawberry icing. She also had a restaurant chocolate mud cake, making it two cakes that we took home and celebrated with sparkling grape juice.

Then it was time for speeches, blowing out the birthday candles, and singing that timeless birthday song with present openings and a lot of laughs along the way.

Tonight is her last practice together with the Cook Islands drumming group, and looking forward to tomorrow with their performance on the Cook Islands stage at 12.30 pm approximately.

We'll be there cheering them on, and I'm looking forward to attending the biggest Polynesian Festival in the world with 6 stages of: Māori, Cook Islands, Tongan, Samoa, Niuean and the diversity stage. It will be so busy looking for limited parking but well worth the time and wishing her team the best in the competitions....

Māngere Arts centre Tatau (Tattoo) Exhibition...

Today I had the privilege of viewing two side-by-side exhibitions at the Māngere Arts Centre that featured two Samoan artists on tatau, or the traditional art of Samoan tattoo.

The two artists are: Siah Finai with his exhibition called "Tala mai lo'u Nu'u: Stories of my Homeland/Community/Family".

The second artist is Galumalemana Su'a Sione Sialaoa, and his exhibition is titled "Journey, Truth, and Respect."

Both artists display bold depictions of tatau, and the exhibitions have run from 21st Feb until 11 April. I would highly recommend the exhibitions to those who are particularly interested in the iconography of the tatau and understanding the meanings of this visual storytelling art form.

To me, these exhibitions are so important in ensuring that the information is passed onto next generations and that some of the things that were obscure and hidden, i.e. only those who are in the circles have access to the information, have been shared through this exhibition.

Unfortunately, I was unaware of the live tatau exhibition that happened on Saturday as it would have been an honour and a privilege to have been able to share this with my students but there may be other possibilities in the future...
 

"Made in Korea" with an interest from Tamil...

 

 After returning from my weekend of teaching, I had lunch with my family and had a quick nap, then I decided to relax and ease into watching a Netflix movie. This happens to be my go-to at times when I've completed a full-on day and to be stress-free.

I was interested to watch the 2026 movie "Made in Korea" that features a link between a young lady from Tamil and her interest in Korea. In fact, it was interesting to know that there is a fascination, of sorts, of many people from other nations who, like the young lady who is featured in the movie, want to visit Korea.

I remember binge-watching Korean drama series during COVID-19 and being fascinated by the storylines that adapted their old stories, principles and beliefs into contemporary drama. This movie depicts some interesting themes between the relationships that she has with her family, a Korean family with friends and her maturation too.

I would recommend this movie if you are interested in exploring ideas of familial inter-relationships that are inter-generational and also if you don't mind it being a little bit quirky...

An emancipatory educational future...

 

It's back to the start of our academic year here at our Wānanga or Māori higher educational institution called Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

The pic was taken in the early morning with the sunrise just peaking out behind the building. The shot is of the atrium area with a master carving that is significant to the wānanga.

I enjoy being able to share my journey through the Samoan indigenous lens that my parents and Samoan community shared with me all those years back.

It's indeed a privilege to be able to encourage and support many other indigenous peoples as students at this wānanga in reshaping and recontextualising the histories that we had been told in schools. There is now a lot of information that has been gleaned that informs us of a different reading of history.

It's exciting to see this development since becoming an educator back in the 1990s. I never believed that it could happen, but I am now seeing the fruits of the fighting for an emancipatory education system that values indigenous peoples and indeed the histories of tangata when (first peoples of the land)...

Last week before Polyfest...

 

This is the last full week of Polyfest cultural group practices before the largest festival in the world, as the Polynesian Festival, will take place next week in Manukau from Wednesday, 18th March to Saturday, 21st March.

My youngest is competing in her school's Cook Islands group as a drummer, and the neat thing is that some of her friends have also joined the drumming group, which not only allows them to compete in one of the largest stages in the Festival, but they also get NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement) credits.

I'm so proud of her, as the group has been practising every day after school for a number of weeks and also all day Saturday. I'm also glad that the festival is earlier in the year, as this is her first big year of National exams, with a four-week stint of exams at the end of the year.

The pic is a bunch of colour-coordinated packs that I got ready for the raffle fundraising that the group were donating items to. The packs consisted of hair clips, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, a small tealight candle, a beaded pen, and key rings. The colours consisted of blues, pinks, yellows, greens, greys, etc.

With the last week to go before the group's performance next Friday, they have their last weekend practice tomorrow. I think they're going to miss the camaraderie, new friendships that have developed and the group vibe and wishing them all the best for their upcoming performances...

Tyla & Justin Bieber's new song "My darling" nice vocals...

 

I like the vocals of Tyla & Justin in "My Darling", their new song, which has a neat beat and dance rhythms. He's definitely come a long way since he was first discovered as a young singer and musician. This song shows his versatility with other artists.

Have got this song on repeat...

'High Tea' whilst watching the Bridgetons (end of season 4)...

 

This pic illustrates the contents for a 'High-Tea' of what's inside the 'Tons' Treat Box' in light of the Netflix popular series of "The Bridgertons".

This was in honour of a treat night as we have made a thing of watching the 'Bridgertons' together whilst anticipating the storylines that weave and problem solve as we watch along the way.

I must admit that I wasn't interested in the series and missed the whole first series until my eldest encouraged me to watch the second series, as we are interested in 'period pieces'.

One of our mutual fave movies is Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" starring Kiera Knightley. I think it's the orchestral storyline and background, as well as the culture of the day.

So we finally watched the last instalment of the fourth series and enjoyed the tasting of treats, with my favourite being the macarons, both in the colours of green and mustard.

I particularly also enjoyed the strawberries that added to the delight of the treats box, and the cheesecake pops that had a strawberry flavour. I didn't quite mind the chocolate cupcakes topped with decadent chocolate icing and dried petals, but I couldn't quite eat the petals.

The only letdown was the heavy red velvet lamington, which was just a bit heavier than the light lamingtons that I'm accustomed to. All in all, it was a delight to behold as we drank Chai Latte (turmeric sachets) in our mum's best china, which complemented the viewing delightfully.

Now, to wait another two years before the next installment...

Island Reggae - Bruno Mar's "Risk it all"...

I really like this Island Reggae Rendition of Bruno Mars' new song called "Risk it all" by Pacific Frequency. The original song is nice, but this version elevates it to the next level. Take a listen and see what you think?

It has those Island Reggae song vibes that reminds me of being at the beach in the hot tropical sun, taking it easy and sunnies, sunglasses, a tropical fruit drink with friends and family and having a great time chillaxing...

Local King tide coast walk...

 

Yesterday, my eldest took my mum (her grandmother), on her motorised scooter, and me on a walking trip along a local coastal walkway.

It was a beautiful sunny day with a cool breeze just after midday. What I was astounded by, however, was the King tide that brought the tide right up the sandy beach at its highest peak that I'd ever seen before.

Usually, rocks are exposed when I go on my regular 5 km walks, but this time the tide seemed swollen, and I reflected on how there had been an eclipse on Monday, which I missed, and a full moon the day after, which brought about this phenomenon.

It was a lovely walk, and it was neat to reflect on how there were three generations of our family enjoying the day out and keeping in good spirits with such lovely memories in the making. When we had almost completed our walk, we were joined by my younger sister and middle child.

Afterwards, my lil' sis' shouted us some Maccha (green-type tea) with a strawberry swirl (which didn't make a lot of sense to me) and a joint meal that extended our fellowship and good vibes. Definitely a lovely day to reflect on as we now invite the autumn season to bring its coolness to our days ahead...

First impressions of IKEA (NZ) store...

 

On the weekend, I visited IKEA (NZ) for the first time since it opened its doors last year with its first store in Auckland. It was interesting to view the big warehouse, which reminded me a lot of the Costco stores.

I was able to view the various furniture layouts for bedrooms, study spaces, kitchen, lounge furnishings and the list goes on. I also loved viewing their colour combinations and found their pricing reasonable.

Now I get what the big deal was all about, as I had heard that when it first opened, there were cues down the road to get in and view the big warehouse.

They even had a large space for seated eating with a nice menu that offered food tastings from their European origins. I guess the only thing that I wasn't too keen on was that it was most of the warehouse used artificial lighting apart from the entrances.

All in all, it was an interesting experience, so that if I ever need furnishings to kit out a specific room or area, then this definitely would be a store to seek and consider the various offerings and options one could choose from...

Watching the movie "Tenor: my name is Pati"...

 

I was so blessed to have watched the movie "Tenor: my name is Pati" with my beloved. It was a three-day preview, and I watched it on Friday in the morning with only three of us watching in a big theatre. I think most people would have missed it as the only session of the day.

It was a touching movie for me as he was brought up in the same suburb of Māngere in South Auckland, as my family, but at different churches and schools. It was also interesting in that he had grown up with a super strict Samoan father.

I think the other part of his journey that was so interesting to watch was his commitment to his craft as a singer, musician and performer. I could see his passion growing up in performing at church and the local elderly home that his parents worked at, and that he and his siblings performed at and also worked there.

To now be on international stages all over the world singing as a tenor in operas and sharing his love and passion with audiences to see is so amazing. If I hadn't watched this movie, I wouldn't have known the great lengths that he has travelled to get to where he is today.

So happy for him and so proud that he represents our Samoaness well. The good, the difficulties and the struggles. I wish all the best for him, as he has been compared with Pavarotti, and that's saying something. 

This is a highly recommended movie that I encourage many Samoans and Pasifika people to be inspired by. Not so much about becoming an opera star but in his journey of never giving up on a dream that transpired as he was dedicated to his craft...

Shout out to our upcoming law graduand...

Yesterday, my beloved planned a family celebration with dinner out at one of our fave restaurants on the occasion of our eldest passing her final law exams to now graduate in the month of August. That's two graduations for our family this year. 

I am so happy for her as this was a goal for her ever since she was a young child, wanting to make this world a more 'fair' place for what she was aware of at the time.

I remember she was interested in social justice as a young child and became aware of cultural differences, historical perspectives and always had an opinion on social justice issues.

She definitely worked hard for it with lots of readings, debating and attending lectures. She was very hardworking with a lot of tenacity and determination to complete the course.

Now what is left is to complete her bar exams to be accepted to the bar, and to then decide which field of law she will want to work in, as I remember that she was initially interested in criminal justice, but the world is her oyster and quite a lot of opportunities are available to her. Now looking forward to her graduation in August...