Sunny Samoa to Rainy Auckland...

 

Returning back to NZ earlier last week, meant that we missed the downpour of rain within 24 hours that sent my home city of Auckland into a 7 day state of Emergency. That's because flash floors in many places around Auckland occurred with the huge deluge of rain.

Thankfully, my family homes are fine but there are many who are not faring so well due to floors and slips that have reeked havoc on family homes and cars, not to mention many businesses and individuals who will now be clambering to Insurance firms to claim on their belongings.

Even Auckland International Airport was caught in the floods with many passengers now having to wait days until they are able to travel depending on their carriers and in trying to dry the waters within and outside the terminal that we had only days been through.

It's another unprecedented event, as many are saying that it is the largest downpour of rain that Auckland has on record within a day that caused so much chaos. With even buses having to pull of their fleet of the roads since some of them were flooded when moving between suburbs.

Even for my local church, we've been asked to stay at home and have church online with the State of Emergency that's been called. I'm hoping that the church wasn't damaged at all although we do have a low lying church hall that hopefully didn't get damaged in the downpour.

And so I miss Samoa, on days like this and reflect back to Savaii in the district of Falealupo where my family was able to view many sacred sites and to especially have my mum there with us was the biggest blessing to. 

Looking forward to returning back to Samoa in the not to distant future...

Circus of Samoa...

One of the interesting entertainment activities that we were blessed to have been able to view, with my family, whilst in Samoa was the Samoa circus of which I had heard about in NZ and most recently when advertised in Samoa.

We had the privilege of going together with my Aunt & Uncles "Return to Paradise" staff team to view the entertainment. It was very last minute as we were told about an hour beforehand that there were some spare tickets if we could get there.

Well, of course, I definitely wasn't going to miss the opportunity so we quickly got ready, jumped into our people mover van/car as another Aunt had brought the message to us.

Thankfully it was in the evening and deep behind my mother's village of Faleula where the Circus or Fiafia Park is located and it was easy to find with the directions of my Aunt.

Well we had a ball with VIP parking and with a real carnival atmosphere i.e. a Candy Floss machine (yum), pop corn, drinks etc. with rides such as a Ferris wheel, Carousel complete with animal characters, bright shiny lights all over and that was even before we got into the shiny yellow circus tent.

There were so many acts with a 30 minute intermission to boot whereupon you could purchase whizzing lights for the children to play with that would light up the surroundings. It was definitely a circus atmosphere that the children loved and I quite enjoyed as well.

A big thank you to the "Return to Paradise" team in 'hooking us up' with the tickets and also giving us a great night out that was definitely unexpected and totally worth the quick ride. I would definitely recommend the show if you ever get a chance to have a look next time you're in Samoa...

 

Back from Paradise Samoa...

 

Only hours before we leave sunny Samoa for our homeland of Aotearoa, NZ. Looking forward to it but also already missing Samoa.

I understand more my late dad's yearning to return back to Paradise which had many good memories for him and that he wanted for us to have as well.

I think I was able to tick a lot of things to do off my list. One especially being to visit my ancestral villages of Fasitoo-uta, Siufaga, driving past Faleula on the way to Apia and also Safata on the island of Upolu.

Another was to go by boat and visit the big island of Savaii and drive all the way to Falealupo which is another ancestral village as well as driving past Vailoa in Palauli. Falealupo will always have a special place in my heart as it was where I began to learn about the importance of our own indigenous stories.

So now it's only a short time until we return back in late March/April, this year, for another very important occasion of celebration which there will be more information about in the coming weeks. Just for now it's been a beautiful journey for 3 generations of us, my mum, myself and daughter/s. 

Samoa see you soon... Ia manuia ma ia Soifua...

Recommending "Return to Paradise" Samoa styled buffet Sunday lunch...

It's been a whirlwind trip to Samoa and the month has gone past fast! I've been so busy that I've been too tired to post let alone remembering to blog at all with so much to do in so little time.

However, I will be catching up with our Savaii trip and Samoa Circus etc. trips that we had which were a real blessing to be at. There's definitely so much to experience and see in Samoa especially for us diaspora Samoans who sometimes miss out on learning and understanding about various things of island life.

We had a neat lunch at the "Return to Paradise Resort" yesterday with food that's definitely mouthwatering and award winning, which I had read and can absolutely testify to. I must also agree as with the buffet lunch we experienced yesterday, it was second to none. We especially enjoyed the range of dishes for lunch that also included dessert for around $65 SAT Samoa Tala (currency) per person and definitely well worth it.

I started with the 3 salads: pasta, garden salad and mango with egg plant salad - Yum! then over to the main dishes of curry and rice, fasi povi masi (salted silverside beef), I really enjoyed the sweet and sour, then there was pork, luau (taro leaves with coconut sauce), taro, breadfruit etc. Absolutely delicious.

I'm hoping that our upcoming family reunion will be booking the site in the next year or so as it's being hosted by our Samoa komiti (committee). Definitely a beautiful location and it has the capacity with a family reunion event planner for organising the events.

Wow! a big thank you to my family at the Resort who made us feel at home i.e. Aunty Rona, Uncle Jim, cousin Raz and Mel with a great team of resort workers who really make you feel welcome. For further details check out their website, check out their Fiafia night and daily lunches or dinners etc.

We'll definitely be back there in April for another important Resort and family event and looking forward to seeing everyone there again. Keep up the great work "Return to Paradise" as we will definitely be returning...

Museum of Samoa...

In the last couple of days, I took my mum and youngest to view the Museum of Samoa or Falemata'aga. It's a place that I'd been wanting to visit for so long but just never had the time nor understanding of what would be involved in visiting it.

I now know that the protocol is to visit the museum office, then sign the visitors book and await a tour by one of the tour guides who are well equipped to answer questions and provide commentary on the various exhibitions.

Of the 6 exhibition spaces we were able to view 4 of them and they are similar to what you might see at other museums having visited the Auckland War Memorial museum and also at Te Papa in Wellington.

It was very interesting to listen to the tour guide and view the history of Samoa on the walls, with the various resources that had been  provided for audiences to read and consider. 

I must say that I had been very fortunate to have studied and read a lot of Samoan history out of my own interest and fascination in not having had much of it taught to me in my own early education and it was good to swap notes with what I was already aware of.

What interested me the most was the focus on the preservation or retaining of important cultural information, artefacts, rituals and knowledge that is slowly being eroded away because of the many changes that are taking place in Samoa.

I was so glad that I was able to take the time to see what was available and I would encourage any diaspora Samoans to take the time to visit the Museum which is close to Apia and the location of the hospital.

It's also entry by donation so that you can make it suit your budget. I was able to leave 3 of my books to support the work of the Museum and hope to partner with them, in the future, to share some of my own learnings along the way in my journey of learning about the Samoa of my ancestors and parents, now mine and those of my children's and hopefully grandchildren's etc. in time to come...

 

Different delicacies and foods in Samoa...

 

There are many things to enjoy about being back in Samoa but one that I've really liked is getting back to basics with foods. 

We've been blessed with local papaya or Iesi as it's named locally and it's a beautiful fruit to have for breakfast.

We also have local foods dressed in banana leaves without the need for plastics (which is so sustainable for the environment). So you'll find quite a few local delicacies covered by banana leaves such as the local fa'ausi or caramelized Iesi that's been baked (with flour etc.) then the caramelized sugar is added which makes for a tasty dessert.

In fact, we've had fun trying out the various delicacies and enjoying breadfruit and mango, both in season and hard to source overseas. We've had local taro and fish with lots of coconut cream, which you can practically add into anything, including coconut buns and pineapple pie (without the coconut cream).

Don't get me started on the Koko Samoa which is the unadulterated Samoa cocoa which can be freshly sourced: grown then picked and roasted before deshelling and pummeling until a thick rich cocoa liquid is added to boiling water for a cup of Koko Samoa.

Then add coconut rice which is steamed rice with coconut cream added to it at the end of the rice boiling stage and it's a pretty good meal for supper or end of a good days work. I've yet to have Alaisa fa'apopo (coconut rice) but it's definitely a dish that I prefer and look forward to having very, very soon...

Weaving Pandanus plants...

 

This is some of the pandanus plants for weaving, that my parents have grown, on their property which is used for local weaving.

It's something that I have started to learn as an artist and especially have been interested in our Measina workshops to see many coming to learn the art of weaving that our ancestors continued.

However, there is a long process that happens after the fibres are cut from the plant and before the fibres are ready for weaving. One has to dry them and also boil and wind the dried fibres ready for weaving.

I'm seriously considering to enrol into my local wananga (Maori high learning institute), where I work, in the next semester to learn the art of weaving through Maori techniques and then to add them my repertoire from Samoa.

It's a dying art, especially in that not as many women are weaving as they did many years ago, however, there are still weavers who are ready to teach those who are willing and so perhaps a renaissance of weaving needs to happen in Samoa in order to continue this important art that has been continued for many years around the Pacific...

Samoa beaches a special legacy...

Lalomanu Beach fale and beautiful beach

Yesterday, we had a whirlwind trip around the South Eastern coast of the Island of Upolu, after meeting with my husband's family in Siumu.

We then drove around to the Aleipata coast, passed by the village of Lalomanu, which had been devasted by the Tsunami of 2009 and over to see if we could catch the last boat to the Island of Namua but (aue!) we didn't make it.

So we headed back to the sandy golden beaches of Lalomanu where our two van loads of families got out, stretched our legs whilst some went to have a swim in the warm waters of Lalomanu whilst others lay lazily in the comfortable breezes of the beach fale (small open shelters) at $50 tala per car.

As the sun set, we proceeded to quickly finish our late wahoo sandwiches which I and my beautiful Samoan nieces had made earlier in Siumu. Then we set off back through Aleipata and a long night drive back to our home in Fasitoo-uta at around 10pm at night.

It reminded me of the night drives in Samoa that I had with my late father where I'd be driving and we'd be talking late into the night after driving back from Siumu along the Lefaga pass road. It brought back beautiful memories and I was reminded of the privilege of the legacy that had been left for me and my children's generation of the love for a special place in the heart of a father who had lived and loved...
 

Measina a Samoa in Samoa...

 

One of the other important things that I returned to Samoa to observations for my PhD studies on measina (cultural treasures) in Samoa.

Sadly, I had wanted to base my PhD studies in Samoa but as the COVID-19 Pandemic had shut NZ's international borders for around 3 years, it was important that I made a start in NZ with diaspora Samoans (like myself) and then to return to the motherland to see what affects (if any) that COVID-19 had on the use of measina in Samoa.

There's been a lot of discussion but it was especially comforting to see that some were still making Ie Toga (fine mats) that are still being used in Samoa for funerals etc. However, in some villages and families, cash is or expediate and is more easily sourced than ie Toga.

In fact, fewer women are practicing the art of weaving ie Toga as more move into work and other industries. I was often told that in days of old, it was the elder women who would do this work with younger ones joining them later but still seen as the responsibility of the elder women.

Now, it seems that the elder women do not weave as they once did with many falling ill to many ailments and less women spending time weaving on hard floors with all of the associations of preparing the fibres to be weaved.

The pic above is one of an ie Toga that is currently in the process of being woven by one of the ladies who lives with us whose in her 40s and weaves. She has taught her elder 17 year old daughter to weave and it is a something that is done when all the daily chores are completed and there are no other distractions.

It's such a blessing to see in knowing that my parents both planted the two different types of plants that can be used for weaving (but more on that in my thesis). Just so great to know that this is still being promoted in my own home in Samoa and continuing to pass on measina a Samoa to new generations...

Welcome back to Samoa 2023...

It feels like a welcome home in coming back to Samoa in 2023. We did need to clean, sweep and take care of the cobwebs in our house in having been absent for so long but it's been great to be back.

We've had lots of conversations of the great memories and times we had with my late father but also neat in being able to be entrusted with some of the things that he wanted to continue to work on and to bring these into fruition, Lord willing.

The weather here has been quite rainy and that's been great for using rain water to do all the things that we would normally do in not having our usual water pipes working. Hopefully we will be able to have this sorted next week when people start going back to work after the holidays.

So it's been great to be able to go to our different local fresh water holes which are communal and to see the various sites. The sad thing is that there have been a lot of local roadworks for widening the main road and lots of plants have been taken out in our local area with lots of changes to house frontages.

Even our house has not been lost in these changes but just grateful that we are able to see what else needs to be done and also the various plans to ensure that these come into fruition very much in line with how my late father would walk the talk...
 

Blessed to be back in Samoa in 2023...

 HAPPY NEW YEAR for 2023. Ia manuia le Tausaga Fou mo 2023. I'm here in sunny (and rainy) Samoa with my family and enjoying being back after 3 years break due to the COVID-19 restrictions of closed international borders in NZ.

I was last here with my parents in September of 2019. Sadly, my dearest dad passed away during the COVID restrictions, a year ago (as discussed in earlier blogs) and I've had the privilege of coming to Samoa to keep my personal promise to him of having a Memorial stone for him here.

So we had a NZ memorial service and unveiling on Xmas Eve 24 Dec 2022 at 10am and then a week later we were blessed to be able to do it again in one of my dad's beloved villages where he first grew up in Fasito'o-uta. It's been a real blessing as we'd had a year to prepare for it and all came into fruition (with some extra bits and pieces too) but I've come to know that you just need to prepare for the unexpected in Samoa too.

Now, I can relax and take stock of some other things that need to be done whilst here in Samoa. I've got some books that I'm working on and have a few ideas for book launches and speaking engagements but just taking it easy as just slowly getting back into the swing of things.

I must say that Samoa has changed a lot and even when I catch up with some Aunties and Uncles, they say the same that since the global COVID-19 epidemic, that there are certain things that have been rethought. I am blessed to be able to speak Samoan and that helps to see the differences too.

Suffice to say, that I'm just so thankful for this opportunity and in knowing that this was a very special place for my dad and in his heart he really cared for Samoa, his villages and families. That's something special that he gave to me as his parting gift to never take things for granted and to be thankful for what God has in store for us during our lifetime/s...