Ice Skating in Summer...

 

Had a great long weekend (Auckland's Anniversary) and it started with trip with my three children to an Ice skating ring in the middle of summer!

It's fair to say that I was the bag watcher, book reader and enjoyed the lunch there with a hot dog combo that I'd not had in a long time.

It was neat to see them enjoying themselves as our youngest to getting ready to start her first year in high school at an inner city all girls school.

It'll definitely be a first for us as I have preferred co-ed schools which is a snap shot of the world around us. Funnily enough when I was at Uni, some peers assumed that I had attended a girls school like this one but it wasn't in my parents' wish list.

However, our youngest wanted to explore her options which lead her to starting tomorrow with a powhiri (Māori welcome ceremony) at the school for each new student and their whānau (family). So we'll be up early to get there with limited carparking and to wish her well in her new journey.

Therefore, the ice-skating was a way to break the ice before attending a new unfamiliar school and sharing good times with her Uni-bound elder siblings. Now with all of them based in Auckland city and out of our familiar suburbs.

A new year with new journeys. Wishing her well for 2024 and also all who read this blog. As I believe that the best is yet to come with my studies still continuing and hopefully ending by mid year. Definitely, never a dull moment...

Happy Birthday to our middle child...

 

It was a great yesterday to have a birthday party for our middle child although it wasn't great day for a beach party with the constant rain. 

We instead opted to have a party at home complete with BBQ and then she was able to go with family and friends to a Kareoke bar for an evening of singing and dancing.

Here's her 19th birthday cake from our fave local cake shop which is the "Cheesecake shop". It was a chocolate torte with chocolate icing and great with ice cream too.

I'm also looking forward to her first year at Uni in having taken a gap year last year. Although she did do a course at MIT Manukau Institute of Technology but it wasn't really what she was really interested in doing.

Now she'll be able to get the full Uni experience with more confidence and understanding in having had other experiences instead of going straight to Uni.

It's definitely something that I encourage with my family members in encouraging the idea of lifelong learning and reading or watching movies that help us to understand the ways that other people live or think.

Looking forward to an encouraging year for her with so much to look forward to and to learn. The world is her oyster as I start teaching again for a new year with new students. I'll be encouraging and wishing the same for them as well...

Happy Birthday to my lil' artist sis Maria...

 

This is a shout out to my lil' artist sis, Maria, who had her birthday this week. It's a little belated as I've been busy returning to work and juggling my usual hectic schedule but it was great to take time out with family to celebrate her birthday at a local family restaurant which made it real special with no dishes afterwards to clear.

I also wanted to showcase a real special art piece/s that she not only made for me but she also designed for four other women in my family including my mom and daughters.

In each of the pics that she made for us, she artisticly narrated symbols of what each of us meant for her and also wrote a letter that explained each of the symbols which was pretty special.

Some of the symbols that she has on mine include: Moana which is my fave Disney movie of all time, the peacock on top is symbolic of the tatoo on the hand of my late dad who was very important in my life, the paint brushes are of me enjoying painting and the tropical frangipani flowers are also a favourite of me and my mom.

She also added the central cross which is important for me as a Christian woman in my faith journey and the eagle for which she sees me as a leader in my family now with my late dad's passing the leadership onto me. The beautiful tropical sunset is another fave that I have and the compass of being able to support many in their life's journey as a teacher.

It's such a beautiful reminder to me of the artistic skills that she has as an incredible artist and I'm hoping to do more collaborative projects with her in illustrating more books as she's completed a few book covers for me in the past.

Here's wishing a Happy Birthday to my lil' sis', Maria, and wishing her the very best for a future that lies ahead. I know that her artistic skills are a gift and a talent that we have been blessed to have been privileged to receive these special personal artistic and symbolic narratives...

"Wish" Disney's latest animated movie...

 Got to watch the movie "Wish" with my two elder children who had wanted to watch the latest Disney animated movie. I got there a bit late as I had ordered 3 bubble tea flavours that took a little longer than I anticipated but the taste was worth the delay.

I hadn't been quite sure what to expect as I had watched the official movie trailer and couldn't quite make out the storyline but I did find it interesting that it wasn't a movie that I could easily anticipate. The cast of characters were quite diverse from the onset and the main character I think was portrayed as African American by her hair.

No spoiler alerts except to say that it was a little different from the storylines that I have been accustomed to with Disney productions and perhaps that's why it hasn't featured as strongly as other previous movies like "Encanto", "Frozen" and "Moana" with songs that perhaps aren't as memorable too.

The protagonist character reminded me of a male "Maleficient" from the "Snow White" movie but didn't quite play out as well but again I must say that it was a very different ending which plays out differently from what we're accustomed to.

So I'll leave it there. A great time to spend with loved ones but not a movie that I could highly recommend except to say that it may not be quite what you would expect but sometimes that's a good thing as my entourage enjoyed it a lot...

Great to be back in NZ...

 

It's great to be back in NZ and received the seminal book called "Caste The origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson (2020). I had ordered it online before leaving for Samoa as I wanted to read it before anticipating the watching of the movie which I think it hitting NZ theatres soon early this year.

It's a very difficult read for me and I find myself putting it down and walking away for sometime to let it all sink in. It definitely has changed the way that I see historical accounts of the world as I once understood it. I'm also taking my time with reading this work as it's hard hitting and challenges me in ways that have to consider deeply as a teacher.

In anticipation of watching Isabel Wilkerson's book turned into a movie, I am so glad that they were able to acquire our NZ's, Maori artist Stan Walker, to sing such a haunting song that I think sums up the beauty and horror of the subjects that she speaks about in her book.

No spoiler alerts yet, as I think one needs to take the time to read it. It reads like a dissertation (Ph.D. non-fictional work) yet accessible for many. However, it is definitely not an easy read, in fact my eldest gave me a thick almost 400 page Post-grad romance novel that I was able to finish in around 24 hours as a way of light hearted reading as opposed to the heavy topics that Wilkerson's book deals with.

From my own perspective, it's hard to fathom the atrocities that have happened over the ages and the apparent evil that some cultures and peoples have lived through as both oppressors and victims. Her book was the Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and highly recommended by many critics, writers, celebrities etc.

I'm currently about a third of the way through the book and I'm not rushing it. I think one needs to ponder on much of what she has said. I think it also makes me reconsider what I'll be teaching and will be taking my children to watch the movie when it comes out. I'll be interested to know the angle that the movie will take in telling her stories...

Back from Samoa 2024...

 

Back from Samoa and finally got over the jetlag of having a night flight over to NZ and arriving in the early morning.

This pic was one of the last taken at the beach outside our home. My youngest found little spring waters that many villages and families have developed into fresh water pools.

It was something that my late father had wanted to develop for our family so it is definitely something that we're looking in to develop for the future.

It was a little sad to leave our second home but neat to be back with our family with upcoming birthdays to plan and also school and Uni to get ready for in the next month. It was also great to be there with my elder brother and sister-in-law.

Already looking forward to our next trip overseas in May and many more adventures to come...

"Love bears" series painting in Samoa...

 

This particular trip to Samoa has been eventful with so much happening in our "neck of the woods" at Niuapapa, in the village of Fasitoo-uta.

I did, however, manage to find an old painting that I had painted but then left behind in Samoa before the COVID-19 international lockdowns. I've since placed it on our wall between two louvre windows with a neat lei.

Tomorrow it's my elder brother's significant birthday as he had travelled here together with my sister-in-law and we have a few special surprises for him with a birthday cake, birthday meals i.e. breakfast /  lunch / dinner, and presents as a day of celebration. We're also looking forward to seeing if he'll take some time out of his busy schedule to celebrate as he's been busy with his painting and maintenance work.

Because he lives in Sydney, Australia, this is probably one of the first birthdays that we have spent together as a family celebrating his birthday in a long time and we want to make it special for him, although he doesn't want any fuss etc.

In Samoa, there's so much variety of foods for him but his absolute favourites we've decided to include such as oka (fresh raw fish in coconut cream), some pisupo (corned beef from NZ), and some tasty additions that we're going to pick up from Pinati's which is a favourite Samoa food restaurant in Apia. Unfortunately, there's no KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) which is another one of his favourite (as was our late dad's as well).

We plan to spend it at our home, next to the ocean, as my dearest brother decided to bring his maintenance handy man tools and paint to Samoa to spruce up the family house and he's definitely made a wonder of a difference with his painting and maintenance work on the house.

We've managed to fix some leaks in the bathrooms and kitchen, interior painting with some exterior painting planned. Some tiling needing to be sorted with exterior grills on windows. Security is an important part of the plan as with living overseas, it can definitely be a problem.

Bringing back the u'a tree to our home in Samoa...

 

One of the neat things upon our return to Samoa was seeing the broadleaf paper mulberry tree for making siapo or tapa cloth now growing in our front garden. We had planted it last July when we were last here having found it in an outer village (July 2023 blogpost).

There were three plants that we planted and we took a couple to the neighbours to plant for safe keeping. However, when we returned our neighbour's plant did not survive in having been mowed along with the other vegetation that her family member unwittingly removed.

Ours, on the other hand, is an amazing feat as I had never seen it before and to now have it growing in our garden is a blessing. This is quite special as I've been working on a couple of books to launch fairly soon having had a break in 2023 from self-publishing and instead concentrating on my doctoral studies.

One of the books is based on an ancient story that tells of the origins of the siapo with the u'a or the paper mulberry tree. It's an interesting story because it talks of the relationship between the u'a and another creeper vine or plant called the silato or Samoan nettle.

The u'a plant is almost not grown in many of the villages as fewer people make siapo in Samoa and therefore do not plant them. When I went looking for a plant, I had to go to a family who were selling them locally to ask if they knew of anyone who had plants and was directed to a family who lived inland (or uta) to find such a plant. The family were very accommodating and let me take photos and some baby plants to take root. I also took the details of the kind lady to add to the credits of the book.

Wow! this is so amazing for me to be able to bring the u'a tree back to our family home in the village of Fasito'o-uta and to now look for more plants to grow that are associated with the original authentic painting of the Samoan siapo...

"Return to Paradise Resort & Spa" Lefaga legacy...

 

One of our fave places to visit when in Samoa is our Aunty & Uncles (with co-owners) "Return to Paradise Resort and Spa" in Lefaga.

It's about a 35 - 45 minute drive from where we live, depending on the weather and traffic and it's a nice place to relax and chill at.

We were invited, last night, by my Aunty Afamasaga Ramona, guardian, matriarch and co-owner of the resort, to have a pre-birthday celebration there for our brother's 60th birthday. It was so neat to relax there after attending my first extended Tauau family meeting.

We had a lovely buffet dinner that included yummy fried fish, curry, salads, chow mein, rice, fried chicken etc.  with desserts that were neat and included fruit salads and chocolate mousse in 'shot' glasses with brownies etc.

Afterwards, we were entertained by the resident band of male staff who also doubled as musicians, singers and dancers. Their harmonies were spectacular and we sang along to their renditions of a lot of different English covers and Samoan songs too.

The dancing was also spectacular with their Samoan slap dances, freestyles and bringing up unsuspecting guests to the dance floor. At the end of the evening the entertainment was complete with a taualuga or traditional Samoan dance by a female with everyone dancing and celebrating behind her.

All in all, we had an enjoyable evening and then we drove back to our Fasitoo-uta home with lots of laughs and glad to retire into the evening. It's definitely a resort that I would recommend for the weary traveller wanting a chillaxing time and even for destination weddings or family reunions of which I hope we will be having 2024/2025.

For more information, please check out their informative website on: https://returntoparadiseresort.com ...

Measina alignment in thesis with conservation agencies in Samoa...

This pic is taken at the ocean rockwall at Apia where I was lounging with my family under the Tamaligi tree with its beautiful red/orange flowers. My mom gave me the Samoan name and will later check up on the English name and whether it's a native. It's quite an iconic tree here and features in many villages very similar to NZ's Xmas tree which is the pohutukawa tree.

I also went to join the Samoa Conservation Society at the Maritime NUS (National University of Samoa) campus but told it was closed until Monday whilst on holiday so I'll be back to check it out as I see that they've been doing some very good work in supporting environmental and cultural conversation of much of Samoa's measina which is just down my thesis alley.

I'm also looking at various groups, individuals and NGO (non-government organizations) to align my thesis to, to acknowledge the good work that is already out there in the various committee efforts in conserving the natural and cultural environment. As in my thesis, I've seen that much has already been lost and such organisations play and important role in trying to stem the tide and share in the awareness of what can be done to curb such events.

Yes, although holidaying in Samoa, there's still a lot of work to do in my thesis but also in looking after our communal property. It's been good to have my elder brother, George, and his wife over to support in the maintenance of my late dad's dream. I now say that it's about keeping his vision alive for future generations and my generation being guardians over the land for safekeeping in our village of Fasito'o-uta. Same conservation ideas on a smaller scale in my family...

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024 from SAMOA...

 Wow! Happy New Year from Samoa (Ia manuia le tausaga fou!) So much has happened since I stopped work last year for holiday season and had a great Christmas i.e. one of the most relaxing and enjoyable Christmases in a long time since my dad's passing.

Then quickly got packed up and ready for our last trip of the year back to our second home sweet home of Samoa. The weather's been pretty rainy off and on as this is the usual rainy season but have definitely been blessed to be back for a fourth time this year.

So much has happened since we first arrived back after the COVID-19 lockdown and now everything's back to normal except there's more awareness of coughs and colds leading to the dreaded virus and it's various variants that are still out there in the communities.

I'm always drawn back to the vibrant aqua blue azure hues of the ocean in living next to the Pacific ocean in our village of Fasito'o-uta and the swaying coconut trees and tropical flora. It's been great to see that many of the plants that we planted in our garden have grown and looking promising for the future but more on that in future posts.

Suffice to say that I'm also looking forward to meeting up with my elder brother, George and his lovely wife, who are holidaying here. I'll be picking them up from the local airport which is only a 15 minute drive down the road from their 3.15am flight. He's celebrating a significant birthday so will see what we have in store for him on his special day...