5 km+ Walking brings clarity...

 

I've been enjoying my 5km+ morning walks at the local bay (as I call it). I usually walk for upwards of an hour, which allows me to focus and gain clarity on projects and important tasks I'm currently working on.

The bonus is that it also keeps me fit, as I take a brisk pace to raise my heart rate and get myself sweating, peeling off the layers, or rolling up my sleeves as I go.

The scenery also adds variety, with high tide being my favourite time of walking as I watch the water lapping onto the shore. It's a great time to consider the pull of the moon and its effect on the tides.

I also get to watch birdlife along my walks, as there's a variety of birds, including ducks paddling in the water. Seagulls and many other varieties, of which I'm not aware of the names, but they are teeming with life as some gather in groups and stand facing the same direction.

There's also an etiquette among many walkers, who often say "Hello" or "Hi" as I'm walking. Sometimes I make way for couples, or sometimes they make way for me. I never feel lonely, and sometimes my beloved joins me on these walks, or I take a willing child :)

I recommend this as a form of exercise that is free, gets you out in the fresh air, and is no-nonsense. I recall enjoying the adrenaline rush during my younger days, especially at the end of a run. This is similar, the walk back to the car or to the endpoint was worth it...

"Karate kid: legends" movie...

 

 

This last weekend, I attended the movie "Karate Kid: Legends" with my middle child. There was a bit of nostalgia in wanting to view it, as I had grown up with the franchise from its original movie back in 1984, which happened to be my first year in Uni.

What I liked about the movie was that it had Jackie Chan as one of the trainers (as he had been in an earlier film with the franchise) and he plays the part very well. I also liked that there were part of the movie where he was able to speak his own native tongue (language) which made the movie more authentic too.

The movie was predictable as the martial arts underdog always wins the day at the last moment but still the journey towards that course is fraught with so many difficulties. There was also a ode to the late Pat Morati who originally played Mr Miyagi or sensei in the original film and Ralph Macchio who played the underdog in the first films but then came back in the 2020s to continue the journey into a series called "Cobra Kai".

I watched the first couple of seasons of Cobra Kai but it didn't have the same feel as the Karate kid movies. I would recommend it for family friendly viewing although it does have a lot of violence scenes in case that's not your cup of tea...

Stardome fieldtrip for Matariki...

 

Last weekend, I returned to take our students who had missed out on the Matariki show at the Stardome earlier in the month and was able to watch it for a second time, as some hadn't attended the free event. 

The Stardome is our local Planetarium Observatory, and it was neat to watch the show for a second time to better understand the position of the stars.

What's been really interesting learning about indigenous Māori knowledge, in which their pūrākau or ancient stories have ancestral knowledge embedded within about the stars.

One of the stories was about Maui fishing the North Island of New Zealand from the ocean. The knowledge we now possess is of the star cluster called Scorpius, which resembles the tail of a scorpion in one culture, but for Māori, it resembles a fish hook.

Being navigational masters, they were able to follow that star cluster to discover NZ much earlier than Captain Cook. The story of Maui now makes a lot of sense and it's been so interesting to now gain a new understanding and appreciation of that story.

The star cluster of Matariki also has it's (back)story of which I would encourage all NZer's to learn about. I've been teaching it to my students from varied cultural backgrounds to give a better understanding of why it is known as the Māori new year which coincidentally falls in with the financial year.

The other neat thing is that it has become a new holiday since 2022 with Friday the 20th of June being a public holiday for NZ, although it does change every year depending. This is exciting too because my place of work has given us an extra day off including Thursday the 19th of June so that families can spend time together. 

With an emphasis on whānau or family moreso than another sales marketed holiday eg. Christmas with gifts and Santa Claus paraphernalia as well as Easter with easter eggs and bunnies, hot cross buns and Springtime...

PhD admission for beloved at AUT...

During the weekend, my beloved with family members and friends were invited to attend his PhD admission proposal at AUT City campus.

It was very interesting as I'd been admitted to 4 different PhD programmes and didn't have to go through this process at Auckland Uni, AUT (North campus) or Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi (Whakatane).

It was a very good process, however, as he also proposes to complete a Creative PhD with Film as his practice in his village of Siumu in Samoa.

It takes a lot of bravery (and money) to do it the way that he is proposing, having already completed my doctoral fieldwork in Samoa. However, it is his journey and it will be interesting to see how it pans out with so many critical factors to take into account.

I wish him well in his endeavours and now at the end of my journey, I would say that it was worth the late nights and considerations. It was also so good to have my parents' support and my children's as their love and support was so appreciated during the journey...

Acceptance as Stall holder at WIPCE Conference 2025...

 

Another amazing opportunity that's been given from the WIPCE conference was the acceptance of my application to have a stall promoting indigenous education products, services etc.

This is a dream come true as pictured here, this is my aiga or family's humble homes. Beginning with the small faleo'o (small house), in the background, as the beginning of the build, followed by the second stage as the main fale (house) and the third stage was the 2018 (before my dad passed away in 2021) build in our blue and white house which we now use.

This, I think, mirrors my journey of firstly my parents' support of my educational journey in Auckland, in my formative years and then continuing into Uni studies as my second stage and now completing my studies as a Wānanga or Māori indigenous tertiary education institute and leaning in to present and share my family's story at an education conference.

For the most part, I'll be promoting my books at the stall but also see what other products would be good to promote too. I've held many book stalls in my journey across the years, and it's befitting that in my 10th year anniversary of being an Indie publisher, to be given this amazing opportunity. 

From humble beginnings to be given these opportunities on an International stage, is a blessing and something that I thank God for and the support of my family right from the start. Roll on November as here we come!...

Acceptance for speaking at WIPCE conference...

I just received some great news today that I've been accepted to speak at the WIPCE conference (World Indigenous Peoples Conference for Education) in Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland in November from 16th - 20th Nov 2025.

This is an amazing opportunity as it's something I've been wanting to attend for many years but I had other important considerations at the time but now I'm very thankful for their acceptance of my abstract.

It's also the first abstract that I've written for an International conference but I must say that I am definitely ready for the challenge and looking forward to bringing the information together to share my story on the following information that was accepted i.e. regarding my doctoral thesis that's still at the end process.

·                     Safeguarding measina a Samoa (cultural treasures) through storytelling, creative writing, and art.

·                     PRESENTATION in Creative Arts and Media theme 

This gives me some time to get my presentation sorted and to consider all of the elements that will go into making it special and memorable for such an important conference. I also hope to inspire other indigenous individuals and communities to consider collaborating in some of the things that I've also considered in my education journey.

I'm also proud of my colleague who works alongside me as she also has been accepted to present at the conference regarding the programme that we are both working in. And a big thanks to my work organisation who is sponsoring us to attend the conference pending the acceptance of our abstracts.

Wow! a lot to process with a lot of work to be done too. Roll on WIPCE conference 2025, here we come...

Samoan language week 2025...

 

Ia manuia le vaiaso mo le fa'atāuaina o le gagana Samoa.

May the week for the importance of Samoan language go well.

Tālofa lava and Hello, this is a poster by a group called "Gagana Samoa i Aotearoa" who are about promoting our Samoan language in Education in New Zealand.

If you check out their Facebook page under the same new, you'll find that they have resources that can be used to learn the Samoan language.

Resources such as this one featured that translates the Samoa words into English and vice versa for learning everyday English.

These are helpful phrases to learn when you are with Samoans as they are everyday phrases that I say in greeting people or saying goodbye or answering questions with a yes or no.

Samoan language week celebrations extend to tomorrow and I have a few ideas for my weekend of learning with my class. I'm considering to bring along a pot of koko Samoa those who are brave enough to give it a go as it is unadulterated koko or cacao beans that have been roasted, deshelled, pounded until smooth and then poured into a container to harden. 

When it hardens, it takes the shape of the container and then you put the desired amount into a pot of boiling water and let it boil until the koko has dissipated and then it is ready for drinking with or without the small koko particles that were afore pounded. Then add sugar and milk to taste. 

Now all I need to find is a big boiling pot!...

Happy "Gagana Samoa" week...

 

Happy Samoan Language Week for 2025.

"Ia manuia le vaiaso mo le fa'atāuaina o le Gagana Samoa", which translates as may the week for the importance of the Samoan language go well.

It started on June 1st, which is incidentally my mum's birthday, and we have been celebrating ever since.

The Samoan language is the third most spoken language in Aotearoa, New Zealand, with English being the primary language of communication, followed by te reo Māori, the indigenous language of New Zealand, and then the Samoan language.

The theme of this year's Samoan language week is "Ia malu lou sā, Folau i lagimā". There are many interpretations of this saying, with the publicised version suggesting that a well-grounded self is a successful self. However, I read it as 'may you (in your travels) be protected, travel with clear skies,' which is a more literal translation relating to when early Samoans used to travel about in va'a or outrigger canoeing vessels.

This year, I thought to take it easy and concentrate on some books and studies that I'm currently working on. There are many aiga or families, schools, organisations, and individuals who are celebrating the week in different ways...

Surprise birthday party for our beloved...

This weekend we marked the 60th Birthday of my beloved with a surprise party at a local restaurant. It was our daughters' idea to have the celebration at a family-friendly venue with cuisine that everyone could enjoy.

A beautiful dinner was had with close family and friends, including a big balloon display with white and gold as the theme colours (black and blue were additional). In fact, they asked all the guests, including the birthday boy, to wear white.

The evening featured platters of various dishes, and each guest was able to select from the à la carte menu. We kept the drinks non-alcoholic and still had lots of fun.

We all responded in kind by wearing our (white Sunday ha ha ha) outfits with complementing gold jewellery and accessories just for the evening.

They also bought a custom-ordered birthday cake with caramel and banana flavours, featuring gold trim, which served as our dessert for the evening, as everyone was too full for more courses.

All in all, it was a pleasant evening and enjoyable, especially as it had been an actual surprise as I had been game enough not to give away too many clues...

 

Queen's birthday during King's birthday long weekend...

 

Today is King's birthday weekend, which is a public holiday, but yesterday we celebrated our matriarch, queen, grandma and mother's 86th birthday.

We even went to mark the occasion by renting an Airbnb. We gave her breakfast in bed, and had a wonderful day chilling, playing table tennis, and mini Pool (billiards) as well as enjoying our family time together.

There were a few tears in the speech, making us miss our late dad/husband/grandad for 4 years now, but just blessed that she's still with us and that we can have this beautiful time with her.

Her grandkids spoiled her with carefully thought-out and meaningful gifts, and we also had a celebration cake specially prepared for her, resplendent as a cream sponge with strawberry cream and lovely decorations, as pictured in the photo.

I think I'm going to catch up on some much needed sleep as it's been a full on weekend with so much happening but suffice to say that this King's birthday weekend has been a great time spent together with much R&R (rest and relaxation) and ready for another busy weekend drawing near...