NZ ShakeOut happening today...

 

Today is our NZ ShakeOut, where organisations, families and individuals can sign up to participate in the annual Earthquake awareness campaign. It's an important information awareness campaign, especially for areas of NZ where there are earthquake fault lines and volcanoes or areas that have been prone to earthquake activity.

At 1.30 pm across the nation, people will be holding drills in schools, groups, and organisations to consider what they would need to do in order to support their communities in meaningful and safe ways. This is also especially important for children who might be away from their parents so that the caregivers can make plans if such an occurrence were to happen.

Back in 2009, I was staying with my family, visiting my husband's family, and they lived on a mountain in Samoa, and when the Tsunami hit after the earthquake there, it had devastating effects. I have had first-hand experience of how it can happen at any time and having a plan that has been practiced is important for people and especially children to know what to do...

Stan Walker - "The Lord is my Light"...

 

When I heard Stan Walker (my fave male artist) sing one of my favourite gospel songs, "The Lord Is My Light", originally composed and sung by the Samoan duo Adeaze, I almost cried. I chose it to walk down the aisle with my parents at my sunset wedding to my beloved on Saturday the 24th of November, 2001, at Sonaisali Island in Fiji.

I still like the original in its simplicity, but this rendition elevates the song with Stan singing it in English, Samoan and Te Reo Māori to another level. I chose the song for our wedding as it captured and acknowledged the presence and essence of my relationship with God and my understanding of the Christian faith that my parents had brought me up in.

I also like the orchestral instruments that give it breadth and depth, but I still love the original best. I'd be interested to see what you think when comparing the original, which is over 20 years old, with Stan's version.

The other important thing was getting the opportunity to thank the two Adeaze singers for their song, whom we met at a function some years ago. I think they were surprised to hear us share our story but we mustn't have been the first as it's such a special song...

Toa Samoa vs France - Rugy World cup 2026...

 

It was good to watch the first official match of the Rugby World Cup for 2026, last night with my beloved - an avid fan with Australia winning against NZ by only a two-point difference. Tonight I'm watching Samoa play against France, with Samoa dominating.

It's so good to see our small nation doing so well against other International teams, and especially as they were runners-up last year. Samoa is currently dominating the game for the first half and looking forward to seeing if there's any way that France can catch up.

This is so promising because there is so much support going out to them from diaspora Samoans all over the world. This is with the pride of Samoans worn on T-shirts, Samoan flags on cars, lots of merch, parades, and that's just the beginning.

Wishing Toa Samoa all the best for the Rugby World Cup for 2026 and not forgetting New Zealand as well...

Term 4 starts...

 

The last term of the school year starts today, and our youngest is preparing for external exams starting next month and also completing internal assessments.

This is a pink/purple rose that she fashioned with play dough during the holidays. It reminded me of how the creative DNA has been passed down to all my children through their interests in art and creativity.

I think with the rise in mental health awareness, creativity has been underrated in many respects, be it handcrafts, journaling, scrapbooking, crocheting, knitting, etc.

I have seen an upsurge in creative digital platforms such as Etsy, Canva and Pinterest (just to name a few). I like how there has been interest in people being able to sell their creative products so that one does not have to be the 'starving artist' because there is always someone out there who would be interested in purchasing good-quality creative arts.

I think pf my eight Samona bilingual picture books are an outlet for me to continue my creativity of not only by sharing the knowledge that I've gained through indigenous research but also in translating the stories into art for readers to share in my imaginative journey. With more books to cameo...

Holidays and Term 4 starts...

 

It's been a very busy two-week holiday, with our youngest chilling the first week and then having a friend sleepover the second week. There were definitely lots of things to keep them busy for the whole week, including going to watch the Spider-Man (2026) movie at the cinema with popcorn and drinks.

Unfortunately, I had a virtual meeting that I needed to join, so I had to sneak out before the end of the movie, but I'll probably catch up with the ending when it comes through on a streaming platform. It was interesting to watch because the last Spider-Man movie was a few years ago, and it brought the story up to date.

Another excursion that they went on was to 'Spookers' on the final night, with the entertainment (that's what they call it) sessions starting at 9 pm for the R13 session. I'm not into horror movies or such because I don't know why I'd pay someone to scare me, but anyway, they enjoyed themselves, with our middle child joining the fray too.

Now there's one more sleep before Term 4 starts again, and I have an end-of-year in-house conference to prep for and organise. But more on that at the end of the month, as today was the annual White Sunday or Lotu Tamaiti (Church for children), in performing plays, speaking memorised Bible verses and a to'ona'i or feast, at the end of church and until next year...

Rocky and Rani - Bollywood movie...

 

Today I got to watch an 'epic' 3-hour movie about a love story, Bollywood style, with two characters named Rocky and Rani. It was really interesting because it's been a while since I've watched such movies, and it surely didn't disappoint.

What was so interesting was the intergenerational exchanges that took place and the cultural and religious aspects of the film. Of course, I loved the dancing, the bright colours, costumes and the weaving through of the traditional versus the contemporary and the changing views towards what a woman's place is within the family.

Even as a Samoan watching this movie, it was interesting to consider the similarities between the different perspectives of malel/female, young/old, traditional/comtemporary, religion/no-religion, educated/life experience, and the bright colours didn't disappoint.

I mean, what man likes to dance around in a full suit coloured fuchsia pink? First of all, not all men could carry it off, and it takes a special kinda guy to wear that colour without making a fuss; that of all the colours in the rainbow, you've gotta be super-confident to make it rock - that's Bollywood style!...