'Close to my Heart' an artistic venture with FHelen...

 

I've just joined an online paper art community called "Close to my Heart" CTMH which is an American based company that caters for scrapbooking, card making and other paper artistic ventures.

I started scrapbooking albums back in the early 2000s starting with my wedding album and then I started albums for each of my children, family holidays, graduations etc.

But since starting up my studies again and with teaching, I haven't been giving it another thought until I saw an artistic card making video and thought that I would love to give it a try and start scrapbooking again but with only a limited stock.

The neat thing about Scrapbooking is that I've gone back over the stories with my family and it's brought back some special memories in bringing photos together that could otherwise be forgotten or lost in digital space somewhere.

Whereas with an album, it brings photos, storytelling and written memories together in an artistic way with the embellishments, story writing, colour palette, stickers, card stock etc. it's actually a lovely, heart warming and relaxing hobby to have that also pays off in time with those enjoying to read the memories.

So here we go again. You're most welcome to check out my webpage for this on: https://helentauau-filisi.closetomyheart.co.nz and there's even room there to join me in ordering any stock that you might want to start card making or finish a scrapbooking album. All stock comes straight for the States USA to me and then gets delivered to you.

I'll be posting up some of my new creations, when I take time out of my teaching and studying to chill and I'm really looking forward to this new journey in the artistic art of card making especially since cards are becoming more expensive and often doesn't quite say what you're wanting it to say...

An encouraging poster for daughter/s...

 

When I saw this poster, I thought to send it to my daughters as sometimes when the things become overwhelming, as they sometimes can be, it's good to know that I've got their back no matter what they're going through.

I think this same saying would go well with sons too as often young men go through things that are hard to talk about but to know that they can go to their mom is pretty special too.

Nowadays, there's more focus on mental health and self care when back in the day it was expected that you just had to push through without taking time to reflect and consider options of wellness.

I'm glad that there is more awareness of mental health as being just as important as physical and spiritual health. Things have changed enough so that people are now more aware of when things need to be sorted out rather than bottling up to later explode.

If you have a daughter/s, sons or from the rainbow community, I'd encourage you to consider reminding them of their importance in this world and the significant influence that we, as mothers, have on our children. We can support them by encouraging them throughout their lives that they are important...

40 Hour Fast weekend challenge...

 

It has definitely been a very busy weekend with my younger sister, youngest daughter and I joining the 40 Hour Famine which is a fundraiser for World Vision that I've supported over many years since being in High school and at church.

In those days we would have a sleep over at our church hall and raise money for the charity by asking people to sponsor us for each hour or instead to make a donation. 

The 40 hour famine used to be in March every year but that might have changed since COVID-10 pandemic when everything changed. The fasting starts at 8pm on Friday and then ends on Sunday at midday.

I remember also leading this at my local high school as a senior and having a sleepover, games during Saturday and just remembering to stay hydrated throughout the day and not to over exert yourself because we didn't want people to faint either.

We'd usually finish with a big luncheon but today we just decided to have a bucket of KFC instead and chill with some tea after attending after church service at our local church. Somehow this time it wasn't as difficult as there was so much that I had to do that I often clear forgot that I was fasting.

But it is for a very good cause and the Tshirt that I'm featuring in the photo, I bought as a souvenir and support for all those years that I've supported the cause but never took photos etc. except to keep memories of this special event. The funny thing was that it was too cold to wear a Tshirt so will keep it for another day to wear.

I'm also told that the focus has changed somewhat and that it's now known as a 40 Hour challenge so that it's being more relevant to those who would prefer to go Technology free or Mobile free instead of food. Either way, it's still for a good cause and an enjoyable way to end the weekend together by opening up our fast together...

3 Books in Museum of Samoa collection...

 

Today, in doing some research on the Museum of Samoa, I viewed their Facebook page and was surprised to see three of my books featured in a pic that was posted on their site.

I had gifted the three books to the Museum through a representative of the Museum early in the year when my family visited the former Museum site before they moved to the new Arts and culture centre.

The 3 books featured are: "The footprint of Moso", "Nafanua the lady warrior" and "The 1918 deadly epidemic in Samoa". (Behind the glass case on the middle shelf).

I know that the book on Moso is a favourite book with many of the audiences of children that I have read the book to and also my personal favourite painted books. The story of Nafanua is an important book that I wanted to write regarding my ancestral lands on my maternal lineage. The story of the 1918 epidemic was another important story that I wanted to share regarding a time in history that has since been repeated in a pandemic that swept the world but this time, Samoa did not feature highly in the statistics having put lockdown orders in place.

This was such a lovely surprise as I hope to gift more books to organizations, individuals and groups upon my next visit to Samoa to share some of the gifts that I've been blessed with with hopes that such books can be a blessing to others as well...

Traditional Samoan tatau book to soon be released...

 

I'm so relieved in almost finishing to draw up the last couple of pics for a book launch in Samoa next month. The book has been a long time in the making in having started writing it up back in 2016 when I was on a family holiday in Melbourne.

It's also the first book launch of a picture book since 2019 with  the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, I've almost finished my doctorate degree (hopefully by October) and this picture book is the first of a measina (cultural treasures) series of Samoa.

The topic of this first book has to do with the tatau or Samoan traditional tattooing. It is an important book and I wanted to get it right as there is a lot of information out there but not a lot for children (and their parents or families) to read about together.

It's quite exciting because for a time, I wasn't really sure how I would come about with the pics but with a little faith can come mighty miracles and with this particular pic it was one that reminded me of the interconnectedness of aiga or families with tatau. I also enjoy the fact that often within families there are a lot of conversations that take place regarding this cultural practice and one which will be continuing in discussions for many generations to come.

The book itself is a very personal discussion in that it reminds me of how my ancestors had this process as a way of telling our stories through our iconic symbols that were then tattooed onto willing participants through a process which some name as 'blood letting' in exchange for ink.

The significance of having the book launch in Samoa is that it was there that the story first takes place on the island of Savai'i in Falealupo where some of my matriarchal ancestors hail from. I am so blessed that I can soon share this story of how the tatau came to Samoa (although it is already known in many parts)...

"I hope you dance" and inspirational song...

 "I hope you dance," is an interesting song that I came across which is such a neat inspirational song sung originally by Lee Ann Womak and here sung by Jennifer Lopez. I think it's the beautiful lyrics that share the heartfelt hopes of a mother for her child/ren.

I like it too and if you haven't heard it before, it's really worth listening too. I definitely would share it with my children and future grandchildren as it echoes similar sentiments that I have for mine about the importance of faith and the importance of dance as a metaphor for enjoying life.

When I first heard the song, I didn't think much of the music but the lyrics spoke for themselves and to see that for many moms it rings true as well as for married couples as their first dance song has been interesting to read too...

Graduation ceremony with students - Class of 2022...

 

Today was another busy day with the Graduation ceremony of my students from the Tikanga level 4 class or 2022. It was so nice to see them although only a few who were able to make it and it was a privilege to be their kaiako or teacher.

This is probably one of the best times that I enjoy about being a classroom teacher, albeit with adults, is the graduation ceremony having completed all that hard work and receiving qualifications for them for the future.

Here is a pic with three of my tauira or students from last year and it was so neat to know that they have continued on their own learning paths and hopefully will continue into the future.

It was also neat to witness some of my former students who had started in my level 4 class and then went on to finish degrees and graduate diplomas as well. It's such a privilege to have played a small part in their journeys as well.

Wearing the gowns is quite important too as Te Wananga o Aotearoa (the Maori tertiary provider) that I work for chose to have gowns with sashes that make their gowns stand out from mainstream graduation gowns.

By the time I went to take the picture, I had already taken off my gown and hoods i.e. a light pink hood from my Master of Arts degree with Auckland University (off the right shoulder) and a Fushia pink for my Master's degree in Creative writing with the faculty of Culture and languages at Auckland University of Technology (worn off the left.

A busy week & Happy King's birthday (1st time)...

 

Last week, was a very busy week with Samoan language week and my mum's 84th birthday which is incidentally on the same day as the 61st Anniversary since Samoa's independence.

Today, is the first time that we get to celebrate or relax to the King's birthday weekend since the passing of the Queen last year. 

It's good to be able to catch up on some sleep and also caught up with my two brother cousins that I grew up with, with one visiting from Brisbane and his brother living close by. We swapped stories growing up and how our children - and their grandchildren have grown.

Last week, I also got to go on an Pasifika ECE (Early Childhood Education) dinner and Fiefia (Tongan) dance with the Team leader of our Samoan bilingual ECE centre and my middle child who works part time as an assistant administrator.

It was so funny as after the many speeches and formalities it was time to dance and so I joined some other ladies with my middle child and I ended up spending most of the night on the dance floor dancing within a circle with lots of other educators enjoying the night.

The funny thing was that I actually had an ulterior motive of trying to make up my 10K daily steps and as a result was also able to top 12K steps that night. Little did anyone know as I'd keep checking my phone to see where I was up to when the music got too slow.

Yesterday, I went to our evening Samoan service and a good friend and colleague had her first time as a Lay preacher preaching in the Samoan service (see pic above). It was something that my late father enjoyed doing and at some time it's something I'm considering but with my studies at this time I'll park it for this particular time.

Our church still has the women wearing hats but a lot of the NZ born younger generation opt not to wear hats but as my parents did, I do so too. As you can see me sporting my conservative black stoic hat and traditional Samoan pea or puletasi i.e. wrap around long skirt and matching top. Here we are sharing a laugh because church is not always supposed to be so serious and here we are sharing a laugh...

Samoan language week activities 2023...

 

One of the many activities that I had for Samoan language week this year was an assessment in my Samoan language class (level 3) in which my class had to prepare to cook a Samoan recipe and then proceed to discuss the steps in Samoan.

I ended up helping to peel green bananas, scrape a coconut (as pictured), cut and cook taro leaves, squeeze coconut milk out of the coconut scrapings and then eat together with my classmates after all was prepared.

The neat thing was taking along my youngest and she enjoyed helping me to prepare the various dishes and also had a go at scraping the inside white of a coconut which does need a bit of getting used to doing it.

All the preparation was quite easy for me as I had been brought up scraping coconuts before tinned coconut milk was available. I had learned to peel green bananas for the many times my parents wanted them peeled for family or other functions.

And I'd helped my dad cook his luau out of taro leaves when I was young also he produced the recipe and I just had to follow his direction. Needless to say that it didn't last long on the table as it was a delicacy that we all liked and especially if it's cooked in a umu (earth oven) in Samoa.

It was really neat to have this cooking activity this year as I realised how much I took for granted the many things that my indigenous Samoan parents taught me growing up. I could see the difference between my youngest and how we had brought her up compared to my learnings those many years ago.

Suffice to say that we learned the importance of helping out when our parents were cooking and to follow their instructions closely without trying to get out of chores etc. now I can cook and many treats as well. Now taking a deep sigh at the end of this Samoan language week and enjoying what I'm learning together with my youngest...

Samoan language week 2023...

 

This week is our national celebration of Samoan language week with its theme: "Mitamita i lau gagana, maua'a i lou faasinomaga" which translates as be proud of our langauge and grounded in your identity.

Our Samoan bilingual Early childhood centre is celebrating all well with Samoan foods and activities that will be so neat for the children to participate in.

I remember when I was growing up in primary school that we didn't have anything similar but I do remember classes coming together to taste fried taro as my European teachers weren't so used to it. Incidentally, all the children got to taste it too except that it was a staple at my house with my late dad enjoying to have it sometimes as part of our Sunday meal growing up.

Nowadays, it's a big thing with most schools celebrating this day with items, foods, dressing up in Samoan clothing or styles and those who are Samoan are able to show off and be proud of their culture. I'm looking to be a guest speaker at our centre and perhaps read a Samoan book but I do have a couple of books that I'm working on right now to hopefully launch in the next couple of months.

The pic above is one of our Team leader at the centre and the beautiful measina project 1-2 items that parents have made i.e. the tuiga or ceremonial headress, kiki fulufulu moa or feathered waist adornment used in ceremonial occasions as well as a mini ie Toga or fine mat that we were taught to weave at our last year's workshop.

So much to do also as we look forward to launching our new series of measina a Samoa workshops starting next month. That's where we're also looking to hopefully extend our workshops to include those who are interested from around the community to attend...

Pō Siva (night of dance) fundraising...

 

During the weekend, I had the privilege of attending (and planning for) our Pō siva which translate as a night of dance, in Samoan, as a fundraising event for our Samoan bi-lingual Early childhood education centre.

It was also the birthday of my late father i.e. 27th of May and when we were planning for it, I also wanted to honour my dad as I knew that he loved to prepare for such occasions.

What made it even special was my eldest daughter dancing the siva (dance) Samoa as a second generation diaspora New Zealand born and raised Samoa much like myself.

The neat thing was that my mother-in-law and sister-in-law as well as her cousins who were born and raised in Samoa etc. were able to show her how to siva Samoa (on the week of the dance and day before) that she had enough confidence to dance for our family.

It made me so proud and happy for her as it was something that she had wanted to learn and as I was the second eldest girl growing up, I didn't have that privilege of learning as it was my elder sister who was taught by my aunties etc.

It was a successful night and we raised over $23K for our centre's teachers and families to support in resources and also for paying off centre payments for our parents. This has especially been a difficult time with so much competition out there for teaching children in the mainstream who often offer free food and free transport and it's something that we as a centre are working towards as well.

So that pic above was taken when I didn't know that there was a phone/camera facing me and I'm dancing my moves i.e. keeping it simple in my black long ie (long skirt - material) lavalava, kimono-type long jacket with some accessories. I did over 14,000+ steps that day and that was without breaking a sweat! Just busy!

All in all, it was a successful event in not having hosted one before and only in memory through my late father's hardworking efforts when first trying to establish the church as a foundational member back in the 1960s. A true blessing that brought back many such special occasions with my father...

Class room with a view at Manukau...

 

I've been really enjoying the recent change of scenery as I now teach at Manukau campus of MIT (Manukau Institute of Technology).

This happened as a result of the first floods that occurred earlier in the year and left our campus flooded out with a whole new reno' that has to happened.

As staff, we were first told that we would be back on campus in April but after extensive investigation with the assessors, I think that they realized that the extent of the damage was far reaching and we've been recently told that we won't be back on campus at least until September.

So whilst the big renovation is happening on campus, I get to drive into Manukau, often trying to beat the traffic on the motorway (highway/freeway) which is about 15 - 20 minutes from home on a good day but when the traffic is crazy, I either try to drive on the backroads or leave earlier before peak traffic hours.

It's been good as I get to check out the shopping centre mall, if I have time, or just cruise around to see the other local shopping or organizations out there. At night, the atmosphere is definitely different with lot of lights and seeing the city sprawl from the third floor at night is quite amazing.

Add to that, there's an underground train connection that one of my student is able to connect from out in West Auckland all the way to South Auckland and it only takes 30 - 40 mins. It would be a lot longer via car and especially in peak our traffic.

I'll be soaking it in for the time being and enjoying the ride to my new place of work engagement as hopefully my students will too, except that most like to zoom from the comfort of their homes. Here's another opportunity that comes out of the blue, that I'm so grateful and thankful for too. A sure blessing...

American Idol Winner 2023: Iam Tongi...

 

Congratulations to Iam Tongi who's the first Pasifika person to just won 'American Idol' this week in the United States.

I remember watching his first video when he auditioned and sang a song by James Blunt that I hadn't heard before but was so beautiful that it brought me to tears in thinking about losing my own father a couple of years ago.

But then to make it all the way through the heats and then to actually get to sing with James Blunt? Wow! What a blessing! and his journey, I think, brought a lot of hope for people in that he was still mourning the loss of his father of whom had shared his love of music with his son and that Iam carried on despite that difficulty.

It was amazing to watch his journey and listen to his very distinct tone in voice. He always came across as humble, down to earth and not at all contrived. So very much Pacific and also Tongan. It was even touching that he dedicated songs to his late dad and mom, and kept true to himself through his song choices.

Already, I'm told, his first released song is no. 1 on ITunes and wishing him all the best for his future. It was really touching to see who he also shed tears whilst singing with James Blunt (I sure did!) but James held his own as it was a song very close to his heart about his dad too. You just have to view the video that I did when wanting to see the origin song to see the love that James Blunt had for his dad.

For me it reminded me of the relationship that I had with my late dad and I think Iam's story resounded with so many in those special people that come into your life for such a time and then must leave when they've been called to their heavenly homes. 

I'm just so glad that I got to hear this song sung by both artists and that in mourning the loss through grieving the loss of special dads - many of us could relate and it brought us comfort and good memories in remembering that we then carry their baton to share that love for another generation...