Weekend classes at the Wā...

 

With my new job, I'm busy on eight weekends per year (very similar to my last job) whereby I meet or stay overnight with my students at a Marae or at the Wā or "Wānanga" (Māori tertiary education institute) for classes.

It's been interesting over the years in the 3 different teaching roles that I've had as as teacher/tutor in: Indigenous Research, Tikanga (Māori customary values and practices) and now a Bicultural paper on Kaitiakitanga (Guardianship/Stewardship) and Bicultural Professional Supervision.

Serving and teaching in this indigenous space has been an honour and privilege, as when I reflect on when I first started teaching as a self-conscious, first-year teacher, some 30+ years ago, I'm now very confident and passionate in supporting my students to learn how to "crack the code" of succeeding in tertiary education.

I love the beautiful morning sun in the mornings and in the pic above you can see our special carving meets the tip of our waka or canoe which seats on the roof of our reception building. Our groups love to meet out and have karakia or prayers in the morning or chill in the evenings.

And now the marking begins with the first set of assessments coming in for a 3000 word essay, a 15 minute presentation with notes and a critical reflection. All in the life of a teacher but encouraging to know that courses such as this change lives and open doors of opportunity to make a positive difference in their world and spheres of influence. 

Then I support them into our Indigenous Masters degree but that's another story...

Porcelain dolls memories...

 

A big shout out to my children for the porcelain dolls that my mum and I received on Mother's Day. It came as quite a surprise as I had bought a couple of dolls like this for my children when they were quite small but somehow they were damaged (from too much play) and then we no longer had any.

I think it was a cute memory from their past and they went at lengths to replace them (their words). We also received lots of presents including beautiful sei (flower behind the ears) and I added them to the dolls as well.

In fact, the smaller doll came with a glass slipper and it is a collectible doll from a collection called "the glass slipper princess" which was really interesting too.

I recall that back in the day, dolls like these would have been only affordable for those who would have been able to purchase and display them in homes.

Nowadays, they are more affordable but can be hard to source if not at the local Mall or larger department stores. They came with names too with one now called Ashley (because we couldn't pronounce the name) and the other called Memory after the memories that they brought back...

Happy Mothers' Day!...

 A big HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY to all our beautiful mothers out there and especially to my beautiful mum of whom I'd like to dedicate this lovely Tahitian/Tuamotu song. I love Josh Tatofi's rendition with Hawaiian hula represented.

Sending out love to mothers represented as single mums, working mums, stay at home mums, career mums, creative mums, student mums, nursing mums, teaching mums, caring mums, recovering mums and the list goes on.

I'm looking forward to spending time with my mum and taking her out for a meal and also in having my children over and spending time together as three generations of us. It's been a blessing being a mum and having such a loving and caring mum who taught me so much including the creativity that I'm able to share as a gift to my children as well.

For those who are missing their mums at this time our thoughts go out to you as it's never easy to lose someone who holds such an important nurturing responsibility in families. I know that my mum especially passed on some loving traits and caring qualities that I hold dear and that I've passed onto my children.

So please spare a thought to our mum's all over the world as we celebrate this special day. It's been such a blessing for me to be a mum and to have a beautiful mum who's been such a blessing in my life. Wishing all the mum's out there as special day to treat yourself or let someone treat you for the special roles that you play in families...

 

Yesterday, I spent some time with my eldest and she decided to have a look at our local Māngere Arts centre to see if there was a local art exhibition on.

It was really interesting to go with her and view the two exhibits. One regarding viewing photos on Taiwanese tapa making as compared with a second exhibition which was a Tongan tapa art installation that looked like a doorway similar to the reknown large rocks formation in Tonga.

The interesting thing about the Taiwanese art installation was that it also had Taiwanese words that were written down with some that were very similar to Samoan or Tongan words.

I had read that there was a connection between indigenous tribes of Taiwan and the Pacific as it was believed that Pasifika culture may have spread out over thousands of years but originated somewhere in the Taiwan islands region amongst its indigenous peoples.

After viewing the exhibitions, we saw that they had set up an art station complete with acrylic paints, water, paint brushes, easels and canvases. We couldn't pass up the beckoning of an opportunity to paint especially with gold and silver colours on the palette so away we went.

I finished two paintings in our 30+ minutes of painting (over achiever :) with tapa patterns on the left and a colour play displayed on the easel. My eldest painted the painting in the foreground and I liked it so much that I asked her if she didn't mind if I could use it for a possible front cover for one of my books. She agreed but also said that she could do a better one but I liked this one.

I left my two paintings behind to be displayed on the walls (with no signature) with the other paintings and it was great to contribute to the other artists who had also put their paint brushes to the test of creating something to be displayed for others' enjoyment.

So if you are wanting to give painting a go, why not have a look at your local art gallery or arts centre and see if they have an arts programme on that you can also contribute to and add to the artistic scene in your local area...

Love and laughter amidst sadness and sorrow...

 

When I first heard this Tongan love song, I thought how beautiful the tune was and it was introduced to me by my eldest child who also liked it. However, when I watched the music video it had me laughing at how they portrayed the song (although I wasn't sure of the ending?)

It's been a sad day in attending a funeral of a neighbour who was a very special mother, daughter, wife, friend, church sister and educator. I attended the family service but because I was seated close to a lot of other people (very packed) I wasn't able to leave as early as I wanted and ended up staying from 6pm to 10pm.

However, it was a beautiful send-off and the testimonies and lifestories were moving. She had touched so many lives with her generousity and caring nature. Plus she had a sense of humour and her own unique personality.

I think I only met her once as she had been working at the Ministry of Education which I had formerly worked at. She seemed very personable and our dads knew each other in living across from each other. It was definitely a shock to know that she had passed away so suddenly.

So watching this video made me smile again and remember the fun things in life that are light-hearted yet still aware of the burden of sadness that the family are now carrying having met some of them today in visiting with them.

But in the short time that I was able to be there, it was indeed a privilege to have been able to share this special final night with her, her friends and family. It reminded me of losing my father and what we went through but thankful that they have our Heavenly Father to help and guide them along this life's journey in missing this special woman of God...

Stan Walker singing in te reo (language) Māori...

 

Stan Walker has to be one of my all-time favourite male singer/song writers and especially with his latest release that has climbed up the charts here in Tamaki Makaurau (Māori name for Auckland). I never get tired of hearing his songs which are so very inspiring

 Today I heard this particular song or waita (Māori word for song) playing three times on our local Māori FM radio station and it's got quite the interest as the lyrics are in te reo Māori (language). It's a song that talks about how proud he is to be Māori.

This is really encouraging to see the next generation of Māori sharing their songs and identity in their Māori language with beautiful lyrics and tunes to share to a wide audience. So whether one is a fluent Māori speaker, or not, it is an encouraging way to share his culture to the world...

ANZAC worthy causes...

 

This ANZAC Day (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) commemoration day, I wanted to support a worthy cause.

Last night, after taking my family out to an evening dinner at a local Vietnamese Restaurant, we went out for a drive to our local beachfront and got caught in so much traffic trying to go to various places.

It was a timely reminder to remember all of the fallen soldiers and their families who sacrificed their lives in want of a better future and a better world. It's so sad to reflect that there are still wars continuing in different parts of the world still today.

As in deference to this, many shops have chosen to open at 1pm today, in respect and also with Poppy's being sold to commemorate this time. For me, I wanted to consider donating to something that doesn't commemorate war although I have supported in years past.

Lest we forget, but also that there is so much for us to learn about not repeating mistakes such as this from the past...

Walking around the mountain...

Today I went for a walk around our local mountain with my three young-uns. It was a beautiful day that was cool enough to take a walk.

The neat thing was that there had been an upgrade on the tracks around the mountain and I hadn't been up there since the COVID-19 Pandemic.

It was great that I could take them all out for some lunch of sushi and donuts (as a dessert treat) during the second week of the school holidays. It was great to spend time together.

It was also neat to have guard rails installed in precarious parts with stairs to carefully guide people down the steeper slopes. This has been a neat addition to the upgrades as it feels a lot more safe for those taking the walk. I'd definitely encourage walkers to take the time to visit their local mountains with family...

Celebrating new journeys ahead...

It has been a very busy couple of weeks as I started a new job as a lecturer/tutor (same indigenous Māori tertiary organization) in now teaching a Post Graduate Diploma in "Kaitiakitanga" Bicultural Professional Supervision.

I also attended a book launch of a Pasifika poetry anthology as a contributor with one of my poems chosen to be in the collection. It was such an honour but also interesting as a self-published author, to be included.

As a celebration after the book launch, I went with my family and friends to a family restaurant just in the Auckland CBD and just across the road from the Sky Tower.

This is a pic of the Sky Tower after we had had our celebratory meal together in sharing jokes and laughter about our time together at the book launch.

It was the first time of many in an "urban" Pasifika "arty" scene. As our groups had mostly come dressed in Pasifika bright colours and most of the crowd didn't. It was fun too as my two older children did the whole hair and makeup on me and it was a neat treat! 

So we were dressed to the 9s but the small central exhibition space wasn't able to hold all of the visitors to the book launch so we spilled outside onto the pavement with many standing outside and couldn't hear the poetry readings.

As for me, I didn't have the privilege of reading at the book launch but was able to read my poem to my new class (two combined classes) and then later, they were able to write poems in group as lead by another lecturer and then read them to the class - absolutely brilliant!

I'm now traversing a new journey with my new students and it's a God-send! I feel that this topic is just what I needed in almost finishing my doctoral studies and moving into a space where I can assist others in Post Graduate studies. Thank you God!...

My Creative Type - The Dreamer...

 

Part of my Ph.D is using my creativity as an expression through my academic thesis.

As I thought that my creativity passed down through my great grandmother, Eleni, to my grandfather who was a creative jeweller (of sorts), to my mum, myself and now children would be quite an interesting perspective to write from.

What was interesting for me was in my endeavours to search for ideas, I came across this "My Creative Type" survey which asks some creative questions and ends with a profile from the way that the questions are answered.

My resulting profile was "The Dreamer" with a lot of information that spoke of my creativity through the keen eye of a "magical realist" which is very true for me. I'd highly recommend this survey or test for any wanting to know more about their creative personality traits.

Here's the link: https://mycreativetype.com/ and don't forget to share with others who might be interested to make considered decisions on how to hone in or reign out their creativity. Some of the questions were quite interesting but very important for creatives to not only discover but move on...

Whittaker's 70% Cocoa Samoa...

For all you discerning "Dark" chocolate lovers out there. You have to try out NZ's own Whittaker's Cocoa Lovers 70% Cocoa Samoa smooth dark chocolate currently out in stores now.

I'd definitely recommend it, if you're pregnant and needing some extra energy, as I went through dark chocolate cravings with all my children, through pregnancy, as well as special packets of Afghan biscuits that I don't see being sold in stores anymore.

They're supposed to be rich in a whole lot of minerals with benefits to your health i.e. check out the health benefits too on google. 

In Samoa, the cacao bean was introduced as it isn't native but grows well in the tropical climate in Samoa but we definitely enjoy drinking it unadulterated after roasting the beans and pounding the beans out then diluting with hot water with added milk and sugar to taste.

I'd also recently heard that there's going to be an increase in the cost of chocolates and chocolate based products with global warming ruining many crops on the continent of Africa so other sources are being sort such as Samoa for cacao beans whence chocolate is made.

Whittaker chocolates are sort out when going overseas too as when we were in Australia in Melbourne, last year, we were told that they were well rated by Australians more than the Cadbury chocolates brand that left NZ for Australian production (I think it's cheaper to produce there).

So if you're game, give it a go, you'll certainly enjoy it...

"The Convert" movie...

 

I hope you had a Happy Easter with your family. In the holy week that started with Palm Sunday then continued with Good Friday, resting on the Sabbath then Easter Sunday, I found it to be a good place of reflection and meditation too.

Then on Easter Monday, I was able to take my youngest to watch "The Convert" which is a very interesting movie set in Aotearoa, New Zealand in the 1830s.

It tells the story of a new minister leaving England to come to NZ to convert "the natives" to Christianity. During this time there were land wars, often called the musket wars or Maori land wars which were later called the NZ land wars.

Sadly enough, it was the new settlers especially businessmen who saw and opportunity and were bringing weapons from England to sell to Māori rivaling leaders and many Māori were killed during those pressing times.

I would highly recommend this movie to those interested in learning more about NZ's history and especially in wanting to see how Māori lived at that time in fortified pā or villages. 

It does have a RP13 censorship due to the battle scenes and killings that were reenacted but I don't suppose that one can tell the story without showing these scenes in which many were killed during battle but especially Māori who originally had the highest population and are now at around 10% of the population...

"Pualena" beautiful cover by Josh Tatofi...

 Hope you're having a restful, well-deserved break with your family and friends this Easter Saturday. Today we managed to go to a local beach called Eastern Beach and we took some snacks, some beach chairs, and some smooth sounds on my gifted 'Wonder Boom' speaker. 

My lil' sis was the DJ and she had a great playlist that a young boy kept running past saying that he wanted to hear our music as we had our car parked up right next to the grass which was a couple of metres away from the sand and the ocean. 

So beautiful today in taking my mom out for a drive since it had been raining yesterday but today that sun was out and it beckoned me to take our family for a drive out and to just relax and enjoy the day together. 

Later we picked up some strawberry ice cream from our local Strawberry Farm then went and visited my late father's gravesite as a family with this special holiday in remembering the faith that he led us together as a family. Real special :)

One of the songs on my youngest's playlist was this song by Josh Tatofi which I understand is a cover of an earlier song. It was released a couple of years ago but it's the first that I've heard and I resonated with it as one of the names that I've been called as a child was Ela and sometimes called Elena by an Aunt who's passed. Just the right song to listen to at the beach too...