Our Travels

Tuifiti at Christmas

2012-01-28T12:48:00.000+04:00

One night in Samoa and possible abandonment Issues

2012-01-24T22:48:00.002+04:00

Wowsers. We left Samoa on Jan 14th. Sad day but we were overstaying our welcome a bit in Samoa by then I think! Well not really but I was getting the 'when are you leaving?' question more than 'how are you?' so it was due time we made our way home to hubby_dearest. Plus my son was missing his daddy and our home. So amazing how impressionable a 3 year old is. I think I'm influenced by the old school thought of children don't know anything but now that I have a child..no sirreee they know a lot more than we give them credit for.
After the Christmas rush and family saofa'i that wasn't was over I finally declared myself free to enjoy my time in Samoa. Thank goodness for sisters, sister-laws and for nephews and nieces my son was never out of playmates nor sitters.

My bestie from my USP days in Suva was visiting to teach in Samoa along with dear friend from Italy so a reunion was in the cards. First stop dinner with the girls. We ate at Portofino Restaurant on the deck at the new Marina in Apia near the wharf. Beautiful spot watching the sunset as you sip your drink and enjoy catching up with friends. I ordered the sirloin steak with steamed vegetables and 5 stars to the chef, my steak was done to perfection and believe you me this steak muncher is very fussy when it comes to my favourite slab of meat. We went to Club X for the last hour and home after that. It was an awesome night catching up with old friends and making new ones.
So after a night out, my sister and I would go by my mum's and pick up my son to take him home to bed and by the third evening of doing this my poor child was having abandonment issues associated with mum's place! Can't blame him but well Mummy and aunty have got to have time out too!
I loved how my son got to spend so much time with his many cousins and had to share everything or make up games with them as there weren't so many toys everywhere to keep them occupied. It was make your own fun or be bored and sit in the corner by yourself.

Tau choosing a maukegi for Christmas dinner

2012-01-24T20:44:00.000+04:00

Fagu'u / Samoan oil

2012-01-24T20:43:00.000+04:00

Tauaga ma fa'i

2012-01-24T20:42:00.000+04:00

Popo

2012-01-24T20:41:00.000+04:00

Un-Dead?

2012-01-19T21:05:00.000+04:00

My sister and I got a call from mother_dearest who was in Savaii that our beloved uncle Tuna* had passed with the instructions that we must go over to Aunty Sami's* house to see her and to find out the funeral plans. I was nervous as heck as I hadn't seen my aunty yet since I got back and just didn't know what to expect especially at such a time. CJ was driving and I in the passenger seat as we nervously chatted both not sure about what we were doing. As we drove into their driveway I was shocked to see someone who looked like my uncle in the lounge. My hand to my mouth in shock I said to my sister "Oh my gosh, he's in the lounge." My sister protested as she parked the car that "there's no way that she's going to view a dead body uncle or not." By this point I was in hysterics and she's looking at me as if I was crazy and insisted that she's not going in to see the old man as she just can't do it! In between my giggles I said "CJ Uncle Tuna is SITTING in the lounge very much ALIVE!!" To that she started laughing as well. So here we are parked in Uncle Tuna's driveway and we're now both in hysterics and yet our cousin has now come out of the house to see who it was that came to visit. I told CJ to hop out as I was in no way ready to face anybody until I stopped laughing. Awkward it was, I slowly followed my sister over to say hi to my cousin and make our way to say hello to Aunty Sami and Uncle Tuna who is happily chatting away in the lounge in his sick bed but very much un-Dead despite his delicate condition.
*Names were changed to protect people's privacy and my ulu from getting ka-ed lol

Change of Plans

2011-12-14T00:23:00.002+04:00

I wrote a whole blog about staying put this Christmas and celebrating it at home the way we like it only for all that to be turned upside down, inside out when hubby's roster came out and he's working on Christmas and New Year! So off we go to Samoa to celebrate with my Mama or Granma to Tauilagi while poor hubby stays back to work throughout the "holiday season." Tomorrow my son and I start our journey via Bangkok, on to Auckland, Hamilton to see the whanau and then continue onto Samoa. I'm looking forward to the week-end in H-Town as self and my three sisters will all be together once more if only for a little while. Tau's doting Nana and Papa are coming up from Wellington to spend a few days with the little rascal so it's going to be one heck of a week-end.
Monday self, my son and Lagipoiva are catching the same flight to Samunda and boy I've now worked myself up to much excitement about Christmas back home. I'm looking forward to seeing my mum and of course I'm sure she can't wait to see what the sewing elf has for her. OK I don't sew I take it to a local tailor who's now an expert at sewing puletasis for me mom for her many appearances for the paparazzi...eincho celebrity mamasan (right).
I'm planning to make my way around MY Island of Savai'i and do the usual stops to see the family here and there and lose a couple of talas while at it. So depending on how well lined my pockets are with Christmas and all but I really do want to make the trip and take photos of Lealali's tattooing ceremony to my relatives that hosted us then and to the tattooist himself who asked for some pictures. I want to see the elders in our family while there.
I plan to not spend too much time with people that will just piss me off. I plan to spend time enjoying the beaches, waterfalls and places I miss most. I plan to go see our pastor and his wife to say hello when we go for the Christmas service. I look forward to the New Years service when the oldest people in our village get up to make speeches. However since the most popular guy Talimao passed away last year and our singing old Aunty passed also I wonder if the new oldies have brought their game this year. I will miss Talimao and my aunty Ailole's singing of 4 verses of a hymn to finish off their speeches.
I plan to visit my granma's grave and that's what I don't like about going back there, is the fact that my Grandma is not there. She was the constant presence, the pull to that place we called home and now years later, it's still not the same without her. I miss her and I think this will be my first Christmas back there without her. It's amazing how Grandma's passing just left a gaping hole where she once was.

Runaway and Hopeless Mum

2011-11-28T18:50:00.001+04:00

I was at the mall with my 3 year old son today. He was doing really well until he saw Toys R Us. I explained that we're having a look and not buying him anything. He said ok and we went to the bike section where he proceeded to try out the bikes and the cars and anything he could ride on. It was time to leave and he didn't want to leave. I literally had to half carry him out of there kicking and screaming at me to put him down as he was not a baby. We got to the door and I spotted other friends so to distract him I said look there's your friend Ruth. We went over to say hi and he sort of ran back into Toys R Us. I saw him run back inside so I assumed(big mistake) he was in the bike section again. I quickly said goodbye and went back to find him only to find him nowhere in the shop. I called out his name and he didn't reply as he usually did. Now I'm running around the shop trying to find him then it occurred to me that he must have left the shop so I run out of the shop into the mall and now I'm about to faint as I was fearing the fact that he could be anywhere in this massive mall and the worst case scenario is someone snatching him!
I notified my friends that I had seen earlier that I couldn't find my son and if they saw him and they said no. Luckily some people saw and overheard me said there was a boy by the mall entrance not far from where I was. I ran as fast as I could towards the doors and there was another mother with her child trying to coax my son out from under the stairs where he had sought refuge and was sitting quietly with tears in his eyes. The lady was kind and reassured me he's ok and that these things happen! The relief I felt was overwhelming as I went to get him. He said he ran away from me then he couldn't find me! Just great, my 3 year old is already trying to run away from his mother! I held him tight and told him not to do that again I was really scared because I couldn't find him. And he said to me not to lose him again! ouch. It looks like I'm not getting the Mother of the Year award this year. I thank God that nothing bad happened to him and that I'm not letting him out of my sight EVER.

Golf in the Gulf

2011-11-24T00:25:00.001+04:00

Hubby went to play golf a few days ago. When I got home I found he and his golf buddy brooding in the lounge. "Hmmm", I dared ask "I take it, it wasn't a great day on the green today? Who won? How did you guys play today?" Me sounding all interested. One said it was an okay day and the other said they played badly. However that's not far from the normal reply though lately they were upbeat after a game, so I still didn't get why they were brooding today! I knew they were playing with a new golfer so I asked "Oh did Frank beat you guys today? Did he turn out to be really good!", "oh no no nothing like that, he's definitely new, and like us, he's working on his swing."

By then I had enough of the riddles "So why are you both looking depressed as heck?" "Oh we played with Jack...Bahaha. Mystery solved: Jack IS a Pro Golfer, one of two mates that run the golf shop. So I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. It was just too funny. I said that they must be crazy to play him! And they said grumpily, that he just showed up to play with them and yeah he was bloody good. As in smoked them on the course. I said did you tell him that that's not good for their shop as it'll put you off golf? So I was enjoying this and rubbed more salt in the wound, "so how good was he? on par or bogeys all the way and how did you both do compared to him?" Hubby's mate(a pilot) said "It's like Jack getting in a pilot's seat, he just won't know what to do" Bahaha. I laughed louder at the fact that he tried to justify their play like that. I was just enjoying their pain I tell ya, mean I know but I had a good laugh at their expense that day. Too meke! lol

Shamal Crew

2011-11-19T20:44:00.001+04:00

So we were honoured with a visit from the Shamal crew this past week-end. The Admiral and the Commander have reached Sicily on their catamaran, have docked it there for the winter and are on their way home to New Zealand for Christmas. They caught a boat to Malta and flew to Dubai to see their daughter then hopped over here to catch up with all their friends in Muscat and are on their way back to Dubai to continue home to see their family for the holidays. These two survived the pirate ridden Gulf of Aden, sailed the Red Sea and went through the Suez Canal through to the Greek Islands and finally docking their boat in Sicily. They've stopped in many places along the way to sight see and their stories are always colourful and interesting about the people they meet along the way. They're very inspirational and such lovely people. If you want to read about their adventures go to Shamal Adventures.

The brutally honest Orator

2011-11-16T09:22:00.001+04:00

By Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson

REVIEW: "You know why women don't want to be Orators, because they don't want to show their breasts in public." These were the words of Samoan High Chief Tagaloa, squinting through his leathery brown skin framed by a light trim of siga (white hair) as he spoke to Saili, the main actor in the movieThe Orator.

When this was said, my 8-year-old nephew Barry Uelese Sapatu nudged me in Magik Cinema in Apia and said: "But aunty, Grandma is an orator, and she doesn't show her breasts in public, or does she?"

Naturally the answer was "no" but as my mother Vaasiliifiti Moelagi can attest, it's no easy task being a female Orator, let alone a very short one. That much was clear in the film by Tusi Tamasese.I watched the film, not as a journalist, but as a daughter of an Orator, as a girl from Savaii and as a fiercely proud Samoan. Those three factors meant I went into the film, highly sceptical of this New Zealand-made film about Samoa, as I had great doubts that it would be culturally accurate, let alone realistic.

The first scene convinced me, it was the sound of the rain, the mist over the mountains, the colour of the grass and the voice of the boy singing in the plantation that gave me great hope that indeed the film would be true to Samoa.

One hour into it, I was thoroughly impressed.

Disturbing at firstThe movie was a little disturbing at first, as it gathers all the sad truths about the Samoan culture and weaves them together in extremely awe inspiring cinematography.

But who was I kidding? It was the truth, and it was so accurate, and so beautifully done it was almost painful to watch.

This is by far the best Samoan movie ever made, and trust me, I have seen them all. If it has a Samoan word in it - even a flash of brown skin, even a short reference to Polynesia - then I have watched it.

The Orator makes no pretence, it doesn't make the Samoan culture look beautiful and admirable, it draws out the violence, the hatred, the slanted hierachy and ultimately the discriminating nature of our people in a story line that happens in real life.

I can relate to many scenes in that film, from swimming in the village pool to wrapping the dead body of a loved one in a tapa cloth.

I have sat like Litia next to my mother, with a humble fine mat in front of me, while she lays out in metaphors why our finemat belonged on the coffin of either a great uncle or my dear grand mother.

When Saili, now Leopao, explained in simple words why Vaaiga's body should be returned to him, I cried, because I have seen those arguments in real life.

Cultural accuracyThe accuracy of the cultural representations in The Orator was absolutely astounding and those who ensured the quality of this film must be commended.

The film portrayed the beauty of the Samoan village and landscape, it explored the simplicity of Samoan life, the home and the family but it also drew out some very heavy and dark issues about discrimination, death and hierarchy.

Samoans will be the first to deny the accuracy of this film, but it's important to keep in mind, like any other culture it has its negative extremes.

My mother, an Orator for more almost 50 years, enjoyed the film. She said the Oratory, although not extensive, was mostly accurate and made it appealing to those who don't understand the chiefly language.

She enjoyed the part where the Tagaloa took off his ie (skirt). She said that it displayed the daring nature of our people.

She liked the fact that the movie included stone-throwing fights, a preganant school girl and an affair in the village, because to her, it's important that those elements of village life are captured.

I agreed. What was portrayed are things that happen in the Samoan culture that are not necessarily talked about, some villages do not see the banishment of a pregnant young woman as a negative thing, in fact the Church also ousts the young woman or fines her family if the village does not banish her.

People who look different are teased constantly, if your'e dark you are "black thing", if you are short you are "thing that is short", if you are light-skinned you are a "fake palagi" and the list goes on.The Orator is poignant, it forces the audience to contemplate the not so Paradisal image of Samoa, and ultimately it brings out the natural acting talents of our people and it artistically embraces the reality of the Samoan culture.

Written for Pacific Media Centre http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/articles/brutally-honest-orator

*Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson holds the title Lagipoiva from the island of Savaii, she is the daughter of High Chief and Orator Vaasiliifiti Tauo Moelagi Jackson.

The Orator (O Le Tulafale): Written and directed by Tusi Tamasese

About the author

Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson

Samoan journalist

Cherelle Jackson is an independent Samoan journalist who has worked in the Pacific media for more than 10 years.

11/11/11

2011-11-11T22:25:00.001+04:00

11/11/11 I just had to blog today because of this special date. That's a whole lot of 1s in a date. Today we went to Shatti Beach where lots of people go for strolls, BBQ and not necessarily swim. A friend with a son same age as my boy met us there. We had lunch there then our two boys rode their bikes around, played in the sand while us two mums laid on the mat under the shade until the two boys made their way to the water(to my horror). I was hoping they wouldn't swim but yeah kids and beach of course that's inevitable. They played in the water for a bit and then another friend joined us. The sun came out today after almost a week of dreary and rainy weather here so a lot of people made their way outdoors to enjoy the beautiful day(Friday too)! We stayed there until after 5pm which was perfect timing to come home, feed the little one and put him straight to bed totally knackered from his big day.

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
I started reading this book last night and ended up sleeping very late due to the book being as usual with this author REALLY GOOD. So I'm going to make my way to bed as I have a good book to keep me up awhile! Tomorrow it's back to school for the little ones. The one week break is over and so it's back to the grind of school drop-offs/pick-ups, lunches and the lot! But you know what, the three hours I have to myself are well worth it too!

Countdown to Christmas

2011-11-10T19:23:00.001+04:00

Christmas soon

I'm really looking forward to Christmas now! I've decided to stay back and celebrate Christmas in our own home to give my son the full Christmas experience of putting up and decorating a tree and so on. I'm looking forward to the Christmas decorations and hype in the shops. It gets better and better every year here in this great Muslim country we live in. When we landed here 7 years ago Christmas time was almost depressing due to the lack of atmosphere. Today it's Christmas in the malls and even better are the malls in Dubai where they go all out! I'm secretly hoping to sneak a trip to Austria before Christmas...now THAT is REAL Christmas!

Timu

We had a bbq last night and a few friends came over, which was fun as usual. Woke up with a bit of a headache but not too bad thank goodness. There was a lot of food though and today we enjoyed the left overs from it. Today I parked myself on the couch and watched my recorded shows all day! Like how useless is that! It's a week-end here and the end of Eid holidays. The town has been utterly dead all week! What's more is the weather has been very unusual of dark days threatening to rain. It has drizzled every day for the past three days! Last night as everyone left it rained, heavily which was just beautiful to watch. It didn't last long though but to experience it was nice enough. You probably think how boring but when you live in these part where it only rains three times a year, rain becomes an absolute blessing. Until it causes floods in some parts of the country because wadis are filled quickly and become raging rivers!

GHD

So it seems everyone I know own a GHD except for me of course! I've been wanting to get one for the last 2 years only because when I've tried using everyone else's it's basically the best hair straightener around! I was shocked though when I heard how much it costs. Like really ridiculously expensive! I decided that was going to be my birthday present for my last birthday and I'm proud to say I've ordered one and didn't feel guilty...at ALL lol. Funny thing though is as my hair grows longer, the more straight it is, so I may not have needed the GHD after all, but who am I kidding:) lol

Milan

2011-11-03T16:58:00.003+04:00

Day 3: Up early and headed to Maria Delle Grazie where the original Last Supper painting by Leonardo DaVinci is to be found. Unfortunately you have to pre-book to see the painting and as our trip was a bit last minute we were unlucky with the tickets. So I thought we'd still go there and hope for the best. Luckily where we stayed was not far from all this and it amounted to about a 5 minute ride on the train every morning. And once there we could walk everywhere and the streets are so pretty that it's pleasant and fun. We took Tau's stroller of course so we didn't have to carry him though he enjoyed sitting on his dad's shoulders than the stroller half the time. We got to the Grazie and sure enough it's fully booked and we're obviously not the first to think that there may have been cancellations as they had a big sign on the desk to say that there were no cancellations!
DaVinci Codes
However we weren't to be disappointed as in a smaller chapel they had an exhibition of DaVinci's original notes and sketches regarding his works and interest in the universe. We paid our 10 euro each and went in to have a look. The man was a genius. He figured that earth was part of a universe of planets and there were calculations of the distance of the earth from the sun. He tried to figure out the movements of the tides and it's relation to the lunar cycle! It was just awe-inspiring stuff. The relation of the sun's rays and that of a mirror were sketched on the pages. And in the room where these notes were displayed there were cameras everywhere and laser beam security system that they obviously activate at night. The notes were framed in bullet proof glass and within other frames! Apparently it was the first time DaVinci's notes have gone on display and they will make their way around the world to different museums!

We left the Grazie and walked back through Sforzesco Castle and through to Montepoleone that the hotel receptionist pointed out was more a local area with really good restaurants. On the way we saw a photo shoot going on. I was happy to see that, it being Milan it was nice to see with my own eyes a fashion shoot in progress. Of course the model was freakishly tall with legs that went on forever. She looked a younger version of Claudia Schiffer (hubby's description) keep moving lol. Well as we emerged in yet another piazza there in front of me was a shoe shop. I went inside and found walking boots that I was happy with. I sucked in my breathe and asked the owner how much they were but they were on sale! well hello, what a bargain! Off came the trainers and on went the nice boots and onwards we went.

We found the nice restaurants and stopped to have a snack and a coffee before we continued on to Via Brera where the Brera museum was located. Tau was a bit antsy then so we gave that one a miss. Just our luck it was All Saints day so the town was quiet and a lot of things were closed. We walked on Via Manzoni which was just fashion shops galore. From brands I'd never heard of to Prada, Gucci, Versace and passed the Armani hotel..hello. We went all the way back to the Duomo via Reale Piazza and caught the metro back to our hotel. In the evening we went back Montepoleone the locally popular area and chose a random restaurant. We let the waiter did the choosing for us and wow it was a yummy meal. They have this Italian thing of a vegetable flower stuffed with cheese as an appetizer, that was so yummy. We went home happy once more and what a lovely end to our Milan trip. Next morning we had our last breakfast at the Ottolina on the way back to the airport.

My take
All the restaurants and cafes we ate didn't disappoint us. The food was good. The city is generally expensive but if you make your way away from the main plazas then it's slightly cheaper and this goes for the shops as well. There are some outlet shops around town I didn't go into but through the window the prices were cheaper than the shops on the main streets.

The ~~Ugly~~ Reality
So there were beggars in many areas, some homeless people with cups asking for money. One scene which was very ironic was on our last night at 10pm as we were walking down another beautiful fashion street, the shops were closed and there in front of the 200 euro for pants shop window, two homeless people had laid out their blankets for the night. Such a contrast! From ridiculously expensive clothing to people who can't afford a roof over their heads!!! It was also common for people to ask us for money. On the train from the airport a guy comes up with a 2 euro coin, I took it he wanted change so I got out what I had in my pocket and all I had were 2s and one 1 euro so I showed him what I had and he grabbed the 1 euro said thanks and walked off! I was so surprised and he actually had made a grab for the 2 euro as well!! After he walked off hubby then told me that he was warned about people asking for money! No wonder the guy didn't even hesitate to take the money with no intention of paying back!

Milan-Fashion Capital of the World

2011-11-03T00:46:00.002+04:00

Day 1 We landed really early in the morning but hotel check in was 3pm. We walked around Venezia ate at cafes and had machiato and cappuccino. We walked to a nearby park where Tau played in the playground and rode on a merry-go-round which he didn't want to get out of. It was fun walking all over the place until around 10am we were really tired and went to check the hotel Sheraton again. To our delight we were allowed to check in early. We went had a good days nap and then went to the Duomo to look around and enjoyed the sights and food. We found the famous Luini bakery but it was closed. After dinner we went to the Cioccolati Itali gelato shop and had an ice cream each. It was yummy with raw chocolate. The shop's so popular there were queues of people to buy ice cream in October!
Day 2:
We were up early so we got dressed and strolled to Ottolina cafe on the way to the metro to have our Italian breakfast of croissant and latte machiatto baby chino for Tau before we headed for the Duomo. We went inside had a look around the centuries old Cathedral. Beautiful inside and just amazed at the grand-ness of the structure that was built by hand out of marble by people centuries ago. We made our way around the back of the Cathedral and bought tickets to climb up the roof of the Duomo. €10 per person to use the elevator or €6 to use the steps 250 of them. As we're eating our way through Milan we decided to take the steps the healthier, adventurous and also cheaper option not by much. Tau happily climbed up the steps on his own ahead of me an very fast too. Alex brought up the rear with stroller in tow. We hung out at the top and took photos. Beautiful views from up there plus a closer look at the intricate work on the Gothic designs and statues that surround the top of the Duomo! After awhile we made our way back down and walked to Sforzesco Castle. Tau had enough and I piggy-backed him down which wasn't too hard a task seeing that we were descending. Another breath-taking structure was the castle. Towered over the city in all it's red brick clay glory. Just mesmerizing and imagination provoking. Mentioning the word castle had Tau enthralled that we might see Rapunzel or Swords there.

Hung

We came across a guy playing an instrument called a hüng that looked like a wok with a lid covered with dents on the top. He tapped and rubbed on the top of it and it produced an unusual sound like that of an harp and xylophone put together. He made this melodic music that resonated around the castle walls. Apparently according to him only 3000 of these instruments were made in Switzerland and no two hüngs produced the same sound. As it turned out he was from Liverpool. I had a fleeting strange thought that he could be my estranged English half-brother!(long story for another time) I wandered through the castle grounds then came back to where hubby and Tau rested on a bench enjoying the sun and the music. We strolleed down Castello Piazza and chose a restaurant named after the castle and ordered cold meats and what was Italian schnitzel for lunch. It was scrumptious and afterwards we made our way back to the metro and headed back to the Sheraton Diana for a rest.
Boots are ~~not~~ made for walking
I went for a walk around the area for a look and to check out the shoes. I really wanted to be the owner of winter walking boots. I bought some gorgeous high heeled boots before we left but had my hideous trainers in tow for practicality, so dire measures were necessary to confine the trainers to gym use only! And having seen the beautiful clothes and shoes people wore in Milan, my feet took a battering as I braved my stiletto boots into town and back. And whoever said comfort comes before beauty should have their head checked as I felt better in the fancy boots then in my trainers that made me feel like the circus was in town!
After losing my way around the area and feeling revitalized from my long walk I went back to the hotel for a rest. Later we headed into the shopping street to look for boots. The lowest priced boots in the area were €69 up to €450(Versace, Gucci and the like of course) but I didn't come across any that jumped at me within my limited price range.
After walking up and down the shopping street we headed towards the metro and then we spotted a pizzeria restaurante nearby that we thought we'd check out. Well it turned out to be an authentic beauty of a discovery as it was a local family run place with every table taken except for one, we were lucky to get a table by the door and close to the wood oven where the expert pizza maker was throwing pizza dough in the air to our 3 year old's amusement. The waiters were very nice and the food was excellent. There were queues of people waiting for a table. We all ate and drank our fill heartily before we strolled back to our hotel room for a good night's sleep.

Milan in photos

2011-10-19T14:19:00.000+04:00

Duomo Gothic Cathedral: Tau & I posing

Tau & his daddy and the travelling stroller!

Inside the Reale Piazza

We made it to Ciocolatti-yummy

View from Duomo Plaza

On the rooftop of the Duomo

My mandatory cup of tea while people watching at Duomo Plaza

Rugby WC Party

2011-10-16T10:00:00.001+04:00

World Cup Fever

Blue Fountain for True Blue fan

Scotsman had too much?

Hubby with Kenya mate Ali supporting Samoa:)

2011-10-16T10:00:00.000+04:00

The Refs blow the whistles for kick-off.

Us two

Touch, Pause...ENGAGE

NZ players

The World In Union

Rugby Party for Hubby_Dearest

2011-10-15T23:55:00.000+04:00

I've been planning hubby's birthday bash this Friday. The theme being Rugby for obvious reasons. OK so I planned this before the world cup started and well here we are on the eve of it and there are only 4 teams left at the World Cup! So I knew this was going to happen and tried not to put too many eggs in one basket but I thought I'd risk it and order a NZ table flag for every other country represented hoping that at least they make it through to the semis. I have enough big Samoan flags to drown out the rest plus the party website didn't do Samoan table flags...baskets.

Anyhoo very exciting and I've been at the shops all week to buy the right stuff and make sure I don't leave anything out. I looked for a caterer to do a BBQ set up but unfortunately in this case we live in a city full of Indian restaurants that most of the places I asked offered to do samosas, spring rolls... and mains would be curries...umm no thanks. So in the end master chef birthday boy said thanks but he'd rather cook the food! Dilemma? you may ask, well not really. In the end we were going to pay someone to come do a BBQ that hubby aces every time and I guess being the alpha_male he is, he does not like his grill being messed with. So today we went to buy the meat, enough to feed Manono Island I tell ya but hey, who am I to stand in the way of the chef and his artwork...yep yep, and that's how I sleep at night!

I went over to the supermarket to meet hubby to buy the meat and as I limped my way through the aisles to him he looked at me with worry and big concerned eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked. "With what?" Then I realised I was limping!

So I woke up with a sore Achilles' heel this morning and by the time I dropped my son off to school I couldn't walk straight. So an hour later when I saw the hubster I was fully limping by then. He kept saying that I should go straight home to elevate my leg and not move and I had to see the doctor who might put a cast or bandage of sorts to restrict movement. I'm like what the heck? Oh and then he made a joke that maybe it was sympathy for the Manu that I now have an athlete's injury...yeah okay! bahaha. I tell ya he's a ~~fiamalie~~ joker sometimes.

I went to the doctor and he said to rest for a day(yeah right) the party's in 2 days and then it should heal slowly but surely but I must give it a rest. Ummm I'll rest when I'm dead mate.

Tomorrow two very anticipated guests arrive so can't wait. I'm sure it's my birthday. I managed to clean out the front yard and hubby emptied the above-ground pool so we have the whole front yard available for the party. It's going to be goooood.

Roslynn Mahe_my latest fixation since the Manu

2011-10-13T01:24:00.000+04:00

I've been following this singer from New Zealand of Samoan and Tongan descent who's competing in the Avon Voices competition. Her name's Roslynn Mahe and has an amazing voice. So she's now in the final, the competition has been going for months now and I normally just log on to the Avon page when I see the updates on facebook, vote for her and leave cos we islanders do that choo hooo.
Just tonight I decided to have a look at the competition or who Ms Mahe was up against. And ummm yeah I wasted my time ha! They were nowhere as good as this Pacific contestant I tell ya. But that is my humble opinion and others might feel otherwise. OK so I watched four others and went bleh halfway through their songs, one lady was too jerky almost twitch like...eek, one destroyed the 'natural woman' song, and one was in a too tight pink dress and tried a bit too hard. Now don't go have a look because you might just agree with me!
Roslynn Mahe however, when I heard of her I watched some of her videos on you tube. She competed I think in NZ's got talent or one of those and didn't win but having watched those videos and where she's at now in the Avon Competition, she has got to win this. She keeps her movements to a minimum and just let her voice do the talking. The way I'm going on about this lady, you'd think she was my sister! Well I hope she sees this blog and throw some avon products over this-a-way, yeah right. An interesting aspect I noticed though with all the contestants is they were so well presented, obviously promotion for Avon products(if you're into the barbie-sleek look) there wasn't a hair out of place and the singers looked almost scared to move too much in case their hair ruffled or lippy came off! The stage was also quite small which I guess restricts the girls moves. Go over there and vote for her if you have the time, I think you can cast more than one vote and ummm don't waste your internet time on the others lol

The Orator-What my Orator Mum thinks

2011-10-07T13:06:00.002+04:00

I can't wait to see this movie. So my sister FJ was planning to take our mum to see The Orator next week when she goes over to visit H-Town and she feared mum might sleep through the movie. And I wondered about that too, Mum is an orator for/in our family and is so well-versed in the Samoan culture that she is a tricky one to please.
I just got off the phone to her in Samoa and she happily informed me that she had been to the premier of The Orator movie in Apia last week and....:
What a fantastic movie it was! I kept prodding why she thought it was so good and she said to her it got the message across that in our culture whether you're big or small or however you look like when you can speak or orate then everyone looks past that and see only the Orator as the message is brought across with a gift that only an orator has. She also said that the movie was well made and to the point, no gasu and overdoing. There it is, now I just wish I open the paper tomorrow and it tells me that the movie is showing down at Shatti Cinemas our local theatres:( The Orator has been entered for an Oscar nomination in the foreign film category and I hope it gets nominated and win the award. Great effort by Mr. Tusi Tamasese. Samoan born producer/director.
Soifua

IRB Preferred RWC teams

2011-10-04T23:09:00.002+04:00

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/home/fixtures/knockout.html wow love how the Northerners are against each other and so are the Southerners so it'll end up a North vs Southern Hemisphere Final. How brilliant...not

Update

2011-10-03T00:21:00.003+04:00

Break-through
Two weeks ago I had a supermum day. I've been wanting to make pizza from scratch and finally attempted it and it came out really well. My 3 year old loved it and of course enjoyed helping me make the dough. Hubby was impressed and it takes a lot to impress the Master Chef himself heh. I had this fat free cheese cake recipe for ages and finally have all the ingredients and made it right after the pizza. I'd never attempted cheese cake before and never thought I would but I'm trying to lose weight and miss my sweet treats so tried to make this fat free no sugar cheese cake to get me through the tough days. Well big pat on the back for this first timer, if I may say so myself the cheese cake was purrrfect. OK this one doesn't allow for a crust, only the cheese part and boy it came out with great consistency. I love cheese cake I guess the low fat version ain't too bad.

Facebook
I dislike the new settings on facebook. It was fantastic just before they screwed it up. Now I only see certain people's updates and not the usual suspects, irritating. I need to stick to real life and less on social networks, really, but it's just so interesting lol. Crap we'll see what happens.

Samoa vs SA
Today Tau and I just got back from Dubai. We flew up on Thursday to watch the game with the Samoan crew up in UAE. Early morning I was dressed in my blue shirt and helped our hostess with the sandwiches and all. Everyone started arriving just before the game and one of our Aussie friends came with her South African partner. I mean what a brave guy to come to a Samoan household to watch the game! Of course he was obviously confident in his team and especially when the ref was going to help out as well. aaargh. Gosh my heart went out to our boys, with their frustration, the SA team I must say were playing off the ball tactics to irritate and frustrate our boys, knowing full well that island tempers can't be contained for too long and they succeeded. However it didn't help that the referee treated Mahonri Schwalger like a kid instead of talking to him like a grown man. That was just sad to watch. There are a few articles about this how the IRB really don't care less about the Tier 2 nations. I mean as they had planned now the Top 8 Tier 1 nations are through to the quarters and complete the IRB preferred Rugby World Cup. ugh. BUT I was just soooo proud of our boys and the way they played and held the world champions back. Just awesome. Well done Manu Samoa. Now we have four years for SRU to get it together and not fundraise on the eve of 2015 as seems to be the norm. Ia over and out I'm off to bed, it's late and once more I feel sick and my son has school tomorrow. Good night and Good luck

KL Malaysia

2011-10-03T00:07:00.001+04:00

Cheering for Samoa against Fiji in Chilli's KL

Eating at the Bangshar Markets with uni mate Sumi

Alex showing some muscle at the Petronas Twin Towers

Our flag just happened to appear from nowhere for this shot lol

And Alex starts the trek up the 278 steps with Tauilagi in tow!

Batu Caves KL

This sucker stole Tau's drink from his hands , it was funny at the time

On the way down, Alex's done his exercise

I was there too, see heh

Condolences

2011-09-29T00:34:00.001+04:00

I finally got hubby's iPad to hook up to the internet in KL in our hotel room and on to facebook I went, to see what was going on. The first odd news I saw were people telling my cousin to be strong. It was obvious something was very wrong judging by people's messages. My heart sank as I realized that her unborn baby had died. What an awful awful thing to happen. I cried for her, for them, for the sadness that they must be enveloped in. I could not fathom what she was going through and prayed for their peace of mind. Now she has written about her ordeal and how it happened and it's just heartbreaking. I just want to say to her that it is NOT your fault. It is nobody's fault. Ia maua e oe le mafanafana mai le Ali'i i nei taimi fita.

Samoa vs Wales 18th Sept 2011

2011-09-16T20:18:00.000+04:00

I can't wait for the Samoa Wales game to get here. I'm sure all Samoans and Welsh alike are pining for this game. This Manu team in my expert opinion might be the best prepared to get through to the next level of the competition and on to the finish. Ia talosia ia. It's so funny how alot of my FB Samoan friends have the Manu fever. All the profile pictures are blue with something either the flag or a Manu shirt worn or whatever Manu Samoa affiliated, it's just crazy but beautiful patriotism right there.

GO THE MANU

2011-09-13T22:07:00.000+04:00

And finally the Go The Manu video has been released to the supporters after according to the admins of the Go The Manu facebook page the Manu Samoa watched it a few hours ago before their first game against Namibia. All the best tomorrow Manu Samoa. Which brings me to the supporters, especially those so close to the rugby players. Watching some of the games this week just reveals once again how BRUTAL the sport of rugby is. One thing I have to say is that I do not envy the mothers, wives, kids, girlfriends/boyfriends and sisters of those players as they watch their men getting tackled and physically re-arranged on the rugby battle field. I saw one Italian who got tackled a few days ago and for a few seconds he did not move! And my heart went out to his family thinking omg his mum or wife must be on the edge of her seat then. On that note I wish the families and almost families of the rugby players peace/to'a in supporting their loved ones as they go onto the battle ground for the love of their country, at least that's how it is with the Samoan players. GO MANU. Manuia le tapuaiga to all Samoans across the globe for at these moments those boys are all our brothers.

Telesa: The Covenant Keeper

2011-09-13T18:15:00.002+04:00

My humble review of this amazing fantasy story by Lani Wendt-Young: A captivating read, a page turner. Lani Wendt-Young takes you on a ride following Leila’s journey to the small islands of Samoa from Washington DC to learn about her mother. What she discovers is beyond her expectations. The heroine’s experience is so real thanks to the author’s mastery with words that you are truly immersed in Leila’s supernatural world at times and her emotional quest to find her true self in the midst of her extraordinary findings. It couldn’t have been set in a more suitable place than that of the superstitious and exotic islands of Samoa. The amalgamation of the legendary Samoan myth into a modern day setting is nothing short of brilliance, a credit to the author’s true talent. Suitable for all ages. A must read.You can buy an online copy on smashwords or on amazon Try and buy it on amazon if you can to make this book the first Samoan written and based book to make the Amazon top 100. The hard copy will be launched in Samoa in October. Happy reading and thank you to the author for such an amazing book that will not only inspire young Samoans to reach their potential but teaching our youngsters the important lesson that when you put your mind to it you can do anything whether you live in Samoa or abroad. Fa'afetai lava and GO the Manu for tomorrow.

Go MANU SAMOA

2011-09-13T15:02:00.000+04:00

Oh the Rugby World Cup fever is so contagious right now it just speeds the heart beat every time. Can't wait for the game tomorrow morning Oman time 6.30am. Go Manu smash those Namibians and then on to the other three. O tou mama na, fai ia mafai. Attack Attack Attack... and don't forget the 3Ds Defend, Dominate AND Dackle Dackle Dackle choo hoooHere are some pictures that my lovely friends here in Muscat helped with in front of The Sultan's palace in Ruwi to show our support from this side of the world for the team for the Go The Manu facebook page. Join it to follow the Manu Samoa and the preparations in New Zealand. My prayer is for them to do amazing for their sakes. They seem so confident and with a purpose that I'm sure they do not want to let themselves down. But what a tough pool they have though but warriors they are and I believe in the current team. Nevermind our dodgy Rugby Union and their antics...that's for another day. GO MANU SAMOA. Do it for you and then for us all. Vi'ia le Ali'i.

Liebe From Österreich

2011-08-22T03:53:00.001+04:00

Lake Mondsee

Tauilagi climbs every mountain...

From Mondsee with love:)

2011-08-19T02:23:00.001+04:00

Having a fabulous time with my family in Austria. We spent all day in and out of the pool the went to town to enjoy live music while sipping caipirinhas in the streets of Mondsee. We're having fun catching up, eating and drinking too much and just laughing a lot. Missing the rest of the sisterhood but not to worry we're drinking your fair share:)

Leaving on a Jetplane..again:)

2011-08-13T10:28:00.002+04:00

Yippeee can't wait to catch that flight tonight to a destination unknown. Looking forward to catching up with the French Connection and have some fun.

Strange in Many Ways

2011-08-10T23:25:00.001+04:00

As I was rushing to put my son's shoes on him and head out, a man knocked at the gate. I locked the house and walked out with my son to our car outside the gate where this guy was standing. I asked him what's up and he said;
"you have a beautiful house".
I said "thank you but it isn't ours, we're just renting it."
He continued to say his wife and he, indicated towards his car where I could see his wife, are building a new house and they really liked this style of housing. What came next just about bowled me over. He asked if he and his wife could come into our house to have a look around and take photos!!! I stood there dumbfounded. I mean he looked nice enough and seeing the demure wife in the car just about made me say okay as I'm a nice person like that(yep)!

But then I thought what the heck? take photos of our personal space? by these strangers? Ummmm alarm bells rang in my head... should I be a nice lady or an unfriendly one? Nice or safety. What if these people attack me and my son in my house...moreover we live on a street where 20 houses look the same! So why mine? This is what was going around in my head as I stood there. Finally words came back to my head and I refused the guy nicely and said, "I'm sorry we're on our way out and go next door it's an office and it looks like someone's in, ask them to take photos in there because we have to go! The guy looked at me confused and then looked back at the other house and said oh ok. Me: "it's exactly the same as mine. "Sorry."
"Tau get in the car", I strapped him in his seat as quick as I could and drove off in a hurry before the guy was refused next door and he came back...

It occurred to me this is probably how unassuming people get attacked. OK the couple it seemed were genuinely interested in the house but still, I don't know them and it's just me and my son at home. Weird much?

Speed=Crash

2011-08-08T00:17:00.002+04:00

We're enjoying the quiet evening unwinding after dinner with Master 3 down for the night when the peace is ravaged by tyres screeching followed by a loud bang of metal scraping and more screeching until it comes to a stop. It was too close to my front yard this time I thought our car was caught up in the heavy metal band out there. We run out to check and within seconds people had swarmed around the broken up sedan that had come to rest on the road partition. Our car was in one piece but the pieces of the broken car were all over the road and some were not far from the front parking lot! Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore of this we noticed among the debris was a teddy bear! A freakin' teddy bear! Did that mean there was a kid in the car? Or did that mean the car owners had kids. I convinced myself it was the latter as I walked back to my house and left the side show to half the town that were now parked all over to have a look! I'm not sure how people have not gathered that Speeding=Crash.

I don't get that. So the fact is we moved into this house 11 months ago and before our first two weeks was up there was a crash out front. We thought what the heck. And then another two weeks and another crash! I thought wtf? It quickly turned out that we were living on death road thank you big. After the head ache of moving we couldn't be arsed to move again. So for awhile(probably cos I was away) there were no accidents until that big one last week. And two days ago I noticed a car bumper on the road from yet another victim of speeding. We realise now there is a curve out front however if you drive within the speed limit of 80kph you're fine but more than that and with lots of other cars around you you're most likely going to hug the lamp post in these cases break a lamp post. These ones are flimsy and in the middle of the road partition. The lamp posts are probably flimsy so they're easily replaced and I kid you not, it takes them about a week before another one is in place.

Another thing they do here is, they clear the scene of the accident within minutes of it happening. We'd see the Indian labourers out there sweeping up the broken glass after the car had been taken away. I wonder if it's better if they left these broken cars on the roadside a while longer just as a warning to others? I mean after a bad accident we wake up the next morning and it's like nothing happened!

This country has a very high death rate due to road accidents. It's now normal to see accidents all over this city. When I went to pick up my son last week there was a two car crash in a 50kph turn-off!! I went to pick up my son from nursery yesterday and was held up in traffic as there was a dingdong on the main highway! Thank goodness for side roads I managed to get off the highway and take the slip road there. According to studies and statistics done here it's speed that contributes to the most accidents here.

P.S after I published this entry I hear noise in the front, I look out the window and it's the workers replacing the post that was knocked down a few days ago, I guess for the next sucker to use as a target.

Summer in Oman

2011-08-01T09:00:00.001+04:00

And so Ramadan starts tomorrow or it might have been today, I'm not sure. The summer weather has been absolutely amazing. This is our seventh summer in Oman, yep, seventh and this is probably the best weather we've experienced in what you call summer. If you haven't been to a desert country or the like before well let me try and describe the heat in summer. When you exit your Air Conditioned house you're hit with this wall of heat. And I mean wall because it hits you full frontal, it engulfs your whole being, it violates your every pore, it makes you inhale heat which you'd never thought possible. You're simply surrounded by the heat so you run to your car hoping to cool down faster but the car thermostat reads 47 Celsius and everything is hot in it, from the seat to the steering wheel. You turn the A/C on full blast only to be blasted by more hot air so you turn it down again and wait for some cool air to come out, so you think maybe I should wind the windows down to let cool air in at which you're not any better off as the heat outside and inside the car are the same. You then direct the fans at the steering wheel to cool it down so you can at least start driving. It is utter misery but bless the inventor of A/Cs or I wouldn't be here.

However this summer is actually bearable. When the days are humid the thermostat reads about 37 Celsius. Then I'm not sure which is worse, the humidity or the dry heat. However the past weeks since we've been back it's been ok. Still above 30s but at least I can go outside with my son after 3pm so he can ride his bike and play in the garden. I'll happily take this mild summer over the freezing winter.

E iai sou ake?

2011-07-31T10:38:00.001+04:00

A preview from "The Orator" movie. According to Samoa Observer it's been picked for the Venice International Film Festival. I really want a copy of it. It sounds interesting and it's all in Samoa which should be interesting. Moreover it's written and directed by a Samoa born son Tusi Tamasese.

Dubai Sales Galore and Sophia Lauren

2011-07-30T17:32:00.003+04:00

So we went to the Deira City Centre which is literally across the road from the hotel we're at. This hotel which hubby's work use for all their employees when in Dubai for work turned out to be conveniently located. You step out the door and you enter the metro station stairs where you can walk across to the mall or you can just cross the road at the lights(but it's too hot for that now). The metro below can take you to a lot of attractions across Dubai which is very handy.

We walked across to the mall and had a look around and oooh the sales were just in your face, inviting you in to buy buy buy! Uh huh they appealed to my weak ~~mana'o tele~~ self. After looking for hubby's new toy to no avail, he and our returned to the hotel while I feast my eyes and brutalise the bank card at the shops. I'm normally not an impulse shopper but today really tested my willpower!

I bought this cheap eye shadow kit in May. Result is every time I wear the damn thing my eyes get itchy. So I guess cheap and my ~~aira~~ face do NOT go together. I went into Sephora to browse for some good make-up, I asked the assistants about certain stuff and the Chanel make-up artist came over to help me. I happily took the opportunity to be pampered with expensive make-up and by a professional too! So I asked for a specific look and she worked from Step A using face serum(whatever that is), moisturizer right up to eye shadow. She asked if I wanted the Arabic or the European version. The latter thanks very much and no foundation fanks. Anyway after she did her thing I left with my one purchase. Let's just say I never wear make up like that but thought I'd give her the benefit of the doubt. So the real test was when I got back the hotel. Hubby opens the door and first thing he said was: "So you got Arab make-up on again?" Choo hoo

Moral of the story never let a make-artist around here play with your face!

Week-end Away

2011-07-28T11:11:00.000+04:00

Thank goodness for creche's that run summer programmes. I put my son in one not too far from where we live and it's been great. Every time I pick him up he runs out with a new craft that they made in class. Sunday were the birdies Peter and Paul sitting in a boat, Monday was a turtle and Tuesday was a frog that he had attached to his hand like a puppet. Each had a little rhyme attached to the back of the craft. Very clever crafts using paper plates and card boards. He came back with more creative things in 3 days at this creche than a whole year at the one before! Anyway he's enjoying making new friends and he's happy to be going to 'school'.

Hubby had to come to Dubai for his sim on the week-end and I decided that we'll tag along and enjoy lounging around the hotel room and swim in the cooled pool. And that's what we did yesterday. When hubby went off to work we went down for a swim at 7.30pm and stayed there for about an hour. Got back to the room had some munchies and slept fitfully till 8 this morning. Beats sitting in Muscat on our own. All our friends(ladies and kids) are away for the summer so it's just us "only the lonely" there. I don't blame them as it's supposed to be hot in summer and it's ramadan in 2 days.

However, lucky for us the summer is mild and we've been able to go outside everyday after 3pm for Tau to ride his bike and splash in his little pool. We bought an above-ground pool for his birthday that's not too small that we can all fit into. Today we're going in search of a pool pump and chlorine tablets for it so we don't have to empty it and waste water every time. Exciting as Tau is very confident in the water now and may help him swim sooner than later. Once the swim teachers are back from summer I'll take him back for swimming lessons.

And now we're off to check out the Dubai Summer Sales. Of course the hubby doesn't know that yet!

Flaura and Fauna of To Sua Gardens, Falealili, Samoa

2011-07-25T18:30:00.001+04:00

An amazing swimming hole called the To Sua(with water) and another To lesua(without water). This is where my youngest sister's wedding was held. A spectacular location and the family that own this land keep the land beautiful and natural and have all sorts of exotic plants growing on it. An ideal wedding ceremony location, as the sun sets, the natural colours all around are magnified along with the colourful attire of the guests, while the wedding vows are drowned out by the crashing waves below you have but the newly weds body language and the beauty around you to go by.

Sunset from the Cross Island Road looking back at Siumu.

When a Minnow swallowed a W.....

2011-07-24T14:05:00.000+04:00

A Mastercard ad for the Rugby World Cup at Wellington Airport earlier this month. It would have to be changed to "When a Minnow Swallowed a Wallaby:) choo hooo The showing off continues...

Nursery and other rants.

2011-07-24T10:29:00.000+04:00

Dropped Sonny_Tau off to Nursery this morning and now I can go pay the bills, do grocery shopping by myself and do other stuff that needs to be done without my little shadow hanging off me. yippee.
Sad sad occurrence in Norway yesterday! It seems if it's not a natural disaster plighting a people it's a human caused tragedy. So awful that there is so much evil in people.
And then Amy Winehouse dies at 27! I mean where the hell are the people that are supposed to love this girl! Blimin' sad how society stands by and watches a destructive person kill herself slowly. It comes out that she's been cancelling shows and basically have been sick on stage. Can't remember her lyrics and I just saw a footage where she got booed off the stage as she's shaking and just looks dazed. WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE that should care for her.
Weird as I just watched a movie called Country Song last week starring Gwyneth Paltrow which is not much different from Amy's life. A destructive singer who just wants to quit but everyone around her 'need' her to keep singing. In the end she took her own life! How many times will this play out. Lucky for Brit Spears that her family stepped in to help her out.
And now on the news, they say Amy Winehouse had a soulful voice, umm how can there be soul when she's one messed up drug addict! This world is full of people that are full of ~~shit~~ lies.

Insecurity or naivety?

2011-07-23T11:56:00.001+04:00

I ran into old male friends in Samoa one day. It was good seeing them and then we sort of planned to meet again the following week for lunch or drinks or something. I suggested we all bring our partners and two of them shook their heads and said 'no partners'. Typical I thought. A few days later I ran into one of the guys at a shop as he was hopping out of his car and his wife was inside so I waved and I said 'hi' and this guy mate just sort of nodded at me; 'nodded' at me, yep the one that was so vocal about meeting up again that week. I waved at his wife too and said hi(I knew her as well) and I continued into the store to do my shopping. I ran into 'my mate' in the shop aisles and he was the same guy I met the week before. All chatty and cool "Hey what's up? what did you get up to after we ran into you... blah blah. We chatted for a bit then I went on my way but I was left gob-smacked.
What the hell is going on here? Is he so afraid of his wife that he won't be seen by her talking to other women...even old mates? Is the wife the insanely jealous type that he won't even risk getting in a fight? Why is this ~~f*%^ed up~~ attitude so common in Samoa? So I thought it more peaceful not to see these 'guys' under any circumstances without their "good" ladies around. Pity as they're awesome guys but no thanks if they have to pretend in front of their bosses. ~~ma'imau le kaimi~~

The character Tauilagi of late

2011-07-20T22:54:00.002+04:00

"Mama, be patient" says my three year old Tauilagi when I told him to return the rest of the chocolate croissants to the kitchen!

We had planned to go to Marseilles to meet up with my sister and family next week. However after our long trip to Samoa, NZ, UAE and finally back to Muscat, when I told Tauilagi that we were going to France he shouts "NOOOOO" I said, Tau we're going to see your Aunty and your cousin-sister MM and baby Sebastien. Emotional blackmail will surely do it. Tau's reply "No mummy, I don't wanna go, we're home now, this is Myyyy Muscat" ooookay
Different approach, appeal to his boy adventure-ish side: "We're going to ride on an aeroplane AND train".
Tau: "NOOOOO, I'm too tired mummy" And that was that. Yep just last week we were on a 20 hour flight from NZ so can't blame him for being tired of air-crafts!

Samoa through Tau's photographic eye:

Short Stories by Lani Wendt Young

2011-07-19T14:10:00.000+04:00

I highly recommend these stories by Samoan author Lani Wendt-Young.

Don't Tell" A story about Susanna's ordeal as a victim of abuse and how she is not victimized in one way but many other ways as society tries to deal with her dilemma.

A True Samoan Woman This is a funny and light hearted read about Mele's Samoan-ness being born overseas and idealizing her heritage.

The Beast that Came from the Sea A snippet of a tsunami survivor's nightmare.

Well written and descriptive. So descriptive that I can't stand the Sina the Snake Killer story. I hate snakes almost as much as the heroine so I had them crawling all over my ~~sensitive~~ skin as I read it. Pity as it was a great story in the end but I'll be honest snakes and moi don't get on in real life so I wouldn't even go near them in my virtual existence. I say buy the e-stories on Amazon and see how you too can be like Mele. A True Samoan Woman...heh heh

Disrespect to blame for Wallabies' loss | Rugby | Fox Sports

2011-07-19T00:05:00.003+04:00

My favourite article by Wayne Smith on Samoa's win over Australia. The best part is this "Demographically, this is the equivalent of Australia being beaten by Hobart. Indeed, it is worse than that because the population of the Tasmanian capital is nudging 215,000, whereas Samoa boasts only 192,000 people, every single one now deliriously happy." Oh yes, we're all deliriously happy where-ever we are:)

Disrespect to blame for Wallabies' loss | Rugby | Fox Sports

Samoa 32 Australia 23

2011-07-17T13:15:00.002+04:00

Yep, I'm one VERY HAPPY Manu Samoan supporter today. That was an amazing game today in Australia by the Manu Samoa. Alesana Tuilagi scored an awesome try in the first half and the game was 10-0 to Samoa for awhile. It was just beautiful to watch. The first time Samoa has beaten Australia and the commentators were quiet not knowing what to say really. In the second half they then commented on how frustrated the Aussies looked and that they were 'rattled' choo hooo. About time. More tries were scored by Kane Thomson, Paul Williams and someone else. The whole team showed guts and team work.

Now I must say I have hope that they can do well in the World Cup if they keep that kind of play up. The most remarkable moment during the game for me was when Alesana Tuilagi tackled an Aussie winger and drove the guy out of the field then he pats the guys head and gets up with the biggest smile on his face. Just love the kaufa'alili la lea. Fa'amalo lava i le Manu Samoa today and I think Samoans everywhere are celebrating like we just won the world cup Le MANU: SAMOA Choo Hooo

One proud Manu Supporter living in Oman:) From our camping trip in Feb this year.

Malu a se Tamaita'i ma lana Tama Teine

2011-07-17T00:07:00.002+04:00

My older sister wanted a malu(female traditional tattoo from the knees to the thighs) for awhile now to mark new beginnings for her. We were busy with baby sister's wedding so weren't sure if it was going to go ahead. However the Wednesday after the wedding we found the tattooist and his two assistants at the family house. LM was no doubt ready to face the music of the tattooist the very next morning. After a hearty breakfast the tattooist started on my sister's left leg. They completed the one leg by lunch time.

LM's husband arrived with their four kids as they were completing her leg and their eldest, my 13 year old niece YF immediately took to the artwork and announced that she wanted one too. Her father and mother both said to her it was painful and she would have to be quite brave to get one. The 13 year old kept saying she wants it on the same day as her mom and her granma(my mom) has one and she wanted one too. My Mom heard all this and sat her down and spoke to her about it. Did she really want it and why? Her parents were now all for it and said to my niece YF that if she wanted it she can get it.

This is no ordinary thirteen year old. She's mature for her age and umm a Samoan fully grown 13 year old. After lunch the tattooist said that they will start on YF's left leg! And they began. About 10 minutes into the tattooing, younger sis and her palagi friends arrived to witness some Samoan culture on display. I went to the living room to say hi to LC's friends and to give some encouragement(from me whose body is ~~not~~ covered with tattoos) to my niece. I was greeted with an ironic(funny to a Samoan) scene. A 13 year old was crying while being tattooed while the palagis were snapping away with their digital cameras. I'm sure in some countries this would be seen as abuse and yet here we were in good ol' Samoa celebrating the young girl's pain as a sign of devotion and bravery! Choo hooo My niece's cries eased up ~~a bit~~ as she got used to the rythm of the au and made it through the day. I wondered if she'd show up the next day.

Early the next morning both mother and daughter were the first at the scene of the crime to get some more drumming from the tufuga. YF went first and was done by lunch time and this time she was quiet and obviously knew how to deal with the pain quietly! Big sis went straight after with no dramas and all was done by 3pm. The beauty of their tattoos were so remarkable it just touched my proud Samoan heart. The tufuga's talent was showcased once more as he tattooed according to the woman's age and size. The malus were outlined the same but the delicate details differed. Though the malu is seen on many women today, it still blows the mind when you see it. The beauty of what is unique to us.

I asked my niece after she got tattooed after praising her bravery on why and what got her through the tattooing. Her words "I did it for my grandma(my Mum) and when I heard her voice it just calmed me down and kept going..." I choked back tears as I listened in awe of my niece who I carried around as an infant only about a decade ago, tell her aunty ~~pala'ai~~ the reasons the most remarkable piece of traditional Samoan wear is on her body.

Where to drink in Samoa

2011-07-13T08:38:00.003+04:00

I went to Amanaki with my social butterfly buddy in Samoa. My mate SK is one you can be sure is ready for a few whenever. So off we went to Amanaki and my re-introduction to Apia nightlife began.(As per popular request by ONE reader here's a take on the watering holes in Apia) Amanaki has any drink you want and the service is very good. After a couple of drinks there we went on to Y-Not. As it was a Tuesday it was a quiet evening. Again efficient service and nice atmosphere. The music and bar pretty much closed at around 10.30pm. The law require bars to turn the music off at 10pm and close business at midnight. We ran into other old mates at Y-Not who said to come along to a new club called Tausala in Vaitele so SK and I thought why not as the night was young.

Well Tausala is a dump to put it bluntly. The building was like an abandoned warehouse with a bar near the entrance and toilets that an outhouse would have been a better option. The only positive outcome of that outing was that we caught up with some classmates having a stag night but the stag was knocked out in the car outside by this point. It was nice to see these guys again after a very long time. Needless to say I wouldn't be caught sober at this watering hole for sure. It was a rougher version of Apia-RSA if there is such a thing! Having said that they serve beer, spirits and were open way past nidnight.

Later on, that week we met up for drinks at Amanaki again. This is the most popular after-work hangout at the moment. We went to V-Bar afterwards and wow that was something else. They have two bars: an open and a closed off one with Air Conditioning. Needless to say the A/C bar was far more busy than the other one. What struck me though was that everyone was so young and I felt quite 'mature' in this setting. It was ok but one had to be shit-faced to fit in with the crowd as it was buy one get one free night. They have Fiesta on Fridays where you pay 30 tala from 5-6.30pm and drink as much as you like of included beverages(spirits). One Friday I joined some friends one evening after fiesta to find once again I was the odd one out as everyone was in their happy place by 8pm. It's a marvel and what a great idea for the bar to make money.

We went to Tropicana at midnight as V-Bar closed at 12 and someone said Tropicana being away from any residential homes carries on a while longer. Tropicana is what it is, a fun local bar but there was a fundraising social there that night by a netball team and a lot of them were from SCOPA so caught up with a lot of people I knew. The toilets were utterly disgusting but I guess drunks don't really care where they urinate at this point. We nevertheless had so much fun as they called sivas for different members of the fundraising committee and everyone was in a happy party mood.
One busy day my thirsty sister and I went into Eden's Edge in Togafu'afu'a to have a couple of drinks and sit out the hot afternoon. After a few vailimas and a game of pool with the friendly waiters we continued on to the wedding rehearsal for little sister's wedding. This is a nice relaxing, quiet place to enjoy your drink nevermind the village volleyball going on over the fence!

I must say Samoa nightlife is still the same but I find there is a higher danger factor involved now. Apparently an airline crew were robbed and beaten up after a night out in front of V-Bar. My friend's phone was snatched from him as he was texting in his parked car with the window open. Another bar goer's handbag was snatched from her as she was walking back to her car. On my last night out with my sister we went to V-Bar. It was so rowdy in the first bar that I felt unsafe. There was a queue to get into the A/C section and we didn't want to go there. We ordered drinks then went to the front porch to sit. We could see the other porch off the A/C room filled with people well into their partying. We realised we could smell dope and saw that another group next to us were openly passing around a joint! Only in Samoa?!

Truthfully I was now a little bit worried about our safety when we had to leave. There were a lot of youngsters that hang out on the street in groups and 3 years ago I wouldn't pat an eyelid but now I wasn't sure. I was grateful to the V-Bar door security that accompanied us to our car that night.

Long flights aargh

2011-07-13T07:56:00.000+04:00

Made it to Dubai safely after a long journey that started in Wellington at 11am. My sister picked us up at Auckland airport and off we went to my Aunty's place to say hello and hang out for a couple of hours before our connecting flight at 6pm. We had fun catching up with my Aunty and sister and then headed back to the airport to check in. At Auckland airport an old colleague and mate checked us in which was nice. Ran into two other people I knew from Samoa. Auckland is an extension of Samoa it seems sometimes.
We got Emirates lounge passes which was good and not so good. My terror of a three year old decided it was fun to jump from couch to couch and then run to the other side of the lounge and yelled at the top of his lungs 'Mummy, Mummy, come and find me'. To which I pretended I couldn't hear as I enjoyed my cup of tea, fruits, crackers and cheese. When I was done and ready I went over to fetch him and found the lounge attendant was bribing him with another activity pack to bring him back to our seat.
He played for about a minute with the pull sticker out and put on cardboard and ran off again to skip on the couches. I started threatening him nicely and then harshly but the boy wouldn't listen. It was going to be a long trip from there-on.
AKL_SYD was fun for Tau as he ran all over the A380 and made friends with the crew. He was quite tired by the time we got to Sydney so he didn't listen to me much.
SYD-DXB he ate and then knocked out but now his short-tempered and tended to yell at me for more milk/water or whatever he wanted at this point. I fed him and told him to lie down so he can watch cartoons and eventually he fell asleep. I tried to sleep during this time. We were lucky as we sat down the lady that had the window seat saw the 3 year old and immediately asked to move...umm Tau was at his best for those 5 minutes heh heh. So when she moved we had the whole row!!
When Master Three woke up much later he asked if he could go for a 'walk' meaning run all around the aircraft. He was fine until the flight attendants were about to serve breakfast so they brought him to our seat and then Master Three decided to throw a tantrum. About 5 minutes later he settled and ate his breakfast and napped before landing. Oi aue what a hellish trip for me. Travelling with a stubborn three year old is NOT fun.

Samoa Classmates Reunion

2011-07-07T04:28:00.003+04:00

My sister-in-law happens to work with an old classmate of mine. So I got her number and arranged to catch up over lunch. Yesterday I went into town in my three layers of clothing plus my heavy coat to see my friend Angelina. It was so exciting to see her again after so long. We went to Uni Prep Year in Samoa back in 1997. This was a prep year for university or further studies. Ange and I were in the same English class. A very memorable one because that year Mrs Lesina Aleki and Mrs Sina Va'ai and their fellow English lecturers decided that we had an English night, where each English class had to come up with a play, drama or poems to be performed and read on the night.

There were about 10 in our group and we decided to use a Samoan scary myth, superstition(true to some) and made up a story around it. Our play went really well and we were very proud of ourselves. We also did another one that imitated the birthday announcements and notices on Samoan TV but instead of photos we took turns freezing on stage in certain poses. So for a 3rd birthday the subject froze with a teddy and a childish expression! The university had just moved into its new flash campus which was built by the Japanese. It was well equipped and it had the latest filming equipment at that time. The English night was done on a nice stage with all the proper lighting plus it was filmed by the university for their archives. So to our shock/horror for months after that night our plays were played on TV Samoa due to lack of other material then. What's memorable about that night was the fun we had preparing for the English night. It strengthened bonds with classmates as we were all in it together and didn't want to bomb out on the night.

So our lunch with Ange consisted or reminiscing about that night and the fun we had back in 1997. Then we both laughed and agreed at how it was such a long time ago now and yet we don't feel much older. Which of course is a good thing. We asked each other about our old classmates from then and wondered where some of them were and then decided that we should really have a class reunion soon so we can catch up with our classmates and see how everyone is doing. I hope more of us will be keen to get on with it but one thing for sure is I'm getting the ball rolling for next year as of last night. Angie amazingly has a copy of the English night video and I'm going to use it during our reunion next year. It would be hilarious, better go on a strict diet to not look like I doubled in size! If you're a UPY 97 student please add yourself to our facebook page UPY 1997. If not please keep in touch on UPY1997@gmail.com exciting times ahead.

Where to eat in Samoa

2011-07-05T12:55:00.001+04:00

Observation: There are so many small hotels that have popped up everywhere in Samoa especially in Apia. Hotels, motel-like accommodation with restaurant and bars. I didn't get to check them all out but wow Apia has really changed. It's become quite fast! Faster than 3 years ago I'd say. I did try out the Amanaki Bar and restaurant a few times. They had affordable and tasty food and the service was quite good. One wasn't left with an empty glass or bottle for too long. Result: legless when drinking White Russians! Kids Do not try this at home! They had nice fresh sashimi everytime we went there which was good.
Seafood Gourmet at Matautu opposite the new marina is still my favourite eatery in Apia, affordable and I always walk away full and happy. I love their fish and chips, grilled fish, fresh yummy oka and their chicken salads. I like the latter as you feel like you're being healthy when you order it but then it comes with the thousand island rich dressing with that sinfully yummy Best Foods mayo in there and it just set you a few paces back heh heh. It gets me every time. They usually have fresh fish as the owners along with the hotel mentioned above run fishing boats so you know it was caught that morning or the day before?!
Roco's is at Motootua not far from the hospital or Red Cross centre. Fairly pricey and the food is okay. They serve fresh coconuts which I think is great and they have a nice view of Vaea Mountain and the ambience is quite nice.
Paddles at Matautu is also still going strong. Not cheap but the food was good. I was disappointed with hardly any Samoan dishes in the menu but otherwise the staff were nice and the food was yummy.
Newcomer lunch/breakfast place opposite Malua Fou College is Encounters. We ate there twice and both times the food was good. Good prices and friendly staff. Could do with more drink choices but otherwise worth checking out for sure.
Keli's sandwich shop at Lotemau is still going strong. They serve fresh fruit, chicken, steak sandwiches, muffins, smoothies and the like. A reliable place to get a healthy sandwich or wrap.
I noticed new coffee shops all over the town. Bambino's is still going but not as good as before. Coffee bean near the foga faleogo or EFKS building is not bad neither. Good coffee but it's in a small shop so it feels a little bit crowded and noisy when the blender or whatever is going behind the counter.
Swashbucklers or yacht club at Mulinu'u is also still going strong. The food is good there, reasonably priced and the sashimi is fresh and vailima cold. You eat under the stars if it's a clear night.
Tanoa Tusitala hotel bar and restaurant is another nice place to eat. 9 tala for a beer though is a tad much but it's a nice atmosphere with good snacks.
There are some good eateries in Samoa and so many to choose from which is nice.

Wellington itinerary

2011-07-04T06:53:00.000+04:00

We're in freezing Wellington after tropical Samoa. We've basically stayed close to the toasty fireplace to keep warm. Today the sun is actually out but still quite cold. Friday we caught up with hubby's fam and friends at the Tasting room in Courtney place. Nice bar and yummy tapas to boot. By 1am I'd had enough bought a yucky kebab and came home. The kebab was bland and not worth my troubles. Headache the next morning with my usual promise of never consuming alcohol again...oi auee lo'u moa e. Saturday night we went for dinner to my bro-in-law's house. What a lovely dinner prepared by them. Met nice friends of theirs and was quite a pleasant quiet evening of discussing all sorts of issues in NZ and the world. The next morning which was yesterday we went to brunch at hubby's Uncle's place. Nice seeing them all again. Tauilagi is of course enjoying meeting more family everyday. The grandparents are enjoying everyday with him that I sometimes forget I came with my son! heh heh I think my son just sees us as housemates at the moment as he's spending every waking moment with his nana and papa! Today's a quiet day of relaxation and changing tickets on our way home.
We were supposed to go for our friend's LM's wedding cocktail last Friday. But ~~thanks~~ to Qantas they didn't fly most of last week due to the ash cloud though Air NZ and others were operating. So we had to cancel our trip and inform our friends that we couldn't make it. We were so looking forward to that too!
I'm so unprepared for winter that I've now rerouted our tickets so my son and I will go through Brisbane to catch up with our cousins there and meet up with my friend that I haven't seen in 5 years!!! She got married in May and we just couldn't make it so will now go visit them. I can't wait and look forward to catching up with them all in Brisbane. yipppeeeeee

Cherelle and Paul's Wedding To Sua Trench 2011

2011-06-30T08:45:00.001+04:00

Getting married

The invitees

Paigeboy Tauilagi with daddy

Paul and his boys waits for the beautiful bride

Rugby players everywhere

2011-06-30T07:34:00.002+04:00

Samoa is swarming with rugby players at the moment. Everywhere we went we were sure to run into one or their families. They were holding trials in Samoa for the Manu Samoa team to play in the Pacific nations and then on to the team for the World Cup. And these players are Samoan guys that play all over the world. Some Samoan born some NZ born. I thought it was nice how some of these players that are successful in their own clubs elsewhere still find it the ultimate to come play for Samoa. But then again the World Cup is the ultimate for any sport I'd say. So at the airport we met up with a few of these guys leaving Samoa unhappy as they didn't make the cut. I was quite surprised for a couple of guys we knew that didn't make it! Like two of the Tuilagi brothers not making the cut!!! They're strong players and hope the team won't suffer without them. Anyway the Rugby Union in Samoa is so corrupt that it's a wonder why these guys waste their time. But then again it's an avenue onto the world stage for most of them. I just hope they beat Fiji at the world cup when they go up against them in the pool games...heh heh

Facebook: a disease

2011-06-30T07:07:00.002+04:00

I've been in Samoa for over three weeks and none of where I stayed had easy access to the internet so when I had the time I stop in at LeSamoa Net at Lotemau Centre and check my email and updated my facebook status. The first week I tried to do this often but mostly to keep in touch with hubby and with sidda from the Waikato who hadn't arrived yet. By the third week it occurred to me that I couldn't care less if I went online anymore because the people that I wanted to be in touch with the most were all in Samoa with us. My immediate family that is. When I got to NZ to my sister's house I went online for awhile to get updated on facebook and realised what a waste of time it was. I mean everyone knows that 'right?' but I thought gee why do I want to know about someone else's day in the sun on the other side of the world and why do I bother updating others about the fresh tuna sashimi I ate last night at Seafood Gourmet to the over-priced nice cold vailimas we bought and happily drank so I could get my kid to swim at the Tanoa pool? I mean who cares? I'm sure two weeks in the desert will make me see the light again but right now what a total waste of time...ia ua lelei...

And for that name which is no part of thee

2011-06-15T09:10:00.000+04:00

If you are a parent you will know the hours and sleepless nights you go through as you try to think of the best name for that expected and loved child that's about to enter the world and become a precious part of your family. Before I even had a baby I had decided that they would get Samoan names. Our language is so unique in the world that a Samoan name will definitely not be very common plus it would be part of my child's identity in the world. I looked at our and my husband's family names and went through our Samoan genealogy to look for that name that would just take my breathe away. As it goes, a lot of my family have used some of the old names that there are three cousins with the same name, so cross those off. And then there were other beautiful names but they were a tongue twister for non-Samoans and they could be translated rudely. Oh yes I thought of my child's future in the school yard when the mean kids make mean stuff up using names. So I loaded my poor mother with this important task, she's well versed with the Samoan culture, is an orator and who better to come up with a name then She:) So it became like a game of one coming up with a name and then we'll find reasons why it wasn't the one. My mum, sisters and I went to have a 4D scan, through a friend who worked for General Electrics that made these machines. We basically were watching a live video of my baby moving about inside my tummy and I was just short of 5 months pregnant! It was an amazing and humbling experience. And we swear he was dancing in the womb! Of course. So later on in the day we went for a walk in the woods and it was just a beautiful day with the sun shining through the trees. It was during this walk that Mum stopped and said "well praise be to God, for all our prayers and hopes have reached heaven, you're going to have what seems to be a healthy baby boy." And born was the name of my son "Ua tau i lagi le fa'amoemoe!" Tau-I-Lagi: Reach The Heavens. And I thought it was just perfect and we could shorten it to Tau. Tau in Samoan is 'to fight' as in a war.
Anyway I got the shock of my life when I found out that another person who is Samoan has named their child after my son's name!!! I find it's a compliment but it's still strange and awkward! Of all the names in the world! We have the same friends as well. Could they not think up another fabulous name? Or at least acknowledge the source?

Whew

2011-06-03T08:40:00.002+04:00

We landed safely on New Zealand soil this arvo. Whew, what a relief! Travelling that distance with a toddler is a dreaded experience almost. It's one of those things that I don't want to go through but have no choice if we wanted to come home and see or families. I decided to crash for one night at my bff's in Dubai to avoid starting the journey at 3am. So Tauilagi and I went a day early to Dubai, relaxed there and commenced the trip the following morning at the sane hour of 1015. We had a nice time in Dubai with our friends and slept late. The next morning Sonny_Tau was so tired that one hour into the flight and he knocked out for over an hour. He woke up to refuel and went back to sleep for about 3-4 hours. I managed to have a snooze and watch movies and read my book. When Tau woke up we went for a walk around the massive A380 aircraft and for him to stretch his legs and play with other kids.

The SYD-AKL leg was different. The aircraft was quite empty so I let Tau go wandering down the aisles by himself as I could see him either way. I was just finishing my book and was so absorbed that I forgot about him for a few minutes. I realised this and ran to look for him and found him at the back entertaining the flight attendants. They were happily chatting to him and when I enquired if all was okay but they weren't fussed. I sat nearby to make sure he was ok otherwise the flight attendants were happy to amuse him as the flight wasn't busy. He fell asleep before landing in AKL.

If you've seen the Trunki suitcases I highly recommend it. Hubby_dearest bought one of these for Tau on one his trips and wow I didn't need a stroller and sonny_Tau was kept busy pulling his trunki along and when he was tired he would sit on it while I pull him. Of course he concentrated on pulling the trunki, never mind the passengers behind him trying to rush by! It's just the best little case for little travellers. My little man was so helpful too, when I got the bags off the carousel I turned to find he had pushed the trolley up to where I was and I didn't have to lug the bags to where he was:) He insisted on pushing the trolley loaded with bags that he can't even see over! He's my little seasoned traveller.

Off on a trip

2011-05-30T09:27:00.004+04:00

Packing
Today I'm packing once more. I absolutely am not enjoying this. I've been ticking off my checklist in my head this whole week but have yet to actually do what I'm supposed to do. Here I am procrastinating on my blog without actually getting my stuff together. In my head I'm packed and ready to go. I can't wait to get to NZ and on to Samoa. I like this country but I think I can take it in small dozes. I need that trip away to reboot the system before coming back to this reality. The schools are now on holidays here in Muscat, it follows the European/US system where this is now the summer holidays. Next term Tau starts at a proper Early Childhood programme at big school. yikes so it's serious business when we come back from the holidays!! Aue to the early mornings for mummy:) Anyway life goes on and this is just another step back in time for me but into the future for my little Tauilagi.
Yearning
I look forward to meeting my little gorgeous nephew Tuifiti in NZ and cuddle my princess niece Moelagi. I'm actually looking forward to sleeping in my sister's guest room or our room that we've always used on our visits! I look forward to chats with my sisters and laughter with my brothers/inlaws. I look forward to eating some fresh green mussels in NZ. I look forward to landing in Faleolo and watch the coconut palms rush up to meet us there surrounded by the heart warming turquoise lagoon of Satapuala and Mulifanua. I look forward to inhaling the salty warm damp air as they open the airplane door.
I look forward to descending down those steps and seeing the smiling friendly faces of the airport staff and some that I've come to know and answering the usual question of "O lea le umi o le lua malaga?-How long's your trip?, A'o fea Aleki? Where's Alex?" I don't know if that's out of pure curiosity or they're just being faikala if the hubby was joining us at all?" Followed by the customs people that will report to me that my travelling mom and sister had just gone through those doors a few day before! I love how these little things remind me that I am back in my small country where everyone knows what everyone else had for breakfast. I look forward to the strumming of the ukulele, guitars and the paka'e(vibrant) voices of the string band that greet you at the arrival terminal. ...
I look forward to greeting my family. I look forward to the bumpy ride back to Apia and hoping to be greeted by some ~~yummy~~ dinner at my brother's. What I don't look forward to is people telling me that I've put on weight and after saying hello follows the question 'Kou ke koe o afea?"- When are you going back? For goodness sakes we've just landed...oh how the green green grass of home beckons me...choo hooo

Busy Month of May

2011-05-29T22:19:00.004+04:00

The first week-end of May was a quiet one. The second weekend we had Tau's 3rd birthday. The third week-end we hosted a farewell do for our dear Swedish friends that are leaving us this year. It was a bitter-sweet occasion as we bid adieu to Ulf & Anette. It was lovely to have known them and wish them all the best in their next venture.
Magic Fans
The very next morning I took a flight to Dubai for friend Jemma's hen do which some of the girls decided to celebrate in Dubai. We can't make their wedding in Australia in two months so the least I could do was go to the hen's night to celebrate Jemma's nuptials-to-be. My bff picked me up from the airport and we headed to Dragon Mart to pick up cooling fans that are magical during summer. Dragon Mart is a big mainly Chinese Mall in Dubai where you can buy everything for a cheap price. It's huge and it has anything you can think of. So some of our friends found these fans that blow mist which cools you down in the heat of the Middle East. Our other friends have one and the things are awesome. It actually gives you the chills when it's 40 degrees outside so of course you're not supposed to sit right in front of it!
So Bff and I headed to this mall and bought us a fan each. I had no luggage so I was going to bring it back on the flight. It wasn't too heavy, just right for my allowed kgs.
Hen Do & Dubai Nightlife
Armed with our fans we went home and got ready for the Hen Do. We headed out to Deira to the Golden Sands apartments where our friends were spending the week-end. We got there in time for the games they organised. It was loads of fun. There were 13 ladies all up. After about 2 hours of games and drinks we cabbed it to the Cuban Club in Jumeira near Boudoir. Yummy dinner, more games and dancing there. The band was awesome until the clock struck 12 and Cinder-Ela couldn't handle the smoky air anymore.
People were freely puffing their ciggies in this enclosed restaurant/club it was disgusting. Let's put it this way, it's 40+ degrees outside so I imagine the club is enclosed to keep the cooled air from the A/C units within the walls. So after inhaling second hand smoke for almost 3 hours my eyes started to water uncontrollably and the mascara was starting to run, thank you ~~nothing to do with the amount of alcohol consumed thus far~~. I ran to the bathroom to get some fresh air and then two dolls came in and lit up in there too!!! Utterly grossed me out and just about ruined my night. I decided then and there that the night was over for this chick at the hen do! I came back to my Bff to find that she too was about to whip out her inhaler due to the smog:( It was not a bad night up to that point. Never mind that I was so in to it that I'm sure they thought I was vulgar though I thought that's how Hen do's are supposed to go!
ANZO white tie and tiara ball
Last week-end was the ANZO white tie and tiara ball in Muscat. Get this it's the Australians and New Zealanders in Organisation in Oman. This is probably the few times these two countries do something together! It was held at the Hyatt Ball room. It was just beautiful. The way they decorated the ball room with candles, white roses and lillies on all the tables. Simply splendid. We were lucky to get tickets as apparently they sell out in minutes. It just happened two people couldn't make it and returned their tickets which we happily scooped up. We shared a table with one Kiwi and friends whom we didn't know till then. Nice bunch of people, we had gone with our friends J & E. After the formal dinner everyone moves around so it worked out. The band and DJ were great so we were on the dance floor as everyone else once the dinner was over and done with. It was just pure fun with some great people. Met up with two SA friends too and one other Kiwi and his English fab wife. Funny how everyone arrives all glam-ed up. The ladies looked beautiful and the men looked smart. After the formal dinner the guys lost their ties and jackets loosened their collars, relaxed and started slugging back those beers. Bahaha Well at least they held it together for 2 hours. I'm sure the staunch Europeans would have shaken their heads and tsked tsked at this sort of behaviour but I guess at the end of the day it's a piss up so why restrict one's airways/throat with the tight 'white' tie! The food was good overall but the main meal which was a piece of rib eye steak was not warm and a bit over-cooked when it got to our tables and our whole table agreed it wasn't the best. Nevertheless that was the only slip but otherwise it was a well-organised event. Kudos to the fab organisers. I'm glad to say I've discovered two fabulous balls in Muscat and those are the Crystal and ANZO balls.

Tauilagi's 3rd birthday party

2011-05-27T22:36:00.000+04:00

We threw Tauilagi's 3rd birthday bash on May 11th well over a month before his actual birthday. Everyone leaves the hot summer heat in Oman in June so I thought we'll have a pre-birthday party so he can enjoy it with his little friends. I had fun organising it and decided to make a pinata which took me all of 6 hours spread out in 3 days. Hubby dearest was in charge of the food while my darling Nets and I did the snacks and goodies for the kids to enjoy. Nets made crispy crackers which were very yummy and I made afghans and then we both made a pagipopo pan each. We froze the dough from the night before so we had less to do the next day. We decorated the house and the garden then got all the stuff ready, fruits and all the nibbles for the kids and adults. Instead of actually paying for professionals I delegated myself to make the balloon models for the kids and Nets to do face painting. Nets was actually really good at her new found job and the face painting was a hit. It was very cute. I made a few balloon swords for the kids to play with and managed to ace the poodle! It's funny that these things can easily be done to make the parties fun without paying an arm and a leg for it. I was lucky to have the doting Aunty Nets help us with the party and so it was loads of fun as we got everything ready. We also organised the pass the parcel game which we forgot to do in the middle of all the fun activities. The Statues game was fun and of course the mums were right into it. We did the pin the tail on the donkey but a cars style one and we didn't do the other ones neither. The week before we bought a small pool so the kids spent about an hour splashing around in the pool. I was worried the it might get boring but with all the stuff we had planned it worked out well. We had the awesome cake which Nets hand carried from Dubai that was Car themed and was really yummy too. The pinata was fun but what I thought was a soft pinata turned out to be a bit hard for the 3-5 year olds to break. I learned a lesson but at least the kids had loads of turns smashing the pinata.
Hubby dearest made mini burgers and honey chicken which were really yummy. Between the three of us I think we could do this for a living! Cocky after one party bahaha. Anyway it was fun and Tauilagi thoroughly enjoyed it and crashed out with his friends Reuben and Quin in his room by 10pm.
A big thank you to my darling in Dubai for coming and for all she did for Tau's party and big hugs for Rich_dearest for letting us borrow his wife for the week-end and the stuff they do for Tau. Thanks also to our friends that made it with their kids and for all the lovely presents Tauilagi got on the day. A very lucky and blessed boy indeed.

Song of the soul

2011-05-25T23:43:00.001+04:00

I'm going through old pictures and videos on my old hard drive and what a roller coaster ride it is. I found pictures of some of my old and some young relatives that have passed on. Photos of old friends whom are still around and some not. Pictures of places that are no more and some that are still the same. However the one piece that brought me to tears and filled me with emotion is a short video from the night one of my sisters gave birth to her daughter. Mum, myself, daddy-to-be and 2 of my other sisters were present for support, so what happened as we waited for the little blessing to make her entrance into the world is we broke into song. We were harmonising in that candle lit room the songs from our grandmother, from our childhood and the old Samoan hymns and songs our mother taught us. It was a pure spiritual moment. Being present in the miracle of the imminent arrival of new life is simply magnificent. Witnessing my own flesh and blood in agonising pain to bring forth this new life while we hummed, prayed and sang in harmony, is an indescribable journey of a lifetime.

Friday

2011-05-06T20:53:00.001+04:00

Today I was woken up by the smell of bacon and eggs, never-mind my son yelling from the doorway, wake up mummy, WAKE UP, then he went to the window and tried to pull the curtains open to let the light in. That did the trick along with the smell from the kitchen. I got out of bed, freshened up and came downstairs to eat up a storm. Our friends who are a family of five came over for the day. There was a rugby and a league game so the boys were glued to the TV all afternoon. I decided to bake some goodies from my newfound favourites and made some afghan cookies that were demolished in no time, we then ordered in, by the time we finished dinner the pagipopo was ready for desert. What a delight. I'm just really happy that I can now make these without a worry. To think about a week ago I would never have thought I could make them. So while we adults were finishing our dinner the three boys went upstairs to play in Tau's room. Next thing that happened was all three boys were locked in the bedroom as we had a spare mattress that somehow had blocked the door from opening into the room. So here we were trying to yell out instructions to the 5 year old in the room to lift the very heavy mattress so we could open the door onto it and help him push the mattress away from the door. So we managed to force a little opening through the door only to see the 2 and 3 year old boys happily sitting on the mattress while Master 5 is trying honestly to push the mattress with all his might. He was so brave and was trying. Eventually dad 1 managed to push the door so hard that the mattress was squashed up and I could slide into the room. By this time, Dad 2 was standing on the balcony outside the bedroom waiting for Master 5 to locate the key and open the balcony door. It was actually such a funny episode. But it's funny how something unsuspecting like that could turn into a tricky situation!

Sa'afiafiga, mo'omo'oga

2011-05-06T03:58:00.001+04:00

Aue, a 'ou va'ai atu i tala a tagata o loo mo'omo'o ai i o latou tina i luga o le foliga tusi, ua lagona ai lava lou fa'anoanoa ma lou fia fo'i i lou aiga i Samoa. A matou talanoa fo'i ma tagata e fa'atatau i o tatou tupu'aga, oute mo'omo'o ai lava i lota toe fia fo'i i taimi ia o ota la'ititi ma 'ou uso, ao ota le mafaufau tetele i tua atu o le olaga fa'atamaititi.
O isi taimi ou te manatua ai lo'u tama, e mo'i na maliu o lima 'ou tausaga ae oute manatua lava ia i taimi sa ia 'aoaoina ai ita, faapea ma le taimi o tata ai ana musika i le LP. O lo'u faanoanoaga e pei ona ma talanoa ai ma se tasi o ou uso ona o aso ua te'a le maliu o le matou tama, sa le mafai, e le sa matou nonofo faatasi, ona ia taliaina taimi matou te autagi ai, pe mo'omo'o ai i lo matou tama. Sa ia taumafai e fai tala malie ina ia matou faagaloina ai lo matou tama. Atonu o lona manatu o le sa'o lea, ae paga lea o le, atili faigata lea ona faagaloina le sa pele ia te au faapea fo'i ita ia te ia.
E alu aso ae sau fo'i aso, ua te'a lota fa'anoanoa tele i ia tulaga, ae le galo lava le mafanafana o le matou mafutaga i le va o lo matou aiga. Ou te tatalo ina ia alofa le Atua ia maua e e o lo'o a'afia pea o latou loto ona oni faanoanoaga i o latou olaga. Soifua

Pagipopo trial

2011-05-03T22:51:00.000+04:00

So I finally got around to trying to make pagipopo myself. These are coconut buns Samoan style. Nets sent me the recipe which one amazing Samoan lady has on her panipopos blog. She makes and posts good ol' Samoan favourites and are just awesome. Her instructions are so clear and down to the T that even an hopeless baker/cook like moi managed to bake pagipopo the first time round..yippee.
I panicked when my dough got stuck to my hands and to the bench I thought I was doing something wrong. Thanks to the top baker in Dubai whom helped me through the 'doughy' bits. So I finally put them in the pan and poured the coconut sauce in only to find the pan was leaking...aaargh. Just my luck of course. I just put the pan on another flat pan and placed it in the oven and hoped for the best. Luckily they turned out well and am SOOOO happy that I can now make these delicacies. I have to make another batch for friends now since the 8 bun one I made today didn't live past our family heh heh.:)

Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T12:00:00.001+04:00

Friday: 11.30 am Muscat time: I've just tuned into the royal wedding coverage on BBC Entertainment and I've already been using tissues thanks to replays of footage of Lady Di and Prince William growing up along with a replay of Kate M's childhood play where they depicted a "William" proposing to her and she said 'yes'... How very romantically coincidental. OMG I'm a victim of the Royal Wedding excitement and looks like my day's booked out. I'm sorry about Alex and his Hurricanes game. Looks like it's recording time for a replay later:)
The Abbey has Maple trees in it that they say in Victorian times depicts Humility and Modesty which they say were Kate's touch:) love it. Can't wait to see Kate M's dress and I wonder if they chose a British designer to make her dress. I would bet on Stella McCartney but then Vera Wang is the famed wedding dress from my limited fashion knowledge. I'm sure Kate M must have received offers from all the big guns for the big day. How exciting. OK off I go to see some more:)
3.44pm what an amazing wedding. So beautiful and the Duchess of Cambridge looked amazing and what a stunning dress befitting the occasion. What fun.

Baking

2011-04-29T11:57:00.001+04:00

When Tau's nana visited recently she baked up a storm. I especially like the afghans she made and thought I should give it a try so I can make it whenever I wanted to. I looked it up on the internet and found the simple recipe for it and checked and had all the ingredients thanks to Tau's nana's baking spree. So I mixed and sifted with help from my 2 year old and popped them in the oven with a prayer. As I was putting the stuff away I moved the sugar to a jar with no label and was making a point to hubby that that was the caster sugar in case he came across it. And he said no that's brown sugar.. I looked in the bin to confirm and sure enough it was blimin brown sugar and the recipe had said CASTER sugar. Just when I thought I couldn't go wrong with such a simple recipe bahaha. hopeless much. Well 12 minutes later I took out afghan looking cookies and put the icing on them topped with walnuts and walaa. Well they must have been good because my darling number 1 fan and chocoholic was munching on them and wanted another. And number 2 fan gave some grunts of approval while eating them so yay to a succesful baking trial:)

Easter Egg Hunt and a Birthday Party

2011-04-22T00:15:00.001+04:00

I decided to be pro-active yesterday and took my son to an easter egg hunt that Busy_bee was having. A local play centre which was nice as this is a Muslim country and it's also run by two Omani ladies. We got there and Tauilagi was excited enough being at the play centre. One of the girls was doing face-painting of bunny faces which was cool and after a while Tauilagi decided he was ready to have his face painted. I waited that long for the Easter egg hunt to start but the same lady that painted faces was the one in charge of the hunt. After a lot of the mums asked about the hunt, she then made her way to with a bag of chocolate eggs and just hid them all around the room in plain view from everyone!! It was hilarious. Well needless to say the 7-8 year olds remembered exactly where she hid them so got the most eggs. So I just helped Tau along to find a couple and he was happy and so was I but was getting irritated with one 8 year old that every time I discovered one hiding place and was coaxing Tau to the area to 'find' them himself, this little s*&t would reach over and grab it under my nose with no excuse me. I had to hold myself back from slapping her hand for being rude and also for having no patience for younger kids! Anyway Tau didn't need the sugar high that would just keep me awake.
Today we went to a birthday party that Tau was invited to. The dad was hubby's colleague and friend. Well the birthday was HUGE. The theme was Woody from Toy Story. I tried to put a cowboy looking shirt on Tau as I had prepped him by saying he's going to dress like Woody. Well once he saw the clothes were not the same as Woody's. This birthday had outdone the others we've been to.colour he rightly refused. I only just managed to pin a 'sheriff' star on his shirt as we headed into the party and even that he threw a fuss over. Little monkey can't be forced into anything he doesn't agree with. So off we went in his 'island style' shorts and polo shirt. Well smart on his part he wasn't as hot as all the other cowboys and cowgirls that were in jeans and vests. They had a pony in their yard for the kids to ride on, a hot dog and pop corn stand. There was a trampoline and swing set that kept a lot of the kids occupied. There must have been about 30 kids of different ages at the party and about that many parents as well. It was a fun party for all and the pinata was awesome but only Tau and few had a turn before it broke. That part wasn't cool as there were many kids that hadn't had a turn and some were in tears for a bit before the goodies from the pinata made them forget about not hitting the pinata at all. All in all I say the party was a success and I had fun with friends as well.

Happy Easter

2011-04-21T23:44:00.000+04:00

It's Easter and it makes me miss home. I miss going with my family to church. I miss choosing to attend the Catholic church on Palm Sunday and then on Good Friday due to their dramatic services that really makes one's imagination of what it might have been like run wild. I miss the singing in our usual church. I miss seeing everyone walking to church in white or in the their Sunday best and back again collectively looking forward to the big toona'i on Sunday and asking each other what the main of the day was going to be. I miss visiting the old people of the family and having a laugh with them. I miss what once was my HOME.

The Taupous Debut Appearance at the Hong Kong 7s 2011

2011-04-05T17:25:00.000+04:00

A thief in our midst

2011-03-18T14:06:00.001+04:00

I've had a really bad few days: mood wise. Two girl-friends who were at odds with each other for awhile now finally came head to head this week. We're all friends but they were inseparable. However when I became better friends with them, cracks were already showing in their relationship and it finally boiled over last week. I just kept telling them that they have to sit down and talk about it. Anyway so it finally came to a point where both were telling me why the other was so and so...I felt like I was dealing with school girls. So after listening patiently I decided I didn't need this and told them I was taking a break from them until they settled their differences. This is just not working out and I'd rather enjoy friends then play dodge the other. It's made me sad as my son and their kids are friends too but I really had to give them a break in the past week so they can sort out their own troubles and not get me involved.
It brings me to the subject of how some people lie to make themselves look better in light of something not so nice that they'd done. If you don't know them well you don't know they're lying until you hear conflicting retelling of the same stories later. So I think what the heck move on out if you think lying makes you feel/look good.
Some girl friends and I are going to Hong Kong next week to the sevens. The hubbies were supposed to come along but it just didn't work out with their leave so a girls trip it will be. We've been planning our costumes for the sevens and now I almost have all of my outfit ready for the sevens and really can't wait. So I went to the tailor to pick up my gear and then just to make sure they fit I dropped into a friend's house to try them on as they live near the tailor. My friend's maid we've gathered has been stealing money from them as well as from us! So ever since we found this out I've been careful with my handbag when I go to their house. I now basically leave my bag locked in the car. Usually I take the keys with me when we're in the garden or whereever around their house. However on this day I just left the keys by the door and went in. To cut the story short when we came in to the house and sat in the lounge I heard the front door close. I was a bit jumpy wondering why the door would close when we're all sitting in the lounge. Weirdly enough I immediately thought of the car keys and my bag in the car but thought I was being crazy. Anyway when it was time to leave I went straight for my bag and looked through it and found that the money I had there in my purse was gone!!! And I know it was there because I had just bought some material from a shop on the way to the tailor and then to my friend's house. I knew all along how much money was in there as I had to pay the tailor for my gear! I was so hurt and angry. This is the same maid whom I help any way I can. I let her look after my son whenever so I will pay her extra money and many other things however ever since we realised that she's been stealing I haven't invited her around anymore. That night I felt violated and fooled by her. I was so angry and so upset that it ruined any excitement I had that day. Unfortunately it carried on to the next day. I was so down yesterday to the point of feeling sick. In case you think I'm crazy she had stolen from me before. And it's not little money she steals some big notes:( My visiting friend eventually revealed to me that she had money stolen from her bag too when she stayed with us and only this maid/friend was here that day. So I'm determined to catch her red-handed and then confront her about it someday. In the meantime I'm not going around there anymore.

Samoan Election Results and Oman Protests

2011-03-06T12:27:00.001+04:00

There are now two parties in power in Samoa which is a great outcome of yesterday's elections. There are about 12 members in the opposing Tautua party so that gives it less chances of it dissolving if some of them are disqualified for whatever reason.
In Oman people here and there continue to protests. We just heard that the Oman Air staff were now protesting in from of the Oman Air headquarters in Seeb! On Friday, when we were driving back home along the ministry street we saw a group of Omanis about 20 men gathering near NBO with what looked like a banner as if they were about to march. I guess it must have been more protests of sort. Further down the road there were two big army vehicles parked on the road side as if protecting the protest but also on guard in case violence broke out. It seems the people are now protesting in peace with no more violence since last week in Sohar to everyone's relief. Hubby is going to the UK for a week for work so hmm it will be interesting being here on our own in the midst of this. I just have to get a one way ticket somewhere in case s&*^ hits the fan but right now I'm not worried. However the Sultan has replaced two ministers with others in accordance to what the people want which is huge. These ministers have been in power for a long time. I wonder if this sort of thing will lead to civil unrest and re-awaken the tribal factions that may lead to war between the tribes. But then again the Omanis today seem like such peaceful people that don't like altercations so maybe that era is passed? And then there's the fact that they like to own guns and so a lot of people own guns of sorts which is normal but will those come in handy in these times or am I being a pessimist? We will see.
The weather is quite unusual today starting yesterday where it looks like it's going to rain and it's very dreary. It's already drizzled, by drizzling I mean just a drop here and there and then it stops. We'll see what today holds.

Elections in Samoa

2011-03-05T19:06:00.000+04:00

It's election time in Samoa at the moment and voters went to the polls today. There are two main political parties vying for government, the reigning HRPP and wavering Tautua party. HRPP have been in power for about 20 years and in their last ruling the one opposition party in parliament at the time dissolved because they could not agree on anything really which left the opposition party with under 8 members which under the constitution meant there was no party. Moreover according to the law no party can be formed after the elections by any members of parliament. So it's a foolproof law to protect the ruling party. So our country has been a one party state for the past four years and a lot was done with no one to oppose some interesting law changes and implementations. The road switch occurred which cost the country unnecessarily but it went smoothly and now there are cheaper cars in Samoa, some quite old but affordable for the masses. The land laws have been altered to give power to the local residents to do as they please with family land. I think now foreigners can buy land in Samoa which wasn't allowed before. A casino bill was passed to allow casinos in Samoa to a lot of people's dismay.

Currently the Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele will win again at these elections due to the fact that he's the only candidate from his electorate. A new law gives the pulenuu or mayor of the village the power to qualify a candidate for elections due to their contribution to the village. It turns out that two candidates that contested the PM's seat were disqualified by the pulenuu due to their lack of contribution to the village in the past. On Samoa Observer, one of the disqualified candidates complained that he had been contributing to the village through his mother who confirmed this! So am not sure if this is very democratic or honest but personally I think this method allows for corruption as the mayor can make a call in favour of whom he chooses to stand for elections. So if the mayor gets handouts of sorts from one chief he would happily make sure there's no contest for that candidate to ensure an easy win! A very controversial rule if you ask me.
Well who-ever wins I hope they're good to Samoa but mostly I hope there are two parties in the new government to keep some sort of a balance. Good Luck Samoa

Moreover in Samoa the village fono of chiefs who are head of families make a lot of decisions and some of these decisions is informing the village that they should vote for a certain candidate. So if a family decides to defy the village and vote for someone else then they face eviction from the village or their home being burnt down. What boggles the mind is, how do people know who one votes for when you're basically in the booth for yourself! That means people come out and tell everyone who they voted for and face the fate decided by the village.

As politics go, those in power for so long lose sight of the realities of the people and just play their games. My hope for the current elections is not for one party to win, but for TWO parties to have representation in parliament so there is a proper discussion

Welcome to Oman

2011-03-02T17:38:00.000+04:00

So hubby had the day off today and I seized the opportunity to escape the 'mummy_dom' for an afternoon and do what 'I' want to do. I went to pay our bills first and the office closes at 1pm but I got there at 12.55pm and the Omani girls behind the counter were very patient with the few of us that arrived at the same time and let us get our bills and pay. I was left by myself with the two Omani ladies processing my transaction, I decided to be faikala(nosy) and ask for inside views on the current situation in Oman. I asked any news from Sohar(where the protests(vandalism) were a few days ago) and one of the girls laughed and said. I don't know I haven't read the paper today. I said so you haven't heard anything further about any more protests? And she laughed and said, "After work I'm going home to sleep." and laughed and I laughed along cos I thought that was such a funny reaction. She was dismissing the Sohar fiasco as a waste of time. I loved it. The other lady then asked me where I was from. I said New Zealand just so I don't have to stand there and give a geography lesson about Samoa and she said which is a very common thing here, she said "Welcome to Oman." with a big smile. That encompasses the feeling of the people here towards us expats. They're friendly and welcoming. I walked out of there with a warm glow from such an interesting exchange with these lovely local ladies.
I decided to go to my favourite spa for a massage because I had a sore shoulder plus I think I deserve it! I got the lovely Rose from Thailand, boy this woman knows what she's doing. She worked my muscles and cracked my bones to relief. It was such a lovely way to spend my free hour. I then went to Shatti beach to have a coffee and read the paper there in peace. It was business as usual at Shatti beach, filled with people out to relax and enjoy the afternoon sun and breeze.
I sat in one corner and updated myself from Oman Times. it reported that there was a march yesterday at 4pm at the Grand Mosque of people showing their support for the Sultan. People had flags and posters saluting to His Majesty and his wise leadership of this country. About 4000 people attended and it was a peaceful march from the Grand Mosque to the high way. The police were present to divert the traffic away from the march. In another story, they had pictures from Sohar at the globe roundabout that things were back to normal there. There's military presence to secure the area. I hope this is it for these flare ups here. This country doesn't need this headache. The sultan has done such a great job bringing this country from nothing to what it is today. The highways is one way that shows the development in this country. Every year when there's an inconveniece on one road, immediately work is done to widen the road and recently a new highway was opened to relieve the Sultan Qaboos highway of congestion.

Flowers

2011-03-02T01:29:00.000+04:00

I'm a slave to the flowers phenomenon. I love receiving flowers whether it's from winning something, from my hubby to receiving a squashed one from my 2 year old son. So I found out one of my friends was sick I decided to go visit her and ordered her a bunch of flowers. She was at home so we went to her's knocked on the door and when she saw the flowers she was teary eyed and was so happy. I was happy to see that look on her face and was glad that I did that. Obviously she liked flowers as much as I did. We had a nice afternoon visiting with them.
On our return to our house I discovered the biggest floral arrangement on our dining table to my utmost surprise. For a second I thought my husband with my talk about flowers this morning went and ordered me the flowers. But low and behold the flowers were from our gardener!!! This is the same gardener that I'd decided to fire last week. Hubby dearest made me feel so guilty about letting the guy go that I told him he was rehired and to keep coming back! Hubby said the gardener tried to explain in his limited English that the flowers were from his brother's party or something or other... I was just surprised and loved it. I teased hubby that he should be worried that those were the most roses I'd received since we got married! Anyway flowers are another way to a woman's heart for sure.

Oman today

2011-03-02T01:09:00.000+04:00

On March 1st I searched the internet and tuned into every channel imaginable that could have news on any more protests in Oman but there was nothing. I called friends around the place and no one heard anything interesting. There were supposed to be a gathering at the grand mosque at 4pm in support of the Sultan but I didn't hear anything about it. My son and I went to visit a sick friend and everything seemed normal on that side of Muscat that we planned to go to Shatti beach in the afternoon for our kids to play.
We went to Shatti Beach and found it as usual. It was easy to find a park so I guess it wasn't as busy as usual. So we set up on the beach with out mat, chair and toys for the kids. We'd been there about half an hour when I saw and Omani guy in football gear amongst the many that were there drag a goal post to one side of us. I realised that we were then sitting in the middle of a make shift football pitch. I started to fume and anticipating the confrontation with the person that was going to ask us to move. Eventually this English guy(judging from his accent) out of all the Omanis that were there came up and said "could you please move up the beach because we're about to play" before we could say anything he added, "we've been playing here for 25 years so there's nothing you could do about it". I had enough, I said " well we got here first and there's more beach for you to play on" and he said we've been playing here for 25 years. My friend was saying so what man, we're here to enjoy the beach in peace, and I added "it's not our fault that we weren't here 25 years ago but this is a public beach." I couldn't be arsed so we started to move away and this one English guy is basically helping/forcefully moving us along. I was voicing my unhappiness loudly and he kept saying sorry, it's just the way it was. Hilarious. It was like the one token white guy was used to come approach the other outsiders to move away from their chosen spot. And to top it off they're just amateur footballers killing time in the arvo. Grow up guys, your respectable countries ain't going to call on you to come represent your countries any time soon, that boat sailed a while back! Anyway needless to say quietly I was thinking if all these guys are here playing football then they're not out there protesting!

Tragedy in Christchurch

2011-03-01T00:38:00.000+04:00

Reminiscent of the tsunami that hit Samoa almost two years ago was my experience of when I found out of the earthquake in Christchurch. I was so scared for my families and friends down there. Only five months ago there was an earthquake there but no one was hurt and this time immediately afterward they reported 65 people had died. It was a sad sad day for New Zealand. I was so scared for my families as I tried frantically to get through to them or to other families that may have heard from them. 24 hours later we heard from all of them that they were okay including one of my best friend's parents who normally worked in the city and amazingly they were in Wellington to visit their other daughter when the earthquake devastated Christchurch. As sad as it is, there are some beautiful stories of people and their heroic efforts to help others out of the rubble and lots of New Zealanders are offering their homes to those that need a place to live for the time being. So far 145 people have been confirmed dead with 200 still missing or unaccounted for. The iconic cathedral steeple in Christchurch has collapsed along with a lot of iconic buildings in the city. I'm just thankful that I heard from all of my family and friends and pray for those who've lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Christchurch holds a special place in my heart as I went to Lincoln University after high school to pursue a commerce degree. It was there I made a lot of great friends in Christchurch and met a lot of my family there. I love Christchurch as a city and from those days Crusaders is the team I support in the Super 15 tournament. One of my friends put on his status that their house is no more but at least their family of 3 escaped and are looking to rebuild. "Rise Up Christchurch"

Protests in Oman!?

2011-03-01T00:26:00.001+04:00

There are reports of more protests in Muscat aside form the ones in Sohar yesterday where supposedly 2 people were killed. A Lulu supermarket was supposedly burnt and looted along with a police station and cars. I seriously hope it doesn't spread to Muscat.

Revolution all around us

2011-02-28T23:30:00.000+04:00

Amazing occurrences in Tunisia and Egypt, managing to oust their dictators for their own freedom to choose for the people. Now Bahrain are still in protest but for what exactly I'm not sure. I think the people want more representation in the government. It's been interesting watching all this happening around us. Iranians are also protesting to their leader's dismay and the Libyans are well on their way to getting rid of Gaddafi and his corrupt regime though Gaddafi is killing the protesters to stop the inevitable from happening. The question remains though like that in Egypt and Tunisia, now that the past dictators have been ousted: what next? I just saw footage on BBC today of Egypt being awfully quiet with no tourists! We were there in 2006 and the place was crawling with tourists. Will the people settle and elect a government that could lead Egypt into a better future?

Camping

2011-02-19T20:41:00.001+04:00

Last week-end, our friends asked if we were keen to go camping and we weren't sure at first then decided it would be a good idea. Hubby bought an 8 man tent almost 2 years ago and we hadn't gotten around to using it yet. Later that day we went and bought sleeping bags from Sultan Centre which is usually THE camping store in Oman. I also went to Carrefour which had kids sleeping bags to get one for Tau along with the Chinese mats that come in handy. So early Wednesday morning we were up and started packing. My 1pm we were on our way to meet our fellow campers and by 1330 we were on our way to Fins beach just past the Sink Hole after Quriat. The new highway got us there in just under two hours it was awesome. However I missed the lovely ocean drive along with going through the Omani villages. I guess it's good for the villages now that the nosy tourists and campers don't disturb their peace in our 4wds and prying eyes and cameras! Nevertheless we got there safely and found the usual spot our friends go to was taken so we stopped not far from there and cleared the area. There was a landcruiser and trailer that was parked on the beach obviously the owners were out fishing. As we were setting up our tents we notice the other patrons leaving so we moved our cars along with our tents and carried the tents across the beach about 300 metres to the ideal spot with the better sandy beach and a bit of elevation of the water's edge. It was perfect after clearing rocks and H built the fire pit and we set up like a little village with our tents in a semi circle and the eating and cooking tent in the middle of the malae. It was beautiful. We relaxed and watched the kids play as the sun set and the moon was already making it's way across the sky. Our friend's dog we took along was so excite it just kept barking at the water's edge and play in the water. The temperature was beautiful but as dusk came the temperatures started to drop and it got quite cold. The boys got the fire roaring as we sat around and sipped some medicinal drinks(beer/wine/rum for some) until one by one we bid adieu and went off to huddle in the warmth of our sleeping bags and tents.

Another couple our friends and their son drove over to see us in the evening, hoping to hang out and then head back to the city without knowing that it was a two hour drive plus the new highway is not well lit up just yet, so we made sure they would stay behind though they didn't bring any camping gear we managed to get some blankets/mattress and since we had an 8 man tent with a partition we fit nicely in the our big tent no problems. I think they got too cold though so I heard them turn on their car so they could keep warm in the early hours of the morning. I felt so bad for them but we gave them all we could but they were okay the next morning.

There was loads of food to go around for breakfast. The men went for a swim with all the kids in the morning. The water was quite cool but the kids enjoyed it. Later we all took turns taking the kids to play in the sand, collect shells, explore the corals and the bushes near the beach. At around 12 the sun was quite warm now, I had fun relaxing on the beach getting a tan and reading my book and chatting with my friends and making sure we could see where all the kids were. I then went for a swim when the water was quite refreshing and contrasted the hot sun on the surface. We then had another nice meal. We were not short of food at all! After lunch the kids kept on playing on the beach and then we decided it was time to pack up and leave as the sun was very hot then and before it got dark on the road. We all packed as a group and by 5pm we were home.

It was a fun night and I wish we had more than one night out there. It was also with such a good group, we were all quite relaxed and if one family forgot something someone else had it. It was really nice and I really look forward to doing it again:)

Onemana

2011-01-13T18:51:00.000+04:00

We arrived in Auckland and my hubby's parents were awaiting us at the airport which was awesome for us especially for our little man who was very excited to see his nana and papa. We waited around for our friends from Dubai who were landing shortly after us and also to have a coffee and a breather. They arrived, we caught up quickly which was really cool and then made our way to a cousin's house who was hosting us that weekend. It was really nice meeting more people on my hubby's side and putting faces to the names. Sonny_boy had a ball with his cousins.
Mom arrived and we made our way to Onemana beach in the Coromandel before Christmas. The bach we booked on bookabach.co.nz was just awesome. It was walking distance to the beach and the place itself was immaculate with everything you could think off right down to a dish washer! That was Christmas for me just seeing that! They even had cleaning liquids and other necessities which made life easy for us. It took us 30 minutes to settle in before the rest of the family arrived and then we all hit the beach before it got too cold. Onemana is just breathtaking. It was quiet serene and just gorgeous. Near us was the one convenient store and by the big beach was a playground so that kept our little ones busy for hours along with playing on the sand and swimming.

Bangkok 2010

2011-01-03T11:32:00.001+04:00

We left Oman on December 13th, 2010. We stopped over in Bangkok on the way for three days. We stayed in Soi 33 which was really clean and had access to a lot of things. We stayed in serviced apartments called the Adelphi Grande which was awesome. Clean and lots of room and it had a nice pool with very helpful and friendly staff. Nearby is the train station so we had access to a lot of things and the shopping is off the hook. The MBK mall has everything from overpriced global stuff to locally made and knock-off goods. It was great and of course bargaining was part of the shopping experience.
We met up with a lovely Samoan lady friend who lives in Singapore but was in Thailand to visit her husband, she came to Bangkok to meet us. It took her a four hour car ride and some due to the heavy traffic in Bangkok but she made the effort due to the pure Samoan instinct of wanting to get in touch and connect with other Samoans in a foreign land. It's amazing where-ever we are we do that due to that common denominator of being Samoan! We started off at dinner in a nice restaurant in Soi 31 and strolled around and noticed that the bars had some illustrious names such as Lookie Lookie, Hooker, Shakers, Peep Inn!!! hmmm I guess it doesn't leave much to the imagination. So Lookie Lookie caught our eye as it had outdoor tables and we decided to just order some drinks and not dare 'peep in'. Well the 'waitresses' were friendly as they came out to play with Tau and pinch his cheeks and keep him entertained while we sat down for a drink!! It was a quiet night so there were only a handful of clients who came in for a drink or two and then left again shortly afterwards. The waitresses invited us to come inside the bar and I said not if they have a 'show' and they said no it's just a bar! So we decided to go in and play pool and there was no one else around par for the 10 'waitresses' milling around the place. So we settled in the back corner and played pool even my two year old played pool and the girls just kept coming over to dance with Tau and marvel over him!!! And the show bunny my son is didn't let them down, he was dancing away to the music with the ladies!! I didn't mind he was entertained and we were happily playing pool with all these ladies at our beck and call! Eventually my little one settled in his stroller and went to sleep while the three of us kept on playing till the bar manager asked to order our final drinks as it was closing down time!! So we left Lookie Lookie bar very happy with a tired toddler in tow. Our hotel was a stone throw away so hubby and my son went to bed while my friend and I went to her room and chatted until dawn broke and we decided to join the business people for the early morning breakfast. After breakfast I stumbled into bed and slept fitfully for 4 hours and then got up to join my friend for a nice Thai foot and shoulder massage around the corner!! What a fun spontaneous time with our friend and then happily got on the next flight to Auckland while our friend got picked up by her driver to go back home to her hubby.
So this is what happens when four Samoans meet up in a foreign city, we dine, we wine, we talk till we drop then we get a massage if affordable down the street:)

Kathmandu, Nepal

2010-11-01T10:09:00.000+04:00

Short trip & Birthdays

2010-10-22T13:22:00.000+04:00

Tomorrow we're going to try and catch a flight a new destination and we all can't wait to do it. yippee.
We went to one of Tau's friend's birthdays and had a fabulous time. The kids did and so did the adults. The hosts were so organised so plenty of food to eat and drinks. It was fun. Tau and his friends had a nice time. We came home and I found that I left the front door unlocked!!! I freaked out a bit and went in to see the TV and other things were still in the house so no one waltzed in and help themselves when we were gone. Then I found that the back porch door was unlocked as well!!! Hubby had grilled stuff on the BBQ and forgot to lock the door! Oops. Just hope that won't happen again! Oh and when hubby got home there was a car that ran into our skip out front!!! How he did that is beyond us because the skip is safely off the road! The guy after bumping the skip got lodged into the barriers that are there to protect the new drains so good luck. We saw the police out there and the car was from Abu Dhabi..good luck.

Sleepless in Muscat

2010-10-19T01:59:00.000+04:00

Due to my over consumption of treated red grapes (in other words red wine) from Spain last night and my early work out this morning, I was really tired. I dropped Tau to nursery came home made brekkie with hubby_dearest before he went to work and I to bed! I slept till it was time to pick up my son from nursery. Boy that was a good sleep too. I picked my son up from nursery and brought him home fed him and self lunch and then took him for his afternoon nap. I read my book and next thing I was fast asleep next to him again!! We woke up around 4pm!!! So we came downstairs, I made pasta with salmon baked in the over. It was a yummy meal after a whole day of sleeping. So now hubby_dearest and our son are asleep and I can't sleep! I watched Sex and the City the movie and boy that was good. I was in tears when Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big had their altercation on the street! It was full of raw emotion and it was played really well. Gotta love a good ~~love~~ story.
Tomorrow I have to get curtains for our three windows that exposes us to the outside world. OK my son's room doesn't have curtains either. We've yet to hang them up:( I know slack but well don't have the tools and blah blah I just have to get the professionals to come hang it up along with putting in new ones. I also have to make a trip to a plant nursery to get some more plants for our garden. I want some colour-ful leaved plants out there to break the green. I love our little Eden within our gates.
Driving in Muscat is still the same: Crazy. It's a game of who quits first or risk having your car bumped, scratched or plain CRASH! Nevermind if you're in the correct lane they would run you off the lane just to be one car in front! What's wrong with merging in an orderly fashion. aaarggh. This city is growing fast and the roads aren't equipped to hold the number of cars on the road but then this could be said about a lot of cities in the world. Speaking of which we happen to live off a busy road which is quiet at night and there's a bend in the road not far from our current location. Last month, three nights in a row there were accidents on that bend. They happened late at night and I was sleeping in the front room and I could hear screech of tyres and a thud at the end as the car hit the lamp post, the next one hit the plastic barriers on the side of the road. Since then they've put temporary indicators on the side of the road to mark the bend and I haven't heard any crashes since. On that note I'm off to bed and hope to join the dreamworld soon.

Covert blogging

2010-10-18T13:06:00.003+04:00

So I tried to hide a fact in one of my blogs and the person I was writing about knew straight away I was talking about them! So much for my covert blogging! Not that I really tried. Just venting really.
I made it to the exercise class this morning. As I dragged my feet along the beach all I could think of was the nice Spanish shiraz that I delightedly punished myself with the night before. I congratulated myself for getting up for the exercise session but in between rubbing the cobwebs from my eyes I also advised myself not to do that again the night before running up and down the beach trying to get fit! Boot Camp has been so much fun, exercising as the sun comes up in the morning and making friends with fellow unfit boot campers has been a blast. Next week is the last week of Boot Camp and am sad about it but I've also signed up for the next session. I figured if I can't drag my lazy bum to the gym then I might as well do this first thing three mornings a week.
Lee Child
I've read Echo Burning by Lee Child, a Jack Reacher novel. I must say this guy is really good with his writing and I find it enjoyable. I'm now reading the latest ones I'm onto '61 hours' and have 'Worth Dying For' to go next. I'm into reading at the moment once more and really enjoying it. I like getting lost in books. I read 'Hard Girls' by Martina Cole and boy does she waffle on about crap. Like describing over and over that the heroine was 'old, wrinkly, long in the tooth, everything sagging' I mean WTF. I skipped a lot of parts due to repetition about the age of the heroine amongst other things!!!

Slacking off

2010-10-17T23:29:00.005+04:00

I have training in the morning but tonight we went to friends for some drinks and dinner. I have it in that order because that's how it was. We had a lovely time but I have training early tomorrow and I had about a whole bottle of red wine to myself as one friend was pregnant and one didn't drink! Anyway here we are at home and am tired and about to go to bed.

Chile Miners rescue

2010-10-13T21:34:00.005+04:00

It's nice to hear that the Chilean miners are being rescued as I type this. However the funniest twist is when one of the miners' wife found out there was another lady waiting for her husband. It turned out the lady was her husband's mistress!!! So as the Daily Mail reports this miner is "stuck between a rock and a hard place" ha ha. I'm sure he's well aware he's in deep s*&^ when he gets out. Now the wife has decided that she won't go to the site to wait for her philandering husband because the husband asked for her and the mistress to be there when he gets out. He's a real winner...not.

Mad morning

2010-10-13T15:15:00.004+04:00

This morning my alarm went off and I must have stopped it instead of snoozing it that I woke up again and the time was 5.33am! I was so disappointed in myself as I thought I missed the Boot camp training this morning. Then I thought hold on it's not too late to catch some of it. I quickly got dressed, brushed teeth and ran out to the car and drove towards the beach. Lucky I'm not too far from the beach so was there within 10 minutes. So I was about 30 minutes late but I made it in time to do most of the self test and the rest of the exercises. It felt good and was happy to have made it. It's a good start to the day. When I got home hubby and sonny were fast asleep and was told that Tau didn't sleep well so I snuggled in after my shower and was knocked out. I woke up a few hours later refreshed and went out to the Women's Guild group coffee to get my new card and tickets for the Crystal Ball next month. I'm really looking forward to the ball and praying that Alex gets the day off so we can go:)
I sat down in the few seats available and met two ladies who were both new to Muscat. One from Germany who lived in Spain and one from Australia but grew up in England. It was nice to also run into an old friend who now has a gorgeous six month old baby girl called Rose and her mum whom I also met a few years ago. It was nice to see them and plan to catch up again. Meanwhile Tau was running around making new friends in the coffee shop with the waiter and two other little girls there. The local people are really very nice with kids and Tau being the little charmer that he is always charms his way into people's good graces. The waiter came to carry him out of the shop and said bye bye. So cute.
We went to Dubai on the week-end with Alex who had to be there for a week. Tau and I came back on the Friday and he insisted on pulling our one bag. It was about 17kgs but he's pulling this thing. So I just walk ahead pushing the trolley with his car seat and making sure he's following me. People stopped and stared and smiled and this little boy pulling the bag that was heavier than he was!!! It was so funny and I'm sure they were probably thinking I was so hard to let him do that lol. We got home ok and Oman Air staff in business were really nice. I love the hot meals in business between here and Dubai so will make sure we do it again next time:)

Reproducing and adoption Samoan style

2010-10-12T14:37:00.002+04:00

I've been absolutely rubbish at updating my blog. I'm really disappointed in myself for it. So I hope to improve though do not hold your breathe. So happy news in the family my sister is pregnant with their second child, my brother's fiance is carrying their third child(he has three from a previous marriage) and then everyone looked at me to be the bearer of the 26th grandchild to my mother: and I said considering the way the others are reproducing I'm sure someone else will will cover that number. Sure enough one of my sister-in-laws is carrying their fifth child(this same brother has other kids from previous relationships) so I think my family has far exceeded the kids quota though I do want another child. What I don't understand is how people who struggle manage to just keep having babies when they can barely afford to send the other kids to school. Funny thing is I heard my Mom tell my sister-in-law and brother last time we were in Samoa to consider family planning and focus on giving the current live kids the best education and everything and they both agreed and said of course they're not having anymore kids. Well good luck, 3 months later they're pregnant!! I thought it was hilarious when I heard the news. Though the poor sods weren't laughing when they found out.. but nevermind, in Samoa every child is wanted and will be looked after by someone or other. Of course in this case my brother and his wife are doing the looking after of the soon-to-be five kids!!! with all our help of course, because it takes a village/extended family to raise a child.
Which reminds me, when we were in Samoa and stayed in the village for my hubby's tattoo, every family in the neighbourhood had a kid that was someone else's that the grandma, aunties/uncles were raising. The house behind us had an 17 year old boy that lived with his grandma. The grandma proudly told me that his eldest son 'gave' her his eldest son to be her baby and companion. I didn't get that! I asked the others about it and they said at first the kids parents were both working in Pago and had no one to look after their first born so they brought the baby to grandma to look after till they settled. However they now have six more kids and decided back then that the eldest is best to stay on his his nana!!! The boy seemed well-rounded and normal. A good looking boy too. I wondered about this set-up for days, if the couple ever missed their eldest son or wanted him back or questioned their decision? I don't know and would never know. But the said boy is now a young man and will soon have a family of his own!
In the house we were staying at there was a similar case though the boy that was living there was the only son of the couple that left him! Apparently he was left there too because the parents travelled alot for their work but when they came to take the boy back he didn't want to go. So they took him anyway but apparently the boy would not settle with them as he wanted to come back to his nana that raised him. The kid is now 19 and lives happily with his nana, uncle/aunty and their kids. The story goes that one week in his final year at school, he got up as if going to school and headed up to the plantation and came back with crops and things for dinner that day. At the end of the week when his uncle asked why he was doing that and he said "school is not for me, I want to work to look after the family." So they tried to talk some sense into him but the boy had made his decision and he wasn't budging. When we were there this kid was the backbone of the family as in he looked after the family plantation and worked the land for their food. And if ever I needed some coconuts of papayas this kid would deliver by the end of the day! During our time there I noticed he was an honest, hard working and very relaxed kid. He was pleasant to be around and a very calm soul at that. I think he'd make a great chief one day, but in the meantime he's working his way there.

Update

2010-10-11T09:13:00.002+04:00

Villa
At the end of July we found and moved into a villa which has a nice small garden and one car garage though both cars can fit inside the gate. We've been here for almost three months now and it's great. The A/Cs were noisy at first but the maintenance were quick to service them. One is still noisy but we hardly use it so we don't bother. We've had a few BBQs here which have been fun. It just shows how much we missed out on entertaining since we didn't have the space before. Tau is enjoying the outdoors more as the weather improves.
Austria
At the end of August, Tau and I travelled to Austria to visit my sister there. We were there for two weeks and what a lovely time we had. We flew to Munich where my sister picked us up from and two hours later we were in Mondsee. The weather there was great plus the views and the greenery made it divine. Every day we did something fun for Tau not to get bored. Plus we could use the pool so we swam almost every day for the first week as the sun was shining and the pool was just perfect. We would go down by the lake for Tau to play at the playground there some days. We went to the Salzburg Zoo when another friend came from Vienna with her two boys to see the animals. Tau loved it and we all had a nice time. We went swimming at the Bad Ischl thermal Baths and it was lovely, newly renovated pools and it was well designed with about 5 pools to choose from. There was a lazy river too and it was lovely. There were quite a few people but it didn't feel crowded. It was a nice way to spend a rainy day. I loved the sensation of the cold rain splattering on my face while immersed in the warm water. Tau had a nice time and so did 7 year old Oliver who didn't want to leave. One of the days we went by a creek for the boys to dig and play with their buckets. We wore boots but we all got soaked in the feet. It was fun and something different to do.
Boot Camp
About four weeks ago I signed up for Boot Camp here in Muscat. Two South African guys are running it and it's just been fantastic. On the first day they made us run about 800 metres down the beach and I almost blacked out and walked most of the way. I was so unfit it was tiring and disgusting.
This morning I managed to run the 800 metres where we do the stretches and then run back again:) It's great that I'm a lot fitter and it's been fantastic. This class runs three times a week and I go to the one at 5.30am! Yep, me miss sleepy head actually get up at 4.30am and go to Shatti beach to exercise. It's a great group of people and it's just a nice thing to do rather than sit around and just put on weight!
This morning though there was a large group of men jogging from one end of the beach towards us. It was amazing there must have been over a 100 of them in uniform. We think they were the local police cadets in training. Just a cool sight though. It's also really cool to see so many Omanis out exercising in the morning. Most of them are older men and couples. It's great to see people working out, and the feeling's contagious.
Commonwealth Games
Samoa has won three gold medals and one bronze so far in Delhi India. It's very exciting for Samoa.

From Austria with love

2010-09-23T10:16:00.000+04:00

Villa hunting

2010-07-09T13:56:00.002+04:00

We're looking at moving to a villa(house in Oman). I went searching last month since we got back from Samoa. We finally found a really nice one that met what we wanted and within our budget. It was up to our company and the agent then to write up the appropriate documents and all and then we get to move in. Well we were happy and awaiting move in dates however we also realise that in this country nothing is straight forward. Sure enough we followed up this week and the agent was being elusive. We finally managed to get a hold of him to be told that the landlord changed his mind and that he wanted to rent all his villas to one company. Naturally we were very unhappy because he could have just called our company back and told them that but instead he wasted our time and lead us on. Anyway we're back to square one looking for a villa again. Our lease is up at the end of the month and so we have two weeks to look for a villa we like:) So here we go again and praying that we find one that we really like just like the one we missed out on.

Tau turns two

2010-06-30T00:11:00.006+04:00

Our son Tau turned two. We organised a party for him and his friends at a local indoor play area with all sorts of games for the kids to play with. After and hour or so of play we called them back to have lunch sing the birthday song and cut the cake as well as have a go at the coolest pinata ever that our friends made for Tau. It was a fab party. Almost everyone made par the ones that had left the country on holiday. We all had a nice time catching up with friends while the kids played. Tau got loads of presents which was fun for him of course. Thanks to everyone that came. Great times

Samaga Pe'a

2010-06-06T21:37:00.008+04:00

The time came when the completion of the tattooing sessions were near. We went to Samoa for three and a half weeks and we were hoping that it would be done well before then but by the third week we were not so sure we'd be done well before or in time. You see in Samoa there are a lot of unforseeable circumstances that arise. One of those was the tattooist's family from ovearseas showed up for family meetings and all. So there had to be days off while the tufuga dealt with his family duties. On top of that Mother's day followed and then the final week was full on tattooing everyday until it was completed on Saturday.
On this Saturday I dropped the two victims off to the tufuga's house, hung around to serve breakfast and then went back to our host family to help with the preparations for the samaga ceremony. Samaga is the ceremony that formalises the completion of the tufuga's work and where he lifts his taboos and bans and let's the new pe'as out into the world as free responsible tattooed beings. The family along with all of us were all excited about the end of the work.
On the final day when they were tattooing the last bit of Aleki's body I was there to video and take photos of it. We had discussed it the night before the amazing end of his journey and I mentioned some protocol that occur at the end of the pe'a.
Well come the time, they tapped in the final tap and the tufuga said "Ua uma" or "It is done" Aleki slowly sat up. They told him to take his time and not to rush as his legs were freshly tattooed. Apparently some people topple over when they get up too quickly. The next thing took us all by surprise as Aleki stood up and did what a proud, robust Samoan does in moments of triumph, he did the tuliususu
"Chooo hoooo"
and proceeded to do an aiuli(dance) and hugged the tufuga, his assistants and all the supporters that were in the fale. Not a single eye was dry in the house as I think everyone hadn't expected such a Samoan reaction from New Zealand born, English speaking(with a bit of Samoan) Lealali Aleki. It was a beautiful moment to witness in my eyes, I felt so much pride and love for this man that was my husband. He had broken barriers and overcome this massive test in life and I was proud to be by his side all that way. I couldn't have dreamt of a more beautiful ending to the tatau journey of Lealali Aleki.
The surprises didn't end there. I went back to the main house to assist with the preparation for the ceremony and there I found the neighbouring family old ladies were making leis for the occasion using fresh flowers.
I was so touched by this act of family love. I was so emotional there and then at the realisation that all these people were celebrating with us and were doing what they could to help with the ceremony. As my mother puts it, when one starts the pe'a, the supporting family all hold their breathe as everyone anticipates and prays for the succesful completion of the job.
1. For obvious reasons, so the tattooed man comes away with the full tatau and
2. If unfinished it is the shame of not only the half tattooed(pe'a muku) man himself, his children will be shamed but that of the whole family as well.
So the completion of the tattooing was now celebrated by all. The neighbouring ladies and young men came to help our hosts with preparing the food. My mom arrived in time for the ceremony with things for the sua(presentation). Alex's Mom, Dad and aunty arrived with clothes and a beautiful ie toga(fine mat) from Alex's uncle in Manase that he wanted to give for the sua. Alex hadn't even met this uncle yet.
The ceremony went well and Lealali and Folasa were humbled men at the end of it all. The outpouring of love and support from our families and friends was just humbling. The prayer was conducted by Leilua Keni who's a deacon at his Methodist church in Sataua. Lealali and Folasa danced with pride and joy and for a few minutes pretended they weren't in much pain. We took a lot of photos of everyone there to remember this day by.

Cyclone Phet

2010-06-05T12:41:00.001+04:00

Cyclone Phet was downgraded to a Tropical Storm yesterday. There was lots of heavy rain in Muscat that caused the wadis to flow. Buildings in the wadis were inevitably flooded. There's this big mall called the CCC centre here in Qurum that was once more flooded as well as the Mc Donald's near it. In Gonu three years ago the water covered all of the fast food outlet but this time the water was half way up. Still a lot of damage I'd say to their equipment and the lot. I think they make enough money that this is just a minor glitch to their operation. Otherwise the south of Oman where Sur is, there were pictures uploaded by people there showing a lot of houses were flooded. Once more that poor city suffers from the floods. We drove around Qurum and Al Khuwair areas this morning and I must say it's impressive how the roads have already been cleaned or in the process of being cleaned by government employed labourers. I must give it to the government they obviously learned from the last cyclone. Luckily the rain stopped last night and the water has receded in the wadis. We were actually on the beach as if nothing happened there. They had built a bridge in Qurum so that the water ran freely under it into the ocean. It was just completed a few months ago so that was lucky. Last time it was a road that blocked off the wadi and marsh area that when it flooded the water basically washed the road away. There's roadworks in many areas that are obviously aimed at alleviating the waterways to run straight to the ocean and not block the wadis no longer. Unfortunately some of those road works would be slowed down by the flooding so far. I hope not many suffered from this cyclone and that it dissipates before it hits Pakistan.

Cyclone Phet in Oman

2010-06-03T00:01:00.002+04:00

While I'm blogging away, Tau and Aleki are fast asleep. I decided to cease the moment and catch up on my blog. I quickly checked my facebook page and a friend was online who also lived here in the same complex. She informed me that there is a cyclone heading for Oman! I thought she was having me on but then she called me and confirmed. She'd been shopping for food and said that the store shelves were cleaned out as people went to buy food to prepare for the worst. Saddest thing is we have no idea. This morning we went out to view two prospective houses and came back and were at home all day. We had the radio on in the car and there was no mention of a cyclone then! So I'm hoping and praying that the cyclone doesn't come our way:( I just looked online and they mentioned it weakening but not too sure. On top of that I tune in to Euro news and the breaking news is that of a man that had gone on a killing spree somewhere in the UK! It is madness. I better go get some sleep in case we have to battle a cyclone tomorrow.

By stander / supporter / family

2010-06-02T21:53:00.003+04:00

Watching the tattooing and the tattooed men from the sidelines is an amazing experience in itself. My mother said to me from the beginning to prepare my husband and myself for it is a challenging journey and it is no easy feat. Well her words couldn't have been more true.
My task throughout the tattooing was to make sure everyone was well fed, that everything was running smoothly and be there to support Aleki and give him the encouragement to keep him going. There were some bumps along the way but one had to try and keep it together so that the two guys can just focus and get through the tattooing.

Unfortunately for Lealali Aleki's(warm showered bum for most of his life) the cold showers throughout the day were nearly as bad as the tattooing itself (he said). Moreover they had to sleep on the floor on fala papa(hard mats) throughout the three weeks. They weren't allowed to use sheets while sleeping(and the nights were cold) nor sleep on mattresses. On the third night Lealali suffering from sleep deprivation decided he'd sleep on the bed because it might get him some decent sleep. I decided not to protest and let him do what he wanted. As we're chatting away with the family the sergeant major showed up for his nightly checks only to find yours truly knocked out on the bed. He immediately got him to get off the bed and back on the mat and that was that.

Taboo
The tattooist has all these taboos that once the tattooing starts the participants have to respect. Well these rules all make sense for they are all to aid the participants on the road to a fast recovery. For example sleeping on the mat: The mat presses on the skin of the area tattooed thereby squeezing out any gunk trapped under the skin. That's my take on it and they've been using these rules for centuries so they really do work. On the mattress the skin sinks into the mattress and the skin dries stuck to the material. So when the patient moves the skin is ripped from the tattoo making it an open wound!
The advise from the tattooist and from those that were tattooed was that the cold showers and massage with soap and water was the quickest way to heal nicely. And a doctor friend advised Alex that it had been proven that nothing beats soap and clean water to keep the wound clean. So on went the 8-10 showers a day by the boys as the tattooing progressed.
Watching what these men went through day in and day out, I was in awe of this art that is part of our culture. In awe of not only the art itself but also a lot of respect for those undergoing pain everyday to complete this part of our traditions. What makes them go back to the tattooist every day for more pain boggles the mind. Lealali Aleki said he drew his strength from our ancestors and from his Samoan heritage that makes him who he is today. His Samoan up-bringing in New Zealand by his parents and his Samoan grand-parents who spoke to them only in Samoa and ingrained in them the importance of the Samoan culture and the interweaving of family into everything that makes Samoa unique.
Support
The support from strangers and people we'd never met before was amazing. Other tattooed men just showed up at the fale to show support, to egg on and reassure the two new victims. Others came and stayed the whole day and helped to shower and massage the two guys. Others just came to eat and left. Others came with food or kava to asi(contribute/assist) in the process. This is what it was all about.
Another chief of the family came on the first week-end for a family meeting and was surprised by the tattooing, he decided to stay to support Aleki and Iegi through their ordeal. He was actually tattooed as well back in the 60s. It was amazing to see these tattoos from different eras. They all were of the same outline but the intricate designs varied from one to the other.
Mind you most of these people were my family but I hadn't met half of them before. The fact that I was my mother's daughter I and my husband were part of the family and we were their children to look after. Whether I had shown up before to this part of the family or not was not important. The bloodline spoke for us and I was thankful to my mother for keeping all these family ties alive.

Taga tatau i Samoa / Tattooing in Samoa

2010-06-02T20:19:00.005+04:00

My husband was offered and he accepted a matai title from my family early last year. Afterwards he said to me that it was time he gets the tatau. He'd always wanted one and now he felt was the right moment to get his tatau.
The tatau is the full body(covers 65% of the body) tattoo that young men who come of age get. Today men get it when they are ready or want it. So we planned quietly and arranged to do the tattooing in Savaii with a tattooist at Vaipu'a Savai'i whom also tattooed my brother 6 years before. Alex and many of our friends have been tattooed by this man Su'a Loli Keli with arm bands or other designs. He's a real artist with a good eye. He's very talented and everyone I know he'd tattooed come away smiling and happy with the design they get from Loli Keli.
The time came and we traveled to Samoa via New Zealand. We spent one night in Auckland and the H-Town delegation picked us up from the airport which was really nice. We spent a few hours with them as Tau and MM got on like a house on fire until we couldn't stay awake any longer. We relaxed at the Millenia hotel in Apia for 2 nights before we caught the Lady Samoa III boat to Savai'i from Apia with Mom. We did our big shopping in Salelologa before we headed out to Sagone.
We'd decided to stay with relatives in the village. We went straight to the tattooist house to do the formalities to give the fusika and discuss the tattooing and all. There was a nice feast that evening with our hosts and we got to meet the rest of the family. We felt comfortable and welcome from the first day. The tattooist(tufuga) arrived at around 8am the next morning. After breakfast the tattooing began at around 9am. Alex was joined by Iegi. Iegi is from our village and a friend of my brother's. He was to be the soa or the partner of whom shares the pain with the primary tattooed man (it being Alex in this case). So each session starts with the primary participant followed by the soa. The designs are not necessarily the same for both men.
They started with the va'a (canoe) mid-way down the back. They took three hours to do Alex's back and then broke for lunch and finished off the day on Iegi's back.
Watching that first hit by the tattooist is something else. And that's only the beginning of the journey of the tattooed man.

Day 1 after the first session. Alex is watched over by Leilua Viali who was the fofo(masseus) and mentor. Alex and Iegi called him the Sergeant Major because he checked on them at the most unexpected times to send them to the showers, remove any sheets from the tattoos or make sure they're not sleeping on the freshly tattooed areas.

Emergency in the village

2010-06-02T20:18:00.000+04:00

I went back to the house to make sure the chow was ready for the galuega (tattooing) and found my cousin had driven to the galuega with it. As I was about to hop back in the car to go back to help my cousin's wife ran up to me accompanied by some random village boy if I could help this family by driving their child to the nearby hospital as the child had collapsed. I agreed and the boy and I drove to their house not far away to pick up the child. When I drove up, three women ran towards the car with one cradling what looked like 3-5 year old girl in her arms. The little was unconscious as her head was lolling as the woman cradled her. I asked if she was breathing and the older woman said that the little one was breathing but just not responding. I drove towards the hospital with what's now the little girls grandma and two aunties. I wasn't aware of the whereabouts of the mom but the little girl was under the care of the grandma that day it seemed. As I was driving along to the hospital the grandma said to the others that we must stop to see someone named Fiu.
I thought they were talking about another relative so I turned into that house as they pointed it out. As soon as I stopped the car all three were out in a flash with the child while yelling out to the household if Fiu was there. The answer was yes and that Fiu was in the umukuka out back so they called out to Fiu to come. Next thing I saw, was this household running around gathering leaves and herbs as it dawned on me that this was the village taulasea(natural healer)! I sat in the car drumming my fingers waiting. There were more than enough people there so I wasn't going to help in any way but be in the way if I got out of the car. Eventually after the child was given a mixture to drink and massaged I heard cries and then the girl's aunties asking her questions like 'what's your name?' and 'who am I?' and who's this?" pointing to the grandma. The kid must have been answering correctly because they were happy with that and they bid adieu to the healer and returned to my car with a wakeful little girl. They hopped in the car and thanked me profusely for driving them. As I came out of this drive and was about to turn towards the hospital they all quickly decided that there was no need to go to the hospital and that we should go home. I insisted that the child must be checked by a doctor but they were adamant that the child was okay now and if I could drive them back home faafetai lava. I reluctantly dropped them back to their house. They wanted to pay me for taking them but I said not to worry about it and drove off after telling them that they must take the child for a follow-up at the hospital.
Should I have just driven to the hospital against their protests? But then
I decided that it was not my place to try and tell them what to do or not to do.