Our Travels

Getting married The invitees Paigeboy Tauilagi with daddy Paul and his boys waits for the beautiful bride

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...

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...

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 mot...

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 wa...