ABs to samoa

I am not one to shed tears easily, if at all, however last night when I got home from work and checked Facebook, I was close to bawling my eyes out and my emotions ran high with so much joy because finally, the All Blacks had arrived at Faleolo Airport and Samoa welcomed them with open arms.  The only surprise that brought with it a huge smile on my face was that the All Blacks arrived in matching elei shirts which to me showed thought for where they were going and was a way of emracing Samoa in return.

To say now that I am excited is a huge understatement so with kick-off less than 12 hours away, the only thing left to do before I sleep is to calm down and say a prayer, first for all the Samoan babies born today, and this week for that matter, that the parents of these babies are kind with their names .. and second that the game is going to be streamed live so I am not completely miserable at work.

GO THE MANU!

taxi drivers

If you are anything like me when catching a taxi, all you want to do is greet the driver, confirm the drop off point then enjoy the ride in your own little bubble before thanking the driver for getting you to your destination.

On a recent trip to Samoa I caught a taxi to the airport and ended up with a chatty, older Samoan driver.  Not something I was celebrating about at 5:30am when I wanted a power nap before having to sprint to check in.

Not even a minute after pulling out of my street the driver asks where I am going so I repeat that I would like to go to the international terminal and hope for an end to the conversation.  Then the driver asks if I am going to Wellington or Australia or somewhere else.  At this point the aiport is still a good 20 minutes away and it's official, having been awake almost 24 hours, this teine is nothing short of grouchy.  I figure the driver is probably just trying to be nice and friendly so I politely tell him I am going to Samoa.  One half of me is thanking God like fury that the driver is not exuding even the slightest dodgy vibe while the other half of me cringing as reality kicks in and tells me that nap will just have to wait for the plane.

Driver: O, why you go Samoa?

Me: Spend time with family.

Driver: Isioa first time to Samoa?

Me: No.

Driver: ARE YOU SAMOA?

Me: Yes.

Driver: Oi, you speak a Samoa?

Me: A little bit.

He chuckles then starts speaking Samoan.  Shit shit shit.  How do I tell this driver I cannot deal without being a bitch?  I need a nap!

How many time you been in Samoa?

How long for your trip?

What you gonna do in Samoa?

What sioa village?

Wea you stay ova dea?

Who you stay wif?

A you a full Samoa?

A you marry?

A you got a gits?

Whatsa name of ioa unko brada cousin dog wife?

You can take a taxi driver out of Samoa, but you can't take Samoa out of a taxi driver.

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

time flies

The year has well and truly started, and thanks to being so incredibly slack, 2014 slipped by without a peep from me in the blogger sphere.

Thanks to the wonders of technology, I now have an app on my phone to help get the blogs out if my head and onto the computer screen!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.