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.

sa 'ou fai aku ..

I thought I would leave you and 2013 with a few conversations that left me wanting to scream then have a laugh once I got over it.  Please keep in mind that most Samoans do not think I appear to be Samoan and when I do speak Samoan I am not palagi about my pronunciation.  Happy new year!

Went with a friend to buy some Samoan treats in South Auckland ..
Me: Are your pagikeke plain or fa'i?
Shop assistant: We have a blain an a panana one
Me: Can I please get 20 pagikeke fa'i and 5 keke mamoe?
Shop assistant: So you want a 20 panana?


Met a Samoan man at a conference who looks Chinese ..
Man: So are you a Kiwi?
Me: I'm Samoan
Man: Oh .. where were you born?
Me: New Zealand
Man: Oh .. ok ..

The next day ..
Man: Are you sure you're Samoan?
Me: Yes, I am sure
Man: Have you been to Samoa before?
Me: Too many times

The day after that ..
Man: So, have you been to Samoa before?
Me: Yes.  Many times before.
Maybe by some miracle of consistency in my answers, Man then finally decides to talk to me and even though I engaged and knew what I was talking about without botzing it, I still question whether or not he actually believes I am Samoan.


Met a Samoan man who was staying with my family in Samoa.  As I walk to the bathroom down the hall, conversation in Samoan ensues ..
Man: That girl is nice
Sister in-law: What did you say?
Man: That girl is nice (at which point I look back and laugh silently to my cousin in-law then carry on walking)
Cousin in-law: You better be careful because that girl understands Samoan
Sister in-law: And she is my sister


This is me .. Teine 'Afakasi.

#31WriteNow Day 31

It's over.  Hallelujah!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

dear husband ..

I like pretty things from Nesian Creations.

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

i got it from my grandmother

“That is the nature of endings, it seems. They never end.

When all the missing pieces of your life are found, put together with glue of memory and reason, there are more pieces to be found.” 

- Amy Tan

I watched my first full episode of Coronation Street, by choice, not so long ago - one of my Grandmother's all-time favourites - and my great post Coro Street epiphany is that if there was a single person to blame for me liking trashy television, I would have to say it was my Grandmother who was so highly dedicated to her daytime soap operas .. but blame has negative connotations so let's just say I owe her!  The Rents were like the television police for the most part so I loved television at the G-Rents house because in my child mind I was given full permission to be naughty with adult supervision.  As much as I miss my Grandmother, there is plenty about her that lives on in me, discovered and undiscovered, and I am grateful for it.

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

the delectable and the disasterous

You would think having two Island women in the kitchen would make for an Island meal cooked with ease right?  WRONG.  A call had to be made to my Mama while at the supermarket to know what taro to choose, we bought too much of everything except the pe'epe'e, one of us could not go without injury while scraping the taro, then the taro was over-cooked and once we got to the bottom of the pot, the taro was a little on the crispy side.  And just for good measure, there was an abundance of untidiness to go with it that our kitchen helper, thankfully, whisked back in to a semblance of order along with wine!

Somehow I have managed to make my way through life not acquiring the art of Samoan cooking and have inevitably paid the price by only ever eating Samoan food where it has been made by another, making life oh so difficult when all I want to do is eat Samoan food.  Tonight showed me there is hope though because amidst the ever so slightly disasterous fa'alifu talo, there turned out to be a delectable sapasui made simply by following my nose.

This is me - Taro-cooking novice 'Afakasi.

WASSUP!? so catchy ..

I have started watching The Factory Story and I am loving it!  In an attempt to prolong the inevitable end of the webseries (at least I think there is an end), I have only allowed myself to watch one or two episodes at a time - before sleep, on the bus, waiting for friends - but just like a Whittakers macadamia block, I cannot help but get through it all in one go.  Before I know it, I will have reached episode 19 when what I really want is for the webseries full of song to never ever end!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

reminding myself ..

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

steamy sunday iv

Steamy Sundays for #31WriteNow would be incomplete without the steamy being that is Robbie Magasiva.  If you have a tendency to stalk like I do then like the Magasiva Broz on facebook.  Enough said.  Just look and enjoy.

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

rising voices

I went to my first poetry slam Poetry Idol as part of the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival in May this year leaving me in awe of the inspiring talent that hit the stage.

In a little under 3 weeks New Zealand's biggest youth poetry slam will be taking place to see who will be the 3rd ever Rising Voices Poetry Slam winner!  Book your tickets and go!

For the skeptics and those who are new to spoken word, here is a taste of poetry slam with from Poetry Idol judge Selina Tusitala Marsh (as well as other poets by default of the video clip) and Zane Scarborough of the South Auckland Poets Collective and current Poetry Idol winner for the second consecutive year.

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

fail friday

I fell asleep before I could muster enough strength to put fingers to keyboard and write a post even mildly interesting.  Too much energy expended on working incredibly hard followed by an evening of food and laughter with my Best.  To the Island guy who referred to us as Chocolate Latte while passing by, next time come up to us and talk.

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

inspired by the factory story episode 4

If you take note of any of my tweets or know me in real life, you will know that I love food, food loves me and I am always on about being hungry.  Without a shadow of a doubt, my weakness is for anything remotely Samoan when it comes to men. food.  To make things even worse, I come from a family of food bests - my mum with sapasui, my cousin with keke pua'a and my aunties with pagipopo, pai fala .. anything baked really, leaving me with a penchant for fine Samoan cuisine - if there is such a thing!  But of all the Samoan cuisine I loved the most growing up, it was luau and ulu fresh off the plane via the umu.  As much as I am ever so delighted to receive a gift of taro chips these from anyone who has recently returned from Samoa, it does not affect my family in the same way luau and ulu once did in bringing my family together to hear the stories our travelers had brought with them from home and to share a meal around the same table, or in this case, crammed into some Aunty's lounge.  Those were the days!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

the bone bearer book launch

It was with great pleasure that I attended the book launch for Lani Wendt Young's much anticipated book The Bone Bearer - part 3 of the Telesā trilogy.  If you did not make it to the book launch then you certainly missed out!  The vibe was chilled, the smell of delicious Island treats alluring, the performances incredibly enjoyable,Yolande the MC hilarious, the crafts, clothing and jewellery beautiful and there was Lani doing fabulously with meeting all the people who lined up to say hello, have their books signed and photos taken.

I must confess, I did one of those school girl jumping squealy things in the privacy of my own home as I took my copy of The Bone Bearer out of my handbag for several reasons, but most of all, it was a celebration of Lani's journey and literary accomplishments thus far.  It has been amazing to see what I like to call the Telesā heat spreading, evolving, from what started as a single flame.  And I am ecstatic to finally read the story of Daniel and me according to Lani.

This is me - Leila 'Afakasi.

how is this for a welcome?

I was recently reacquainted with T-Mobile's Welcome Home advertisement featuring a few of my favourite tunes which I had completely forgotten about.  This video never fails to put a smile on my face or make me laugh out loud 1 minute and 56 seconds in.  Simply put, I think this video is AMAZING!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

i'm nearly out

Ideally the above picture would have been me today, only I barely slept last night, I had to be at the office earlier than usual this morning, my breakfast of one tall caffè macchiato did virtually nothing to stop me feeling like I had been hit by a train, work was a beehive of busy busy busy and I am just not that tanned!

There are many loves in my life and one of them is any kind of quality fruity moisturising lotion or body butter and PURE FIJI is one of my absolute favourite brands.  Coming home after a mental Monday at work to a nice shower followed by some PURE FIJI body butter makes for feeling amazing during the relax and unwind.

Sad to say I am nearly out of my body butter supply and I wish the stuff was not so damn expensive to buy here.  I cannot justify 46NZD for 235ml so it looks to me like I need to make some Fijian friends!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

steamy sunday iii

The steamy tattooed bodies of the Braxtons make watching Home and Away a breeze.  My favourite of the brothers is Darryl 'Brax' Braxton played by Steve Peackocke because he of course has a steamy body with tattoos (probably fake, but who cares!), he is a bad boy trying to go good and his character is one that commands respect.  I am most excited that Steve will be starring in Hercules: The Thracian Wars as Stephanos alongside Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as Hercules.  The film is set to be released in July 2014.  Bring it!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

when there's rugby to be played ..

the only thing I have to say is go the All Blacks!

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.

#31WriteNow day 16

Today marks the halfway point in my #31WriteNow blogging challenge and a challenge it has been!

I have had many moments stressing about what to write each day, but even with the stress I feel better mentally for blogging.  Taking time out of my day to write has helped to put things of my every day life into a healthier perspective.

One of my strategies for blogging achievement has been to prepare by picking a daily theme or topic which gives me the focus I need.  This planning has worked so well that I have a theme or topic planned for each day of the rest of the month.  In saying that, there is plenty of room for flexibility.

Since day 1 of this blogging challenge the nerves have decreased and the excitement has increased so here is hoping for that to continue.

This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.