Wednesday Night. Formal Dinner and Mr. & Mrs. So’otaga Pageant for 2009. An evening of fun, laughter, good times and great food.
Sale Keresoma & Amanda Tuala. Mr. & Miss UASSA 2009. Congratulations guys, you did us all proud.
July 22, 2009
“This is the UASSA Boys DOOOOOIINNG THE HAKA!! DOOOOOIINNG THE HAKA!!”
Tuesday. So’otaga Sports Day. A solid effort put in by everyone today.
Both our girls and boys teams made it into the finals today for tag and touch. Well done to the boys who took out the touch final against AUT! A great day of sportsmanship, camaraderie and all in al, great fun! Each Uni took to cheering their respective teams with colourful chants and at the end of it all, everybody was in good spirits heading home.
Well done everyone!
Monday!
Well today was quite interesting. While the morn was an academic experience, the eve was, well…an experience in itself! The day was kicked off with the Speech Competitions, and representing Auckland were the dynamic duo of Petone Peseta and Micah Ridling, pulling off solid performances and making us all very proud.
The afternoon was spent rehearsing our Talent Quest items which were well received by both the participants and the audience. After much debate and careful deliberation, the UASSA boys decided that a beauty pageant would go down wel with the crowd – and surely enough, it did.
Above: The Insatiable, Miss Wussa…lol
The girls put on a wonderful performance – a Samoan dance and later, an amazing barbershop quartet number that earned them a full mark on the judge’s scoresheets and the adulation of the thousands (or maybe about 120) that were present on the night.
Plenty of laughs, plenty of fun. More pics coming soon 😀
“Please sir, may I have some more?” – Oliver Twist.
Porridge. Official diet of So’otaga 2009. Rich in fibre, Starch, Protein and every Vitamin from A to Z and back again. It’s about as exciting as its name suggests, which is why they made other exciting names for it – Oatmeal and wait for it, Gruel.Can’t say I love the stuff, but it has grown on me over the last few days…like a vine sucking the very life out of an oak. But in the nicest possible way. Nonetheless, I am grateful to eat anything be it porridge, oatmeal or uhh..gruel (ick). Pass the syrup please mate.
Seconds anyone?
On the First Day…
Got up today at 6am for the Ava Ceremony…a first for many of the group unaccustomed to village life in Samoa, where dawn is the usual time for ava ceremonies. Was good to see it again, was almost homesick watching it unfold. Jonathan from UASSA represented us well, stepping in at the last minute to be the Sufi Ava.
After the ceremony we had a quick bite to eat before heading westwards to Henderson Methodist Church, for the official welcoming service and Sunday Lunch. I must say, as a Catholic, it was an interesting experience attending a Methodist service for the first time. I always look forward to attending other congregations and today was no exception. Despite the tired condition I was in, the solemnity and reverence was very calming, something I craved amidst the chaos.
CCF Kelston. Pastoral home to All Black greats Iga Tuigamala, Michael Jones and Eroni Clarke. Venue for So’otaga 2009’s Christian Rally Event. Simply put, it was awesome. An amazing night of Worship, Creative Arts, Testimony, and Prayer. Nick Tuitasi had many in tears as he spilt out his testimony for all to hear, on how God is faithful, loving and kind. The altar call saw dozens respending to the call to repent, and showed the true Christian character and the strength of its teachings which lay at the heart of each of us. It was a powerful night. We left with our spiritual batteries full charged and with smiles all round.
What a day it was. Cant wait for tomorrow! God Bless.
July 17, 2009
ARRIVAL EVENING – SO’OTAGA 2009
Well it’s finally begun! Not much happened today. The group met up at C-Space for a little down time together and just to collect our thoughts and receive some last minute instructions before heading out to the venue. Just sitting on the bench outside looking at the group, you can tell everyone’s bristling with excitement. For most of our group this year, this will be their first taste of the So’otaga experience. Hope it goes well for them. Arrived at our accommodation just before 9 and were warmly welcomed by the other asosi’s who were awaiting Aukilani’s “grand entrance” haha. Some things never change! Said a few quick hello’s and a warm cup of tea before taking the boys downstairs to our living quarters and settling in for the night. Bunked up next to Tim (our President) and Eddie (National Pacific Island Rep). With a combination like that conversation does get rather interesting! Like many of the boys we’re all tired but thats overtaken by a sense of nervousness,excitement,adrenalin and fun which grips us all the more. Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow when the programme officially begins at dawn with the ‘Ava Usu’, or welcoming Ava Ceremony. But for now it’s all hands below deck for a bit of rest and relaxation. Eddie is jamming on his ukulele. I’ll join him on the guitar and see how long our midnight “band” lasts before someone pulls the plug, so to speak 😀
Goodnight!
National So’otaga 2009
The aims of networking, co-operation and fellowship between New Zealand’s Samoan University Students took another step further this year, at the annual National So’otaga hosted by the Auckland University of Technology Samoan Students Association (AUTSSA) over the winter holidays. Since it’s inception in 1974, this annual gathering of the nation’s brightest young Samoans has helped forged the sustained appreciation and advancement of Samoan culture in New Zealand.
Begun in 1974 by the Samoan Students Associations of Auckland and Victoria University, it has grown to include the Universities of Waikato, Otago, Canterbury and in recent years, AUT. Massey and Lincoln Universities are eagerly awaited to make their entrance onto the So’otaga stage. Again, the principles of networking, fellowship, the sharing of knowledge and the fostering of our culture remain underpinning objectives.
Popular events at the Annual meet include; Opening Service and Christian Rally, the Inter-Varsity Sports Tournament, various Academic and Cultural Workshops, Debating, the ever-flamboyant Talent Show and the climax of the week, the Cultural Night and After-function.
It is a comprehensive programme designed to achieve the objectives of each association on a National Level. In recent years, the dynamics of So’otaga has greatly changed and with its continued growth, has evolved into a forum in which the nation’s Samoan students meet and discuss relevant issues.
For those fortunate enough to take part, So’otaga truly is an experience in itself, one that always leaves an indelible mark on those involved. As a glimpse of life at the yearly meet, I will be posting small excerpts from my daily journal entries at this years So’o up on the blog.
Enjoy!
July 15, 2009
Welcome to the World of Blogging!
The World of Blogging.
Relatively new in the the electronic media circle but fast becoming the ordinary man’s voice in the greater chorus of world opinions. Essential to this is the notion that through this mouthpiece, the world can pay attention to the needs of even the most minute of causes. Nowadays, everybody is blogging and joining this global chorus..all the more reason for the thoughts, concerns, and convictions of a young generation of Samoans to filter through. In this blog you will find my thoughts and those of others on a wide scope of issues – Life, Religion, Culture, Community, Media, Business, Relationships, Leadership, Character…all matters relevant to all of us in one way or another and many of which comprise a vital part in the fabric of Samoan culture.
This is a forum for the inner thinkings of the young inquisitive mind, clattered and all, to be expressed. Feel free to comment and contribute. Converse. Discuss. For it is only through clear, concise and direct dialogue that the human mind’s thinking processes remain a well-oiled machine. American writer Robert M. Hutchins once wrote, “Education is a kind of Dialogue; and a dialogue assumes different points of view”.
Thoughts of a Young Samoan. An outlook on the world at large through the windows of a curious youth from the foundations of his culture.
Talofa.
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Thoughts of a Young Samoan 