Elaine

Full name?

Elaine Alison Alup Pokarop

Where do you connect to in PNG?

Lou Island - Manus Province

Mekeo - Central Province

What are you passionate about and how did this come about?

Cooking. I started cooking from a young age and I distinctly remember being around mum and dad in the kitchen who both had their own ways/style of cooking. I love cooking food that reminds me of home and I enjoy throwing things together and exploring how different flavors work. I get a lot of satisfaction from serving up a tasty meal to my family.

Favourite food from ples?

These saksak & coconut balls that my late aunty used to make, tama tama and anything mumu'd or cooked in coconut cream ☺️

Favourite spot to eat in Aotearoa?

The sunrise bakery on Chartwell does a really good Thai vegetable curry pie... For anything fancy SPQR is 👌

Are you reading anything interesting right now?

I haven't read lately - podcasts are my main medium of consuming information. I've just finished the BBC's Can I tell You a Secret about cyber stalker and I'm in the middle of In Trust - about how the Osage Nation were underhandedly forced out of the ownership of their land.

What song were you just listening to?

Therapy by Stonebwoy

Are you bingeing any shows?

Extraordinary Attorney Woo & Hometown. I watched them together.

Share an image and quote that resonates with you and let us know why.

This image itself resonates with me for a couple of reasons: the woman is thick and brown like me, she's dressed simply and I like what she's wearing and how's she's styled, she's just chilling. Then the quote/caption is a gentle reminder for me. I can be a very high achieving, driven and focused person but I need reminding that "I'm doing my best and that is always enough", that me as I am, I am enough.