Maori 216 and Rotary (round II)

I am 2/3 of the way through my Maori studies class now.  My group had our 90-minute presentation last Sunday, so I am happy to get that over with.  The assignment was to pick a presentation topic that relates to the Treaty, and we decided to focus on the Maori language, specifically the revitalisation in recent history of the language and culture.  We came at it from several viewpoints, and because of my background, I got to focus on the Crown reaction to the language and what the government is doing / has done to promote or suppress the language.  Overall, it went really well.  Apparently classes here don’t have many presentations because the girls in my group didn’t know how to go about doing a presentation.  Several had never used PowerPoint.  I have done a ton of presentations, so I got to teach them about PowerPoint, how to give a good presentation, etc.  It’s a good thing I have had classes on that back at GT!  We meet again in mid-January, but I am going to try and get my essay written before Christmas.

Last night was my host club’s Christmas Party, so I got to spend another evening at Pencarrow Lodge.  Mark couldn’t come because he was detained in Auckland on business, so Anna and I were each other’s dates.  It was a very enjoyable evening.  I got to get dressed up again, and I wore my sparkly Santa hat all evening, and of course the meal was very, very good.  As a student, I don’t often get good meals like that.  Rotary Christmas parties are great fun because everyone is full of holiday cheer and out to have a great time.  There was dancing at this party as well, and I don’t think I will ever forget how amusing it was to see all the Rotarian men dancing around, slapping their knees and acting like cowboys, singing along to ‘Rawhide.’  

Speaking of Rotary, I had a speech up in Paraparaumu last Thursday as well.  That went really well.  I had given a speech to the Paraparaumu club a few months ago, but now I was speaking to the Kapiti club, which actually meets in the same building as the Paraparaumu club.  It’s amazing how clubs that live in the same area, even meet in the same building, can be so different.  I really enjoyed both clubs.  There were a lot of people in attendance – 37 if I remember correctly.  And 23 apologies!  That’s a pretty large club for this area.  I had some computer issues, but everything worked out OK, and my speech went really well.  They were all very friendly, of course.  Meredith was also giving a speech in the area to the Otaki club, so we caught the train back to Wellington together.  

That is about all that is going on in my life now.  Even though Christmas is approaching, everything is slowing down, especially since I have gotten my presentation out of the way.  I just have the essay and my readings to do.  I also have another speech tonight to the Rotary Club of West Hutt.  Meredith and I are going to a Christmas concert on Friday at the Town Hall, and we are having a Tacky Christmas / housewarming party this weekend in our flat.  We have decorated our flat now.  We raided the Warehouse for the tackiest decorations and came back with a PVC Christmas tablecloth, a 4-ft plastic tree that we have loaded down with tinsel, gaudy plastic Santas, and Mardi Gras beads, and a hanging ornament thing.  We still don’t have mistletoe, but we’re working on it!