This last fornight has been crunch-time, work-wise. It’s been something of a shite year work-wise too. So last week I decided to pull the plug a couple of days early: the 18th was my last working date for 2019. W00t!
Aotearoa does some things really well and some things less so. Christmas here is awesome. First, it’s summer, so pool or beach or camping (or all three) is fabulous. Aside from Xmas itself, there’s St Stephen’s Day (*coughBoxingDaycough*), New Year’s Day and the day After New Year’s Day all public holidays. So I will have had 2 full weeks away before work recommences on 03 January. More places in the world should do this. For an academic, that the new semester starts in March–rather than the day back from Christmas–means zero scope for urgent work to be done over the holidays.
I have been keeping up with my DuoLingo. I have purposely not engaged with kete 4 yet: will be savouring that over the break period. But I am enrolled in level two te reo starting in March. That will be a weekly evening class and some marae time. I’m keen, but it’ll be weird to have to timetable face-to-face time again. I have become an archetypal self-regulated online learning it seems.
I’ve had another conference paper about my learning here accepted for a conference in Spain in March. Will have to decide in early January if that’s doable. I hope it is: it’s a great conference (I go every year).
On the recommendations of gaelgoir Twitter I ordered three CDs of Christmas music as gaelige:
Am only just listening to them, so can’t recommend one over the other two. But they weren’t expensive and they arrived from Ireland within a fortnight. Choice.
This remains my favourite Irish Christmas song, of course:
Nollaig shona duit agus meri kerihimete! Merry Christmas!
Gaelige mo scéal 