Oral presentation : Hawaii

Real text

Hello, everybody. As you know, my name is José Yépez and I study here with you. Well, I’m gonna talk about Hawaii.
I’d like to explain the structure of my presentation; first, I’ll do an introduction, explaining the geographical situation of Hawaii. Later, I’ll talk about two traditional things: the lei and the hula and, to finish, I’ll explain my conclusion, which consists basically on talking about why I chose this topic.

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states (August 21, 1959), and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. Hawaii’s diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches and oceanic surrounding, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of O’ahu.
This state have an anthem, a seal and a flag. The anthem is the music what you’re listening.

Do you now what’s a lei?
At Hawaiian weddings, flower garlands known as leis are traditionally placed around the necks of the bride and groom. Traditionally, Leis are created from some of the island's most beautiful and fragrant flowers. Each lei is made up of some 40 or 50 fresh flowers, and tied with a colourful ribbon. These flower garlands are very symbolic of Hawaiian culture and an integral part of every celebration on the island.

In Hawaii, both men and women wear flower leis or necklaces made of flowers, and their leis provide them a sense of enjoyment and pride. For tourists, the lei has become a tradition of visiting the Hawaiian Islands. Tourists are usually welcomed with a lei and the word Aloha. Aloha is the Hawaiian word for welcome and love.

Do you know what’s Hula?
Hula is a uniquely Hawaiian dance accompanied by chant or song that preserves and perpetuates the stories, traditions and culture of Hawaii. Hawaiian legends tell stories of hula beginning on the islands of Molokai and Kauai. Today, this enchanting art form has become a worldwide symbol of Hawaiian culture and the beauty of Hawaian people. The popularity of hula has spread to the U.S. mainland, Japan and even Europe.
There are many types and styles of hula. Hula auana (modern hula) is danced to western influenced music and features a more modern and fluid style. This is the most familiar type of hula to visitors. Hula kahiko (ancient hula) is danced to dramatic chants and percussion with more traditional costumes.

Well, I’ve choosed this topic because I’ve always like to visit Hawaii, and this project was a motivation to search information about it. I’ve dreamed a lot of times about doing my wedding on Hawaii, and thanks to this project, I’ve found some information about that. I have to say that it have been quite easy to do because this project wasn’t very long and the information was easy to find.


What I said

Uuum, hello, I’m José Yépez, and I’m going to present my presentation about Hawaii. Uuum... Uum, first of all I’m going to talk about the content of the presentation; first I do, I’ll do an introduction explaining the geographical situation of Hawaii, and, um, and, and later I’m going to explain two traditions “facts”, the lei and the hula, and, um, for, for (what?) I’m going to explain my conclusion.
Um, Hawaii it’s an archipielago, archipielago in the Pacific Ocean and, um, the west of the United States, there (what?) the flag, and here it’s the... symbol of Hawaii and, and there’s an anthem... too.
Um, the, do you know what’s the lei? “No, no, no” (what?) “The typical dance?” Um, no, that’s the hula. (what?) The flower necklace um, and, well, it’s really common on Hawaii and you ever seen it sometimes it’s used by by by marriage, and the bride and the groom wear it, and in Hawaii is... The lei is a symbol of pride and love, and the men and the women wear it without distinctions. It’s also used to welcome visits to Hawaii and the word Aloha that means... respect and...
Um, do you know what’s the hula? “The typical dance” “Mwahahahaha” The hula it’s the typical dance in Hawaii, aahh, it’s aaah it’s a fff... it’s a cheerful dance that consists in... in... in... soft movements, and it (what?) Hawaii. There’re typical styles depending on the zone in, for example in Honolulu the, the (what?) more, more energetic and the men dance too, and um... and the style of hula has... and the style of... is, is more popular in the capital (what?) O’ahu. Ummm, my conclusion... Um, I chose this topic because I’ve loads of dreams about a marriage in Hawaii and, and, well, this is an oportunity to get the motivation to search information for it, so it’s not very difficult to do, but I think it’s very short my project and I (what?) you’ve enjoyed... it, and, um, thanks for listening, and do you have any question? I’ll be happy to answer them.
(QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS)


Self-Evaluation

I think I have "dishonoured" Hawaii with this horrible presentation ^^'
I was less nervous than the first time, but I haven't practiced the necessary. And well, here's the result! I was too excited about doing a presentation about Hawaii... This is why I consider that my presentation is horrible.
But, like a miracle, I didn't know how I managed to "perform" but I did it "well", better than I though before I could see the video. I see that my pronunciation was not bad as I though... But I had forgotten most of the text! And I "invented some parts"! Oh, my.
Too many "um"'s and weird similar stuff, and I keep looking at the screen! Hope I could improve my oral on the next term.

NOTE: I CAN'T POST THE VIDEO!

Friend's description (written and recorded)

---------'s one of my best friends. Actually he's quite tall (average, like me, more or less), brown-eyed, with short dark-blond hair. He's not fat, because he does a lot of exercise, but he has quite a round face. He normally wears glasses.

Just seeing him walking towards you makes you smile, because he's always kind friendly and outgoing, and I never get bored when he comes to my house or when we go to the cinema. He's also a very balanced person, who helps other people (me, for example) to not do "weird"/stupid stuff and be emotionally overcome. Even though he's rather sensitive. It's true that when you meet him for the first time he seems a bit cold but, in fact, that's because he's a bit shy. He really likes to watch anime on the computer, and he wants to go to Japan someday. He doesn't like egocenthric or bossy people.

One thing that I really like about ------------ is that he always helps you if you have problems, and he doesn't have prejudices, being one of the most friendly people that I have known. Apart from this, he can be too perfectionist sometimes, and I don't like that at all. But he's a very loyal friend and I believe in him.





I've hidden my friend's name to "protect" him.

Dutch offered 'euthanasia on wheels'

Euthanasia has been legal in the Netherlands for a decade. But an organisation based in The Hague is now offering a mobile euthanasia service, prompting accusations that the law has been pushed too far.

I think that is really weird to offer 'euthanasia on wheels'... I mean, if someone wants to kill himself, is better to go to a special place to do it, completely equipped, where the death's can be totally controlled,... I'm not against the suicide, but I think is a waste of money to provide this "service" to the community... There are things that are more necessary than this.
I'm not against the suicide, but I think that it's better to fight against the problems and go on the search of the happiness. This new doesn't affect me, because I don't live there.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17230102

Thousands protest against European Union austerity cuts

Thousands of demonstrators have turned out in European cities to protest against austerity measures.
In Spain, thousands of schoolchildren and university students left the classroom and took to the streets to protest against education spending cuts, which in some instances turned violent.

I don't know if this kind of measures are necessary or not, but I'm pretty sure that there are other solutions. I don't know why we get to this awful situation. The only I can say is that manifestating it's OK (because is a constitutional right, and it mustn't be aggresive (otherwise I think that's unuseful, because the government can simply look to other side)), but destroy the city it's too much...
This affects me because I'm a student and the education cuts aren't going to help me...


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17210178

Sarkozy hides in bar amid protest

Hundreds of angry protesters have booed French President Nicolas Sarkozy, forcing him to take shelter in a bar as he campaigned in the Basque country ahead of April's presidential election.

I think that there are other ways to protest than get angry and trying to hurt a president. Yeah, it's true that the situation is really bad and everyone is getting nervous, but this isn't gonna help to solve the problems. And if everyone wants to quit him from his role, sorry, but he was elected by votations, so... I don't want to offend anyone, but maybe it would be better to think twice before voting someone.
It doesn't affect me because he's not "my president" and I don't mind about his security, because he has enough guards to mantain him safe.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17227438

Iris

Iris is my other cat. She's more little than Luna, more young too. I don't know exactly how old she really is because she was "wild". She was born secretly in my garden, in a part where my dad use to keep his tools.
I remember that it had rained for two days. The second day, at night, I was reading in my room when I heard a noise. It was a very weak sound. I told my father that there was something outside making a weird sound, and he went out to look. Few minutes later, my dad returned. In his hands, Iris was staring at us, completely wet and scared.
Now, she is a very sensitive cat. She likes to stay with people; although she can be a little rowdy sometimes. I have to say that she's more affectivate than Luna, but I love both by the same way. She had other name, "Alma", but we though that it would be better to call her Iris because of her beautiful eyes.

- Iris with Luna (from left to right) -

Describing a videogame character : Xion

NOTE: Here are SPOILERS about the story of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days!

Xion is a main character in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. She's a misterious girl that normally appears totally covered, unless she's with Roxas and Axel (her two bests friends), or when she has passed a lot of days in the Organization. She's a bit emotional, but she's strong and purposeful.
But that's only when she's with her friends; actually she's a puppet created (by the Organization) to copy and douple Roxas powers, if the Organization (a group of really powerful Nobodies) couldn't use Sora. Each member of the Organization see her in a different form, including Roxas, Axel, Riku and Xigbar (the others see her covered).

Opinion

She's one of my favourite characters of all Kingdom Hearts series. Even knowing that she was a puppet, she had will enough to going on the search of the truth and to sacrifice herself for a major purpose. She and Roxas are Nobodies, but they seem to have a heart instead of nothing, and, although the Organization made them suffer, they were enough strong-willed to avoid all the obstacles.
Sometimes I wished that things had change a little for Xion... Maybe the story couldn't be continued, but Xion didn't deserve to vanish in Roxas' arms.


END OF THE SPOILERS