Today is officially the first day of fall, but the weather has been changing steadily for the past week or so. This morning I felt inspired by the changing of seasons and wrote a few poems. This first small poem is for the trees losing their leaves.
Continue reading “Po’ema put fanuchånan”
Now that I’m learning Chamoru, one thing I love to do is write little stories. Earlier this year I read some English translations of work by Misuzu Kaneko, a Japanese writer of children’s poetry. Her poems charmed me with their deep empathy for the world around her, whether it was the man selling flowers or the road buried under the snow. To write my own stories, I pull inspiration both from her poetry and my memories of my grandmother. This is the first story I attempted, about the sand and the ocean.
Continue reading “I inai yan i tasi”
A few weeks ago for Chamoru class we were asked to write our own nursery rhyme. I always like to make up silly rhymes in English, so I took full advantage of the opportunity to try it out in Chamoru. The effect is something that is fun to say and very silly. I wanted to see if rhyming different words would help me remember them better, and I think it does help. I’ve modified my original verse to center around the theme of being at the beach. There’s a lot of repetition for drilling some basic grammar.
Continue reading “Taotao gi kanton tåsi”
Early in my language-learning journey I started keeping a journal written in Chamoru. As soon as I could form a basic sentence, I was trying to write about my day. In the first month my entries were often only a few lines, usually describing very basic parts of my day. Sentences like Mamokkat yu’ para i halom tåno’ (I walked to the forest) or Hu fåhan i mannok gi tenda (I bought the chicken at the store) dominated my journal entries. I still use very basic Chamoru in my journal entries (and still make many mistakes) but I’m learning how to use my basic grammar and vocabulary to write more. One exercise I’ve been enjoying is writing down my memories in Chamoru, particularly my memories about my grandmother. This particular memory is about breakfast time.
Continue reading “Ti ya-hu amotsa, lao månnge’ i kamuti”
Buenas yan håfa adai! Na’ån-hu si Shai ya hu e’eyak fumino’ Chamoru!
Continue reading “I Chalan-hu gi fino’ Chamoru”
Lengguahi-ta 