NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

I haven't posted much for the past week because I have been rushing to finish up my novel this month for ChaNoWriMo or Chamorro Novel Writing Month. The goal is to reach 50,000 words by the end of November. It is almost the end of November and with two days to go I am at 45,000 words. I should be able to make it this weekend but it has been a long slog.  For three years I have worked on the same story tentatively titled "The Legend of the Chamurai." In it a warrior makahna or wizard during the ancient times has a vision where she witnesses the end of the Chamorro people. In order to prevent that end from taking place all sorts of giant mythical creatures and samurai and Spanish soldiers get mixed in. The first 50,000 words of this story were very focused, establishing the world of ancient Chamorros, the types of powers and spells they might have, the lore and the cultural knowledge that guided them at that time. The next 50,000 words built on t

Earlier today I had the honor of giving a presentation before the Guam National Football (Soccer) Team. They have a friendly tournament coming up on island where they'll be facing off against teams like Saipan, Macau and Mongolia. I was asked by some of the coaches and staff for the team to speak about traditional navigation and use it as a metaphor to inspire the players. Traditional navigation in Micronesia is something to absolutely be proud of, even on Guam where it was lost for centuries and is being incorporated back into life again. People say that Magellan put Guam on the map. He did so only for Europeans. Peoples in Micronesia had their own maps and Guam was already on them. Chamorros had their own maps and these maps stretched from Asia to the Marshall Islands covering thousands of miles. To fixate on Magellan putting Guam on an map helps us forget so much that we can and should be proud of. Magellan puts Guam on the map 3500 years after Chamorros put it

Taga', the Great Maga'lahi of the CNMI and in particular the island of Tinian. He is well-known for the latte house in Tinian that bears his name. In Rota there is a statute of him that stands before the As Nieves quarry there. LIke Gadao in Guam he is a larger than life figure for whom there are many stories and not just the ones that people write on monuments and record in story books. But like so many figures of this type there are those stories that are flattering and those that aren't so flattering. Taga' for example is not only associated with the erecting of great latte houses, but he is also known for being an angry and cruel parent. Take for example the story below from Pedero Ogo in 1962 about Taga'. Ogo is best known for helping Donald Topping and Bernadita Dungca with the creation of the Chamorro-English Dictionary that is widely used today. In this story, Taga' is not a great hero, but a father who sees that his son may surpass him in streng

I began teaching the Chamorro language formally at the University of Guam this past semester. It was a very eye-opening experience. After 10 years of classes in the community, whether they be in coffee shops, community centers or via email, it was both empowering and frightening to have a classroom that was mine to design for 220 minutes each week. I found that alot of my informal style worked well, but that I needed to produce more materials and handouts to keep students engaged. More and more I realize students have trouble just listening and following instructions but constantly need a sheet of paper in front of them telling them what is what. When you organize lessons in a coffee shop only those that want to learn will attend, but when you teach a class the overwhelming majority who attend many not want to learn but simply want to pass and so I learned I needed to recognize this lack of motivation and compensate for it. But because I was focusing on teaching in the classroom I

Gaige yu' giya Luta gi este na weekend. Dumeskakansa ham yan i nobia-hu guini. Meggai dinimalas yan na'triste gi i finakpo' i sakkan para Guahu. Giya Luta hu kekehagong huyong todu ayu na piniti yan sahuma halom nuebu na fuetsa. Este na ma'pos na sakkan na'yafai para Guahu, lao mas meggai na makkat na cho'cho' hu fafana' gi i mamaila na sakkan Para bai hu honora este na sen gatbo na tano', malago' yu' na bei hu "post" guini magi i palabras para i ofisiat na kanta-na i isla. I na'an-na i anthem Luta "I Tano'-Mami." Estague i palabras:  *********** I Tano’-mami I Tano’-mami I Tano’-mami ti dangkolu na isla, Lao sumen gatbo todu i uriya I manaina yan todu i familia Hu diseseha nah u li’e’. Todu nu hu gofli’e’ Guini gi islan Luta KORU Dikike’ na isla, bensiyon yan bunitum, I ladera-na kahulo’, kulan gua’ot para’isu, Ha fa’t

For the very first showing of The Lone Ranger on island, I took my kids. I have been excited about the film for a long time, for a variety of reasons and was eager to watch it as soon as possible. The previews looked exciting and ridiculous like so many Pirates of the Caribbean movies. There were several key differences however that made me more excited and more intrigued to see The Lone Ranger.   The Lone Ranger wasn't going to be another one of those ridiculous ensemble films where the last 40 mins are just endless resolutions to the mess that the writers and directors have created by having so many famous faces. I'm also a fan of Johnny Depp, even some of his less than popular or weird roles I still find interesting. I have for the past few years had a weird fascination with Westerns. I hated the genre for most of my life because the films weren't very well made and the politics involved were sometimes terrible. I had a few films such as Dances With Wolve

Since I started teaching at UOG, I've noticed a lot more students who come from the CNMI, than I can recall from when I was an undergraduate ten years ago. Perhaps I just never noticed them before, or nothing ever came up in discussions in class which would help reveal their identities, but I'm often amazed at how many people I'll have from Saipan, Rota and Tinian in my Guam History, World History and English Composition classes. I guess it might be part of the decline of the CNMI's economy, that families up there can no longer afford to send their kids straight to the states for college, but have to go to the best, cheapest, nearby option which is Guam. This new mix can make things interesting, just as having people from the other Micronesian Islands can. It can help challenge the dominance that local, Guam students feel, being the biggest and most American island in Micronesia. It can either help show them that there is another side or two to how islands can exist a

"One" ginnen U2 Is it getting better Or do you feel the same Will it make it easier on you now You got someone to blame You say... One love One life When it's one need In the night One love We get to share it Leaves you baby if you Don't care for it Did I disappoint you Or leave a bad taste in your mouth You act like you never had love And you want me to go without Well it's... Too late Tonight To drag the past out into the light We're one, but we're not the same We get to Carry each other Carry each other One... Have you come here for forgiveness Have you come to raise the dead Have you come here to play Jesus To the lepers in your head Did I ask too much More than a lot You gave me nothing Now it's all I got We're one But we're not the same Well we Hurt each other Then we do it again You say Love is a temple Love a higher law Love is a temple Love the higher law You ask me to enter But then you make me crawl And I can't be holding

I’m sure that most people out there have heard the term “sausagefest” before. Its a term you use to refer to the fact that something is comprised mainly of men, or to call attention to the fact that there are way too many men here. The Micronesian Island Fair last month at Ipao beach, was a very interesting and inspiring experience, but also one which some might refer to however, as a sade’fest. Sade’ is the Chamorro word used for diaper, but it is also the contemporary Chamorro word which is used for loincloth. For a variety of reasons at this year’s event, there were sevearal dozen men, from Guam and from other islands who were sporting very little clothing other than a small shred of cloth covering their, you know what’s. Chamorros from Guam and Rota who were wearing loincloths did so because of their participation in certain events, such as the building and maintaining of the guma’higai, a small cultural village which was built on the edge of the fair, and was meant to represent

Ai adai , there are so many useless and stubborn people in this world. They suck the life out of you, waste your time, and somehow have enough ego and energy left over to make it seem like you are the problem with the world. As you grow older, and time become more precious and energy becomes harder to come by, they are all the more deadly and all the more irritating. Everyday as I encounter people like this, I wish I could just close my eyes, fall asleep and when I awake they'd be gone. Here is a poem, in honor of these such people. *********************************** Gi painge Gi maigo'-hu Mangguife yu' Na ti sina mumaigo' yu' Ayugue i chi-na I yinafai-hu ********************* Last night In my sleep I dreamt That I couldn't sleep That is the nature Of my exhaustion