NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Next week I'll be starting my Chamorro summer classes, and so those who are on Guam and interested in attending need to get in contact with me to learn the meetings dates and times. I've had these Chamorro classes for four years now, and they are alot of fun for me, and a good way to test out things that I eventually use when I teach Chamorro in a more formal setting. Below is a narrative I put together to shed light on how the classes evolved. ************************* I did not grow up speaking Chamorro. I am what is referred to as a “non-native” Chamorro language speaker. I only learned to speak Chamorro after taking classes at the University of Guam and also convincing my grandparents to speak to me in Chamorro. My experience in learning Chamorro was difficult. While I was supported by some, too many others were not supportive and were very counter-productive in my learning. The Chamorro language has come to the point where it is not quite dead

I've been so out of shape this past year, I'm committed to going hiking at least every other week this summer. In order to fulfill this promise, I'm coordinating Miget's Secret Summer Hikes, that will take place at random intervals this summer. There is no schedule for the hikes. There is no real order. It is a mixture of places I love to visit and new places that people are introducing me to. The only place I really post info about them is on Facebook. If you aren't a friend of mine on Facebook then you won't be able to learn much about them. Asi'i yu'. Here is a pick of where I went to today.

For those interested in providing your child with a memorable summer experience and teach them about Chamorro culture and immerse them in the Chamorro language, Hurao Guahan is accepting applications for their Tiempon Somnak, or Summer Camp. I will be enrolling Sumahi this session because she really needs more support for her Chamorro language learning. I speak to her all the time, but no other kids around her speak Chamorro. Very few adults she knows speak Chamorro and so she feels very isolated in the language. I'm hoping this experience will help her become more comfortable in her Chamorro. Here is the link to the application. Here is the link to their Facebook page. I love the theme that Hurao brings to their language revitalization work. You can see it on their t-shirts and on their Facebook page banner. It reads, "Hasso yu'. Fana'gue yu'. Na'i yu' ni' iyo-ku." That translates to: Remember (think or) me. Teach me. Give me what is min

My summer ends tomorrow. It wasn't much of a summer because I had to teach the entire time and took on several other projects in order to get by, but it was nice not teaching 5 or 6 classes a week for two months. I want to celebrate the end of the summer by watching some senseless movie tonight. I was thinking of Final Destination 5 . I've always been a fan of horror and suspense movies. When I say fan I don't mean that I particularly enjoy watching them, since a lot of the time I'm watching with my glasses off or watching events out of the corner of my eye. But I am always a fan of the simple plots and narratives that horror movies employ. Like any genre there are conventions and there are attempts to break those conventions. There are ways of citing older films, attempting to break into new territories. Alot of times horror and suspense films are simply taking an experience everyone is already used to and moving it into a new location where you can do the same thing

I haven't posted anything in a couple days. It's not because I haven't been writing anything lately, I've actually been writing plenty. Both for this blog, but also for other projects. I just haven't had time or energy to post anything. I've still kept up with  my Tumblr " I Pilan Yanggen Sumahi.. ." and I still tweet on Twitter . I've also been swamped with preparing a grant proposal for next month and the fact that school starts next week at UOG. One thing which is also taking my time away from this blog is the fact that I've been trying to catch up on my summer reading this past week, even though the summer is almost over. I had a pile of books that I wanted to read but didn't get to most of them because I was too busy teaching, writing, taking care of my kids and starting a new relationship. But this past week I decided to set aside a good chunk of time to just relax myself and read for a while. One of the first books I picked up