Row, Row, Row Your Boat...

Hi everyone! We're back with another blog to satisfy your Pidgin English cravings and to fill you in on the fun events taking place at the Maui Language Institute. This past Friday, we took another field trip to the Kahana Beach Park. The last time we were there, we volunteered by helping to clean up the area. So we decided to have a little fun this time and go canoe paddling! We got to experience the feeling of sailing over the beautiful waters of Maui. Some of our students have never tried canoe paddling before, so it was especially memorable for them. After we worked up our appetites from all of that padding, we got to enjoy “choke” food at our potluck. Just like always, there was an amazing variety of culinary treats made by our students. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in the warm Hawaiian sun in the company of good friends.

By the way, if you are ever on Maui, there is a wonderful event celebrating the culture and artistry of canoes that takes place every year called, "The International Festival of Canoes" and it showcases master canoe makers from all over the world. You can actually see tree logs being carved into full-sized canoe hulls. You can check out pictures of last year's event at http://www.mauifestivalofcanoes.com

Since I'm sure that all of you that have been reading our blogs have mastered basic Pidgin English words and phrases by now, today's word will be a little more esoteric. It's actually an easy word to learn and to use, but it is not used in conversation as much as the other words taught in this blog. The word is "poho" and it comes straight from the Hawaiian language. Poho describes something that is wasteful, as in the English phrase "what a waste." Let's take a look at some examples.

Jack:Ho, wat wen happen to all the food the other night?
Mike: Oh, we wen throw um away.
Jack:Poho!

Translation:
Jack: Hey what happened to all of the food from last night?
Mike: Oh we threw it all away.
Jack: What?! What a waste!

2. Alan: Ho, how’s your cousin, he stay med school ah?
Trevor: Ho bra, he had one scholarship and everything, but he when drop out.
Alan: No ways....ai some poho ah!

Translation:
Alan: Hey how is your cousin doing? He's in medical school right?
Trevor: Even though he had a scholarship to go to medical school, he dropped out.
Alan: Are you serious?! That's a shame (waste)!

If you could read and understand those Pidgin English sentences without looking at the translation, congratulations! This is what a typical conversation in Pidgin English might sound like. I must leave you all once again, but another blog update is on its way! So I'll see you soon! Aloha!