The Beauty of Words

Hello to everyone out there! I hope that this blog finds you in great health and the best of spirits.

Before we dive into more beautiful poetry, let’s have a quick Pidgin English lesson today. Here is a word that I'm sure you'll understand easily, since the meaning is similar in both formal English and Pidgin English. While there is a difference in usage, the biggest difference lies in the pronunciation. The word in standard English is "winner," but the word in Pidgin becomes "winna" or "winnas." Generally speaking, you would most likely say "winnas" to describe a noun. In fact, most of the time "winnas" is used to describe food as we will see in our examples.

Winnas - Amazing, great, it's a winner!

1. Joe: Ho how’s the food?
Larry: Ho the buggah is mean, especially the steak, it's winnas!

Translation: Joe: How does the food taste?
Larry: Oh it's really good, especially the steak, it's incredible!

2. Shaun: Ho I heard you wen go to dat new restaurant last night, how was? Fred: Ho was winnas!

Translation: Shaun: Hey I heard that you went to that new restaurant last night. How was it?
Fred: It was amazing!

On to our poetry! Today we will hear from our talented poet Ji Hun. So let’s get right into it with his poem called "The Girl."


The Girl

I don't know well about girls.
I can't feel some girl's minds.
You know why?
Because their mind looks like my mom.
You know why?
Because of their eyes seems like deeps rivers.
Even though we can't well speak.
I can feeling something about from your eyes.
Are you? ...
one of my favorite girls.





With that I shall wish you a farewell until we meet again...which will be soon so don't worry!

Poetry in Motion

Hello again! Welcome back to another blog filled with more Pidgin English lessons and creative poetry by our MLI students. So let’s get right to it! Today's Pidgin English lesson covers a phrase which is actually used all over the world. However, the accent and usage is slightly different. The phrase I am talking about is "for real," or in Hawaii it would be pronounced "fo real?” or even “fo reals?

Fo real? - Really? Are you serious? Are you sure? Is that so

1. Jack: Ho I found 100 bucks on the ground today! Pat: Ho no ways! Fo real?!?

2. Jack: Ho you heard that Dave going get married? Pat: What?!? Fo reals?

Now lets move on to our talented poets! Today we will featuring the the poetry of Akiko, who comes from Japan. Here's Akiko!


Mother Island

The soft wind in Maui
Breathes arounds us tenderly
Beautiful birds signing
The wind carries the birdsong
The ocean illuminates in seven colors
It lights up our heart
The sounds of the wave
Is like a beating heart
Giving us the power to live
Mother Island Maui






Miso Soup of Love

You wake up earlier than anyone
I wake up to sounds of cooking
From the kitchen
You cook different kind of miso soup
Everyday
It tastes of mother's tenderness
I learned how to cook miso soup
From you
Someday, I'll cook it
For my beloved somebody




:) I can't think of a better way to end this blog. So see you all again soon! Aloha!

Hayeon's Haiku

Here's another amazing piece of poetry for you to enjoy. Hayeon is a beginning level Korean student at MLI who loves to read English poetry. She recently wrote her first Haiku.


An old tree stood long
Without breath, without no leaves
A swallow come sing.


It's beautiful isn't it? There will be more great updates with poetry and pictures, so stay tuned and we'll see you soon. Aloha!

Poetry

Aloha! I'm excited to say that we have a special treat for all of you out there. Over the course of the next few blogs, we will be showcasing a few of our students and the poetry that they wrote in our classes here at the MLI.

But first, let's learn some new Pidgin! Here are a couple of words that can be used to describe something that you like a lot or that you think is great, like our students’ poetry! The word we will learn today is "mean." I bet that the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear the word "mean" is someone who is not nice. However, it can have another completely different meaning.

Mean - Awesome, great, fantastic, amazing.
1. John: How was da concert last night?
Mike: Ho, was mean!

Translation: John: How was the concert last night?
Mike: It was amazing!

2. John: Hey I just when cook this, try try um...hows?
Mike: Ho, the buggah is mean!

Translation: John: Hey I just cooked this, can you taste it for me? How is it?
Mike: Wow, it's fantastic!

Now on to some of our “mean” poetry! Our first poet hails from Japan. He recently completed our program here at the Maui Language Institute and will continue his education at a university on Oahu. So without further ado, here's Kazuya!


My sweet hometown
I smell the warm heart in Komobuchi.
"Hello" can be heard all around.
I smile in return.
"Good bye" can be heard all around.
I come back and say "I am home" in return.

Bright English
It's too bright to see.
Still I have a desire to grab it.
Always she escapes from me.
Knowing it's hard to get.
Someday I will catch up with her.


Ho that was mean, ah? We'll be back with more Pidgin English updates and great poets soon, so stay tuned. See ya for now. Peace!

Passionately Presented Poetry...and Good Food ;)

I can't believe how quickly time goes by! We have already come to the end of another session. You know what that means right? Another one of our potluck parties of course! We were mesmerized by the entertainment provided by our talented students. We were treated to poetry readings, fun skits, and even musical performances. There was also choke food! After we feasted, there were leftovers for people to take home! (a Hawaiian practice - take one plate lunch home for to grind later.) There was everything from seafood, to soup, to homemade baked goods, to exotic desserts.

Although our potluck parties are a time for relaxing and having fun, it is also a time to say goodbye to our students who have completed our program. Although we had to say farewell to a few of our students, we are also proud of all they have accomplished. The skills that they have learned from the Maui Language Institute will continue to serve them as they pursue their life goals. Many of our students continue their education and earn degrees at English speaking colleges and universities around the world.

Pidgin English time! I have already used today's word in several of the past blogs, so this will be an easy lesson for those of you who have kept up with your Pidgin English studies.I will continue to incorporate more and more Pidgin English sentences into these blogs so you can see how Pidgin can be used in natural conversations. Keep up with these lessons and you'll be well on your way to having conversations in Pidgin English.

Shoots - OK, alright, sounds good, see ya later
1. Jack: Eh I gotta go work so I'll talk to you afta.
Jim: Shoots.

Translation:
Jack: I have to go to work now so I'll talk to you later.
Jim: Ok, see ya

Now if we combine the words you’ve learned from the last few blogs, we can build a small conversation.

John: Eh, howzit?
Mike: Howzit?
John: I stay hungry, you like go grind?
Mike: Shoots!

Translation:
John: Hey! What’s up?
Mike: What’s up?
John: I'm pretty hungry. Do you want to get something to eat?
Mike: Sure, sounds good!

I will continue to incorporate more and more Pidgin English sentences into these blogs so you can see how Pidgin can be used in natural conversations. Keep up with these lessons and you'll be well on your way to having conversations in Pidgin English. Aloha for now!

Canoes, Paddles, and MLI Students! Oh my!

Alo-o-o-oha! We just got back from another one of our field trips! We headed down to the beach on Friday for some canoe paddling and a little fun in the sun. For many of us, this was the first time experiencing the thrill of paddling on the open sea.

After a brief lesson on the basics of canoe paddling, we jumped right in and went for it. You could feel the anticipation build as we entered the water to begin our adventure. We quickly got into the rhythm of paddling in unison, which allowed us to glide smoothly over the gentle currents. We even caught a few waves and rode them back to shore. And of course, the day wouldn't be complete without a little competition. We got to show-off all of our newly-learned canoe paddling skills by having a little race. We had choke fun! What does "choke" mean you ask? Lets find out with this blog's Pidgin lesson.

Choke - A large quantity of something, many, lots, copious
Ex.
1. Had choke guys at the party? - Yea, had choke!
Were there a lot of people at the party? - Yes, there were a lot of people there!
2. Get choke food ah!
Wow! There is so much food here!

If you have kept up with all of our past Pidgin English lessons, you now have quite a good arsenal of words under your belt. I will conclude this blog by writing my last paragraph completely in Pidgin. There will be words you already know, as well as some that you might have not heard before. Try to see if you can figure out the meaning of those words on your own. If you are able to understand what I write here, give yourself a pat on the back! I think you'll find that you can probably understand a lot!

Ho, we had choke fun going canoe paddling! I like go again! Bra, gaurans I going go again this weekend. Oh yea, this week is the last week of da session fo our MLI students! Den they get one week off from school! Ho, some lucky ah dem! We going have one pot-luck party this week so we can end dis session wit one bang! Every time we get one pot-luck party, get choke ono grinds! I no can wait for eat um all! No worries, I going take choke pictures and put um on top this blog. So you can check um out and drool over all the ono grinds we going get! K, dat's all fo now! Shoots!

Chicken Wings Anyone?

Hey there! Just this past week, two of our students participated in a chicken wing eating contest that was held here on the college campus. Itsuki and Ji Hun were nominated by the student body to represent MLI, and to go after the coveted iPod Nano (first prize!). What they neglected to tell us is that the chicken wings would be spiced with el scorcho buffalo sauce (‘ho dat bugga is hot!’). Itsuki ‘wen go fo broke’ but got hot lips, and Ji Hun thought he could eat slowly… but still came out in second place. No surprise that a culinary student won. “Ho, he wen win!” They did a great job and made MLI proud. Pictures speak louder than words, so check it out.

Here is another quick Pidgin English lesson. I think that this word is easy to use (because you can use it in so many situations), but can be quite difficult to understand at first. If you ever come to Hawaii, I am sure that you will hear this word at least once or twice while you are here. Da kine - This can be used in lieu of a noun, verb, adjective, pronoun...pretty much anything. It can also be used in place of "umm" or "hmm" in casual conversations. Because you can use da kine in place of virtually any word (especially nouns), you must understand the context of the conversation in order to understand what da kine is referencing.

Sounds confusing? Let’s go to some examples to help clear things up.



Situation: Jake was invited to birthday party by Karen last night, but he told his friend Mike that he wasn't sure if he would go or not.


Mike: Ho Jake, you when go to da kine (the party) last night?
Jake: Oh yea yea, I went
Mike: Was da kine's (Karen’s) party ah?
Jake: Yea yea, Karen.
Mike: What kind of party was?
Jake: Was one da kine (birthday) party.

It seems confusing at first, but it's easy to understand once you hear it a few times. It's very commonly used, so keep your ears open!

That brings me the end of this blog. Take care and I'll see you all again soon!