"Gufujo" threw me when I first encountered it in the lessons here, because I remembered the name "Strigo" from "Winnie-la-Pu". Eventually I figured out there just might be different names for different types of owl . . .

Wilhelm:
For me, the best way to improve one's passive knowledge of any language is to read, and then read some more.

I really enjoyed Julio Baghy's the Verda Koro. It starts off easy and gets more complex as the story progresses (if I remember correctly).
Plus it is such a great story that, in the end, brought a tear to my eye.

I agree regarding the importance of reading. The problem is that I'm not even to the point of being able to read much without having to refer to a dictionary with what seems like every word.

I have a few old issues of Kontakto and have tried to work through a few articles. I can do it, but it's extremely frustrating and time intensive since I'm having to go to a dictionary to translate about 80% of the words.

But hey, I guess that's how it goes in the beginning. . .

sudanglo:SPX, why not try the Esperanto translation of Winnie the Pooh.

Winnie the Pooh you say! I remember reading Winnie the Pooh as a kid.

Maybe that's a good idea. I will go to the bookstore and see what Winnie the Pooh books I can dig up.

erinja:
As I said, a gufujo is a chill-out area. You would expect to find drinking in another area of the event. For example, the Esperanto course held each summer in Slovakia has always had a bar (or at a minimum, a kiosk selling snacks and drinks including beer) on-site.

Esperanto events offer plenty of drinking for those who want it, but also the gufujo for those who aren't interested. It's a good mix of options.

Beer + strangers + Esperanto. An interesting combination. I'm game.

erinja:"La Espero" is sort of like Esperanto's national anthem. It's a poem written by Zamenhof, that has also been set to music. Lots of large (and some small) Esperanto events sing La Espero at the opening and/or closing ceremony.

You can listen to it on Youtube (or also with an English translation)

Ah, gotcha. I'll try to get a copy of it. (Shouldn't be too hard, I assume?)

I was a little surprised to see that Gufujo is already in John Well's dictionary. I didn't realise the term had already achieved that degree of currency. A Gufo is translated in John's dictionary as an Eagle owl. Perhaps this is a common bird on the Continent, I don't think it is seen often in Britain.

SPX:Ah, gotcha. I'll try to get a copy of it. (Shouldn't be too hard, I assume?)

Just Google it and print it out if you want it on paper. It's a page.

It sounds like you'll benefit from lernu's new library, which will have a much wider selection of library texts with clickable words for dictionary lookup (like the clickable word option we have here now).

In the meantime, why not have a look at the stories in lernu's current library? It's a small selection but you can click on words to have a translation, you don't need to be flipping through a dictionary.

SPX:
I agree regarding the importance of reading. The problem is that I'm not even to the point of being able to read much without having to refer to a dictionary with what seems like every word.

I have a few old issues of Kontakto and have tried to work through a few articles. I can do it, but it's extremely frustrating and time intensive since I'm having to go to a dictionary to translate about 80% of the words.

But hey, I guess that's how it goes in the beginning. . .

For the first few months, (perhaps 6 of em), i printed out stuff on paper with double spacing. Then i could write down the translation of the word above the esperanto. By the time i had finished "gerda malaperis" I had written the same words down so many times, i had finally remembered the basics. I recon i needed to write down the word at least 20 times before it started to sink in, and another 20 after that to completely remember
After that book, i read the sister book to "Gerda" (forgot the name) and found i only needed to translate every now and again.

Yes. it's tough when you are starting out, with so many difficult words to learn like Birdo, Papero, Mapo, Programo, Disko, Germano, Cigaro, Pipo, Buso, Anteno, Radio, Printi, Probabla, Materialo, Masturbi, Peniso, Gorilo, Sinki, Torpedo, Ekonomio.

Yep, it's tough, but it separates the men from the boys.

sudanglo:Yes. it's tough when you are starting out, with so many difficult words to learn like Birdo, Papero, Mapo, Programo, Disko, Germano, Cigaro, Pipo, Buso, Anteno, Radio, Printi, Probabla, Materialo, Masturbi, Peniso, Gorilo, Sinki, Torpedo, Ekonomio.

Yep, it's tough, but it separates the men from the boys.

Sneaky irony haha

It's not really nouns that are a problem in the beginning, but rather some verbs, particles, and the correlatives.

sudanglo:Yes. it's tough when you are starting out, with so many difficult words to learn like Birdo, Papero, Mapo, Programo, Disko, Germano, Cigaro, Pipo, Buso, Anteno, Radio, Printi, Probabla, Materialo, Masturbi, Peniso, Gorilo, Sinki, Torpedo, Ekonomio.

Yep, it's tough, but it separates the men from the boys.

mdr

Vestitor:Sneaky irony haha

It's not really nouns that are a problem in the beginning, but rather some verbs, particles, and the correlatives.

I didn't find the correlatives all that hard. Once you can separate kiom from kiam and kiel from kial, the rest is relatively easy.

Participles are where I have trouble, but I read an explanation from Don Harlow that might help. That, and practice. Oh, and for some reason I have trouble keeping some of the -aŭ words straight. I keep having to look up ankaŭ and ankoraŭ to remember which is which, for instance.