I wrote this poem about my frustration with my inability to commit to Esperanto study. It'll very likely go through revisions, but I thought I'd share the rough draft because I'm sure at least a few of you can identify with it.

"Eterna Komencanto"

Ha ha. Did you finish the course Ana Pana though? After that one you should possess the grammar rules with ease because you can ask questions to a teacher of your own native language. It's not difficult to become an intermediate, you can obtain it in 2 weeks

"mi volas domon". You have to put the N when there is an object or a subject that receive an action, in this case the "domo" is wanted from you, so it receives your action. If the house wants you, you are the one who receives the action, so that the phrase becomes "domo volas min".

Come on, don't give up!

efilzeo:Ha ha. Did you finish the course Ana Pana though? After that one you should possess the grammar rules with ease because you can ask questions to a teacher of your own native language. It's not difficult to become an intermediate, you can obtain it in 2 weeks

"mi volas domon". You have to put the N when there is an object or a subject that receive an action, in this case the "domo" is wanted from you, so it receives your action. If the house wants you, you are the one who receives the action, so that the phrase becomes "domo volas min".

Come on, don't give up!

Thanks for the correction. I'm always forgetting the -n.

Nice, I like the mix of English and Esperanto. One thing I noticed was in "Mi estas Esperanto" near the end of the poem. In my experience the capitalization implies that you are talking about the language Esperanto, where I feel like you're trying to convey that you are an "ulo kiu esperas". Of course they call it artistic license for a reason and you can certainly claim to be "Esperanto" in a poem if you're into that sort of abstract stuff.

I myself kind of just "got my feet wet" for the first 2 years or so that I knew about Esperanto. I learned most of the grammar in my first "sprint" (benefiting from having recently studied Spanish), but then I got less serious and put less and less time into it. It was maybe a year ago now when I decided to start taking it seriously, so I started reading and sometimes taking part in discussions here (and on the Freenode IRC ##Esperanto channel). I just decided to take it seriously and post at least once a week to practice. I bought books above my level to challenge me and to give me a reason to learn further.

If Esperanto is something you want then you should make the decision to take it seriously (and hold yourself to it). This applies to anything. Too many people put off things they want and get stuck in a sort of homeostasis (I know I do). Might I suggest to add an uplifting self-challenge part to the poem at the end, where you resolve to break out of your eterna komencanto pattern once and for all?

KetchupSoldier:"Eterna Komencanto"

Maybe that ryhme dictionary and Vikio kantaro could help you to stay motivated.

I really like other cultures idioms. So it would be quite interesting how to translate 'to put down roots' into E-o. In German its 'Wurzeln schlagen' = 'to beat roots'; more in sense of 'to hammer roots into the ground' how most plants are doing.

I believe I understand the idea. 'Some sticks sinks into my skin'. In German I would write 'Einige Zweige peitschen mir ins Gesicht'; 'some branches slashes into my face or against my feet's skin' (during I'm walking through the forest or similar). I'm also very interested how you personaly would translate that into E-o. Why in English branches can 'sink' into someones skin? Why you don't mention more detail which body part these sticks sinks into or against?

Another question: 'But I must leave'. What let you must why?

kaŝperanto:Nice, I like the mix of English and Esperanto. One thing I noticed was in "Mi estas Esperanto" near the end of the poem. In my experience the capitalization implies that you are talking about the language Esperanto, where I feel like you're trying to convey that you are an "ulo kiu esperas". Of course they call it artistic license for a reason and you can certainly claim to be "Esperanto" in a poem if you're into that sort of abstract stuff.

I'm not trying to say that I am the language of Esperanto, but rather that I am "ulo kiu esperas". I figured the capitalization made it more powerful (thinking about the English translation, the line would be "I am One Who Hopes") and using that word with its original meaning--before it came to represent the language itself--would help people in my class figure out what I'm talking about, if they've ever heard of Eo before.

So yeah, claiming artistic license here.

spreecamper:Another question: 'But I must leave'. What let you must why?

Unfortunately, I do all of my Esperanto studying during breaks from school. I'm a full-time university student and since I struggle to keep homework a priority, I can't afford to also assign myself the extra homework of practicing a language a lot. Hopefully soon I'll be able to add Eo study to my routine.

KetchupSoldier:Unfortunately, I do all of my Esperanto studying during breaks from school.

I see. I also only can do some language study during commuting to work.

spreecamper:Why in English branches can 'sink' into someones skin? Why you don't mention more detail which body part these sticks sinks into or against?

I think you misunderstood. We don't say that sticks sink into someone's skin. Her poem only talks about water sticking to your skin. When she says "Some sticks", she means that some water attaches to the skin ("stick" is a verb here), then the next line is also talking about the water, that the water sinks into your skin.

KetchupSoldier:Unfortunately, I do all of my Esperanto studying during breaks from school. I'm a full-time university student and since I struggle to keep homework a priority, I can't afford to also assign myself the extra homework of practicing a language a lot. Hopefully soon I'll be able to add Eo study to my routine.

I think this is why you are having a problem retaining the information, you are leaving long intervals between practice.

I sympathize with your situation. I already spoke Esperanto when I went to university, but I did self-study of Italian while I was there. I did *not* resolve to give myself long homework assignments in Italian. Rather, I had a "learn Italian" book, and I resolved that I would do a little bit every day. I would do something, even if it only took five minutes. This "something" could be reading a short lesson text (like a paragraph), or studying 10 or 15 words of vocabulary, or doing one or two exercises from my book, or reading a description in English on how to do some grammatical structure. It was just something versus nothing, so that even if I wasn't exactly progressing, I was also helping to retain what I knew. I kept the book in my backpack when possible, and I'd take a look at it, some days, if I was sitting in a lecture hall waiting for class to begin, or while I ate lunch. And often I kept the book on my nightstand, and my five minutes of study would be right before I went to sleep. Fluent in three months? Definitely not! But this level of study, combined with more focused study on breaks, helped make sure that I didn't lose all of my progress during my busy times. I studied mechanical engineering so I had plenty of homework, and the Italian was a nice diversion at the end of the day, as I prepared for bed.

An inexpensive old textbook that isn't too big (like the O'Connor) is a great thing to carry around in your bag for those spare moments. I also have friends who enjoyed using a smartphone flashcard app to practice their vocabulary in spare moments, which might appeal to you if you enjoy such things.

erinja:I think this is why you are having a problem retaining the information, you are leaving long intervals between practice.

I sympathize with your situation. I already spoke Esperanto when I went to university, but I did self-study of Italian while I was there. I did *not* resolve to give myself long homework assignments in Italian. Rather, I had a "learn Italian" book, and I resolved that I would do a little bit every day. I would do something, even if it only took five minutes. This "something" could be reading a short lesson text (like a paragraph), or studying 10 or 15 words of vocabulary, or doing one or two exercises from my book, or reading a description in English on how to do some grammatical structure. It was just something versus nothing, so that even if I wasn't exactly progressing, I was also helping to retain what I knew. I kept the book in my backpack when possible, and I'd take a look at it, some days, if I was sitting in a lecture hall waiting for class to begin, or while I ate lunch. And often I kept the book on my nightstand, and my five minutes of study would be right before I went to sleep. Fluent in three months? Definitely not! But this level of study, combined with more focused study on breaks, helped make sure that I didn't lose all of my progress during my busy times. I studied mechanical engineering so I had plenty of homework, and the Italian was a nice diversion at the end of the day, as I prepared for bed.

An inexpensive old textbook that isn't too big (like the O'Connor) is a great thing to carry around in your bag for those spare moments. I also have friends who enjoyed using a smartphone flashcard app to practice their vocabulary in spare moments, which might appeal to you if you enjoy such things.

Thanks for the advice and link! I hadn't thought to look for an old pocket textbook.