Esperanto Youth Congress
Strange vibe here.
Lots of people with no shoes or strange hair-styles or both.
Apparently when we turned up the solemn opening ceremony was going on.
Small group sitting on the ground boiling themselves some tea. They seemed to have one giant bowl which they were handing around. I can't work out whether this is some big hippie get-together or what it is.
Certainly a shocking venue. Old Marxist venue with no grass to be seen. Just a couple of benches outside and the asphalt to sit on. Though they do have a cafe that serves beer and has outside seating. Unlike what I'd heard it certainly is a youth congress so I'm not sure how I'll fit in.
I was rather sad to see some fellow from Bangladesh get turned away. It seemed he was short money and the fellow signing him in decided he couldn't help. I think there are too many professional Esperantists at these events. Professional Esperantists that don't seem to go out of their way to make newcomers feel comfortable.
I tried to sign up for one day but instead they gave me a free pass for one day and said if I liked it I could sign up for the rest tomorrow. Ironic after what happened to the Bangladeshi. Well, he couldn't speak Esperanto... Don't know whether that was the difference. Plus it was a girl that gave me the pass - they are always kinder than blokes.
I thus took the opportunity to go the Bosnian language course and the lecture on Braille given by a blind Esperanto professor. Both were in a classroom much, much too small.
Caught the last 15 minutes of the aligatorejo. That's where you wear a post-it-note - or in my case, several - with your languages other than Esperanto and your native tongue and you wander around the room practising them. Bloody good practice it is too.
Spent the late evening till two in the morning at a table with Esperantists from Israel, Korea, Spain, Croatia and an extremely good looking Finnish girl.
When you see all the activity it really is remarkable that it's all in Esperanto.
I suspect that most of the days unfold in a similar fashion. Lectures or talks in the morning, lunch, more lectures or activities, dinner, then a lot sitting around drinking, chatting, then disco till three in the morning.
Lots of people with no shoes or strange hair-styles or both.
Apparently when we turned up the solemn opening ceremony was going on.
Small group sitting on the ground boiling themselves some tea. They seemed to have one giant bowl which they were handing around. I can't work out whether this is some big hippie get-together or what it is.
Certainly a shocking venue. Old Marxist venue with no grass to be seen. Just a couple of benches outside and the asphalt to sit on. Though they do have a cafe that serves beer and has outside seating. Unlike what I'd heard it certainly is a youth congress so I'm not sure how I'll fit in.
I was rather sad to see some fellow from Bangladesh get turned away. It seemed he was short money and the fellow signing him in decided he couldn't help. I think there are too many professional Esperantists at these events. Professional Esperantists that don't seem to go out of their way to make newcomers feel comfortable.
I tried to sign up for one day but instead they gave me a free pass for one day and said if I liked it I could sign up for the rest tomorrow. Ironic after what happened to the Bangladeshi. Well, he couldn't speak Esperanto... Don't know whether that was the difference. Plus it was a girl that gave me the pass - they are always kinder than blokes.
I thus took the opportunity to go the Bosnian language course and the lecture on Braille given by a blind Esperanto professor. Both were in a classroom much, much too small.
Caught the last 15 minutes of the aligatorejo. That's where you wear a post-it-note - or in my case, several - with your languages other than Esperanto and your native tongue and you wander around the room practising them. Bloody good practice it is too.
Spent the late evening till two in the morning at a table with Esperantists from Israel, Korea, Spain, Croatia and an extremely good looking Finnish girl.
When you see all the activity it really is remarkable that it's all in Esperanto.
I suspect that most of the days unfold in a similar fashion. Lectures or talks in the morning, lunch, more lectures or activities, dinner, then a lot sitting around drinking, chatting, then disco till three in the morning.
posted by Budz at 6:40 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home