esperantomobilo: We are the Esperanto speakers who say "Ni!"

Esperantomobilo (

esperantomobilo) wrote,
@ 2003-11-11 16:02:00

We are the Esperanto speakers who say "Ni!"
We are a team of six Esperanto speakers from the United States (

amuzulo,

elinjo, Loren) and Russia (Diana, Libera, Oleg) who decided to buy the Esperantomobilo and travel through the American continent teaching Esperanto. You can also read about our adventures starting in June 2004.

During our trip, we hope to be in the national news and also be interviewed by different radio and television stations. However, we need your help. If you live in the USA or Canada and could provide a place for Esperanto courses, invite us! We will come to energize the Esperanto movement in your region. We plan to start in Boston and then travel through Canada and the USA. If you cannot help us locally, maybe you could donate to us. If you have a website, you could also link to us from your site to http://www.esperantomobilo.org/. We look forward to working with you.

Ni estas teamo de ses esperantistoj el Usono (

amuzulo,

elinjo, Loren) kaj Rusio (Diana, Libera, Oleg), kiuj decidis aĉeti la Esperantomobilon kaj vojaĝi tra Ameriko instruante Esperanton. Vi ankaŭ povas legi pri niaj aventuroj komence de junio 2004.

Dum nia vojaĝo ni esperas esti en la naciaj novaĵoj kaj ankaŭ esti intervjuataj de diversaj radiaj kaj televidaj stacioj. Tamen, ni bezonas vian helpon. Se vi loĝas en Usono aŭ Kanado kaj povus prizorgi lokon por kursoj, invitu nin! Ni venos por vigligi la Esperanto-movadon en via regiono. Ni planas unue trairi de Bostono norde tra Kanado al la okcidento kaj poste al la suda Usono kaj tiam al la oriento. Se vi ne povas subteni nin loke, eble vi povus donaci al ni. Aŭ se vi havas retpaĝaron, vi povus simple meti ligilon de via paĝo al www.esperantomobilo.org. Ni antaŭĝojas kunlabori kun vi.

(Post a new comment)

	e_novosti 2003-11-11 07:30 am UTC (link)
	En la unua alineo de la angla versio estas teksto "vi povas legi pri viaj aventuroj" -- kaj devas esti "niaj", cxu ne? Sukcesojn en la afero! Sl. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	esperantomobilo 2003-11-11 07:43 am UTC (link)
	Dankon, mi korektis! (Reply to this)(Parent)

Route?

openmynd
2003-11-11 12:15 pm UTC (link)

Is the route set already? I see the map, but I see what seem to be glaring problems with the stops.

Three stops in the midwest, three in Texas, and 4 in the Pacific Northwest? Those are big clumps. Let me suggest:

Midwest: Looks like you have St. Louis, Des Moine IA, and Minneapolis in mind. Why Des Moine?

Texas: Looks like Houston, Austin, and Dallas. I say skip Dallas/Ft. Worth; there's not much Esperanto activity there, nor is the mindset of the type that it would be a productive stop. Houston and Austin are good stops.

Pacific Northwest: Looks like Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and Portland OR. Why Tacoma and/or Olympia? They're pretty close together. Pick one or the other.

Mountain states: You only have one stop in the mountain states, and it looks like Albuquerque, NM. Denver, Salt Lake City, and Phoenix would be good stops, and they are far apart, geographically spreading out the influence of the tour:

Overall suggestions based on assumptions: Remove Des Moine IA and Tacoma WA from the tour. Replace with one of the following: Denver, CO and Salt Lake City, UT; Denver or Salt Lake City, and Phoenix; Denver or SLC, and San Diego or Los Angeles.

I could be wrong about all this, but it seems a bit lopsided, so those are my suggestions. Ideas? Or are things already set in stone?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

Re: Route?

esperantomobilo
2003-11-11 12:36 pm UTC (link)

These things are just there to make our page look pretty. ;-) No actually, I wanted to have some kind of idea of where we'd go based on the clubs at http://www.esperantoland.org/grupoj/mapo.php?mapo=6 I thought it would give me a good foundation to start from because these clubs are active enough to put up a page there. I might put up another more realistic map tomorrow...

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Route? openmynd 2003-11-11 01:14 pm UTC (link)
	Ah, OK. :-) But don't concentrate on clubs, neccesarily. There are plenty of places that don't have an Esperanto presence which could benefit from one. Of course, I guess it depends on your focus: those already interested in Esperanto, or those who might like to learn a bit to see what it's like. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Route?

amuzulo
2003-11-11 01:35 pm UTC (link)

Well, I hope you still realize we're in the very early phases of planning our tour. Right now we're starting to get together a list of cities and local contacts which we will later put on the map and then plan out the most effective route as well as timing for various Esperanto and foreign language teaching events. We started brainstorming possible routes using these clubs because we assume that we will most likely have the most local support in these areas. We're pretty sure we won't go into any city if we have no local support there. However, if we find just one competent local person (even if they don't speak Esperanto) who is excited and enthusiastic about the idea, we'll probably go there.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Route?

tandrews
2003-11-11 03:44 pm UTC (link)

Actually, it seems that this would be a reasonable thing to announce through an ELNA distribution list. I suspect that a number of enthusiastic but geographically isolated members would love to have the "E-Team" van show up to help them whip-up some interest in Esperanto.

Actually, this brings up another question: does ELNA have an actual email distribution list for its members? I know that ELNA has email addresses in its list of members, but I don't think that I have ever received any kind of bulk emails from them (even to remind me to send in my membership dues!) Compiling such a list should have been done long ago, but I haven't actually seen any clear indication that it has been done. Hmmm....

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Route? (Anonymous) 2003-11-11 08:05 pm UTC (link)
	Why don´t you offer ELNA to compile this e-mail list? Maybe they would appreciate your help... Joel Brozovsky, who is now the only person in the office can´t do it, so you will have to volunteer. korajn salutojn. Diana, Pittsburgh (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Route?

esperantomobilo
2003-11-12 12:19 am UTC (link)

From what I remember, ELNA either has or plans to create such a list. I'll call Joel sometime to discuss this possibility. In the meantime, I sent a message to the yahoogroups: usej-diskuto, elna-membroj and aktivusono, so that reached most of the active US Esperanto speakers. We plan to make more international announcements later, but we want to advertise in waves, so the response doesn't overwhelm us. Thanks for the suggestions!

(Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: Route?

tandrews
2003-11-11 04:42 pm UTC (link)

I'm not so sure about Dallas/Ft. Worth; actually in some ways they are far more active than Austin, since they regularly have classes and have been responsible for many newspaper articles in local papers. In addition, Phil Dorcas (of the North Texas group) is the vice president of ELNA and one of the real "motors" in the ELNA Board of Directors. Certainly Austin is a far more Esperanto-friendly place, but the North Texas group has some very competent and industrious Esperanto speakers. Since I grew-up in that area, I can say with confidence that some people there would love to find out more about Esperanto. While you will probably find a lower percentage of people interested in Esperanto in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, this interest can be kept alive through the ongoing support from the current Esperanto group. Perhaps more to the point, the North Texas group are actually willing and able to take care of the mundane details of setting up a local class.

In addition, it seems that the somewhat older group there might benefit from some younger faces. This really isn't a problem with the Austin group; I believe that its members are all under 50 (and mainly in their 20's and 30's). It seems to me that the lack of any really expert-level Esperanto speakers is more of a problem in Austin, where most members have a year or less experience with the language.

Also, in Austin perhaps the Esperanto-mobile can help the rather new local group form some links with other Esperanto groups. The recent Tut-Teksasa Kunveno helps, but we also need more contact with the broader Esperanto community.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Route?

openmynd
2003-11-11 04:45 pm UTC (link)

All good suggestions. I'm from D/FW, and I have a very bad taste in my mouth about the whole place, so I'm biased. :-P But, if the local club is doing classes, why should the Esperantomobile go there and repeat their efforts (unless I'm missing something)? If going to a town with an active club, it would better to go to a town where said club hasn't been teaching classes (such as Austin).

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Route?

tandrews
2003-11-11 05:07 pm UTC (link)

Ha! It sounds like we had pretty much the same experience in D/FW! :-P

Yeah, I certainly agree that the Esperantomobile will have a much bigger impact in Austin. Actually, it may also help us establish a model for further Esperanto courses. Austin is the kind of town that will always a small but steady stream of people interested in learning Esperanto (for a variety of reasons) and we really should have a real course available on a regular basis (perhaps through Informal Courses?).

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Route? openmynd 2003-11-11 05:45 pm UTC (link)
	Agreed. I know I've learned an extremely amazing amount just having coffee once or twice a month with the group. I had never spoken Esperanto to another person before coming to the meetings, and now I've got many hours of live Esperanto chatter under my belt. (Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: Route?

esperantomobilo
2003-11-12 12:24 am UTC (link)

Thanks for both of your comments! Maybe it would also be a good idea to explore why you both had a "bad taste in your mouth" after visiting them. It could help us set up a strategy for a plan and vision of the local club. Remember that we also have a considerable amount of organizational experience and we'll also be able to use that to discuss potential problems and solutions with local clubs so that active clubs can be more effective in the future. Do either of you have any insights as to why you had bad experiences there? This could be helpful to know for initial contacts with the club.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Route?

tandrews
2003-11-12 09:10 am UTC (link)

Actually, I think the "bad taste" is more about the fact that living there sucks! (Or at least it did when I was a kid.) As I mentioned above, the North Texas club is very good. I'm sure they will happily provide a lot of support.

Despite the fact that it is a cultural wasteland (IMO), the area is large and broken up into a lot of towns that don't necessarily mix so well. So, people in Arlington or Grapevine probably won't go to North Richland Hills for an Esperanto class unless they are intensely interested in Esperanto. Perhaps your 3 groups of instructors could work in different nearby town. I bet Phil and the rest could help with the details.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	Course? tandrews 2003-11-11 04:52 pm UTC (link)
	BTW, what kind of course are you thinking of doing (e.g. how long, how many sessions, how much info covered, etc)? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	Re: Course? tandrews 2003-11-11 06:39 pm UTC (link)
	Sorry! Perhaps I should have read all this a bit more carefully. It seems that most of my questions are answered here: http://www.esperantomobilo.org/eventoj.html (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Course?

esperantomobilo
2003-11-12 12:27 am UTC (link)

No problem. We don't yet have listed there that we plan to offer two courses: one for people who know absolutely nothing about Esperanto and another one for beginners/intermediate speakers. Since we have a team of six people, we'll probably have two people teaching the first class, two in the second, and another two will travel around the city giving lectures about Esperanto. These will probably pair off into American/Russian pairs to give a more international feel as well as having an American available in case problems arise.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	starshinespirit 2003-11-11 06:57 pm UTC (link)
	Fantastic, looking forward to seeing you in Toronto. I've sent the link to the President and Vice-President of Esperanto-Rondo de Toronto http://esperanto.ca/toronto/ Hopefully by the time you get here, I'll know a few more Esperanto words :)) Good luck with the trip... (Reply to this)(Thread)

	esperantomobilo 2003-11-12 12:50 am UTC (link)
	Great, I look forward to getting a message from their President and Vice-President about what kind of local help they can provide. I've visited the Toronto Esperanto club and it was very friendly and helpful. I look forward to visiting again! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Meetup.com tandrews 2003-11-12 09:17 am UTC (link)
	It would be great if there was some way to spread the word about this to the Esperanto Meetup community. There seem to be a lot of isolated, new Esperanto speakers that might like to be involved. At the very least, you might want to contact those people that have left their email addresses in their personal descriptions. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	Re: Meetup.com esperantomobilo 2003-11-12 09:54 am UTC (link)
	Great idea, although not many people left their addresses. Would you like to help us in this way by collecting them and sending them to us? We'd really appreciate it! (Reply to this)(Parent)

Malsxparo de tempo
(Anonymous)
2003-11-12 01:31 pm UTC (link)

I do not feel very approving of the whole idea. You write "During our trip, we hope to be in the national news and also be interviewed by different radio and television stations." There is already a sufficient influx of new speakers without such publicity measures as this. Even greater attention on the movement is not necessary or desirable, especially when the audience would be plain, everyday folk (and, even more vexing, common Americans) instead of the intellectuals and language-lovers who normally enrich Esperanto.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

Re: Malsxparo de tempo

tandrews
2003-11-12 03:57 pm UTC (link)

I assume that by "the whole idea" you just mean the mass publicity part. Even so, I have to say that I don't agree. Actually, I believe that "such publicity measures" already are being used and have been used in some form or another (chiefly utilizing newspapers, I believe) throughout most of the history of Esperanto. In fact, a commonly cited reason for having a UK every year is that it stimulates this kind of publicity. So, these methods must not be too detrimental, or the community that you enjoy today would not even exist.

BTW, what exactly is "a sufficient influx of new speakers"?

As far as the rest of your comments are concerned, well, let us suppose that the world is made up of intellectuals/language-lovers (for convenience we'll call them "alphas") and plain, everyday folk (which we'll refer to as "deltas"). [If you like, you can also suppose the existence of a third class: common Americans (AKA "delta-minuses").] In my opinion, Esperantist-alphas constitute only a tiny minority of those alphas that would like Esperanto if they only knew a bit about it. Thus the Esperanto community is missing out on the contributions of a huge number of alphas. (Frankly, we could use a few talented independent film-makers, to try to help us remove the stigma of this whole "Incubus" embarrassment.) In addition, and I could be wrong, but from what I have seen your alphas seem to much more commonly respond positively to a little basic info about Esperanto (e.g. people still speak it) than do those dirty deltas. So, the new influx has a disproportionately high percentage of alphas. Selecting alpha-rich information sources for advertising (NPR, local alternative press, etc.) might also help. Plus, since you can commonly simply ignore dim-witted deltas (and delta-minuses), you should gain more than you lose anyways.

;)

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Re: Malsxparo de tempo

esperantomobilo
2003-11-13 03:58 am UTC (link)

First, thanks for both of your comments. I would tend to agree more with

tandrews than Mrs./Mr. Anonymous though. The "problem" might be that we have too many people who want to learn Esperanto and we don't have enough teachers. Yes, as strange as that sounds, this is a problem, but a very good problem. But fortunately, we're also doing this tour to fill this need.

Also, if we're going to have courses, we'll need students and to have students, we need publicity. If we weren't going to alert the press, I'd imagine that in each city, we'd be lucky to have two people in our classes, yet there would be people in those cities who would want to learn Esperanto if they had known that they had a chance.

Some people criticize the Esperanto movement by saying that we're all elitists (thus, all intellectuals or language freaks). I personally am in this to help those who never had a chance to master a foreign language (including those who can't speak English in the USA). I want to give them another way to reach people in other countries and have international contacts. Also, if you're afraid of us getting bad press, I've had training in Sweden for informing the press and being interviewed about Esperanto, so I expect to present a very professional image which will leave a positive impression on our audience.

The main idea of press contacts is not to convince people to learn Esperanto, but to help generate a more positive general opinion about it. I do, however, thank you for your concerns and feel free to elaborate if you feel that my reply hasn't satisfied you.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: Malsxparo de tempo (Anonymous) 2003-11-16 07:42 pm UTC (link)
	Would Zamenhof want a "sufficient influx of new speakers?" What would LLZ think of this project, of publicity, of the mass media getting involved? In my opinion, he might say "Well, it's about time. What took you so long to get serious about this business?" - Phil Dorcas (Reply to this)(Parent)

	PS (Anonymous) 2003-11-16 07:15 am UTC (link)
	Cxu vi konsideris kontakti la reton de gasstigantoj de la Pasporta Servo? Sxajnas perfekta ideo por via plano. (Reply to this)(Thread)

Re: PS

esperantomobilo
2003-11-16 02:05 pm UTC (link)

Kompreneble jes! Tiurilate ni jam preparis kaj sendis kelkajn reklamojn pri Esperantomobilo, kiujn vi vidos en Pasporta Servo en 2004. Se vi konas aliajn manierojn por kunlabori kun PS, ne hezitu diri al ni. Konsiderante ke la kompilanto de la PS loĝas sufiĉe proksime al unu el niaj teamanoj, Chuck Smith, ili du planas diskuti ĉion pli konkrete, kiam eblos. Dankon pro via helpo!

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	Gratulon! (Anonymous) 2003-11-23 02:12 pm UTC (link)
	Mi deziras al vi sukceson. Kaze tio interesus al vi, mi iomete konas grupeton da esperantistoj en Kansas City, cxu vi jamkonsideris tiun urbon? Jozefo Lunazzi (Reply to this)(Thread)

	Re: Gratulon! esperantomobilo 2003-11-23 02:38 pm UTC (link)
	Ne, ni ankoraŭ ne konsideris Kansas City. Estus bone se vi aŭ iu alia de tie povus inviti nin. Simple sendu mesaĝon al ni(a)esperantomobilo.org. Por pliaj detaloj, bonvolu kontroli nian paĝon: Invitu nin. Dankon pro via atentigo! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	katica 2003-11-23 05:23 pm UTC (link)
	You ought to make a stop in the Niagara Region, either Niagara Falls, St Catharines, or both :) Unfortunatly I won't be much help with lodging, buuuuut...I do write for a local newspaper, aaaand i can cook lots of yummy vegan food for the lot of you... ;D (Reply to this)(Thread)

	esperantomobilo 2003-11-23 06:00 pm UTC (link)
	Great idea! I already added you to our list of official invitations (now 15). I look forward to seeing you again and I'm sure our Russian team members will enjoy seeing Niagara Falls too. Thanks for the invite! (Reply to this)(Parent)

Most of the world thinks Bush sucks
(Anonymous)
2007-02-16 05:13 am UTC (link)

Bush and the Republicans were not protecting us on 9-11, and we aren't a lot safer now. We may be more afraid due to george bush, but are we safer? Being fearful does not necessarily make one safer. Fear can cause people to hide and cower. What do you think? Why has bush turned our country from a country of hope and prosperity to a country of belligerence and fear.
If ever there was ever a time in our nation's history that called for a change, this is it!
The more people that the government puts in jails, the safer we are told to think we are. The real terrorists are wherever they are, but they aren't living in a country with bars on the windows. We are.

(Reply to this)

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