b).Joining a club
The very best idea of all for becoming fluent is to join a lively club with regular meetings. However, do ensure that you do not krokodili (the Esperanto term for using a national language when Esperanto would be more appropriate). Try always to use Esperanto - more expert members are usually very tolerant of beginners' mistakes.
The position of clubs is continually changing and so an up to date report is difficult. I have extracted this from the EAB site but I hope to improve the accuracy of the following list soon. The ones in capital letters have either a web page e-mail contact address.
England:
BIRMINGHAM, Bournemouth, BRADFORD , Braintree, Brighton, Burnley, Congleton, CROYDON, Danbury & Maldon, East Grinstead, FELIXSTOWE, Glastonbury, GRIMSBY, HARPENDEN, Hastings, Humberside, KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES, KINGSWINFORD, Leicester (2), LETCHWORTH, Lincolnshire, LIVERPOOL, LONDON (3), Midlands (East), Midlands (West), MORECAMBE BAY, NOTTINGHAM, OXFORD, Pinner, Ruspidge, Sheffield, SKIPTON, Southampton, SOUTHEND, SOUTH LANCASHIRE, Stoke, STOURBRIDGE, WAKEFIELD, Wirral, Wolverhampton, Yorkshire, Yorkshire Wolds. Lernejo: Sir Thomas Rich School, Gloucester
N.Ireland:
Northern Ireland
Scotland:
Wales:
Isle of Man
Isle of Man
Information in other English speaking countries can be obtained from:
(c). Attending Congresses
Although an extremely interesting experience an absolute beginner would be rather lost in a conference which lasts several days and takes place exclusively in Esperanto! Nevertheless as soon as some progress has been made, a visit to the annual conference of the EAB or of the Universala Esperanto Asocio (which can take place anywhere in the world) is a memorable experience. Recent (and forthcoming) Universal Congresses took/will take place in:
1986 Beijing (China); 1987 Warsaw (Poland); 1988 Rotterdam (Netherlands); 1989 Brighton (Great Britain); 1990 Havana (Cuba); 1991 Bergen (Norway); 1992 Vienna (Austria); 1993 Valencia (Spain); 1994 Seoul (S.Korea); 1995 Tampere (Finland); 1996 Prague (Czech Republic); 1997 Adelaide (Australia); 1998 Montpellier (France); 1999 Berlin (Germany); 2000 Tel Aviv (Israel); 2001 Zagreb (Croatia); 2002 Fortaleza (Brazil); 2003 Gothenburg (Sweden); 2004 Beijing (China); 2005 Vilnius (Lithuania); 2006 Florence (Italy); 2007 Yokohamo (Japan); 2008 Rotterdam(Netherlands) ; 2009 Bjalistok (Poland); 2010 Havana (Cuba)
For those who cannot travel so far there is, of course, the Congress of the Esperanto-Asocio de Britio. The 2007 meeting took place in Letchworth, the 2008 in Southport and in the coming years 2009 in Salisbury and 2010 in Llandudno. The 2005 was a special joint meeting in Boulogne (France) to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the first international meeting of Esperantists which occurred in that town.
(d). Attending Courses
Several extremely good courses, designed for beginners and for progresintoj (i.e. those who have made some progress) occur annually. Notable ones are at (particularly) Barlaston, Staffs and also at Aylesford (Kent) and Felixstowe. Information is readily available from EC.
Another possibility, if time and money are available, is to visit one of the teaching centres set up abroad. Well known examples are in France Gresillon (near Bauge) and the Kvinpetalo courses at Bouresse (near Poitiers) kvinpetalo@club-internet.fr; Switzerland La Chaux-de-Fonds (kce.esperanto@bluewin.ch) and in Poland (Karpacz, Kudowa Zdroj and Zawoja.)
e). Travelling Abroad
This is the perfect way of learning Esperanto (once one has mastered the basics). A holiday abroad visiting Esperantists is very possible, thanks to the efficient organization of the Esperanto world. The Universala Esperanto-Asocio publishes an annual Jarlibro which contains details of Esperantists in almost every country of the world. A letter to one of these so-called delegates (delegitoj) will certainly produce lists of local Esperantists happy to meet and talk to you (sometimes even accommodate you!). All correspondence must be in Esperanto and an International Reply Coupon must be included. The UEA may be joined through EC or directly at Nieuwe Binnenweg 176, 3015 BJ Rotterdam, Netherlands.
UEA even publish a biennial book Pasporta Servo which lists Esperantists who welcome fellow Esperantists in their homes. (Information from G.Wood, 6 Westfield Terrace, Wakefield WF1 3RD (Phone 01924 371207; Pasporta Servo book from UEA. at 13 euros. The 2002 issue contains 1231 addresses from potential hosts in 83 different countries.
One thing to remember when travelling abroad is that nobody can recognize you as an Esperantist by sight and so you could well miss many opportunities to meet samideanoj (fellow Esperantists). Always wear, therefore, the Esperanto badge which includes a five-pointed green star.
Esperanto holidays (particularly in Poland- example at Mielno on the Baltic Sea) are a fine way of learning the language, meeting the locals and seeing the non-touristy parts of a country. For information contact Eric Walker at Downham Reach Cottage, Nacton, Ipswich, IPIO OLA. Telephone :01473 717088.
A firm which specializes in travel using Esperanto as the medium of communication is
Monda Turismo, str M.Sklodowskiej-Curie 10, PL85-094 Bydgoszcz Poland. Phone 48 52 3415744.
An organization which specializes in Polish holidays for Esperantists is Peps in Krakow.
Esperanto ASAP- Chapter 2(2)