Yeah. Two posts in a week. Don't get excited, though; this was an eventful week (Esperanto-wise, for me). The Eastern Iowa Esperanto Society (or ORIESO (ORienta Iovaa Esperanto SocietO) had it's first Meet-Up meeting.

Well, alright only two of us were there, but this *is* Iowa afterall. I'm hoping to make some quarter-sheet flyers and hand them out at (what I call) the Speakers' Corner, on the sidewalk at the T-intersection right in front of the heart of campus here at the Univ of Iowa (and that just so happens to be across from the Foreign Language Departments building). CraigsList postings, flyers stapled to the poster boards downtown. I have some ideas. If any or all of these garner even one or two more people I'll consider it time well spent.

Mainly we spent this meeting getting reaquainted (We met, along with three students (who, unfortunately, are no longer in Iowa City) at the University of Iowa Esperanto League 3-4 years ago). There are two gentlemen in the area that are interested who didn't show up tonight but I'm hoping that will change in the future.

Here's hoping.

St. Louis is looming and it looks like Finland is maybe out of my reach this year. Oh, I'm still gonna try to go, but I'm being pragmatic. Ah well, there's always the LK and ARE to look foreward to.

Gxis!

Saluton, denove!

I know. I'm a bad blogger.......waiting almost two years between posts is disgraceful, I admit it.

So. For those of you waiting with bated breath for my rebuttal to the next section (regarding vocabulary) of Mr. Eddy's Esperanto "critique," well, I'm afraid you may be waiting a long, LONG time. I'm sorry, but he bores me. Whine, whine, whine, and about something he supposedly doesn't like? Obsessive, much? Plus it's such a pain with all the special formatting needed (I'm basically a lazy pig....which may explain the year and a half since my last post!)

So, here we are in January of 2009. I'm getting more involved in Lernu.net (great place!) and have rejoined the United States' national Esperanto organization (Esperanto-USA: www.esperanto-usa.org). I've also subscribed to a couple magazines and will be back to raiding the retbutiko on a monthly basis.

I'll be going to the Landa Kongreso in St. Louis; and when I told a en-Sankta-Luiso-logxanta friend of mine, who I went to college with 10 years ago, that I was going to be there and how about if I visit for a few days before the conference, imagine my surprise to find out his partner is ALSO an esperantist and will be going to the Kongreso as well! And he's teaching my friend Esperanto. Life is good.

June, I pray, will see me (hopefully, I'll be given the time off from work) attending a week-long Esperanto course in Finland at the Finnish Orthodox monastery in Heinavasi. The website states that the students are welcome to attend services with the monks when they (the students) aren't in class. What more could an esperanto-speaking Orthodox boy ask for?

I just found out this morning via email (I really love the internet) that there is to be a week-long event in Sete, France in August. Alas I won't be able to attend that one, nor will I be able to attend the Unversala Kongreso in Bjalistok due to money and vacation shortages, but I will be going to the Autuna Renkontigxo Esperantista at Lake George, NY (could this place BE any more out of the way???), so if any of my readers are at the LK or ARE, look for the guy wearing a cassock/thobe/dishdasha (a robe basically) and say Saluton. (I'll be wearing "regular" clothes in Finland so as not to be confused with any of the monks. :). )

Of course, if I ever win the lotto, I'll be spending as much as possible of a year in Esperanto immersion, so root for me!

Till next time.

Dimo