I'm thinking about going to the Azia Kongreso de Esperanto in Bangalore next February, but with the information available on this event and on Esperanto-themed meetings in general it's hard to get a clear picture of what it will be like.

I've never been to an Esperanto event before. What I'd like this to be is an opportunity to meet people of the world under a common language while experiencing the sights of southern India; what I don't want it to be is a week of sitting in a university room talking about Esperanto. It's hard to find photos of previous congresses and with an itinerary containing 15 hours of 'fakkunsidoj', I'm worried about the latter possibility.

I'd like to attend this event, but will it compromise my opportunity to experience a new country with my holiday time?

Thanks

Eujensc:I'd like to attend this event, but will it compromise my opportunity to experience a new country with my holiday time?

All of the E-events I have attended (10+) had a program but it wasn't mandatory. You pick what you want to see and for the rest of the time you do what you most like to do. This is perhaps more valid in meetings devoted to young speakers, in which you can even sleep during the day and spend the whole night partying.

Conditions of participation might of course vary so check the information you have.

Every Esperanto event seems to have people who do nothing but attend the "fakkunsidoj", and some who barely turn up at all at the event, preferring to spend their time in the host city. Also keep in mind that some of those meetings will probably be aimed at the executive committees of various organizations, who are using the event as a chance to take care of business and make decisions. Those sorts of meetings are often open to anyone, but in most cases non-members wouldn't be interested in attending.

I suggest you look at the detailed schedule when you get there, decide if there are any lectures you want to attend, plan to attend those, and don't worry about the rest. Definitely try to attend the "interkona vespero" (get-to-know-you evening) on the first night; try to meet some people who will go and do touristy stuff with you. Be sure to ask them how much time they plan to spend at the 'kongresejo' versus how much time with tourism, and try to find some people with ideas similar to your own, in that regard.

This might be obvious, but I noticed a space on the program for an "excursion". Try to find out what is planned for that day - is it simple free time or an organized tour of the city or what? If it's a tour, it may be led by someone who knows what they're talking about; I'd try to attend.

My advice - go and be flexible, and you'll have a great time. You can do as much tourism as you want. Useful vocabulary word - "prifajfi" (literally "to whistle about"; usually means something like "to blow off"). Used in a context like "Ĉu vi volas prifajfi la programon kaj iri en la urbon kun mi?"

Thanks folks. I'm going to give it a go, if I can get the time off. And I'm sure "prifajfi" will be part of my schedule.