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I met an Esperantist today purely by chance!

од Vestitor, 28. август 2015.

Поруке: 45

Језик: English

Vestitor (Погледати профил) 28. август 2015. 21.39.02

I went to a street eatery today with a Basque friend of mine. The owners are Italian and my friend Spoke to a fellow there in a sort of broken Spanish peppered with bits of Italian. He also likes to mildly mock me for learning Esperanto (though he doesn't really deride Esperanto at all).

There was a moment when he laughed and asked me what señor is in Esperanto and I said what it was. He laughed, but the old man behind the counter heard the discussion and started up in Esperanto! I was confused for a moment and actually struggled to start making sentences. He said he learned some Esperanto many years ago, but hadn't thought about it in years. My friend was shocked too.

It's the first time that's ever happened out of the blue. Makes you wonder how many others like him there are. How popular is Esperanto among Italians?

lapercaumore (Погледати профил) 28. август 2015. 21.55.45

That is awesome, the chances of meeting a fellow Esperantist by random chance is very rare. Congratulations on making such a contact! Hopefully you will be able to make more!

Evildela (Погледати профил) 28. август 2015. 22.04.39

I don't think it's really that rare anymore to bump into an Esperanto speaker. I've done it three times lol ... or maybe it's just me. Here's a story of one of my encounters:
https://youtu.be/ICOPKXU8dqQ

I was in Switzeland and my wife wanted to buy some perfumes ... I totally didn't want to enter the shop. She forced me in. The shop was filled with translators helping the tourists. My wife walked up to a Chinese translator. I noticed on her name tag she had three language flags: German, Chinese, and Esperanto. So ... of course after a few seconds stunned I started speaking Esperanto ... after that my wife had to drag me out of the shop.

PlaidMouse (Погледати профил) 29. август 2015. 02.49.08

How cool! Tre bonega!

sudanglo (Погледати профил) 29. август 2015. 11.21.59

One of the more unusual features of Esperanto is how after having put it on the back burner for years, it is possible, as the occasion arises, to suddenly be able still to converse in it.

Once, when having not used the language for at least 10 years, maybe considerably longer, I suddenly received a phone call from a German Esperantist and found that I was perfectly able to handle the conversation.

My guess is that there are many more people out there than you might imagine, who once learned the language to a reasonable standard and since have not used it or been active in the movement for some time.

This invisible army of potentially useful Esperanto-speakers, may well run into the millions, and of course you might well pass one of them in the street whilst in a foreign country and be totally unaware, that they could be a source of assistance.

It is a pity that the wearing of the green star has fallen into disuse. If such pins or broaches sit uncomfortably on modern clothing, at least one could put a sticker on the rear window of one's car. (For a modest price you can probably buy such a sticker from your landa asocio, or you could just print something off on your computer and fix it with Sellotape/Scotch tape.)

Add your phone number to the sticker, and you could well be surprised one day by a call out of the blue. Even if you don't get a surprise call you are advertising to the world that Esperanto exists.

Altebrilas (Погледати профил) 29. август 2015. 12.22.12

I regret too the green star pins. I had a collection of them. But they are no longer visible, except in museums. I have a sticker on the back of my car, but I didn't meet a lot of samideanoj that way. Except in esperanto meetings, I do not see a green star sticker more than once a year.

Now we have to design, in order to replace pins, something that should be a) reconizable, b) fashionable, c) useful and d) not too expensive.

filmo70 (Погледати профил) 29. август 2015. 12.47.18

Altebrilas:
Now we have to design, in order to replace pins, something that should be a) reconizable, b) fashionable, c) useful and d) not too expensive.
I would say make an Eo t-shirt. Wear it whenever you go to some place that draws a wide range of people (city, event ktp). The chance of getting a hit should go up. I would put actual Esperanto text on the shirt not just a big green star or flag. You should at the very least get a few curious people who want to know what it is/says.

FractalBloom (Погледати профил) 29. август 2015. 15.08.19

I have a green star pin just like the old-timey ones, which I usually attach to my lapel when I go to work or school. I think a pin or button or something would be the best because you can put it on whatever you're wearing.

Evildela:Here's a story of one of my encounters:
Oh hey, you're on here too? I totally love your YouTube channel haha.

Miland (Погледати профил) 29. август 2015. 15.24.08

The trouble with the green star badge is that one can't carry them (or othe robjects with sharp points or blades) on to aeroplanes. They would have to be packed and worn later.
However at Lille they sold a watch with the logo of the congress. Perhaps someone should bring out a cheap green star watch?

vikungen (Погледати профил) 29. август 2015. 15.28.19

filmo70:
Altebrilas:
Now we have to design, in order to replace pins, something that should be a) reconizable, b) fashionable, c) useful and d) not too expensive.
I would say make an Eo t-shirt. Wear it whenever you go to some place that draws a wide range of people (city, event ktp). The chance of getting a hit should go up. I would put actual Esperanto text on the shirt not just a big green star or flag. You should at the very least get a few curious people who want to know what it is/says.
I strongly agree with this, make a number of fashionable t-shirts just like the one with some random text on them that everyone wears (especially young people), but have the text be in Esperanto.

It would have to be good looking t-shirts though not just a generic one color t-shirt with some generic text going straight across it, for at least me and I guess many other youths to wear it.

Something along the lines of this this this and this.

Remember, I am trying to speak for young more mainstream people, which don't want to feel like they're part of a cult or advertising a political party. The way to get their (our) attention is to make it cool, like Evildea spoke about in one of his videos.

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