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Using Pasporta Servo to visit English-speaking countries

by guyjohnston, February 27, 2008

Messages: 20

Language: English

guyjohnston (User's profile) February 27, 2008, 10:16:00 PM

Hi, I was wondering if there are any native English speakers here who've ever used Pasporta Servo to visit an English-speaking country (meaning a country where most people speak it as their native language, or it's an official language that most people speak well), or even to stay with someone in your own country. If there are, what was it like? It seems to me that using Pasporta Servo to stay with people in those countries could often be useful and interesting, but maybe a bit strange as you share a native language and don't need Esperanto to speak to each other.

erinja (User's profile) February 28, 2008, 1:10:55 AM

I have done it in England but not in the US. That's mainly because I don't generally visit random places in the US where I don't know anyone. On most trips in the US that involved hotel stays rather than staying at a friend/family member's house, I was either (a) on a business trip (company-paid), or (b) in the middle of nowhere, where pasporta servo couldn't be expected to be useful.

I used it in London. Actually, I don't have a pasporta servo book, the person I was travelling with happened to know an E-o speaker in London who is listed in pasporta servo, so we stayed with him and his (non-native English speaking) wife. Esperanto is their home language so that's what we would have used with them, regardless of all of our native languages. I guess, then, that this experience doesn't really apply to the precise situation you're talking about. But I have certainly made arrangements to meet local E-o speakers for lunch/coffee in US cities, and we all spoke E-o together, though we are all native-language English. I suppose it is different than staying in someone's house but I've never found it weird at all.

Senlando (User's profile) March 2, 2008, 5:15:30 AM

my parents raised all their kids in taiwan. my whole family are native english speakers (both parents came from canada), but we often choose to speak mandarin while in canada, because we are just used to having a privet language when in public. also when i meet chinese-english speaking people in canada, we always speak mandarin. its just when 2 people speak a common language that people around don't. it draws them closer, kind of a special cultural connection where you are completely free to say what you want, and the people around you can't eez-drop. so i don't think it would be weird to use pasporta servo in a english speaking country, in fact it could be more fun; better yet act like you don't speak english and see what people say about you when they think you are oblivious to what they're saying. you can have lots of fun with languages. just don't have to much rido.gif

Pacema (User's profile) March 3, 2008, 2:07:25 AM

That sounds fun, acting like you don't speak English.
I wonder what people would say.

rideto.gif lango.gif

erinja (User's profile) March 3, 2008, 5:42:06 PM

I've spent considerable time speaking Esperanto in English-speaking countries. No one has ever said anything about me assuming I couldn't understand, at least as far as I can remember. This has been true in both urban and rural areas.

At least in the US, just because you're speaking a foreign language, people don't necessarily assume you can't speak English (Because everyone speaks English, right? Except those lazy foreigners who come and steal our jobs and refuse to learn!) (Kidding!)

I really enjoy that "private language" feeling, though. It means that I can speak of personal problems in public settings, and also that I can ask "dumb" questions out loud without appearing dumb ("Are you supposed to eat this, or is it a garnish?")

Mythos (User's profile) March 11, 2008, 3:23:38 AM

I will often use my limited ASL (American Sign Language) when I'm with my fiancee. I'm not sure why, other than it is nice to be able to say something without others knowing what you are saying - the private language that was mentioned above. If I ever had the time to travel, I would use the Pasporta in English speaking countries, I've always wanted to visit the UK.

Mythos (User's profile) March 11, 2008, 3:25:17 AM

erinja:It means that I can speak of personal problems in public settings, and also that I can ask "dumb" questions out loud without appearing dumb ("Are you supposed to eat this, or is it a garnish?")
That's a dumb question? I ask that all the time, then I eat it anyway. okulumo.gif

erinja (User's profile) March 11, 2008, 12:01:37 PM

Mythos:
That's a dumb question? I ask that all the time, then I eat it anyway. okulumo.gif
Haha well Esperanto also helps you look less dumb when you're the weird foreigner exclaiming over all of the "cool" stuff in the supermarket ("Look at this Arabic writing all over everything, I didn't expect that! Look, they wrote "custard powder" in Arabic as "kastard bowdr", doesn't Arabic have their own words for 'custard' and 'powder'? Bloater paste, what the hell is that? Oh look, the condiments on our table come from 4 different countries, none of which are the country we are in!") (Can anyone guess what country I was in?)

mnlg (User's profile) March 11, 2008, 12:05:17 PM

erinja:(Can anyone guess what country I was in?)
Yes okulumo.gif

Rope (User's profile) March 11, 2008, 12:48:12 PM

mnlg:
erinja:(Can anyone guess what country I was in?)
Yes okulumo.gif
Sounds like Maghreb Arabic region to me.

Morocco, Tunisia ?

rideto.gif

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