Is anyone planning on going to the usona LK in St. Louis this year? or to the Autuna Renkontiĝo Esperanta in upstate NY? I'm looking for traveling companions, and at the LK a roommate (101 dollars a night is a bit steep!)

I'm also hoping to go to the Esperanto course being held at the New Valaam Orthodox monastery in Finland in June, but I don't expect many usonaj esperantistoj will be planning for that one .

I always go to the Aŭtuna Renkontiĝo in upstate NY.

Good for you, on the Esperanto course in Finland! That's when you really learn the most, when you're the only American. Sure, the Finns there probably speak excellent English. But it feels more like "cheating" to speak English with foreigners than with other native English speakers, and if they decide to "crocodile" with one another, it won't be in English, so you won't be tempted that way either.

erinja:I always go to the Aŭtuna Renkontiĝo in upstate NY.

Cool....so, do you drive up to ARE? Getting to Albany isn't a problem but getting from there to Lake George is a complete mystery.....is there a bus? shuttle? do I drag myself by my lips???

It is my tradition to fly to Boston the night before, spend the night in Boston with Esperanto friends there, and then drive up to ARE with those friends. I have done this since I began attending ARE while living in Boston, and it's become an important part of the experience for me.

Some people will fly and rent a car in Albany. There is no convenient bus service. However, people make a lot of use of ride-sharing. There is a discussion forum for the event; I think there's a link for subscribing to it, from ARE's information page. Someone is probably willing to pick you up from the airport and then drive you back afterwards. You won't need a car during the event itself. Another option is to do as I do and fly to a city that has people coming from there (not Albany), and travel up with them. This is fairly easy to do for New York City, which has lots of people who go. But you could also find this out on the ARE discussion group. Feel free to contact me privately for more details. This is an event that goes much more smoothly for you, if you have some background knowledge of how it's organized. I found it very confusing the first time I participated; the lodging and food options are not spelled out as clearly as they should be, and you can save a lot of money by staying in the "youth cabin" and cooking food there (you don't have to be a "youth" to do this).