Paul Ganssle and I drove to Brattleboro to attend the ESNE Akcepto at NASK. We arrived a bit early and were able to chat for a while with Jacob Schwartz, Erin Piateski, Bertilo Wennergren, Bharat Ghimire, and others. Eventually, we got our various refreshments set up and people trickled into the room. I counted about 43, which suggests there were around 14 visitors who came for the reception. When everyone had arrived, Lee Miller welcomed us and introduced the instructors and course coordinators. I was invited to give my speech, which was well received. Two groups of students did small theatrical sketches, which were wonderfully funny and charming. One was a monologue by a woman who avers she will never fall in love even as she is falling in love. The second included two scenes from the play En la Barcelona Kongreso, which included an hysterically funny scene with two guys trying to get away from someone who thinks they can speak Esperanto, but who makes so many mistakes, he ends up speaking in gibberish, saying things like "When is thy name? Who originates of your country?" One guy keeps covering his ears. At the conclusion of the formal events, I began working my way through the room, chatting with people and trying to meet anyone I didn't know. I particularly enjoyed the conversation with Julie Winberg and Paul Gubbins who told hysterically funny stories about shared acquaintances in England. I don't think I managed to meet quite everyone, but I got close. There were a couple of groups of people playing Scrabble and Go. I watched a game of Go for several minutes, enjoying the give and take between the two players. There were still a few of us left at dinner time and were invited to stay for dinner. The dining commons at SIT has a wide outdoor patio that looks out over a wide valley with a beautiful green mountain in the background. It was a fabulous afternoon in Esperantujo.
StevenBrewer