Kio li estas? Liptov welcomed Esperanto enthusiasts

Biggest Esperanto summer school takes place in Liptovský Mikuláš.

(Source: Henrich Mišovič, TASR)

The high school at the edge of Liptovský Mikuláš is buzzing despite the ongoing summer holidays. Yet the chatter of people in the classrooms and corridors is impossible for the accidental visitor to understand. What language are these people speaking? The green flags with a green star on a white background decorating the walls could provide a small hint. Welcome to the Esperanto summer school.

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The Esperanto class for beginners is full. About 20 people are sitting on chairs arranged in a U. All age categories are included. Two elderly women sit next to each other, apparently friends who came together. A little girl, about six or seven years old, sits next to her mother, watching the words over her shoulder.

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“Kio li estas?” slowly and emphatically asks the teacher in front of the blackboard, showing a picture of Albert Einstein. The classroom answers with the help of rhythmical finger-snapping.

Anita Bernerová attends the course for beginners as well. She is a teacher of Mathematics and IT and she found her way to Esperanto thanks to her boyfriend. The summer school is her first contact with the language.

“The teacher speaks only Esperanto and uses many gestures and moves when trying to explain something,” Bernerová shared her first thought on the language with The Slovak Spectator. She is thinking about studying Esperanto after the end of the summer school.

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