Almost there

I'm leaving for Europe on Tuesday. This may be my last post before I leave! Or maybe not. Stay tuned to find out!

There are four of us: Mark, Dan, Andy, and I. The trip was Mark's idea, and he asked us if we wanted to come along. We've decided to split into two groups so it would be easier to find accommodations. Also, Mark and Dan wanted to do some things while Andy and I wanted to do other things. We'll be going to many of the same places but probably at different times, and Andy and I will be spending time with Esperanto speakers.

The two of us will also attend Esperanto events such as the Summer Esperanto Study (SES) in Slovakia and the International Youth Congress of Esperanto (IJK) in the Czech Republic (not Prague, although you're going to tell me it's a beautiful city). We made our arrangements last week; it felt good to get them out of the way.

The events should be a great way to meet new people while improving our Esperanto. To date, 98 SES participants (not including Andy and me) have allowed their names and locations to be listed online. Of these, 1 is from the United States. And among 325 other IJK participants who are listed online, only 1 is from the US (not the same person, if you're wondering). Several people are from countries that my government isn't very fond of, such as Cuba and Iran. This will be a great opportunity to learn about other cultures without politics getting in the way.

Andy has already been meeting other Esperantists; he decided to go to the National Congress of Esperanto-USA in St. Louis this weekend. Although he makes spontaneous trips like that all the time, I wasn't ready to take a plane trip halfway across the country on a few days' notice. He called me a few times and seemed to be having a good time. I wish I could have been there. Maybe we can go together next year with some more planning.

Yesterday I went shopping to get most of the things I still needed for the trip. Now I have everything I think I'll need except for a clothesline for indoor use. I've seen clotheslines for sale that you can tie to trees, but none with some indoor sticky hook things on each end. Hopefully I won't need to hang my clothes dry anyway. Bleah. I also thought about getting souvenirs from home (my city, or Florida, or the US, or whatever) to give as gifts to new friends and anyone who provides us hospitality. Any ideas? Also keep in mind that tomorrow is a national holiday, so my shopping options are limited!

Danger Mouse, the artist behind the Beatles/Jay-Z mashup The Grey Album, has a new album called Dark Night of the Soul. It's the result of collaborations with various artists who sing on each of the tracks, including Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, a band that I'm a fan of. The album hasn't officially been released due to legal issues, so Mr. Mouse et al. are selling a blank CD-R with artwork and a note saying to "[u]se it as you will." You can stream the album from NPR and download it from some BitTorrent trackers; here it is at The Pirate Bay. I know an album is good when I go back to listen to it a second time right away. I listened to this one eight times in a row. Highly recommended.