Comments on the Second Three-country Congress

At the end of the Second Three-country Congress in Bekasi, Indonesia, 2018, we asked participants to give us their comments. Here are the results:

• I liked the course and the performances, the dancing and the singing. I especially liked the presentation of Sandor, Heidi and Elstara.
• I can not speak Esperanto, so I’m sorry for English …
  I feel so blessed to be able to attend the congress. All of the people there were so kind and friendly. Too bad, my Esperanto is not good, but I’ll study hard after this congress. I got a lot of knowledge here. Not only did I learn more about Esperanto, but also other languages and cultures. And the most important thing: I feel like I got a new family.
• I had an enjoyable time at the congress. I now have many new friends from other countries. Please forgive me. Thank you all. I love you.
• At the beginning I spoke nervously, but in the meantime I got new friends. I want to come to the next congress. I was sad to say good bye to my friends. Many thanks to the LKK and those from other countries for visiting us.
• I liked the program, especially the presentation by Sandor, Carlos and Albert. I liked poems to the Indonesian movement, the dances, the plays and songs. I am very pleased that I have met many people from your country.
• The congress was good, but I regret that more people didn’t participate in the presentations.
• In my opinion it wasn’t a very nice place. The location of the first congress was much more appropriate, with grass. We were much more outside, etc. Now we were continually inside, and outside there is no pleasant shade and a lot of traffic. Inside there was too much air conditioning, etc – many were sick because of that. It was too expensive for everyone, so much needed to come from other places every day. A smaller city would be better, and not a huge hotel. Several speakers did not have a very low language level. (??)
  Positive: Diversity of the lectures, Skype lectures.
  Negative: Apparently there were announcements made for everyone. There was sometimes a bit of information missing, for example, at the beginning about where one will eat in the morning.
• I am Alfrinadi, a beginner. I think congress was very good. I learned Esperanto during the congress. I want to participate in Esperanto congress outside Indonesia.
• I knew you very well at the congress, but I do not know much about your life, because I have not talked to you yet. However, I think you have a good vision and plans for the future. Esperanto gives us a new way, a new life.
• I was glad I could participate in the congress, because I can meet new friends in various regions and countries. I hope I can participate in the next three-country congress and meet other Esperantists. Many thanks.
• Better than I expected. Very pleasant atmosphere I was very sorry that we did not eat together. Perhaps the foreigners can support the Indonesians and East Timorese next time. The program was varied and the presentations were well prepared. I’m very sorry that not even one veteran could come. Good, attractive excursion on Saturday. I really like the vehicle-less day on Sunday morning. Until the next event.
• A great rich program. Too much even. A good, convenient room. Skyping progresses, still often problems, but expert users usually solve them. Excellent, attractive congress book. Food management gradually improved during the congress. Let’s improve the communication about excursions. The artistic evening and East-Timorese presentation were excellent.
• I enjoyed the congress very much. If we could eat together, it would be better. If we could live together, it would be even better. You do not need to have such a luxury hotel. The warmth of choirs was pleasing to me. We laughed a lot. Thanks to everyone! – Hadie
• Congratulations to the organizers of the three-country congress. And hearty thanks for the beautiful and wonderful congress. I enjoyed learning a lot.
• Instead of exhausting everyone’s energy with the late-night program, let’s have shorter and less activities: 9:00am – 5:00pm, dinner, finish. Choose less costly accommodation & lower priced restaurants. Some Esperantists are not rich. A local community hall for the last day dinner with everyone bringing some food and fruits. Many thanks. – Marumi Smith (Melbourne)
• I didn’t understand what was happening most of the time, but I enjoyed it. A good program. The illustrated presentations were much easier to follow for me as I could make some connections with the words and the pictures. Great camaraderie among participants. – Greg Jeffs
• I enjoyed the congress because I could meet Esperanto friends, whom I did not meet very well. I could be friends with new friends, especially with the East Timorese. I know that participants were not as many as in the last three-country congress.
• It was a good congress. I enjoyed it very much. My teacher is good. I hope we will not have more congresses.
• I really enjoyed the friendship and conversations. Maybe too many lectures. Maybe a religious service would be good?
• Hello. I am Mateus de Sena and I’m a beginner. During the congress I liked the presentations of Heidi, Sandor, Carlos and Albert, because they gave good news and at the same time I learned new words. I really enjoyed meeting new friends from different countries. And I also enjoyed our excursion. It was my first congress. Thank you from Mateus
• I really liked the atmosphere and friendship of all the congress participants and thank the organizers for this wonderful and fruitful congress. The participation of the young people in this region and their cooperation is [esplorplena?], as well as the collaboration of Indonesians, East Timorese, Filipinos, Australians, New Zealanders and people from other countries. Thanks to everyone. Continue in the friendly and fraternal way for Esperanto. – Carlos
• Generally interesting. A good opportunity to meet people from other countries. Again, the “western” countries provided the older people, while the others provided the young people. Although I enjoyed the luxury of the hotel, I think that a hotel not so luxurious would be more suitable, so as not to divide the participants. This time there were clearly two groups: those who could pay and those who couldn’t. I did not much like the visit to “mini Indonesia”: too many cars everywhere. Due to changes in the program I arrived late, I missed shows. I definitely preferred the art gallery. In future, think about more possibilities for exchanges, mainly not emphasising the haves and the have-nots.
• I really thank the organisers (because I know that it is usually the same small number of diligent workers).
  – I enjoyed the games during the ice-breaker evening
  – The individual lectures were good
  – The car-less walk was a miracle. I enjoyed finally seeing the local population on the street playing, laughing, riding bicycles, walking, chatting
  – For me, the dirty air in the cities is surely in my memory and a good reminder that I am lucky to live in a clean place
  – The best experience was to chat with people from other countries and become friends with them
• Firstly, I greet you from this heroic city. And on behalf of the LKK, I apologise to all if you have been experiencing any unpleasantness. We confess that we have made many mistakes, but hopefully that was not important for you.
• My experience of the three-country congresss was cool. I was glad to meet new and old friends. I’m also happy that I could strengthen the link with other LKK members and Indonesian Esperantists. Thanks, three-country congress.
• My name is Tiwi. I’m a beginner. It’s too hard for me to express all my joy with Esperanto, but I’ll keep learning and improving. The congress was interesting. I learned Esperanto from many people. I also acquired new friends. I loved this. Many thanks!
• According to me, the congress was a little disorganised, because sometimes things did not work together. Eg, the banquet and the excursion. But I was happy to see a lot of young people from Indonesia and East Timor talking in Esperanto. I want them to talk even better at the next congress. But the most important thing is unity and I hope more people will come to the next three-country congress. In this congress there were not that many people from New Zealand and Australia. I also hope there will be more vegetables and greens, and that food ingredients would be identified (vegan, vegetarian).
• Generally it was good, but I thought there was a lot of difference between young and old. I really felt the difference of the “second class”. I think the Esperanto movement is in transition, because many young people now speak Esperanto. There must be a plan for everyone together in the next congress. Money is an important thing for many. The rich must support the poorer more.
• 1. The lectures were good.
  2. The theatre pieces were good.
  3. The Saturday excursion was very good
  4. Very good were the presentation of the congress book.
  Bad things: There was no common congress food. The walls between the Zamenhof room and the adjacent room were not thick enough. We heard the noise from the neighboring room.
• My name is Eĉa. Today I feel sad. Why will this day end? However, I am very happy to join you from Korea, from Australia, from Belgium, from New Zealand, from East Timor and from Spain. First of all, I thought it would be difficult being next to you. I will never forget that moment. I learned more Esperanto, so now I can talk with you. I love you all.
• Esperanto is for unification, not for hatred among Esperantists. The congress venue / lectures should not be so cold, because the air conditioner actually made a lot of people sick.