On January 13, 2025, the first club meeting of the year took place for the members of the Center for Intercultural Education in Nowy Sącz. The program of the meeting was rich and diverse:
Our friend, Maria Baran, took us on a virtual trip to New Zealand. She presented reports from her “Trip of a Lifetime” – as she called it – to Australia and from there with her daughter to New Zealand.
We had the opportunity to discover the beauty, richness, and diverse landscapes, as well as the culture of this exotic country for us – the Land of the Long White Cloud, located in the Pacific. This country is the farthest from Poland (over 17,000 km), and it is only 1,600 km away from Australia.
She showed us beautiful cities on the South Island – Christchurch, Queenstown, Kaikoura, as well as the stunning lakes Wakatipu, Te Anau and the Milford Sound waterway, from where panoramic mountain views with numerous waterfalls could be seen. The South Island is home to the Southern Alps – the highest peak, Mount Cook (3754 m above sea level), and the Tasman Glacier (29 km).
Beautiful photos on the big screen allowed us to admire these charming landscapes where Maria walked and took photographs. She observed seals lounging on rocks, water flowing from waterfalls, and herds of sheep and deer. In her frames, she also recorded endemic species such as kiwi, kangaroos…, as well as encounters with the people and culture of the Māori. The rich photographic documentation and Maria’s memories transported us to these wonderful climates. Maria also talked about the development of the Esperanto language in Australia and New Zealand.
The Christmas season is a time for singing carols. The Christmas carols prepared by the Esperanto group of our friend Jola Kieres, accompanied by Alicja Skalska, sounded beautifully. They were sung by everyone in both Esperanto and Polish, thanks to the technical support provided by Jarek Szewczyk.
Organizational matters were also discussed, regarding planned educational and cultural trips to Wieliczka and Kraków, as well as Toruń, by invitation from local Esperantists.
At the end of the meeting, those traveling to Brno, Czech Republic, for the World Esperanto Congress were informed about the program and travel details.
Krystyna Słaby
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