Go camp in Czechia

A really awful event occurred. Ever since it happened, I was glued to the TV set. I spent the whole night in front of it switching from channel to channel and ended up really short of sleep. I imagine that there were a lot of people around the world doing the same. That's not to say that anything untoward has occurred in Milan in my vicinity. Life goes on as usual. But, come to think of it, that's because, although I'm a foreigner married to an Italian, I'm Japanese. For foreigners from Arab countries and other Muslims, things are really tough. We hear on the news that they are interrogated for no reason and their children are bullied at school. I'd like people to leave war and killing one another to the go board. In this instalment, I'd like to report on a go camp in Czechia. Althogether, the Czech Go Association has about 200 members; most of them come from the younger generation, and the association is really enthusiastic about teaching young people; every second week tournaments and other events are held. There are many dan-level players but just as many beginners, so, though it's a small-scale organization, it's well balanced. This may be exaggerating a little, but there is really a family-like atmosphere. For the last few years, the Czechs have been holding every summer a camp in which people of all ages, from children to retirees, can participate. This year it was held for one week in the highlands of Moravia, at a site about four hours' journey by car southeast of Prague and over 80 people took part. About 30 of them were children; if you included students, young people made up 70% of the group; the leaders and other adults made up about 20%. It was a very lively and successful camp. The participants were divided into five classes by age and level; every day there was a full schedule, with various activities such as tournaments, commentaries, teaching games and so on being held morning, noon and night. The teachers were strong local players and myself. We rotated so that we all taught each class. As you can imagine, there wasn't much free time, except for after dinner, when, with wine glasses in our hands, we played various games. I was really happy to see so much enthusiasm, even though it meant I had to make extra efforts. The content of the camp was much richer than I'd expected; I don't mean to be rude, but this really surprised me. The youngest children were just 5 or 6. English was out of the question -- even their Czech was shaky. At first, I was stumped as to how to explain go, but I had the idea of writing down the sizes of the respective territories on paper at the end of the game to get the children to accept the result. Even if they hadn't yet started learning addition and subtraction, they probably understood the result from the balance of black and white stones on the go board. Well, how much do you think the fee was for participating in this camp? You probably can't guess. Believe it or not, for one night's lodging with three meals the cost was under 800 yen! Even local Czechs were surprised at how cheap it was. Moreover, there were subsidies, making it free for children and half-price for students. That's probably why it's so easy for anyone who wants to to take part in this camp. Of course, you have to close your eyes to a little bit of inconvenience concerning comfort and meals, but still I thought that it was very worthwhile. I would just like to report on some of the information I've picked up about Czechia. The country is divided into two main areas, Moravia and Bohemia, with completely different historical backgrounds and natural features and customs. As you know, Czechia is also called the Czech Republic. The capital, Prague, is in the centre of Bohemia. By the way, Moravia is noted for its wine. Bohemia is best known for its Plzen beer. These days you don't need a visa, so Czechia feels much closer. Next spring the biggest European tournament for children is scheduled to be held in Prague. Everyone here, children and go organizers, is really looking forward to it.