A tight squeeze
Current packing list for four months backpacking in three continents:
- Eight brand new analog chess clocks, packaged and insulated
- Three Gardiner Chess coaching syllabuses
- Three large chess coaching books
- One full set of laminated A4 chess activity cards
- Twenty “Chess is cool!” wristbands
- Twenty souvenir toy koalas
- Bronze, silver and gold chess medallions
- One large chess display board, rolled, with pieces
- …and just about enough room left over to pack an apple.
For several years now I’ve had the dream of volunteering in Peru – partially inspired, I must confess, by repeatedly watching The Emperor’s New Groove, coupled with an inexplicable fascination with llamas. (Imagine my horror – and, eventually, hunger – upon discovering that llama burgers are relatively commonplace in Peru, and occasionally preceded by a guinea pig kebab. No wonder Disney left out the meal scenes.)
Alas, my exuberant excitement at my long-anticipated sojourn into the land of the Incas has turned to frustration and panic as my medium-sized backpack struggles under the added pressure of the many chess supplies for the kids. As the locals might say (depending on how bad my translating abilities are), “¡Ay, caray!“
I should point out that all of the above chess supplies (with the exception of the toy koalas and hypothetical apple) were very generously donated by the Gardiner Chess Centre, spawned many years ago by the indefatigable husband and wife team, Graeme and Wendy Gardiner. The Centre has now blossomed into the hub for junior chess in Queensland, with the bulk of the state chess schools programs currently being coordinated by davidsmerdon.com‘s very own guest blogger, Andrew Fitzpatrick.
The Light and Leadership Initiative in Peru last year set up a chess program in its schools that has already proved very popular with the kids. The addition of a chess curriculum, a coaching manual and of course some clocks and other goodies will hopefully help develop the program and let the students get the maximum benefit from chess as a teaching tool. (Armenia recently made chess classes in schools compulsory – for an interesting BBC article, see here.) Of course, I’ll be teaching chess in Spanish, but here’s hoping the maxim about chess as the ‘universal language’ holds true. ¿Entiende?
However, despite all my best intentions and the magnanimous support of the Gardiners, all I can seem to concentrate on right now is how on earth I’m going to fit a toothbrush, let alone a set of clothes, into my chess-stocked backpack – and then haul the thing around Chile, Argentina and South Africa (!) before unloading in Lima. In fact, with only 36 hours to go until lift-off, the packing dilemma has distracted me from posting about this week’s most topical davidsmerdon.com-related stories- such as the World Chess Candidates matches, and what the Australian federal budget means for us.
Hopefully, in my case, it means a new backpack.
In any case, this will be my last post from Australian soil for quite some time. ¡Hasta luego, amigos!