American couple Russ and Tina had a good time listening to Roberto Hernandez' music while staying at Palau Royal Resort. Russ is showing an issue of Tia Belau Newspaper where Roberto is writing about chess since Dec. 29, 2002. (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)
RUSS AND TINA --
American Couple from Wisconsin
ON FEBRUARY 29, 2016, we have an American couple guests
at Breeze Bar of Palau Royal Resort. They are appreciating my renditions of
American songs.
Before
11pm, I’m having conversation with them. The guy, Russ, have a business in
printing/publishing when I gave them my card and when I told them that I’m
writing about chess on Palau’s first newspaper Tia Belau, we had photos taken
with Russ holding the Tia Belau copy with headline “Palau To Get Patrol Vessel”
together with his wife Tina.
The
said they are from Wisconsin, USA. All I remember about Wisconsin is their NCAA
basketball team Badgers. Russ said Wisconsin is like a province with not so
much populated. He said his family sold a piece of land to a Japanese investor
and after a few years without much development in the place, they were able to
get back the land for very low price.
They
gave me a glass of Palau local draft beer Red Rooster and I chose the Amber. We
have more conversation about music and chess and places. They don’t play much
chess but they are amazed by the fact that I have represented Palau in many
places like Australia, Russia, Turkey and Norway, and also in this year’s World
Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan.
I
mentioned to them that I’m writing about chess on Tia Belau Newspaper and
although there’s no connection about chess, I’m featuring once in a while some
guests of Palau Royal Resort that have been part of my socializing while being
the in-house musician like I have been doing in the last 9 years.
The
American couple is complaining about the long hours of trip going to Palau.
Russ said he had only a few hours sleep as he is not used to sleep in the
plane. He said their trip from America to Palau is about 24 hours.
I
mentioned to them that our trip to Norway is 32 hours and in coming back is 36
hours. Koror, Palau to Manila is 2 and a half hours; Manila to Hong Kong is
almost hours + few more hours of
stopover before going to Helsinki,
Finland for more than 10 hours; 3 hours going to Oslo, Norway after more
stopover hours and finally, one and a half hours to Tromso, Norway, the site of
2014 World Chess Olympiad.
In
going back, we have to go to Bodo, Norway before Oslo to accommodate the more
than 1,300 chess players that participated in that Olympiad with a record 174
countries participated, making the Chess Olympiad the 4th most
participated sports event in the world in terms of participating countries.
These
long hours of trip to participate in an Olympiad will make a sudden turnaround
if Tokyo, Japan will win the bid to host the 2020 World Chess Olympiad.
Although they already won the bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, it’s very
nice to have a Chess Olympiad in an Asian country since the Philippines held it
in 1992.
With
Roberto Hernandez now the Delegate to the 2016 World Chess Olympiad in Baku,
Azerbaijan because the official Delegate, Eric Ksau Surangel Whipps, will be
attending a wedding, it will be for sure that Palau will vote for Tokyo instead
of Buenos Aires, Argentina, who already hosted Chess Olympiad multiple times.
Besides, Tokyo is just a 6-hour trip from Palau, who has been occupied by
Japanese during the World War II that’s why many Palauans can speak fluent
Japanese.
The
word “dengwa”, Japanese for telephone, is also “dengwa” in Palau language. Many
Filipino words are also similar to Palau words like “martilyo” which means
hammer in Philippines but “martilyong” in Palau; “kalabasa” (squash or pumpkin)
is “kalabasang” in Palau; “kangkong” (swamp cabbage) is “kamkum” in Palau.
Sources: Music and Me
By Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
March 15, 2012 -- April 2013
http://palau-chess.blogspot.com
Chess and Music (Perfect Combination)
The Beginning of Chess in Palau
By Roberto Hernandez
To be published as a book in the future
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