Beginner's Mind

by Aria von Elbe

July 12, 2004

Irasshaimase! Alas, with final exams, AP class prep and SAT II tests, go had to take a back seat for a while. But now I'm back to update you on how a now 16-year-old girl feels about being in a world where she's on the lower end of the age scale.

Anyway, here I am at Japanese camp where I can be a freak and speak Japanese 24/7 without getting odd looks. Well, here and Thursday night at go club. Hikaru no Go's debut in America brought a lot of new people to the game with a genuine interest, not just wanting to play because they think they'll become instantly good like Shindou-kun.

Once the AVIs I'd downloaded got around my school the Go Club finally formed, and with a teacher to sponsor us, the Judiciary Council's approval and a new year this Fall to engulf all those new freshman during Club Fair, it's one thing I look forward to as a high school junior in September. For now, however, I have to settle for kids and counselors who know nothing more about the game than "It's on a grid with black and white pieces, right?"

Hey, it's better than them not knowing at all. What is a little unnerving though, is how so many Japanese counselors don't know the game. Granted, they're all "ni-juu go sai" or "twenty five years old," so they are part of the newer generation that's immersed in current trends and American music and is mystified by my obsession with feudal Japan. Still, some do know how to play; one of my counselor's even dated one of the Norwegian pros, though she won't say who. Some of the kids do know go, too, and even claim to be good, though that has yet to be seen. Not that I'm claiming to be anything other than an out of practice 18 kyu at best. Oh well, it's a start, and maybe by the end of my month's stay here in "Japan" some more kids will join the AGA and I won't be in a minority any more. A girl can dream can't she?

-16-year-old Aria von Elbe will start 11th grade this September in Miami, Florida

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