Articles by mgedwards

Chess!

My son participated in his first chess tournament this weekend.  He just started playing a few months ago.  He’s really improved and beat his dad at a couple of games.  He finished eight out of 12 in the six years and under group (pretty good considering he just started and was one of the youngest kids).  I was happy to see that all the kids in that group were awarded trophies, including my son.  He’s now taking chess classes, and we’re planning to hire a private chess tutor for him at least once per week (hiring affordable private tutors is one of the nice perks of living in a place like Paraguay.  And plus, he’ll have his dad to beat as he gears up for another run next year.
 
For the shutterbugs:  I posted some photos from the chess tournament.  The girl in some of the photos is our son’s classmate and a good friend of his.  They look so cute together!

A Paraguayan moment

Dear Reader, I haven’t added a new feature to World Adventurers for a long, long time (mainly because I haven’t written much at all!).  Tonight I introduce you to "Moments."  No, I’m not referring to some sappy Korean drama; I’m talking about sharing snippets of those unique moments that truly define a culture.  Think of an "American moment."  What’s an American moment…a moment in time that it uniquely American?  I really can’t think of any at this moment because I am down here in Paraguay.
 
So here is a Paraguayan moment for your to contemplate; a moment to ponder whether your own culture should adopt this habit or custom that is unique to Paraguay.  Tonight, as I drove home from work, I saw a couple riding on a motorcycle.  The man drove the bike; the women was seated behind him.  The man, displaying a courageous act of chivalry, gave his helmet to her and drove helmetless.  They stopped at a stoplight next to me, and what did my bewildered eyes behold?  I saw the woman pulling out her mate tea jug and pouring some mate tea into the mate cup and hand it to the man.  The man drank his mate tea quickly at the stoplight and then handed the cup back to the woman.  The woman lovingly put away the cup and the jug, and then they sped away when the light turned green.  An intimate Paraguayan moment of sharing mate on a motorcycle at a stoplight.  Only in Paraguay.

Working out the videotaping kinks

Tonight I was inspired to download the video footage I took of my son’s birthday party and from Buenos Aires to our computer; however, it’s a much more involved process than I have time for right now.  We have one of those fandangled Sony Handycam video camcorders that record directly to mini-DVDs, you know, the one everyone seemed to buy last year for Christmas.  After finalizing the DVD-R in the camcorder, I popped it into our computer to play it.  Easy enough, right?  Hardly!  Windows Media Center launched and told me that it doesn’t have the files needed to play the DVD.  OK, well, what about Windows Media Player?  Yes, they played, but the video quality was uneven, indicating that Media Player too is having issues with DVDs.  I’ll have to visit Microsoft’s Web site to figure out why Windows Vista isn’t playing my videos properly.  
 
I haven’t even tried editing the video footage–that’s an entirely different challenge.  With time and inspiration, I plan to upload the video footage to my computer and edit the footage, eventually burning it to full-size DVDs for posterity.  It will be easiest to upload and manipulate the newer, DVD-based video footage–the mini-DV and VHS formatted video footage from years past will be an even bigger challenge because I’ll need to upload it using my older mini-DV camcorder and VHS video recorder.  I could save this project until I retire and have hours to devote to it, or I’ll do it little by little…before the older tapes disintegrate from age.
 
Blog note:  Cordelia, thank you for the wonderful message you sent me today.  Messages like yours are very encouraging.  Life is better now for me.  I wish you all the best as you pursue a career with the Foreign Service.  There’s no other job like it on Earth, which is why it can be so rewarding and frustrating at the same time.  I am by no means an expert on Buenos Aires, but I did have the feeling after visiting many other large cities around the world that its cuisine is somewhat less diverse.  That said, its barbeque and Italian cuisine are superb, and the quality of life is primo.