多賀中学校では毎年町内の様々な場所で生徒が職場体験をしています。今年はコロナ禍ということで体験は中止、代わりに仕事を持つ人を招いて話を聞くということになり、その一人として私に指名がありました。私はカフェをしており飲食業からの一人ということらしいですが、カフェ歴も浅くその道のプロから見れば素人同然なので辞退したのですが、カフェ以外のことでも何でもいいとのこと。故郷を出て故郷に戻るまで支離滅裂ながら経験した仕事は多く中学生には面白いかもしれないと引き受けました。久々にPPT（パワーポイント）を使おうと思ったものの、数年前までは毎日使っていたPPTがその使い方をすっかり忘れていることに愕然。何とか少しずつ思い出して発表の下地ができました。さて、これから仕事を見つけていく中学生諸君に私からのメッセージ。未知なるものへの好奇心と何でも面白がること…かな。In Junior High School in town, every year students have an opportunity to gain work experience at various places in town. This year, however, due to the coronavirus, all of these experiences are canceled and they invite people to the school who have various occupations and have them talk about their field instead. I was asked to speak as a cafe owner, but I have been doing this job for only four years and I am like a amateur compared to those who have had long careers, so I rejected the offer at first. The person who came to ask me said that it doesn't matter if I speak about matters other than the cafe. Since I have experienced many jobs during the 40 years when I first left my hometown and returned, I think it might be interesting for the students. In the process of the preparation, I was shocked by the fact that I forgot how to use PowerPoint for my presentation which I had been using pretty often when I was teaching Japanese at a college in the US. Anyhow, I tried to remember how to use PPT, and finally I was ready to prepare the material for my presentation. Well, this is my message to Junior High School students who are going to find their jobs for their future. Have curiosity about the unknown things which you will face, and enjoy them.
