Monday, March 7, 2022

3月6日(日曜日)2022

    これまで滞在期間が短いのを言い訳に家の中の整理をせずにいたのですが、今回は時間があり思い切って不用品を処分しています。アメリカの私がいる所は日本のように細かく分別を指示されず「リサイクルできるもの」と「リサイクルできないもの」に分けるだけです。不要家電製品などはあらかじめ役所に電話して日にちを調整し、当日は家の前へそれとわかるようにステッカーを貼って置いておくと持っていってもらえます。

    もはや出番がなくなったスーツやスカートなどは長年仕事ができたことへの感謝とともにゴミとしてごっそり出しましたが、セーターやシャツ、コートなどまだまだ活躍できそうな衣類はまとめてガソリンスタンド脇にあるRecycling Bin (リサイクル箱)に入れました。誰かの役に立てば嬉しいです。別のガソリンスタンドには同じような赤十字のリサイクル箱が置いてありました。連日映像で入ってくるウクライナから逃れ出る母子の姿が目に浮かびますが、彼らへの支援はやはり募金の方がいいのでしょう。

    I didn't clean up my house for a long time with my excuse being that my stay in the US was too short to do it, but this time since my stay is much longer than usual, I decided to remove unnecessary things. In Japan they ask us to separate the garbage by type and there are too many categories which makes me confused sometimes, but in my place in the US we need to separate only "recycle garbage" and "nonrecyclable garbage". As for household electric appliances waste, we call the city hall to set the date and put a sticker to let them know it is waste and put it in front of the house, then they will take it away.

    I packed all stuff such as suits and skirts which I wore when I was teaching at the college and do not need any longer, put them into a garbage bin, but I brought other clothing such as sweaters, shirts and coats which were still good, to the Recycle Bins which are located at the corner at a nearby gas station hoping somebody will use them. I found a similar Recycle Bin which is organized by the Red Cross at a different gas station. Everyday many video clips are coming into our eyes which show mothers and children who are escaping from Ukraine which make us feel so sad. I think the thing we can do for them is probably to donate money rather than clothing.