２月２３日（金曜日）２０２４

    前日の夜、ボストンから滋賀に帰って、翌日はJA湖東女性「輝く女性フェスティバル」から
私たち多賀の朗読サークル・ひだまりの会がお招きいただいたので「耳なし芳一」と「夕鶴」の朗読を参加者８０名ほどの前で朗読しました。会場となったJA湖東本所の立派な施設に私たちはびっくり。終わって「ちょこっとパン屋さん」のマフィンとクッキー、それに植田農園の章姫という立派なイチゴをそれぞれにお土産にいただき嬉しい限りでした。

    夕方、大急ぎで彦根に買い出しに出かけましたが、強い向かい風で自転車は遅くいつもの倍ぐらいの時間がかかっているんじゃないかと思うぐらいでした。スーパーの前に止めてある自転車が強風で何台も倒されていました。

    帰って、座敷にささやかながら我が家の古い雛人形を飾ったら一気に春の気配が漂い始めました。

     On the night of the 23rd I came back home from Boston, and went to ”Festival of radiant women" which was organized by JA(Japan Agricultural Cooperatives) Kotoh because the recitation circle which I am belonging to was requested to recite two stories which were "The story of Mimi-Nashi-Hohichi" by Lafcadio Hearn and "Yuzuru (The twilight heron)" by Junji Kinoshita. The audience was about 80 women. JA Kotoh has an excellent facility and we were very happy to be there. After our performance was over, we received muffins and cookies as well as two packs of strawberries.

    As soon as I returned home, I went to Hikone to get groceries by bicycle. There was a very heavy head wind and I thought it took twice as long as I was used to. I saw many bicycles in front of the shop had been pushed down by the wind.

    After I came back home, I displayed old Hina dolls in the alcove for the Dolls Day in March. Then I felt that spring suddenly came to my house.

２月２０日（火曜日）２０２４　

    家の食材と日本へのお土産を買いに今回初めて、レンタカーで外出しました。今回も予約しておいた車がないという理由で一回り大きい日産SUVを使うことに。大きな人が前に使っていたらしく座席調整は必至。運転は嫌いではないけれど他所の車を傷つけては大変と慎重な滑り出しで出発しました。

　三箇所目の大きなスーパーマーケットで探し物をしていると、どこからか私を呼ぶ声。滅多に来ないスーパーでしかもここはアメリカ。知り合いがいるはずなどないのに、あれっ？と思って見ると、そこにアメリカ人の男性と女性が私を見てました。一瞬誰かしらと思ったけれど、すぐにそれは私がH大学で仕事をしていた時に少しの間日本語のチューターをしていたPさんと奥様のKさんだと分かりました。びっくりしたの何のって！！Pさんは当時すでに日本語はかなり出来て日本で勤務が決まっていたのでブラッシュアップのつもりで私が話し相手になるといった感じでした。しばらくして婚約者のKさんを紹介されお友達に。すぐに二人は結婚して東京に数年。私たちの結婚式にも来てくださいました。

    ボストンでは娘が生まれる直前に二人にもお嬢さんが生まれたので米国での出産に関する色々なことを教えてもらい大変助かりました。その後、いつの間にか疎遠になっていました。一度Pさんにボストンで偶然お会いしたことはありますが、またご無沙汰。Pさんは全米日米協会連合の理事長を長年なさっていたようで、昨年は日本政府から外国人として叙勲されたとのこと。スーパーでの短い会話の中での嬉しいニュースでした。

    混雑したスーパーの中で見つけてくださったPさんご夫妻に改めて感謝です。「奇遇」という言葉がぴったりの再会でした。

    I rented a car for going out to buy foods and some small things for my friends in Japan. I requested a compact car but they rented a bigger one instead because the smaller car was out of the office. I like driving but I should have paid special attention not to damage that unfamiliar car.

    When I was looking for something I needed at the third shop which was a huge supermarket, I heard someone calling my name. I thought that it can't be true because I rarely went to that supermarket and I knew very limited people in the US. I looked towards the direction of the voice, and an American couple was looking at me. First, I wondered who they were, then I remembered that he was Mr. P.K. whom I was tutoring Japanese when I was working at Harvard Univ. and she was his wife, Ms.K.D. We haven't met each other for several decades. I was so surprised !!

    At the time we first met, P was expected to go to Japan for his business, so he wanted to brush up his Japanese with me. He introduced his fiance to me and we became good friends. Soon, they married and moved to Tokyo and lived there for a couple of years. They came to our wedding in Shiga.

    In Boston, just before I was pregnant, they had a baby girl, so K taught many things about giving birth in the US. I was helped so much by her advice. After that, however, I lost touch with them. I met P in Boston many years ago, but again we had not contacted each other. P told me that he had been a president of the National Association of Japan-America Societies for many years and was awarded by the Japanese government for his contribution between the US and Japan. I heard this wonderful news from him during our short conversation in the supermarket.

    I really appreciated that they found me in the crowded site. The word "Coincidence" is just suited in this situation and it was a happy meeting.

２月１６日（金曜日）２０２４

    米国の大学で仕事をしている時から、職場を離れて１０数年経つ今も変わらずお付き合いいただいているモンゴル文学を専門とする研究者の先生ご夫妻が今回もご馳走してくださいました。ちょうど中国のお正月の時期でもあり珍しい広東風の鍋料理とロブスターのお料理という贅沢なメニューでした。

　まず、鍋と一緒にテーブルに並んだのはココナッツの実が２つ。上をくり抜いて中のジュースとココナッツの果肉も削ぎ取ってお鍋に。熟していないココナッツのジュースは透明で、熟してくるとこれがココナッツオイルやミルクになるらしい。鍋の中にはすでにナツメが切って入っており、クコの実も。鶏のぶつ切りを入れてしばらく煮込んだ後に里芋ときのこも入れて、またしばらくグツグツ。調味料は何も入れていないのに日本食には絶対にないコクのあるいい味のスープでした。中国野菜の付け合わせと、ロブスターの生姜をタップリいれた少し甘辛い料理も贅沢この上なし。美味しかったのはいうまでもありません。

　いつもご馳走になるばかりで何もお返しできていませんが、日本でカフェをしている私を温かく見守ってくださるご夫妻のサポートに感謝するばかりです。

    Ever since I left my work teaching Japanese at the college in the US, a professor and her husband whose research is Mongolian literature have been keeping in touch with me and supporting my current work of running a cafe in Japan, and they always treat me when I come back to Boston. This time they invited me to a Chinese restaurant. Since it is around the time of Chinese New Year, they served a special hot pot and lobster meal which I never have a chance to eat.

    First, I saw two coconuts by the pot on the table which were cut on top. Waiter of the restaurant came to our table and poured the coconut juice and sarcocarp into the pan. I learned that if the coconut is young, the juice is clear but if it is ripe, the juice becomes opaque like coconut milk or oil. Some Jujube and wolfberries were already in the pan. Then, chunks of chicken were put in and we waited for several minutes. Then, taro and a kind of mushroom were put in after. It became a very good soup which I have never tasted in Japan. We also enjoyed Chinese green vegetables and lobster which were cut in pieces and seasoned with ginger and scallions. They were also so good!!

    Everytime I come back to Boston, they take care of me like this and I haven't returned anything to them. I feel so bad about it but I really appreciate their warm support to me while I am running a cafe in an old Japanese house in the countryside.

２月１５日（木曜日）２０２４

    最近、日本でも紅茶を楽しむ傾向があり、コーヒを飲むけど紅茶も好きという人が増えているように思います。アメリカでもこの傾向があるようです。

    昨日、ボストンの自然食志向のスーパーを覗いてみたら、紅茶のセクションが結構な場所を占めているのに驚きました。そして紅茶とともに日本茶もブームのようで、Green Tea. Matcha Tea, Yuzu Bancha, Kukichaなどといったラベルや言葉が目に入りました。

　アメリカの普通のスーパーでも紅茶のティーバッグと一緒にGreen Teaのティーバッグが随分前から売られていますが、カフェインがまったくないアメリカのスーパーの日本茶を私は美味しいと思ったことがありません。この少し高級感あるスーパーのお茶が美味しいのかどうか私には分かりませんが、アメリカ人の緑茶志向には興味があります。

    Recently there is a tendency for people to enjoy tea. Many people still enjoy coffee but some of them also like tea. I guess it is the same as the US.

    Yesterday I went to a supermarket which sells more natural food and I found the tea section took more space than before which made me a little surprised. I saw many green tea labels or boxes on the shelves as well as English tea such as Green Tea, Matcha Tea, Yuzu Bamcha, Kukicha, etc. It seems that Japanese tea is booming in the US.

    I know that Green Tea has been sold in the common supermarket in the US in the same section as English Tea, but I have never thought that those Japanese teas were good. I don't know if this Japanese Tea sells in this high-class supermarket, but I am just curious about whether people in the US like Green Tea.

 

２月１３日（水曜日）２０２４　

    私が半年に一度帰るボストンは日本に比べて変化の速度が遅いとずっと思っていました。街の景観や人々の様子など日本に比べたら特に東京に比べたら変化はあまりなく、古い地下鉄は駅も含めてそのままだし街の様子も何十年も大きくは変わっていません。けれども、今回は長年見慣れた景色や様々なものが良きも悪しきもあちこちで変わりつつあり今までとは違う思いです。
　
　景気の悪さを感じるのは、街の通りの店屋は飲食店も洋服屋も結構な数が閉店になっていること。そうかと思えば、街の古い図書館やスケートリンクが新しく建て替わるために取り壊されたり閉鎖されたりしています。近年、中高一貫の公立学校が新しく建て替わり、市のプールが綺麗になったばかり。この上、まだ公共の建物が新しくなることは、単に喜んでばかりいられません。それだけ住民の税金が上がることを意味しています。
　
　物価の上昇も驚きです。ガソリンは２年前よりむしろ安くなっていますが、日用品、例えばティッシュペーパーや化粧用コットンなど高くて驚きます。ティッシュは$3.99（600円）、コットンも安いもので$2.99（450円）。コットンが高いことは常々感じていましたが、日本では百均で２パックぐらい買えるのでこの値段には「えっ！何で？！」と叫びたくなる程です。　

　余裕で暮らしている人も生活費を切り詰めて暮らしている人も様々ですが、我が家は確実に後者です。

　I have been thinking for a long time that the US is much slower than Japan in terms of the speed of social change. The scenery of the area and people's looks haven't changed much in contrast to Japan, especially Tokyo. Subway and subway stations in Boston haven't been changed for several decades except the fee. But this time, I felt a little bit different. It has been changing here and there although I don't know whether they are getting better or worse.

    I saw many shops and restaurants in the central area of the town closed and this shows how the economy is going worse. On the other hand, the city's library and skate rink were closed or shut down in order to make new ones. Recently the middle school and high school were newly built, and the city's pool was remodeled. I was surprised by the fact that more public buildings will be built in the near future. I think we cannot simply feel happy because it means our tax will be raised.

    Although I feel the gas price hasn't risen much in the US, the commodity prices are getting higher. A box of tissue paper is $3.99 (¥600), a small pack of cosmetic cotton 2.99 (¥450), etc. We can get two packs of cotton in 100 yen shops in Japan. They all surprised me.

    There are many people who are living comfortably or people who are living by cutting back on living expenses but I can say that we definitely belong in the latter group.

２月１０日（金曜日）２０２４

　一ヶ月ほど前にFBでクラウン・ロネが、宙に浮いてビルの間に挟まった二つの大きなクラウンの風船を紹介してくれて、それがボストンにあるというので行って見てきました。最寄りの駅で降りて当てずっぽうに歩いていると角を曲がったところに小さな人溜りができていて、そこに確かにありました。

    子供達ははしゃいで大人たちは皆カメラを向けていました。一体何なの？と誰もが持つ疑問に答えるように説明がありました。これはサミュエル・ベケット(1906-1989)というアイルランドの劇作家のエンドゲームという芝居に出てくるナッグ（男）とネル（女）を表しているそうで、調べると劇中では二人とも足をなくしてドラム缶の中で生きるという役柄。特にクラウンという設定ではありません。ロネとジージは明るいオープンなクラウンですが、これは何とも重苦しいキャラクターです。ベケットは不条理の世界を表す作家と言われていますが、この二つのクラウンが狭い空間に折重なるようにひょうきんな顔で浮いているのはある意味不気味です。

    ネットでこのエンドゲームを調べていたら、日本でも上演されたことがあるとのこと。佐藤信演出でナッグが三谷昇、ネルが渡辺美沙子とありました。三谷氏は大学の頃にお世話になり卒業後二度ほど芝居を観に行き、お宅に泊めていただいたこともあります。以後不義理をしていました。昨年亡くなったことを知り、思いがけない時に優しかった三谷さんに想いを馳せ自分の不甲斐なさに後悔ばかりが残っています

    About one month ago, Clown Rone introduced me to an exhibition of two big clown heads floating between the buildings. Since they are in Boston, I went to see them. Getting off the train at the nearest station, when I was walking down the street, I found small children gathering and clown heads were in the area.

    The children were excited and adults were taking photos. There was an explanation to answer everyone's question why clowns were there. According to the explanation, the two clowns were Nagg and Nell who were in the "Endgames" by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett (1906-1986). Bothe Nagg and Nell didn't have legs and stayed in steel drums, but those two were not set as clowns in the play. While my favorite clown, Rone & Gigi are open and funny, Nagg and Nell are dark and depressing characters. It is said that Beckett expressed absurdity in his play. The two funny-faced clowns, Nagg and Nell, were stuck in the narrow building space. It was creepy, in a way.

     When I was checking Endgame on the net, I found out that the play appeared in Japan a couple decades ago. Makoto Sato directed and Negg was played by Noboru Mitani and Nell was played by Misako Watanabe. Mr. Mitani is a familiar name to me, because he came to our dramatic club for teaching when I was in college and I went to his theater performances a couple of times after graduation. We were well taken care of by him and we even stayed at his house. I haven't contact him at all ever since. I knew that he passed away last year and I feel very sorry about it. I was glad to see his name coincidentally and at the same time I regret that I didn't express my thanks to him.

１月３１日（水曜日）２０２４

    １月最終日の朝、小学４年生の読み聞かせで選んだのは科学絵本「かがくのとも」の「このよでいちばんはやいものは」でした。原本はロバート・フローマンの「Faster and Faster」。

    動物たちを比べて速いものをあげていき、海の魚、空飛ぶ鳥へと速いものがわかっていき、人間はそれらより遅いが新幹線やジェット機などの速い道具を作り出したこと。ジェット機よりも「おと」、おとより地球の自転のほうがずっと速いこと、それより人工衛星や宇宙船。更に地球が太陽のまわりを回る方が速いこと。もっと速いのは「ひかり」。子供達は途中の速い順番は知らなかったけれど「ひかり」が一番早いことは何人か知っていました。

    さて、「光より速いものがある」と作者は述べます。それは人間の「想像力」。想像力で宇宙の果ての星にも何百年先の未来の国へもいけると。

    読み終わって、みんなに目を閉じてもらって、自分が海に浮かんでいると想像してもらう。何の隔たりもない、自由にどこへでもいけるこの自分の想像力の海を大切にしよう、この海で伸び伸び泳ぎ回ろう...と作者は語ります。生徒はもちろん先生もみんな目をつぶっていました。　　

　良い本に出会えました。

    On the last day of January, I went to Elementary School for storytelling. The book I chose was "The fastest one in the world" from the science picture book "Friend of Science" and it was originally from "Faster and Faster" by Robert Froman.

    There were a series of comparisons to choose the fastest animal among all. Cheetah is the fastest animal on the surface but tuna is faster than cheetah and swallow is faster than tuna. Human beings are much slower than all those animals but people invented faster devices such as jets. Sound is faster than jet but rotation of the earth is much faster than sound. Artificial satellites and spacecraft are faster than the rotation of the earth, and the speed of the earth going around the sun is faster. The fastest one is light. Some kids knew that light is the fastest although they didn't know the ranking in the middle.

    Now the author said that there is something faster than light and that is our imagination. We can go to the stars which are at the end of the universe and go to the future world several hundred years ahead.

    After finishing the reading, I asked the children to close their eyes. I said "you are floating in the sea and this is an imaginary sea.There is no wall and you can go any place you want." The author says that let's take good care of this imaginary sea and swim freely."  I saw that all the kids, even the teacher, closed their eyes.

    I am glad I could encounter such a fine book. 

１月２５日（木曜日）２０２４

　多賀町役場から大雪警報が出ていたために、夜のうちに雪かきをしておこうと二度ほど作業をしましたが、積雪はそれほどでもなくその時は雪も止んでいたので、このまま朝になるかと思いきや、私の見込みは甘かったようです。

    朝になって見ると開けておいたところから更に２０センチほど積もっていました。昨夜も朝８時の時点も道路の融雪装置は稼働していませんでした。しばらくして午前１０時ごろには水が出て、ビチョビチョ状態。地下の水道管の凍結を避けるために止めてあったのでしょう。

    昔のように道の両脇に側溝があった時の方が積もった雪を放り込めるので確実によかったのですが、今は融雪装置と言っても、車の通るところだけ除雪されて家の前は水分を含んだ重い雪を各家がシャベルで両側や道の真ん中の水が出ているところに持っていくしかありません。

　今は運動と思って頑張れても、この先どうなることか.....　腰を痛めないように日頃の運動の大切さを思います。

    Since the town had announced a heavy snow warning, I eliminated snow several times during the night which accumulated in front of my house. It was not heavy at that time, so I thought it would not be so heavy. However, I realized that my prediction was off.

    More than 8 inches of snow had accumulated from where I shoveled last night. The snow melting pipes coming from the central part of the road were not working both at night and at 8 am. After a while at around 10 am, the water was coming and some part was clear on the road but it was only the center and both sides of the road were covered with drenched snow. Maybe because of avoiding the water pipe freeze, they had stopped running the water during the night.

    I prefer the past when we had a side-ditch on both sides of the road before the current road was made by taking off the ditch, because we could put accumulated snow in there so that it would melt away. It was really hard work for me to put all the wet snow on both sides of the house.

    I could do this work by myself now, but I wonder how long I can do it in the future. It is important to keep my muscles well for the future.