Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

College

　　The taxi driver, who might get merrier with a long distance drive from Heathrow Airport to Oxford or might get happy with a tip, took us to another daughter's college as a favor to us. His offer was really helpful as we had to carry two suitcases.
　　I imagined that Oxford University must have been enormous and its entrance would be huge and magnificent. However, Oxford University is just a complex of several dozen colleges and institutes. I didn't know that. FYI, the Japanese Crown Prince studied in Oxford and he was in Merton College. The entrance of my daughter's college was small and discreet. Though we passed by the entrance a few times, we didn't notice the gate until a local woman pointed it out.
　　I pushed the button on the intercom, but no reply. I tried several times, but no one answered. When we were in trouble, a college student came and pushed the door. It was not locked and the intercom was out of order. We looked at each other with a laugh. A kind student guided us inside as a favor to us. The college building was considerably old and majestic, but the dormitory facing the inner court had been apparently re-built recently. It looked modernized. As she was out, we placed two suitcases in the common kitchen which my daughter utilizes and put their keys into her pigeonhole. Our Mission was Complete! Pictures show the entrance of the college, the inner court and the dormitory.

さて、タクシーの運転手、ヒースロー空港からオックスフォードまで長距離を走ったことで気をよくしたのか、チップを喜んでくれたのか、ホテルのフロントに荷物を預けた後も三女の大学まで送ってくれるという。厚意に甘えて三女への荷物であるスーツケース２個も積んでもらってカレッジまで移動。

三女が言うには、講義中は出られないから、門番に荷物を預けてくれたら良い、、、、？！日本の一般的な大学を想像していたのでこの言葉には驚いた。守衛が一学生の荷物を預かるか？オックスフォード大学はあまりにも有名だが、大学の正門は存在しない。巨大なキャンパス、荘厳な正門を期待していたのでこの事実に驚いた。実は小さなカレッジの集合体なのだという。因みに皇太子殿下もオックスフォード大学に留学されたと聞いたが、それはマートンというカレッジ。娘のカレッジの正門は小さく目立たずその前を何度も行き来してやっと気がついた、というより教えてもらって、、、「ここ？」と驚いた次第。(しかし、中へ入ると別世界だった。)

門の前でインターホンを押し続けるも返事なし。そのうちにこのカレッジの学生がやって来て笑いながらドアを押すと開いた。インターホンは壊れているのだとか。顔を見合わせて笑った。中へ入ってウロウロしていると、親切な学生が構内を案内してくれた。大学はかなり古い建物だったが、中庭に面した学生寮は最近建て替えられて近代的。娘が利用するキッチンに荷物を置いて荷物の運搬ミッション完了！写真は大学の正門ドアから入り、内側から撮影した大学、中庭、そして学生寮。

 

To Oxford

　　I forgot to write a topic about British English in the previous entry. I don't have opportunities to write or talk in English in my daily life, and it's why I keep writing this blog. If I didn't do that, I wouldn't be able to keep my English skills, nor improve it. I sometimes listen to the news program from the BBC as a listening lesson and I can understand more than half of what the casters say. Therefore, I didn't have any concern about communication with local people. However, I wasn't able to understand the words of the front desk person of the hotel. It was a huge discouragement to me.
　　My daughter often kiddingly tells me that she forgot English during learning German, but she was better at least at listening to the front desk person. She was surprised at the fact more than I. She was in Freiburg in southern Germany when she was about 20 years old. Was that helpful? Anyway, I was often annoyed at communications in the U.K..
　　The breakfast was included in the hotel fee. It looked gorgeous at first glance, but the variety of vegetables was poor. I felt that the breakfast was so simple, but it would be the standard in the U.K.. The content was the same as other hotels which I stayed at later, Best Western in Oxford and Conrad London St. James. I was a little sorry about breakfast. I remembered that my wife had put retort bags of rice and miso soup into suitcases which we brought to the daughter who lives in Oxford. It might be a good choice.
　　I asked a concierge to calculate how long it would take from the hotel to Oxford by bus. It was considerably longer than we had expected and we didn't want to move to the bus stop with four suitcases on the reverse route of what we moved the previous night. Then we decided to take a taxi to Oxford. This concierge and the taxi driver were nice and friendly. The first impression of the U.K. recovered, which had gotten worse by the English of the front desk person last night. Surprisingly, the receipt of the taxi fare came to me by an e-mail. I'll show you that below.
　　These are the ideas which I thought after coming back Japan: we should have put up at a hotel near Paddington station, which is one of the principal stations in London. It would take about an hour from Paddington to Oxford by train. One thing, however, it was a first time visit to the U.K., the first time on the tube and the national railway of the Great Western Railway. It's doubtful if we were able to successfully use that transportation, but it wasn't so hard to utilize transportation like above. On the other hand, I think it's hard for the first-time visitors to Tokyo to use public transportation. I believe that the authorities should improve this situation before the Olympics.

昨日の投稿で書き忘れたこと。それはフロントスタッフの英語。聞き取れず。日頃ＢＢＣのキャスターの英語を半分くらいは聞き取れるので英語に何ら心配していなかったのだが。まだ娘の方が理解していた。１０年くらい前に英語圏ではないドイツに留学していたことが役に立ったのだろうか？「なぜ聞き取れるのかわからない」と、僕よりも本人がビックリしていた。このイギリスの英語にはこの後、あちこちで悩まされた。

ホテルの朝食。一見豪華に見えるのだが、日本のホテルに比べて野菜が極めて貧弱。非常にシンプルに感じたがこれがイギリスの一般的な朝食なのだろう。この朝食の内容はこの後泊まったベストウエスタン、ロンドンのコンラッドでもほぼ同様。イギリスの朝食の定番なのだろうが、毎日これだったので少し辛かった。カミさんが留学中の娘にレトルトの米や味噌汁を詰めていたが正解だったかもしれない。

ヒースロー空港からバス移動した場合のオックスフォードのバスターミナルまでの所要時間を計算してもらった。さらにそのバスターミナルからホテルまでタクシーを必要とするので、費用と時間を考慮して、ホテルからタクシーを頼んでもらった。このコンシュルジュの英語は比較的わかりやすく、感じの良い人だった。タクシードライバーも感じよく、ホテルのフロントの話す英語で悪くなった初イギリスの印象が改善された。（笑）タクシーの領収書は、なんとメールで送られてきた。参考になるかなと思い、ＵＰする。

帰国してからの考えだが、前夜のうちにパディントン駅まで移動しておけば良かった。電車ならオックスフォードまで１時間だったし。ただ、初めてのイギリス、初めての地下鉄、はじめての国鉄。スムーズに切符を買って移動できたかどうかはあやしい。あくまで帰国してからの考えとしてそう思った。また一方で日本の国鉄、地下鉄は多分外国からの旅行者にとって使いこなすのはかなり難しいと思う。オリンピックまでに改善すべきと感じた。

Hilton London Heathrow Airport

　　The arrival time was supposed to be 19:40 on Oct. 3rd. and I was afraid I'd waste more than an hour at immigration control. That was why I chose this hotel, whose name made me feel its good accessibility from the airport. However, the hotel was located at a site 20 minutes' walk, then 10 minutes by tube, and then 20 minutes' walk on an uneven pathway from terminal 2, in which our aircraft arrived. I should have reached Paddington Station even in case of a late arrival taking the time and labor of moving with heavy suitcases into account.
　　The type of outlets in Japan and the U.K. are different from each other. I had only one outlet adapter, and there were enough usb outlets in the room. Unexpectedly I wasn't able to use the equipped hair dryer in the bathroom due to the difference of outlets. It was just the same at the next hotel, Best Western in Oxford, so it might be the overall rule of the hotels in the U.K.. No toothbrushes and combs were offered and it was the same in both hotels. The structure of the hotel was curious and looked like a combination of two buildings. Our room was inside and the reception desk was beneath the window. I wanted to see aircraft taking off and landing, but in vain. Though the room was clean, I'd never put up at this hotel again.

 夜遅い到着だったのと、ヒルトンのポイントがたくさんたまっていたので空港の名前を冠したこのホテルを利用した。空港に隣接するというので選んだが、アクセスが思ったよりも悪かった。到着した第２ターミナルから２０分以上歩いて電車を待ち、電車で１０分でターミナル４、そして更にでこぼこのある通路を２０分。これだけ歩くのなら、遅い到着でも一気にパディントン駅まで行った方が良かった。

日本とイギリスではコンセントの形状が違う。変換アダプタはひとつしか用意していなかった。二人の旅行には少なすぎたが、ＵＳＢ端子は十分に用意されていたのでスマホなどの充電には困らなかった。意外だったのが、バスルームではドライヤーを使えない。ドライヤーの端子とバスルームのコンセントが合わないから。これはこの次に泊まったオックスフォードのベストウエスタンも同様だった。国内のホテル全てに共通なのか？また、ハブラシや櫛などがなかった。持参していたので困りはしなかったがこれも次に泊まったホテルと同様だったのでイギリスのホテルはみな同じかも知れない。部屋は建物の内側に位置しており、窓からフロントを見下ろすことができた。空港そばなのに離発着の飛行機は見えず、バスタブなし。多分このホテルは２度と使わない。ただ、部屋はきれいだった。

Comfortable Flight

　　As soon as Matsuyama Airport opened, we headed for the ANA counter. Even then, we had only an hour until the departure time. We wanted to ask a counter person to have our luggage transported through to Heathrow Airport, because we would change aircraft in Haneda and Munich Airport and it wasn't acceptable to move with our luggage in these vast airports.
　　Additionally we had asked her to upgrade our seats of the international flight from economy class to premium economy class. As one of the membership privileges of the Super Flyers' Club of ANA, this upgrade is free of additional charge if there were vacant seats on the departure day. Therefore, before other passengers upgraded their seats, we needed to get our seat upgrade done. That's why we rushed to the counter. However, the computer system in Haneda Airport was busy and wasn't able to receive a favorable reply from ANA in Matsuyama Airport. Finally we received the definitive answer from ANA at Haneda Airport. The upgrade was successful! The flight between Haneda and Munich was really comfortable.
　　Our ticket was offered free corresponding to the obtained mileage and we had no option other than the route via Munich. However, we had high expectations in Munich. Oct 3rd is a German holiday called "Tag der deutschen Einheit", which means the unification of the former west and east Germany. We hoped that we would come across various social gatherings or entertainment concerning the day in Munich Airport, but in vain.
　　Another interest is: The U.K. is still in the EU, but out of the Schengen Agreement. Did that mean that we had to go through two immigration inspections in Munich and Heathrow Airport? Actually we had to pass the carry-on baggage inspection in Munich Airport, but didn't pass passport control. We had just run in Munich Airport. There was no appropriate guidance and I felt an obnoxious aspect of German. It seemed that we were the only passengers who changed aircraft from ANA to Lufthansa bound for Heathrow Airport. We hurried in the deserted and dark passage. It was a little hard work for me who had drank a lot of wine.
　　I understood that the inspection at Heathrow Airport was strict under the influence of repeated terrorism, but it was done in a minute. Because of our nationality? The Japanese Passport is said to be the strongest in the world. Anyway, we arrived in the U.K.

(Vocabulary)
obnoxious 〈人・発言などが〉 ひどく不愉快な, 鼻持ちならない

松山空港が開くや否やＡＮＡのカウンターへ直行。それでもフライトまで１時間しかありません。この荷物を何とかヒースロー空港までスルーしてもらう手続きと座席のアップグレードを依頼するため。フライトは地元松山空港から羽田空港、ミュンヘン経由でロンドンヒースロー空港です。スーツケース４個を空港ごとに受け取って持ち運ぶなど考えられません。

また、ＡＮＡのＳＦＣ会員なので当日空席があればエコノミークラスからプレミアムエコノミーにアップグレードが無料なのです。そのためにも朝一でカウンターへ！ところが羽田のコンピューターが混んでいて返事が来ないとのこと。結果は羽田で聞くことにして出発しました。そして改めて羽田で尋ねるとアップグレードＯＫでした！！！足を伸ばせるし、幅は広いし、言うことなし。

ミュンヘンを経由するのは利用するのが特典航空券で他に選択種がなかったから。しかし、楽しみもありました。この日はドイツ統一記念日で何かイベントに出くわすのではないかと。しかし、結果的に何も無くがっかり。そしてもうひとつ、イギリスはシェンゲン協定未締結。なので、ミュンヘンとイギリスと両方で入国審査に出くわすのだろうかと興味がありましたが、ミュンヘンでは手荷物検査のみで書類チェックなし。結構な距離を走らされただけでした。案内もなく、ドイツの嫌な不親切な面を見ました。ワインを飲み過ぎた身体には少しきつかったです。(^_^;)　

入国に関してイギリスは厳しいと覚悟していましたが、実にあっさりと済みました。日本人だったから？ま、とにかく快適にイギリスに到着です。

departure

　　My youngest daughter is studying in Oxford as a visiting scholar. My second daughter and I were asked to take her possessions to her dormitory. It was hard work for two to carry four suitcases. Three old pairs of shoes: She's going to wear them out in the U.K. A Yukata, an informal cotton kimono and a set of tea-things: She might want to show her formalized manners of the tea-ceremony in front of her colleagues.

今回は留学中の娘にいろいろと荷物を届ける必要があり同行する次女と合わせてスーツケース４個。結構大変でした。履きつぶして捨てるつもりでしょう。靴３足とか、浴衣とか、お点前を披露するつもりなのか茶器など、、、、

 

U.K. Tour

　　I went on a trip to the U.K. in the beginning of October. I'll record my trip memos on my blog and after I finish all the entries, I'll put them in order of times. I'll start with gadgets.
　　I understand that the U.K. has relatively much precipitation so I prepared a digital camera which was designed for use in tough conditions. The red camera in the first picture works even 15 meters below sea level as it is - I mean without any protection kit. Then I bought a SIM for the U.K. and other EU countries. When I utilized a SIM free smartphone this April in Hawaii, I found it so helpful and I prepared that for this trip. This was also very useful and had nothing wrong with it. The next thing was my single lens reflex camera. It was heavy to carry with a zoom lens hanging from my neck all the way. Lastly I chose a standard lens not the zoom lens.

１０月上旬、遅くなった夏休みを頂き、ロンドン、オックスフォードを旅してきました。いつものように記録を残していきたいと思います。全て書き終わってから、記事を時系列で並べて整理します。まずは持ち物から。イギリスは雨が多いと聞きます。なので雨を気にせず使えるカメラを準備。１５メートルの水深でも使えるカメラです。つぎにイギリス用のＳＩＭ。この春、ＳＩＭフリースマホを初めてハワイで使ってみて便利さを実感。ネットの情報を参考に下記の写真のものを準備しました。そして一眼レフ。これは悩みました。重いからです。最終的に軽さから標準レンズを選びました。