The number of people from other countries living in Ehime Prefecture seems to be soaring these days. I don't know whether it's good or bad, but if those people came to like Japan, I'd be happy. As an activity of my Lions Club, a day-tour for those people was planned. I joined it and had a short trip to Ohyamazumi Jinja Shrine on Ohmishima Island.
Two volunteer guides gave us guidance about the shrine. I knew part of their explanation, but it was hard to translate their words into English, as they had lots of technical terms. I felt keenly the lack of vocabulary of historical things. A few people who had lived in Ehime for a long time helped us and it was so helpful. Some people had lived in Ehime for a long time, and others hadn't. It was fun to see them eating local food in their original ways.
愛媛に住む外国人がこのところ急激に増えている。良いことなのかどうかわからないが、日本を好いてくれる人が増えるなら嬉しい。所属するライオンズクラブの活動の一環で地元に住む外国人たちの交流会を開いた。バスをチャーターして瀬戸内海に浮かぶ大三島までドライブ。島にある大山祇神社を訪ね、日本の歴史に触れていただく小旅行。
神社のガイドが説明をしてくれるし、既に知っていることもあったが、それを英語に訳すことが難しい。幸い、日本に長く暮らしている人もいて助かった。料理の食べ方一つ見ていても面白い。長く住んでいる人とそうでない人、食事も楽しんでくれたようで嬉しかった。
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