Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

E-Ticket

     As I wrote before, my second daughter Yuri and I are visiting Germany for the first time in autumn. If I'm rich enough, I will buy the air tickets right before departure, but I'm not. I had to get the discount tickets far ahead of the flight and I bought them today.
     Though I have visited Canada every two years in the past ten years, every detail of the trip was done by my friend, who is teaching English in a college in Kobe. She was remarkably talented and when she took charge everything was perfect. However, this time, I had to do it all myself.
     I asked a travel agent, HIS, to get our air tickets this time because I've used this agent when my family traveled in Alberta and British Columbia in Canada in 1995 and they did their job admirably. I sent a lot of money from my bank to the agent and received air tickets and documents for various procedures at that time. The thickness of all the tickets and documents was irritating.
     To my surprise this time I sent the tickets' fee on the internet from my desk and received tickets via an e-mail! The air ticket is called an e-ticket and was added to the e-mail. I have only to print them out and take them to the counter of the air company with our passports.

(Vocabulary)
act one's part admirably  自分の役割［役目・務め・任務・責任］を立派に果たす

GPS Receiver

     I'm planning to visit Freiburg in Germany this autumn. I accessed the website of Freiburg City and got information for tourists. They sent me lots of pamphlets about Freiburg and around the city. I'm showing you them. I'm scouring these pamphlets now. I'm kind of a nerd. I have a great attention to detail and have to have everything perfect.
     I found that Freiburg was located ideally. I mean, the city is very convenient for sightseeing. I'm going to wander Basel in Switzerland, Strasbourg in France and around Lake Constance (Bodensee in German). Basel is on the border of Switzerland, Germany and France. Lake Constance is likewise the border of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. I will take a billion pictures and I was afraid that I wouldn't know where each picture was taken, so I bought a GPS Logger, which shows me where I was at any time later. It links pictures and places where the picture was taken by reconciling the time that the picture was shot. The second picture is of the GPS Logger. This device can record where I am every second for a continuous seven days. Can you believe it? I've only to put both pictures and my log into my PC and the PC makes up my album automatically. I'm sure that it will be open to the public in this blog.

(Vocabulary)
reconcile data  データを照合する

Immigration Issue

     Today's entry is about the immigration issue in Japan. It's a serious problem and topic. Reference to the following movie may be of use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU
     Many politicians insist that Japan has to admit immigrants and give them suffrage. I think it is a stupid idea. I'm showing my opinion this time both in English and Japanese. I'd be happy if you send me your comments.
     A birth rate of at least 2.11 seems to be essential in order for the culture of a country to be preserved. Let's check the rates of 2007 in European countries.

France          1.8
Great Britain   1.6
Greece          1.3
Germany         1.3
Italy           1.2
Spain           1.1
EU              1.38

     Don't you think it is critical? However, the population of EU hasn't been decreasing. Why? It's because those countries admit lots of immigrants.
     Ninety percent of the increase of European population since 1990 is due to the immigration of Muslims.

In case of France:
Birth rate is 1.8 and that of Muslim is 8.1 !  If simply calculated, one of every five French will be a Muslim in 2027. After 39 years (in 2048), more than 50% of people will be Muslim and France will be Muslim country.

In case of Great Britain:
The number of Muslims will increase from 82000 to 2.5 million in 30 years.

In case of Holland:
At present, 50 % of newly born babies are already Muslim. 15 years later, Holland will be a Muslim country.

In case of Russia:
The number of Muslim is 23 million right now. That is one fifth of its population.

In case of Belgium:
Twenty five percent of the population is already Muslim and 50 % of newborns are Muslim.

In case of Germany:
It will be Muslim country in 2050. According to the German Government, there are 52 million Muslims in Europe and it will increase to 140 million in 20 years.

In case of Canada:
Birth rate is 1.6 and the population has increased by 1.6 million from 2001 to 2006, but 1.2 million is the increase of immigrants.

In case of the U.S:
The number of Muslim in the U.S. in 1970 was only 100,000 but increased to 9 million in 2008. It is supposed to go up to 50 million after 30 years.

     What do you think about this status? You figure out how critical the situation of the Europe is. You might suspect if the Muslim religion is bad or not. I'd like to express my opinion about that below.
     To quickly describe what I wrote above, the Muslim culture is gradually and legally encroaching on the Christian culture sphere and the situation is supposed to be irreversible at present. It's because of the difference in the birth rate between Muslim people and people in western developed countries. Several decades from now, Muslim people will dominate the world and other people will have to get along as minorities. I came up with a fearful idea. When the population of Muslims becomes more than a half the world' population and Muslim people obey a certain spiritual leader, can we not say that Muslim people will become the supranational group? Their own rules will rank over the constitution of the countries that they actually belong to. They might ruin the concept of the nation. They might break down other peoples' culture.
     Is there any means to prevent Europe from muslimizing? It's a very easy task. You should not allow Muslims to immigrate into Europe. The rate of unemployment in EU is 9%! Why do they accept immigrants? I can think of two reasons.
    At first, it's because European rich people hate hard and dirty work. Those hated jobs are given to poor immigrants. Maybe European political leaders have a sense of discrimination against poor Islamic people. (Naturally they'd deny such motive.)
     Secondly, EU are planning to increase their population and their influence, and eventually deprive the U.S. of hegemony.
     The other day, moral-lacking Sarközy was talking in front of a camera that EU should build up a single economic sphere with Turkey and Russia. I was surprised to hear that. Turkey shares the issue of "Lie of Armenia" with France and "Cyprus Issue" with Greece. Turkey will never be a member of EU, at least in near future. Russia is strongly putting up a fight against Georgia and Ukraine about their joining NATO. His idea makes no sense at present. Besides, if this single economic sphere brought on the free immigration of labor, western Europe would be inundated with numerous Islamic immigrants. People living in southern Russia are mostly Muslim. They will move to Europe via Turkey, because their income will become ten or twenty times much more just only to move. Eventually free immigration will result in the disappearance of the original civilization.
     If you have a chance to see Mr. Sarközy, tell him something like this:
"President! Aegean civilization was destroyed by the great migration of Dorians."
"The Roman Empire disappeared due to the great movement of Germanic peoples."
"Do you know that European civilization will be wiped out by the influx of Islamic people?"
     By the way, is Japan OK? I think Japan can be free from this, if people are sober. Do I hate Muslim? No, absolutely no. I never look down on Muslim people.
     Actially, is this sharp rise of the Islamic population a threat to Japan? Though some Asian countries are Muslim; Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Central Asian countries, fortunately they aren't hostile. These countries would never be hostile to Japan. Japan has the advantage in the sense of geography. Immigrants flow from poor countries to rich ones all the time and they prefer land borders rather than ocean borders. Poor Islamic people would rush to rich western Europe at first. Then they will destroy the European Christian Civilization. Naturally, it is this story that will foillow after more than fifty years.
     What's the choice of Japan? Japan must not accept poor immigrants from Islamic countries. Why do immigrants provoke riots in France? It's because the French have the sense of discrimination that make Islamic people do the work that the original French hate. It's the best way not to accept those people in order to foster enemies inside. For the record, equal footing is OK; athletes, actors, university professors, engineers, business persons, doctors,,, and so on are no problem. Once specific poor classes are formed, it leads to an unstable society. Security will be compromised.
     It should be emphasized that the real enemy is not the poor immigrants but the politicians who push forth the discriminatory policy that failed in Europe. I'd like you not to vote for such politicians in the coming election.

(Vocabulary)
immigration issue   移民問題
suffrage   参政権
to quickly describe  手短に言えば
encroach  [自](けなして) 押し寄せる, 侵害する
encroach on/upon something  ～を侵害する　侵食する
supernational / supranational　超国家的な（二カ国以上が関与して一国を超える権威・権力を有する）
put up a fight　抵抗する、戦う、争う、抵抗を示す、反対する
bring on  （病気・発作・惨事・危機などを）引き起こす
be inundated with 殺到する
Aegean civilization  エーゲ文明
Dorians  ドーリア人
great migration / great movement　大移動
Rome / the Roman Empire  ローマ帝国
Great Barbarian Invasion  ゲルマン民族大移動
Germanic peoples  ゲルマン民族
barbarian  教養のない人, 野卑な人  (古代ギリシャ人やローマ人から見た) 異邦人
hostile  敵意のある　敵対する
geographically  地理的に
provoke a riot / set off a riot　暴動を引き起こす
acquire an enemy / foster enemies　敵を作る
foster　（技術・精神など）をはぐくむ, 育成［促進］する
for the record　念のために記しておくと
fifty-fifty partnership　対等なパートナーシップ
equal footing　対等な立場
discriminatory  差別的な
discriminatory practice  差別的な慣行

積極的に移民を受け入れ、参政権を与えようという主張する政治家が日本には多くいる。全く呆れた話だと思う。日本語と英語の両方で意見を書いてみたい。意見をお待ちする。 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU ある文化が保たれるためには、出生率が2.11人以上必要だそうだ。欧州の現状はどうなのか？ 2007年のデータ・フランス　1.8人・イギリス　1.6人・ギリシャ　1.3人・ドイツ　1.3人・イタリア　1.2人・スペイン　1.1人・ＥＵ　1.38人 危機的状態ではないか？ところが、欧州の人口は減っていない。それは移民を大量に受け入れているから。1990年から現在にいたるまで、欧州の人口増加の90%はイスラム移民によるものだ。たとえば。 1、フランスの場合フランスの出生率は1.8人。イスラム教徒の出生率は、8.1人。2027年、フランス人の5人に一人はイスラム教徒になる。39年後（2048年）、フランスはイスラム国家になる。 2、イギリスの場合イスラム教徒の数はここ30年で、8万2000人から250万人まで増加。 3、オランダの場合すでに新生児の50%（！）はイスラム教徒。15年後、オランダはイスラム国家になる。 4、ロシアの場合イスラム教徒の数は2300万人。これは人口の5分の1である。 5、ベルギーの場合人口の25%はイスラム教徒。新生児の50%はイスラム教徒。 6、ドイツの場合 2050年にイスラム国家になる。ドイツ政府によると、現在欧州には5200万人のイスラム教徒がいるが、20年後には、1億400万人まで増加するとのこと。 7、カナダの場合カナダの出生率は1.6人。2001～06年に、同国の人口は160万人増えたが、そのうち120万人は移民による増加。 8、アメリカの場合 1970年、アメリカのイスラム教徒はわずか10万人。それが2008年には900万人（！）まで増加。30年後、イスラム教徒の数は5000万人まで増える。 欧州は相当深刻な状態であることが理解いただけただろうか。 要約すれば、イスラム圏と欧米先進国の出生率の違いにより、キリスト教文化圏はじわじわと静かに、移民という合法的手段で侵略されつつあり、その趨勢は既に挽回不可能なところまで来ているというわけである。すなわち、数十年後には世界はイスラム教信者で席巻され、イスラム以外はマイナリティとして生活していかざるを得なくなる、ということだ。数十年後、イスラム人口が世界人口の半数を超えたとき、そしてその集団がある特定のリーダーに従うとすれば、それは超国家的な集団と言うことになる。 彼らのルールは自分たちの属する国の憲法よりも上位になるであろう。この集団がいつか国家の概念を壊してしまうようなことには成らぬか。他民族の文化を壊してしまわぬか。 ではどうすればよいのか。移民を受け入れなければよいのである。EUの失業率は９％もあるのだ。なぜイスラム移民を受け入れるのか。理由は二つあると思う。 まず、３Ｋ労働をさせるためだ。リッチなヨーロッパ人はきつい仕事を嫌う。貧しいイスラム移民にそういった仕事をさせるのである。 次に人口を増やし、欧州を拡大し、ドル体制を崩壊させ、ユーロを世界共通通貨にして、米国から覇権を取り戻すためである。 先日テレビを見てたら、モラル破綻男、サルコジが「欧州は、トルコやロシアと単一経済圏を形成するべきだ！」なんていっていた。驚いた。「アルメニアの嘘」法案でフランスとトルコは犬猿の仲となっているし、ギリシャとの間ではキプロス問題を抱えている。ロシアにしてもグルジアやウクライナのＮＡＴＯ加盟問題でＥＵとはぎくしゃくしている。現時点では全くばかな話である。万一この経済圏が自由な労働力の移動を引き起こしたとすると、トルコ経由でイスラム移民が西欧に殺到する。ロシアの南部はほとんどイスラム圏。彼らも喜んで西欧に殺到するだろう。なんといっても移動するだけで、所得が１０倍～２０倍になるのだから。結局欧州の白人指導者は、文明自体を消滅させることになる。 サルコジさんと会う機会があれば、「大統領、エーゲ文明はドーリア人の大移動で滅びた。ローマ帝国は、ゲルマン民族の大移動で滅びた。ヨーロッパ文明は、イスラム教徒の大移動で滅びることをご存じですか？」と言ってやってください。 では、日本は大丈夫なのか？大丈夫だと思います。国民が賢くなれば。 お前はイスラムが嫌いなのか？いいえ、イスラムを蔑視しているのではありません。次に述べます。 さて、このイスラム人口大爆発は日本の脅威となるのだろうか？アジアの国々のうち、インドネシア・マレーシア・パキスタン・中央アジア諸国などはイスラム教国である。しかし、幸いなことにこれらの国々は日本に敵対するものではない。これらの国が日本の脅威になる可能性はほとんどないだろう。日本は地理的に幸いしている。移民はいつでも「貧しい地域から豊かな地域」に流れていく。そして、できれば「陸続き」の方がいい。貧しいイスラム教徒は、まず豊かな西欧に大挙していくだろう。そして、欧州キリスト教文明を崩壊させる。もちろん、５０～１００年単位の話だ。 日本はどうすればよいか。これは簡単だ。イスラム教国から「３Ｋ移民」をいれなければいい。どうしてフランスで移民が大暴動を起こすのか？それは「オリジナルフランス人が嫌がる仕事は、貧乏なイスラム移民にさせよう！」という極めて差別的な動機があるから。差別的３Ｋ移民を入れないことが「内なる敵」をつくらない最善策だ。 同じ移民でも、歌手・俳優・スポーツ選手・大学教授・学者・教師・プログラマー・ビジネスマン等々、『対等移民』は問題ない。特定の貧しい階級ができると社会不安に繋がる。治安が悪くなるのだ。 ここで特記しておきたいことがある。真の敵は、入ってくる貧しい３Ｋ移民の人たちではない。「日本人が嫌がる仕事は、移民にさせよう！」という差別的動機で、欧州で大失敗した政策をすすめようとする連中だ。読者の皆さまには、「３Ｋ移民受け入れ支持派の政治家」は選挙で落としてくださるよう、ご協力をお願いしたい。

Travel Guide Books

     I made up my mind to visit a German small city of Freiburg this fall. I got the permission of my boss and bought some books about Europe today. I'll show you the books below; it says on each cover, Switzerland, France and Germany in Japanese. Freiburg lies near the border to Switzerland and France. I'm going to pass over the border and step into Basel and Strasbourg. Basel seems to be in the German-speaking sphere and my second daughter is helpful because she can speak German. I'd like to take my eldest daughter too, but her schedule is uncertain now. If she could come with us, she is also helpful because she's a good French speaker. Anyway, I'm thinking that I should study the modern history of those countries and it will make our trip more enjoyable.

(Vocabulary)
in the German-speaking sphere  　ドイツ語圏で
sphere   (個人・集団・国などの力の及ぶ) 範囲

(KW: フライブルグ バーゼル ストラスブール アルザス地方 )

The Future of Japan

     Firstly, I like the U.S. and I don't mean to hurt any American, but I'm going to put forth my idea about them.
     Generally speaking, most Americans seem to think it natural to be able to speak English. If I get tongue-tied trying to answer a complex question, they usually talk to me loudly. It's because they thought illogically that I couldn't hear their voice, though I couldn't actually understand their words. On the other hand, it was not common in people from European countries. Their response to my words was usually kind. I felt like that again the other day when I chatted with some German people. See Freiburg.
     In the cultural aspect, the situation is likewise. I remember I was astonished to be asked if Japanese people eat turkey at Thanksgiving by a young American, who had come to Japan as an assistant language teacher shortly before.
     Needless to say, but this "Thanksgiving" originates from the historical fact that people who immigrated from the Old World were helped to survive starvation by natives and celebrated their first harvest. Thanksgiving, the custom of the young nation, the U.S., cannot be celebrated in Japan which has a much longer history. The question was total nonsense. It was just like I asked how the U.S. celebrates the birthday of the Japanese Emperor. It seems to me that they believe that the common sense of the U.S. is directly the same as that of the rest of the world. The mixture of this arrogance and pure mind might be the basis of their general way of thinking.
     There are many viewpoints that these Americans can't perceive. For example, the helplessness, agony and chagrin of being bombed, being occupied and being silenced. Additionally, the non-Grecian, Roman perspective of the world in which the truth is not the same. I can rewrite it as non-Jewish, Christian or Muslim.
     Americans who believe in only one truth and justice never accept the multiple truth and justice that Japanese people, who see gods in the universe, think is good enough. I sometimes feel that the causes of lots of conflicts in the world might arise from this stubborn world-view.
     If my speculation is correct, bi- or multi-cultural views have a role to build peace in the world. If you want to acquire this viewpoint, you should learn your mother tongue and culture at first, and consequently should have a rock solid identity. I also think it's the reason why Japanese Americans and children returning from abroad can't have the bi-cultural view.
     For this reason, I'm against the present current situation that makes children start to learn English at about 10 years old before acquiring their mother tongue. This education would after all produce imperfect citizens.
     It would be the people who got their identity as Japanese, while performing several activities using English acquired through hard work, who can explore the future of Japan by promoting the multi-cultural view in their daily life.
     What do you think of my idea?

(Vocabulary)
put forth sth  (フォーマル) ＜計画・案・意見など＞を提出する, 述べる
= submit
get tongue-tied   口ごもる
think illogically    短絡的に考える
chagrin  無念, 残念, くやしさ
silence  ～の口を封じる,  を抑え込む
Critics of the system were quickly silenced.
制度の批判者たちはすぐに口を封じられた．
perspective of the world / world-view  世界観
sum of things // the universe   森羅万象

　まず始めに僕は米国が好きだ。そしてアメリカ人を傷つけるつもりはないが、彼等について書くことからこの投稿を始めたい。

　一般的に言って、アメリカ人は英語が話せて当たり前と考えている節がある。込み入った問いに対して返答をためらっていると、彼等はたいてい大声で話してくる。声が小さくて聞こえなかったのだろうと短絡的に考えるからである。一方、ヨーロッパからやってきた人たちにはそのような傾向は少ない。彼等の反応はたいていの場合、優しい。先日数名のドイツ人達と話をしてその思いを強くした。

　文化面でも似たようなもので、若いアメリカ人に感謝祭では日本でも七面鳥を食べるのかと聞かれて愕然としたことがある。感謝祭は旧大陸からアメリカ大陸へ渡ってきた移民が原住民に助けられ飢餓を免れ、最初の収穫を祝ったという史実に由来する。つまり、感謝祭は幼い国家の習慣であって、遙かに長い歴史を持つ日本と関係はなく、天皇誕生日をアメリカではどう祝うのかというのに等しい。アメリカの常識を世界の常識と信じて疑わない傲慢さとある意味ナイーブな心との混ざったものが彼等の考え方の土台になっていると思うのだ。

　そういったアメリカ人が気づくことのできない多くの視点がある。例えば、「爆撃された側」「占領された側」「口を封じられた側」の無力感、苦悩、悔しさ、、、そして「真実は一つではない」という非ギリシャ、ローマ世界観。あるいは非ユダヤ、キリスト、イスラム世界観。

　アメリカ人は唯一の真理、正義を信じるが故に、森羅万象に神を見る我々日本人が良しとする多面的な真理を受け入れられないのである。世界の紛争の多くがこの頑迷な世界観に端を発しているとしばしば感じるのである。

　もしこの推測が正しいなら、バイカルチャー、あるいはマルチカルチャーの視点は世界平和の構築のために大きな役割を持つことになる。そしてこの視点を身につけたいなら、母国語と、母国の文化をまず学ぶことだ。そしてその結果、確固としたアイデンティティを身につけること。日系アメリカ人や帰国子女がバイカルチャーの視点を持てないのはここに原因があるのではないだろうか。

Visitors from Freiburg

     My hometown, Matsuyama City has a sister city relationship with three cities in the world. The three cities are Sacramento, CA in the U.S., the Korean city of Pyeongtaek-si (평택시 平澤市) and Freiburg in southern Germany. It has been 20 years since the agreement with Freiburg and a goodwill mission visited Matsuyama City from Freiburg. The leader was the Mayor of Freiburg, Dr. Dieter Salomon. In response, Matsuyama City had a welcome party and I joined it. I'm not a good speaker in German. I had a little concern about the conversation with them, but the person next to me could speak English fluently and it helped me. While I was chatting with him, I became eager to visit Freiburg. I've never been to Germany and I think that many people would choose big and famous cities such as Frankfurt, Bonn, Berlin and so on as the first city in Germany. However, I got interested in Freiburg through the chatting.
     Freiburg is famous for its clean environment and is located near the border with Switzerland and France. I'd like to just spend time there and have a one-day trip to Basel in Switzerland and Mulhouse in France. Crossing the border between countries is interesting to me. Besides, Freiburg is a two and a half hour railway ride from Frankfurt which is directly connected with Japan. Freiburg is a small and rural city, but isn't so far from Japan in this sense.
     Anyway, this meeting motivated me to learn German.

Reception Party for German Guests

     I was invited to the welcome party for the guests from the small German city of Freiburg. This city is a sister city of Matsuyama City, in which I live now. The leader of visitors will be the mayor of Freiburg City. I made haste to the nearest bookstore to get a textbook of German conversation. It is just thin veneer. (grin)
     I'm planning to visit Germany this summer with my second daughter, who can speak a little German. I'm wondering if there are some travel agents or someone in the travel industry in the group. If I knew those people, it would be helpful for our trip. I'd rather stay at a B&B, a kind of dormitory, youth hostel, or something like these than a luxurious hotel. I heard that the system of youth hostel originated from Germany in the early 20th century. What would the original youth hostel be like? I'm very interested.

(Vocabulary)
make haste to // rush at // scramble to   慌てて～する
thin veneer   付け焼き刃

 

Arrival

     The flight was not bumpy and was comfortable. I got out of the security area first because I didn't check my baggage and need not drop in at the baggage claim. A travel agent who was supposed to take me to my hotel could easily find me. She was a good Japanese speaker and showed me some landmarks and told me fundamental information about South Korea such as how to use taxis, subways, or how to behave in the country, on the way to my hotel. We Japanese might be careful about raw food and tap water. She advised me not to drink tap water directly. I felt at home in the minivan she chartered.
     Additionally, however, I felt bad when I talked about Hangul letters. She was proud of her language; Hangul letters. She insisted that Hangul letters could express all kinds of pronunciation in the world. I didn't think so, but let it go. She didn't know that I could speak and read Hangul letters a little bit. Actually, Korean people can't tell the difference between r and l, k and g, p and f,,,,many letters. For example, Kimpo Airport is frequently described as Gimpo Airport on maps. Korean ears can't hear the difference between Kimpo and Gimpo. Consequently, the same Hangul letters stand for dull and resonant sounds at once.
     I wanted to ask her how to express the German pronunciation of R or CH in Hangul letters. It's very very hard, at least for me.

(Vocabulary)
check  [他](米) 〈手荷物など〉 を預ける
dull sound // voiced consonant   濁音
resonant sound   清音

Germany

     It was in my university days when I felt close to Germany for the first time. Japanese medical science was installed from Germany in the Meiji era in an effort to catch up with powerful countries and there still remains an influence of Germany in Japanese medicine today. A lot of medical jargon originates from German. When I was a medical student, I was strictly required to learn German. I studied it very hard and was able to graduate from my medical school. After school, I didn't have any chance to use German in my daily life and my skill got rusty.
     One day I watched a movie, "Pianist". This is the extraordinary story of one man's survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945. Official website is http://www.szpilman.net/
     In one scene a warm-hearted German commander said to the protagonist, "Kommen Sie bitte." It means "Come over here, please." However, the Japanese translation was "来い！" which is "Come on!" in English. The conversation between the German commander and the poor pianist in this scene is a high point of the story. In this scene, the highly-educated German commander starts showing respect to the pianist who looks like a beggar or something. The translation was helplessly mistaken here. If I hadn't have learned German, I wouldn't have been able to catch the change in attitudes of both of the characters.
     That's why I restarted learning German. Besides, my second daughter is majoring in German now. It might not be in the so distant future that I'll enjoy skiing in German-speaking countries with my family.

（Vocabulary)
jargon   (けなして) 専門［業界］用語
high point of a play   劇の見せ場

My second daughter and my dog, "Mocha"

Iceland

     According to the yesterday's TV news, Iceland are about to go bankrupt now. If Iceland were a company or a household, I would understand or imagine how it could be. However, Iceland is a country that is a member of the UN. What will become of Iceland. I was thinking something like that during the last night's dinner. At that time, I came up with a great idea suddenly. "Go and see Iceland!" I felt someone shouted behind me. The strong yen would be favorable to me.
     My youngest daughter, A, was in front of me and I suggested her, "How about going Iceland with me?" She replied, "Yes" in a snap. I was surprised by her reply because she had never taken my advice or suggestions since this time last year. I think that she has been in the phase that many teenagers must pass through. Anyway, the last time that she had answered "Yes" clearly was when I told her about the ski in Whistler. (The pictures of 2008 Whistler are posted in the left column of this blog.)
     I looked for discount tickets on the internet and found that the price was not so high. Spring wouldn't be a high season in Iceland. The climate of the land of Ice would be so harsh, I guess. In the morning, when I asked A her schedule of next spring break, my wife screamed, "Wasn't last night's story kind of a joke?" "No, I'm serious," I answered. She continued, "A is preparing for university exams. Are you insane?" Finally, our half-made plan was stopped.
     Hang on! My wife just said, "It wasn't good for A, not me." I'm thinking that I would take my first or second daughter with me. My first daughter can speak French and my second daughter, German. At least both are better speakers than I am. I mean both are convenient in Europe. My wife doesn't know this idea is still smoldering in my mind.

(Vocabulary)
Hang on  待てよ
smolder  くすぶる

　昨日のテレビニュースによると、アイスランドは破産寸前だという。もし、アイスランドが会社か家庭であれば、なんとなく想像はできる。しかし、アイスランドは国連にも加盟しているれっきとした国家である。アイスランドはどうなってしまうのだろう。昨夜の夕食を食べながらそんなことを考えていた。そのとき、突然ある考えが浮かんだ。「行って見てくればいいじゃないか。」誰かが後ろでそう叫んだような気がした。円高が僕を後押ししてくれている。

　三女の杏里が目の前に座っていた。「一緒にアイスランドへ行ってみるか?」と問うと、瞬時に答えが返ってきた。イエスと。この１年、ほとんど口をきかなかった杏里からの返事だったので驚いた。思うに、まだ思春期の難しい時期にあるのだろう。この前にこのような返事を聞いたのは去年、ウィスラーへ誘ったときだった。(左の欄にそのときの写真を載せている。)　ネットで格安チケットを探すとそう高くはない。春先はまだハイシーズンではなく、気候はまだ厳しいだろう。
　今朝、杏里に来春の予定を確認すると、カミさんが「昨晩の話は冗談ではなかったの?」と聞く。「いいや、本気」と答えると、「杏里は受験ですよ。」と一言。結局我々二人の半分できかかっていた計画はつぶれた。

　しかし、待てよ。カミさんが言ったのは、杏里には都合が悪い、であって自分ではない。長女か次女を連れて行くことにしたらいいではないか。長女はフランス語を使える、次女はドイツ語だ。少なくともこれら二言語は僕よりうまい。つまりこの二人を連れて行くと便利だと言うこと。
　カミさんはまだこの計画が僕の脳裏にくすぶっていることを知らない。

Life Cycle of Nations

     Nothing lasts forever. I think it is true. Our history obviously demonstrates it. I'll write on a deep but simple issue this time. You'll know that my idea is perfect if you read your history textbook carefully.
     Many countries which have come into the world have prospered, gone into decline and perished since recorded history. Whatever became of once-prosperous countries like Egypt, Greece, Rome, Turkey and Mongolia?
     No country can be prosperous forever at the same time as no one can live forever. In recent eras, the hegemony altered in the order of Spain, Holland, Great Britain and the U.S. The opponents of this hegemony changed like Portugal, France, Germany and the U.S.S.R., in this order.
     There's no exception to the life cycle of nations. Once a country loses its supremacy, that country never goes back to its original position. This life cycle can't be staved off. This is the absolute truth in history.
     Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential race. I wonder if the U.S. will get better or worse under his policies. I suppose that the best era of the U.S. was around 1945, just after the end of the second world war. It was only the U.S. that had nuclear weapons at that time. European and Asian countries were exhausted because those countries were the battlefields, while the mainland of the U.S. was intact except for isolated bombings by Japanese balloon bombs.
     What will become of the U.S.?

(Vocabulary)
since recorded history  有史以来
go into a decline（国・経済が）衰退する
once-  かつては
become of sb/sth  はどうなったのか
I don't know what has become of him. 彼に何があったのかわからない。
hegemony   覇権、一極支配
hegemon  覇権者
supremacy  優位　主導権

　永遠に続くものは何もない。歴史が証明している。今回は重要ではあるが単純な問題について書こうと思う。歴史教科書を注意して読めば僕の考えが正しいことがわかるでしょう。
　有史以来、多くの国が歴史上に現れ、繁栄し、衰退し、そして滅亡した。かつて繁栄した国、たとえばエジプト、ギリシャ、ローマ、トルコ、そしてモンゴルは今どうなっているだろうか？
　誰も永遠に生きることができないのと同じく、どんな国も永遠に繁栄することはない。この最近を考えても、覇権国家はスペイン、オランダ、イギリス、そしてアメリカと交代してきた。これらの国に対抗してきた国は、それぞれポルトガル、フランス、ドイツ、そしてソビエトと変わった。
　国家のライフサイクルに例外はない。いったんある国がその優位を失えば、その国は二度と元の地位には戻れない。このライフサイクルから逃れることはできない。これは歴史上、絶対的な真実である。
　バラク・フセイン・オバマがアメリカ大統領になった。彼の政策の下、アメリカの状態は良くなるのか、悪くなるのかどうだろう。アメリカは１９４５年、大東亜戦争直後が最も良い時代だったと思える。核兵器を持つのはアメリカ一国であったし、ヨーロッパやアジアの国々は戦場となったため、疲弊していた。さあ、アメリカはこの先どうなるのだろう？

A Picture from Yuri

     Yuri is my second daughter and 20 years old. She is a college student in Nagoya city, one of the biggest cities in Japan. She is learning German culture.
     A picture arrived today from her. A cell phone with a digital camera is really useful. Yuri is a girl with a green skirt at the furthest right in the picture. She was visiting a folk museum with her classmates. I was relieved to see her smile.

(Vocabulary)
folk museum   民族博物館

　yuriは次女の名前で、２０才。名古屋でドイツ文学を勉強しています。今日、写メが届きました。犬山市にあるリトルワールド(野外民族博物館)でドイツの民族衣装を着ています。一番右にいるのがそうで、元気そうなのでホッとしました。

 

Tsingtao beer

     I was astonished to see the picture of Tsingtao in the Herald Tribune this morning. I didn't have permission from the Herard Tribune, but I'm putting up the picture from the paper below.
     My image of Tsingtao was like this; beautiful scenery and a suitable place for a holiday resort. In the early 20th century, Germany was holding this district by lease and gave the Chinese the know-how to run the brewery. Tsingtao beer originated with German brewery technology and has now become the most popular brand beer in China. The Germans at that time must have thought that Tsingtao's water was very clear and suitable for making beer. The quality of the water is the soul of alcoholic beverages.
     What do you say after looking at this picture? Here is the competition site for the water sports in the Beijing Olympic Games in a month. I am eager to know why the committee chose China.

青島ビール

　今日付のヘラルドトリビューン紙を見て驚いた。同紙の許可は頂いていないがここに転載する。まあ、ご覧あれ。　青島についての僕の印象は、美しい、澄んだ空、きれいな水、リゾート地、といったところだろうか。２０世紀初頭に青島がドイツの租借地であった時にドイツ人はシナ人にビールの醸造法を伝えた。そして今、青島ビールは最も飲まれるブランドとなった。当時のドイツ人は青島の水が上質でビールの醸造に適していると考えたのであろう。質の良い水は酒の命である。　ところがどうだ、この景色は！この場所でボート競技が行われるのである。オリンピック委員会がこの国を選んだ理由を是非とも知りたいものだ。

This Year's Big Events

1. Winter Vacation in Canada (English)
2. Welcoming Party for a Korean Postgraduate Student (Korean)
3. World Rally Championship in Sapporo (English, German)

     Many of my good friends from my high school and medical school sometimes tell me that I must have nothing to regret in my career and life even if I died right now. They pre-supposed that I've done everything I wanted to do, but it's not true. I have many things that I'd like to do.
     At first, I'm planning to go skiing at Whistler in Canada in March. I'm learning English harder these days. I think I'm good at reading English, but not so good at speaking. I'm a slow starter in English conversation. It takes about 30 minutes to be able to think in English. The picture shows the DVD library in an English conversation school which I belong to. I have often borrowed and watched these for training to hear.
     After returning to Japan from Canada, I have to switch my priority of learning a language from English to Korean. It's because a Korean rider will come to my house on the last Saturday of June. He is a postgraduate student and his major is Japanese culture! He's going to travel across Japan on his motorcycle. I hope he will see what Japan is like.
     In October, I'll join the WRC as one of the medical staff. If I had an opportunity to talk with German drivers, I'd like to try to use German. I'd like to know how much I can make myself understood in German. During 4 months from July to October, I'll be immersed in learning German.

(Vocabulary)
pre-suppose …を前提とする
immerse …を熱中［没頭］させる
immerse sb in sth
＜人＞を＜…＞に熱中［没頭］させる
immerse yourself in sth
＜…＞に熱中［没頭］する

Invitation from Europe

     At first look at the picture. These leaflets on ski resorts in Europe came to me a couple of days ago. These are from my friend in Switzerland.
     I become friends with a few people in Whistler every time I go there. I think it's because all the visitors are on vacation and also happy. It makes us talkative. Especially if they are from other countries, it means they are kind of sophisticated and nowhere near committing criminal offenses. This provides some sense of security. I'm going to visit Canada next March for the first time in two years and I feel my mind has already gone to Whistler.
     By the way, I cannot afford to go on a ski trip to Europe now, but my eldest daughter can communicate with people in French and my second daughter in German. That is to say, my family can move in Europe easier than usual. I'm sure to visit France, Switzerland and Austria in five years. My youngest daughter would be a student of veterinarian science and we would have enough time at that time. My wife has just started to learn French to enjoy French dishes.

(Vocabulary)
sophisticated 〈人・言動などが〉 洗練された, 教養のある
nowhere near
1 …からだいぶ離れて
The hotel was nowhere near the station.  ホテルは駅からだいぶ離れていた．
2 とうてい…ない
We have nowhere near enough time.  時間はとうてい十分とはいえない．
criminal offense 犯罪（行為）
provide some sense of security / provide the sense of security  安心感を与える

Korean Letters 1

     I got more than 50 e-mails from Korea. It's because of this entry: http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/10/korean-textbook.html

     This blog is linked to a Korean blog that is maybe written by a Korean priest. I guess it is the reason why I got so many e-mails from South Korea.
     All the e-mails but two were written in Korean. They might have a misunderstanding that I'm very good at Korean. I'm just learning Korean because I want to enjoy travelling in Korea. I'd like to try many Korean dishes and to see beautiful scenery. My German was obtained as a subject in my student days and was required again at my postgraduate examination after ten years as a surgeon. The ability of reading and writing German, along with enough vocabulary, was mainly required. On the other hand, talking about Korean, it's a kind of amusement to learn Korean. The ability of talking and listening in Korean in daily life is what I'd like to acquire. That is to say, my vocabulary of Korean words is poorer than that of German and English. My comprehension level in Korean is lower than that in German.
     Anyway, it took a lot of time to understand all of the e-mails. Please write in English next time! I'm going to write about the contents of e-mails in the next entry.

P.S.   This storm of e-mails made me better in Korean. I'll try to write something in Korean here in the near future.

From Herald Tribune

     I found two articles in the International Herald Tribune this morning. I was deeply disappointed to read one and was buoyed up by the next day's article.
     Pope Benedict held hands with the devil. He confirmed that the bishop, who had been installed as Bishop of Beijing by China's state-controlled Catholic Church, was the official bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. What a terrible pact made between the Vatican and China?
     On the other hand the German Prime Minister, Angela Merkel, invited the Dalai Lama as the nation's guest. In addition she strongly accused Wen Jiabao (温家宝) of a Chinese hacking attack on Germany and the U.S. when she visited China a few months ago. Her attitude is consistent and great and Japanese politicians should model themselves after her.

This is both troubling and sobering news.
I'm totally in favor of her policy.
His visit is embraced favorably by mainstream German media.

(Vocabulary)
buoy up = to make someone feel happier or more confident:
hold hands with the devil (何かをやり遂げるために)悪魔とも手を結ぶ
hacking  ハッカー行為, ハッキング
model yourself after sb(米) ((英)model yourself on sb とも)  ＜人＞を見習う
embrace  （人)を抱き締める　(フォーマル)（考え・意見など）を受け入れる, 採用する
mainstream  主流（派）の, 主要な
sobering  まじめにさせる, 考えさせられる
sober up 酔いが覚める
sober sb ↔ up ＜人＞の酔いを覚ます

Trash Collection Site

     It has been warm recently, but today was cold and rainy. It was snowing in the mountains, a 2 hours' drive from here. It's fairly unusual. Various forms of highly unusual weather have been occuring worldwide. I feel gloomy about the abnormal climate.
     Today is paper garbage collction day. We must separate recyclable from non-recyclable trash. We have to put paper trash into a paper bag and bind it with paper lines. It is prohibited to put it into plastic shopping bags or cardboard boxes, because they are not disposed of in the same way as paper. I'm afraid that the paper trash will gain weight absorbing the rain today.
     The other day, I got an e-mail from the UK. It seems that all the trash is not burned up and thrown into the landfill in the UK. Consequently, they don't have to separate the trash in the UK. I was surprised to hear that. I'm not sure, but the UK has a certain reason why they don't burn it up.
     On the other hand, in the case of Germany, I sometimes post entries at a couple of German blogs. The owner of one of those blogs kindly reads and corrects my writing in German. He told me about the collection of garbage in Germany. There are some kinds of containers in front of each house, with a larger container for apartments or dormitories. People throw garbage into the containers according to the rules; burnable or non-burnable and what it is made from. Which reminds me, I've seen such trash containers at Whistler in Canada. These containers can prevent the trash from getting wet on rainy days and keep bears or birds away from us. I think it's good, but I don't like to see those dirty containers all the time.
     The photo shows the waste collection site that my family uses. It is just across the street from my house. It is raining today. Though the trash is wet and looks like a mess, it will be collected until 9 o'clock in the morning and the site will be tidy.

(Vocabulary)
gloomy  憂鬱(ゆううつ)な, 重苦しい
line 綱, ひも, 糸, ロープ
She was hanging laundry on the line. 彼女はロープに洗濯物を干していた．
dispose of sth
＜始末に困るものなど＞を処分［処理］する, 始末する
How did he dispose of the body? 彼はどうやって死体を始末したのだろう

(KW:ゴミ　分別収集　再利用)

Yuri's Astonishment

     She has some time before starting to learn German at her university. She seemed to have started to learn German by herself. She got some German grammar books today. When I got back home, she was pronouncing the definite articles of German in the LIVING ROOM. Because she usually studies in her room, I imagined that she was enjoying demonstrating that she had a strong will to master German. Der, Des, Dem, Den, ,,,,, She was memorising by speaking each definite article out loud. So, I said "Guten Abend! Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Ist Deutsch interessant für dich?" She was astonished to hear me speak German. It seems like she didn't know that I can speak German. It was so funny.

Yuri's Starting

     My second daughter, Yuri, passed the entrance exam of the university that she most wanted to enter. The university is in Nagoya, which is located a hundred miles east of Osaka and is as big as Osaka. She's going to start learning German there. She is very happy now. On the other hand, I'm unhappy.
     I had hoped that she would go to Matsuyama University that is 20 minutes' drive from my house. If that were the case, the cost of her living would be lower and I wouldn't miss her. Besides, I was planning to get her to apply for a driving license and buy her a new motorcycle. I was thinking of taking a long ride to Hokkaido with Yuri next summer.
     She chose to live alone in Nagoya rather than to live with us. It means that I have to prepare a lot of money for her. She will go on to postgraduate study after graduation from the university. I'm sorry I can't stop working as I have to keep sending money to her for at least 6 more years.

(Vocabulary)
if that were the case　それが事実なら