Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

SLK200 Arrived

　　I replaced my minivan with a Mercedes-Benz SLK200. I ordered it at the end of last year and it was delivered to my home today. I did a test drive of this type last year(link) and I roughly know how to handle it, but it's not a test car but my own car. I decided to scan through its instruction manuals first. Their thickness is about 6 cm and it will take 2 days to thumb through them. I'll upload the pictures of my car later.

Crash of Germanwings

　　I knew about the accident of Germanwings in France. There are many airline companies in the world and naturally its credibility would be graded. I believe that German airliners are relatively safer on a personal basis and the news surprised me. I felt a shiver of fright. Germanwings is a subsidiary of Lufthansa and Lufthansa is one of my three best airline companies, if that helps, Lufthansa, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Air Canada.
　　My daughter, now in London, will come back to Japan by Lufthansa in April. I hope that the authorities will identify the cause of the crash as soon as possible.

(Vocabulary)
if that helps 　ちなみに

German Chancellor

　　The German Chancellor Merkel made the third visit to Japan the other day after 7 years' interval. The last two visits were for attendance at international meetings and not for bilateral talks with Japan, though she had visited China more than five times. This time, however, she came for the talk with Japan's prime minister and other political figures. No concrete statement was made and it has triggered a flurry of speculation about the content of the meeting.
　　Aside from the content, anyway, it is said that she had asked Japan to apologize to Korea about "Comfort Women" issues. It might be a fiction by a vicious politician, but she surely left a poor impression. She had been praised as well as Thatcher up to today in Japan, but actually,,,. I was surprised that she also had been brainwashed by Korean rumors.
　　Do you know about the IWG report by the U.S. Government? It was examined and submitted at great expense, as well as 7 years' time and labor. They couldn't find any evidence of Japan's abduction of Korean women. The report is a massive document and you'd better conduct a search using the key "comfort women". Japan's abduction of Korean women is only a distortion by Korea. I'd like to advise her not to step into the issue and to take care not to be trapped by groundless Korean stories.

(Vocabulary)
aside from 〈米〉～はさておき、～は別として、～はこっちに置いといて、～を除いては
vicious 悪意のある, 意地悪な

Cooking Class

　　The Matsuyama-Freiburg friendship association, which I belong to, offered citizens the opportunity to cook German cuisine of "Frikadele" and "Himmel und Erde" under the instruction of a local famous Chef. Frikadele is a hamburger patty in English, and I thought it was from the German city of Hamburg and naturally all German people should know that. However, "hamburger patty" seemed not to be understood in Germany. One more thing I admired. "Himmel und Erde" means "Heaven and Earth" in English. Can you tell what the dish is cooked from. The ingredients are apples and potatoes. Both are staple food for German people. "Himmel und Erde" is braised apples and potatoes. I wondered about the naming of the cuisine. The crops on and under trees are compared to sky and soil. Their way of thinking is great.
　　The ingredients were portioned to every 6 persons. When I noticed that, I was a little tense, because I'm not a good cook. I decided not to be directly involved with the part which has an influence on the taste itself. It might be good for me to be away from the important part of cooking and the dishes were delicious. On the way home, I dropped in at a supermarket and got some seasonings for my own next trial.

(Vocabulary)
Frikadele ドイツのハンバーグ
Himmel und Erde ジャガイモとリンゴの蒸し煮
a hamburger patty ハンバーグ

A Belated Happy New Year!

　　I'm long overdue for posting several articles into this blog. I was going to write an ariticle just after the year 2015 had started, but I was lazy and busy.
　　A few days ago, I made up my mind to buy a German car, the SLK200. The following picture below is the brochure of the car. I had already ordered one, but it will take a half year before the car will be delivered to me. I can't wait until its arrival. I read its brochure almost every day. In April last year, I made a test drive of a SLK200 and I wrote my impression on the car in this blog. The car was incredibly great. This test drive gave me a keen interest in the car. After 10 months since then, I decided to get one!

(Vocabulary)
be long overdue for~ とっくに～しているべきである、～の時期をとうに過ぎている

An Acquaintance From Germany

　　When I traveled to Freiburg in Germany and Italy with my second daughter last year as one of the members of the friendship tour organized by Matsuyama City, I met a young guy who worked in the DB, the German railway company, at the reception party held by the Freiburg-Matsuyama Association. He was going to visit Matsuyama in a year at that time and actually came to my hometown on 0ctober 2nd. It appeared that he had begun learning Japanese with a Japanese just after the party.
　　His travel plan was to stay in Matsuyama City all the time for two weeks and make day trips around there. I offered some sightseeing plans to him, like a karst landscape, Spa resorts, a huge active volcano and small islands in the Seto Inland Sea. He chose the islands without a second thought so I took him on a day trip to go around the inland sea utilizing a ferry service and more than ten bridges. On the last night of his stay in Matsuyama I took him to a small restaurant which serves traditional cuisine of Japan, specifically in Kyoto, but it might have been a wrong choice. He was twenty some years old and must prefer meat to vegetables. Kyoto-style traditional cuisine hardly uses meat except fish. Anyway, he looked to have enjoyed his stay. Nothing beat it.

Stolz, Meine jüngste Tochter

　　Meine jüngste Tochter ist eine Medizinstudentin jetzt im fünften Schuljahr an der regionalen Universität. Es ist vor einigen Tagen entschieden worden, daß im nächsten Frühling von nächst Jahr, wenn sie ins letzte Schuljahr kommt, wird sie als die Repräsentantin der japanischen Medizinstudentinnen an die Oxford Universität geschickt.
　　Die sechzehn Studenten der Medizin, wen meine Tochter eingeschlossen, werden durch ein Förderprogramm der japanischen Regierung nach vier Universitäten Englands für einen Monat geschickt.
　　Die japanische Regierung hat diese Absendung von Medizinstudenten nach England seit 30 Jahren fortgesetzt. Es ist eine großartige Ehre, als Repräsentantin gewählt zu werden. Ich wünsche ihr viele gute Erfahrungen.

　医学部生の娘が最終学年になる来年の春、日本の医学生の代表として１ヶ月、オックスフォード大学医学部に派遣されることが決まった。代表は１６名で４つの大学で現地の学生とともに臨床実習をする。日本政府はこの３０年、このような留学生の派遣を続けている。選ばれたのは大変な栄誉である。良い経験ができることを祈る。

Der Vulkan Ontakesan

　　Der Vulkan Ontakesan, der ein sehr berühmter Vulkan ist, brach am 27. 9. 2014 Samstag gegen Mittag aus. Es war in der unglücklichsten Stunde geschehen. Im Herbst wird der ganze Berg rot und viele Leute besteigen den Berg. Außerdem es war am Samstag Mittag. Viele sind zum Mittagessen auf dem Gipfel geblieben.
　　Damals wurde kein Warnung herausgegeben, deshalb hat die Zahl der Opfer bei dieser Eruption mehr als 30 Tote und mehr als 60 Verletzte betragen.
　　Ich habe den Berg Ontakesan schon einmal bestiegen. Das Unglück ist keine fremde Angelegenheit für mich. Ich wünsche den Opfern Glückseligkeit im Jenseits oder schnelle Besserungen.

　２０年くらい前になりますが御岳ロープウェイを使って御嶽山に登ったことがあります。長い地球の歴史の中で２０年というのは誤差範囲。自分がこの噴火に巻き込まれていたかも知れないと思うと人ごとではありません。亡くなられた方々のご冥福と負傷された方の一刻も早い回復を祈ります。合掌。

 

Urlaub in Hokkaido

　　Ich habe Urlaub in Hokkaido gemacht. Ich habe mein Motorrad nach Hokkaido mit dem Flugzeug transportieren lassen. Ich bin zu Osaka Flughafen mit dem Motorrad gefahren und habe dort mein Motorrad abgegeben.
　　Mein Plan war, Hokkaido zu überqueren. Ich bin zum Ende von der Schiretoko Halbinsel, die in Osten Hokkaidos liegt, gereist. Der Eintritt im Ende von Schiretoko Halbinsel ist zum Schutz der Natur und den vielen Braunbären verboten, also habe ich ein Rundfahrtsschiff benutzt. In der Nähe habe Ich Kunaschiri Insel, die durch Russland besetzt wurde, gesehen. Das ist schade.
　　Es gibt viele heiße Quellen und Speisen in Hokkaido und das Motorradfahren in dieser Jahreszeit ist sehr angenehm, aber in diesem Sommer hat es viel geregnet. Das war auch schade.
　　Ich will einige Jahren später wurde eine Motorradreise in Hokkaido planen.

My Garden?

　　Today was really nice day with a comfortable ocean breeze. It was neither hot nor cold. Invited by such a serene climate, my wife and I went out for a walk with a packed lunch to a nearby park, which was built harnessing a small hill from its foot to summit. It's so close to my house that I think of the municipal park as my garden in a self-centered manner.
　　The observatory on the hill is shown in the first picture. It looks like an old castle which you often see in Europe because it was built in commemoration of the sister city, Freiburg City in southern Germany. Similarly, there is a beautiful Japanese Garden in the center of Freiburg City, which I walked around with my second daughter last autumn. You can see Matsuyama Castle from the observatory, which is also one of principal tourist attractions.
　　When we were having lunch, a bride and groom came up to have their photos taken. We watched for some time while, presumably professional, photographers took pictures of the newly-wed couple. It reminded us of our wedding 30 years-ago.
　　From the west side of the top of the hill, I saw my high school from where I graduated more than 30 years ago. Time flies, I profoundly realized.

(Vocabulary)
in a self-centered manner 勝手に

Tagebuch für 6. Mai

　　Ein großer Park liegt ganz in der Nähe meines Hauses. Der Park ist mit Spazierweg und vielen Spielgeräten ausgestattet, dadurch wird der etwa 140 meter hoher Hügel gut genutzt. Auf dem Gipfel steht eine Aussichtsplattform, mit einer alten deutschen Atmosphäre. Der Park ist so nahe an meinem Haus, dass ich oft spazieren gehe. Am 6. Mai war es sehr gutes Wetter und ich stieg mit meiner Frau und einem eingepackten Mittagessen auf den Gipfel. Dort sollte das Andenken von 25 Jahre Städtepartnerschaft Freiburg - Matsuyama, Baumpflanzung stehen, aber ich konnte das nicht finden.

(Vokabular)
aus/statten  equip, endow
der Gipfel  peak
ein/packen  包む、詰める　(反)aus/packen
das Andenken   memory

Tagebuch für 5. Mai

　　Im Süden von Matsuyama, wo ich jetzt wohne, liegt der Ort Kumakogen. Er ist von Bergen umgeben und ist etwas kälter als Matsuyama.
　　Übrigens, ein Professor der naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät an der Ehime Universität hat sein Haus aus Holz in dem Wald von diesem Ort vor ungefähr 10 Jahren gebaut. Er ging letztes Jahr in Rente und ist in dieses Haus gezogen.
　　Er kann Internet benutzen aber hat den Fernseher weggeworfen und er arbeitet jetzt weiter an seiner Forschung weiter. Seine Spezialität ist die Gesteinskunde. Er plante eine Party am 5. Mai und Ich war zur Party mit seinen Freunden eingeladen. Es gibt keine andere Wohnung in der Umgebung in einem Umkreis von 500 meter. Es war kein Problem, dass wir laut sprachen. Es war eine sehr hübsche Stelle.

(Vokabular)
weg/werfen, warf...weg, weggeworfen   throw away
der Umkreis -es/-e 周囲、範囲 im Umkreis von 10 Metern

SLK200

　　Today's story goes back to the Imported Car Exhibition (link) which was held on Feb. 1st. Several cars attracted me at the event and one of them was the SLK200 from Mercedes-Benz. A Lions Club acquaintance was there, who was also the head of the sales division of Mercedes-Benz Ehime. He told me that the dealer would allow me take it for a test drive for two three days. I didn't believe that, because the car was so expensive. I thought it was just sales patter, but.....
　　By the way, one of my nephews was going to have a wedding party in Yamaguchi City on Apr. 25th, which was 5 hours' drive if only by car or 2 hours' drive and 3 hours' sea trip from here. When I was thinking about the route, I remembered the salesman's words. I reconfirmed his words, which would allow me to drive the SLK200 shown in the first picture of the previous entry(link). His words finally weren't false. I was able to use the car for a 2-day trip to Yamaguchi City. I was going to drive the car in various conditions, so I chose normal roads and a ferry on the way to Yamaguchi and a highway on the way back.
　　I was really impressed by its function. First of all, it was extremely comfortable to drive a car without the roof. To my surprise, the roof was removed by a simple pull of a lever. (To be continued later)

(Vocabulary)
patter 　(セールスマン・芸人などの) 早口のおしゃべり［口上］
sales patter （セールスマンの）売り込み口上

Potsdam, Auschwitz and Yalta

　　I've been planning a trip with my second daughter to Europe this fall. She will graduate from a grad school next spring and this fall would be the last opportunity to make a trip with her. All in all in Japan, after getting a job, it will not be easy for newcomers to take a vacation as long as and anytime they like.
　　I've been to southern Germany three times, a total of three weeks and I'd like to visit the northern part of Germany next time. I have many places I want to visit, and I chose the Second World War related places this time, like Potsdam, the ruins of the Berlin Wall, Auschwitz in Poland and Yalta in Ukraine. The moving distance in the EU would be longer than before and the cost of the trip would be also high. I have to minimize the cost of hotels and meals. My second daughter can speak German. She is handy and essential on the trip. Naturally, I know about the political upset in Ukraine. I really hope that their issues will be settled in the best way. If not, I'll visit the Polish historic city of Cracow not Yalta, which I think is like Kyoto in Japan, and learn about Polish history in one of the World Cultural Heritage Sites.
　　The last issue is to save money and take a vacation from my boss because my hospital hasn't enough human resources.

(Vocabulary)
the Potsdam Declaration ポツダム宣言《1945》
Auschwitz アウシュビッツ《ポーランド南西部の工業都市；同市郊外にはナチスのユダヤ人強制収容所があった》
the Yalta Conference ヤルタ会談
Cracow  クラクフ 〔ポーランド南部のビスワ川沿いにある古都。１１世紀から１６世紀まではポーランド王国の首都だった。旧市街は世界遺産に指定されている。〕

Selbstvorstellung

　　Ich heiße Mitschito Asagumo. Ich bin ein Japanischer Chirurg, 55 Jahre alt, und arbeite in einem ländlichen Krankenhaus, das 75 Krankenbetten hat. Mein Spezialgebiet ist die Operation von Verdauungsorganen, also Magen und Darm.
　　Ich wohne in Matsuyama in Ehime Präfektur. Matsuyama liegt im Westen Japans und hat ein mildes Klima. Jetzt ist die beste Zeit, um die Kirschblüte zu betrachten.
　　Ich habe drei Töchter, eine Tochter arbeitet schon und die anderen zwei studieren noch. Die zweite Tochter studiert Deutsch und die deutsche Kultur an der Uni in Nagoya. Ich habe dreimal Reisen nach Deutschland mit dieser Tochter gemacht. Ich möchte Deutsch sprechen, um in Zukunft viele europäische Länder zu besuchen.
　　Ich habe viele Hobbys, also Ski fahren, Rad fahren, Reisen, Bergsteigen um nur einige zu nennen. Über Ski fahren erzähle ich dann. Ich mag am liebsten Whistler-Blackcomb in Kanada als Skigelände. Ich bin jedes zweite Jahr für die 20 Jahre nach Kanada gereist, um Ski zu fahren.

Hachijojima Insel 2

          Am Morgen des letzten Tages sagte der Wirt der Privatpension, dass am Nachmittag das Wetter sich verschlechtere. Da wir den letzten Flug benutzen wollte, gingen wir sofort zum Flughafen, damit wir unsere Reservierung ändern könnten. Der kleine Flughafen wimmelte von Passagieren. Als wir den Flughafen erreichten, waren alle Flüge nach Tokyo schon wegen starken Windes abgesagt worden. Laut Angestellte vom Flughafen, war es ungewiss, ob das Schiff nach Tokyo abfahren könne. Wegen des schlechten Wetters, hatte das Schiff aus Tokyo eine Stunde Verspätung. Wir gingen gleich zum Hafen. Am Hafen sagte eine Angestellte, es wurde entschieden, dass das Schiff nach Tokyo fahren würde. Das Schiff war nicht so groß, wie ich gedacht hatte. Statt 50 minuten Flug, hatten wir jetzt 11 Stunden Seefahrt vor uns. Das war das zweite Mal, dass ich auf dem Pazifik eine Seefahrt gemacht habe. Das erste Mal war der Ozean ruhig, aber dieses Mal, war es wie in der Hölle. Der Wind stürmte heftig. Ich lag auf dem Bett ruhig da, die Augen geschlossen. Als das Schiff in die Bucht von Tokyo fuhr, wurden die Wellen ruhig und ich fühlte mich wieder wohl.


verschlechtern 悪くする　sich~ 悪くなる    ändern  変える
wimmeln  swarm      der Passagier -s/-e
erreichen  reach     wegen  ２格支配
der Wind  -(e)s/-e  wind      ab/sagen  cancel
ungewiss  uncertain  不確かな　確信が持てない
heftig  激しい、猛烈な　　stürmen　吹き荒れる
liegen lag gelegen         die Bucht -/-en bay
die Welle -/-n  wave 

Hachijojima Insel

    Ich machte Urlaub in deisem Monat. Ich hatte vielen Meilen gesammelt, und ich bekam kostenlos Tickets für vier Strecken von ANA. Also, ich habe meiner Frau den Vorschlag gemacht, in die südlichste Insel von Tokyo zu fahren, die wir mit dem Flugzeug erreichen können. Die Insel, die wir besucht haben, is Hachijo-jima. Die Insel, die ein subtropisches Klima hat, liegt 300 km südlich von Tokyo und besteht aus zwei Vulkanen. Hachijojima ist reich an heißen Quellen und die elektrische Energie, die die Insel braucht, wird meistens aus geothermischer Energie versorgt. Diese Insel ist wegen ihrer Verlassenheit seit dem 16. Jahrhundert berühmt. Die Leute, die aus jedem Land vertreiben wurden, hat man in diese Insel transportiert. Vertriebene waren zum Teil Verbrecher, aber die meisten waren nur leichte Verbrecher oder sogarunschuldig. Diese Leute haben viele historische Spuren hinterlassen, die jetzt ein Teil der Kulturerbe sind, was jetzt viele Leute interessiert. Wir wollten drei Tage auf der Insel bleiben, aber das Wetter ist umgeschlägen. Am fünften März, wann wir zurückkommen wollten, war unser Flug abgesagt.

........


versorgen  supply
Verbrecher   criminal
die Unschuld   innocence
die Spur   track, trace
das Erbe  inheritance
auf/hören   stop
um/schlagen  weather go bad
ab/sagen  cancel

Never Too Late?

　　New British research suggests that elderly people who take up exercise in their 60s are three times more likely to stay healthy both mentally and physically than their inactive peers.
　　I'm 55 so I'm in time? (It's a joke.) As I wrote about the marathon trainings several times before, I started jogging as everyday exercise. Additionally, I'd like to acquire a good knowledge of Chinese and German as well as English, though I can't spare enough time. I enrolled in a language school in January and am going to attend private German classes twice a month. I've already met a fundamental standard of the national German level test (link), but it was not satisfactory at all. I decided to brush up my German skill just after returned to Japan from Germany last November.

(Vocabulary)
never too late to　  ～するのに遅すぎることはない
take up exercise　   運動を再開する、再び始める
more likely to　   ～する可能性が高い、～しがちである
inactive peers　   活動的でない仲間　→　同年代の運動していない人たち

Return Home

　　I returned home from Europe on Nov. 21st. The trip was really enjoyable. The route was like this; I flew into Frankfurt at first and moved to Freiburg, stayed there for three nights, then moved to Florence via Frankfurt, Rome, and came back to Japan via Munchen. I'm going to write about my trip since now and arrange the entries in chronological order later. I visited Freiburg for the third time and ended up staying in Freiburg for about 10 days in total, in spring, summer and this late autumn. My impression was unchanged even in this cold season. People in Freiburg were welcoming us with warmheartedness. I'll write about the reception party, too.
　　I intended to start writing the entries just after coming back, but I was suffering from heavy jet lag. I feel worse in the eastward direction rather than in the westward ones. I like Whistler in Canada and had gone skiing there many times. Every time I visited Whistler, I couldn't enjoy skiing to my satisfaction due to the jet lag for the first two or three days. I tried a variety of remedies for it, some medicine, alcohol drinking, over sleeping, or less sleep to adjust my physical clock to Pacific time, but in vain.
　　Anyway, I'm recovering now and will start. I took lots of pictures and had various experience on the trip. I'll mention my feeling or opinion, even though they are different from general ones.

(Vocabulary)
in chronological order  時系列で

To Japan

　　I had something that I wanted to do in Munich Airport since before the departure from Japan. It was to visit Airbräu, the brewery set up in Munich Airport and enjoy the beer just brewed, but I didn't want to go far away alone from the tour members at the same time. I was a transit passenger and wasn't permitted to go out of the airport. I'll do it next time. Munich, along with Frankfurt, has a direct flight from Japan and is very handy as the hub. I was sure to revisit the airport. While wandering in the airport, I found a stall that served Japanese ramen and I tried one. It was nice and a real Japanese ramen.
　　I'll show you two in-flight meals of ANA. They were delicious and I ordered some bottles of wine. How much wine did I drink during the trip? I enjoyed every one of them. This trip was really nice. The last but one picture was shot from my seat. Could you tell where it was? It is Khabarovsk in Russia and the Amur River, judging from its distinguishing terrain. Covered with snow, it looked cold below and the scenery reminded me of cruel Siberian detention by the USSR. I wondered how many innocent Japanese soldiers were buried around the area?
　　All of us came back to Japan without major problems. Every one of us enjoyed the travel in Germany and Italy. Thank you for everything we got, specially in Freiburg. I hope I will see people in Freiburg again next Spring in my hometown, Matsuyama City. I know some Freiburgites follow these trip memos. Feel free to write me about what you want to see or try in my city in advance. Spring is the best season to come to my city. Cherry blossoms as well as Matsuyama Citizens will welcome you!

(Vocabulary)
Khabarovsk  ハバロフスク
Amur River  アムール川　支那名：黒竜江Hēilóngjiāng
distinguishing  特徴的な, 目立った, 際立った
detain ［正式］〈人〉を引き留める, 待たせる, 手間取らせる（delay）
detention ［正式］引き留め, 阻止；遅延.