Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Lufthansa Lounge

　　There were seven to eight different airline lounges that we could use at Terminal 2, and we chose the Lufthansa lounge. We spent some time before boarding with complimentary dishes and alcoholic beverages. The following picture shows a book that I bought at a bookstore. It features reviews of traveling Japan made by foreign tourists. I was interested in how international tourists see Japan. The reason why we chose the Lufthansa lounge was that I wanted to accustom myself to German. I had learned German long ago, but my German speaking skills were rusted now. However, to my disappointment, the language used in the lounge was all English. I understood that we were in the U.K. and it was natural. We arrived at Munich Airport in less than two hours. I was afraid that the immigration process would be more complex due to Brexit, but it proved unfounded. We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. The atmosphere of the taxi stand was terrible. All the drivers were of Middle Eastern origin. It was midnight and we had no option but to use them. We were cheated out of the taxi fare. It was three times higher than the taxi the hotel called for us the next morning.

(Vocabulary)
complimentary 無料の, 贈呈の, 〈チケットが〉招待の; 称賛の, 敬意を表する

　入ることの出来るラウンジが７～８種類もあって悩んだが、搭乗するルフトハンザのラウンジで出発するまで本を読みながら過ごした。これは、空港で見つけた本、外国人から見た日本観光の評論で、日本の観光地が外国人にどのように映っているのか興味があった。
　ＬＨラウンジを選んだのは耳をドイツ語に少しで慣らしておこうと思ったからだが、なんのことはない、聞こえてくるのは全て英語、スタッフも英語を喋っている。ここはイギリス。そりゃそうだろうな。日本から持参していたドイツ語会話のテキストは結局一度も目を通すことは無かった。行けなかったラウンジの案内板を記念に撮影しておいた。
　２時間足らずでミュンヘンに着いた。ブレグジット後、イギリスからドイツ（ＥＵ）に入国するには何か面倒くさいかと思ったがなにもなし。空港からは深夜だったのでタクシーを利用したが空港のタクシー乗り場の雰囲気が悪い。全員が中東系。仕方なく利用したがぼられた。翌日、ホテルが呼んでくれたタクシーの３倍取られた。

At Heathrow

　　We bought a stuffed bear, "Paddington" for our granddaughter at London Paddington. Then, we moved to Heathrow Airport by the Elizabeth Line. It was a direct service and very handy. We had to stop over at Munich. We used award tickets this time and stopping over at Munich was a trade-off for getting cheaper flights. We decided to enjoy the airport itself in Heathrow. After wandering around bookstores and several souvenir shops, we entered a conveyor-belt sushi bar which seemed to be run by Indians. Not only this sushi bar, but in many places, I often came across Indians or people of Indian origin. Anyway, the taste was not bad, but their prices were incredible expensive. We ate only two kinds respectively. Their tastes and cleanliness were acceptable. I recalled that my daughter, who was now in Bath working as a physician, and I felt nauseous in a sushi restaurant run by Koreans in Prince Edward Island in 2012. I'll add the link to the article. 

 

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2012/07/japanese-cuisine-.html 

 

(Vocabulary)     

conveyor-belt [conveyer-belt] sushi bar [restaurant] 回転寿司     

 

 

 

　パディントン駅で孫にお土産の熊のぬいぐるみを買った後、エリザベスラインでヒースロー国際空港へ。直通なのでかなり便利。ヒースローからはルフトハンザでまずミュンヘンへ飛ぶ。特典航空券なので直行便で無いのは仕方ない。その代わりにラウンジや空港そのものを楽しむことにする。回転寿司屋があったので寄ってみた。味はまずまずだったが信じられないほど高い。それぞれ２品ほど食べて失礼した。味と清潔さは合格点。 カナダ東部のプリンスエドワード島で、コリアンが経営する寿司屋「竹鮨」でうんざりしたことを思い出した。その時の記事を添付する 

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2012/07/japanese-cuisine-.html 

Cardiff

　　It rained on the last day in Bath. I visited Cardiff, which is the capital city of Wales. It has some medieval castles and a coal mine museum called "Big Pit National Coal Museum". This coal mine used to be a major driving factor of the development of the U.K. after the industrial revolution. When I was checking the location of the museum, I happened to find the town of Aberfan. I recalled a miserable coal mine accident. No, not the coal mine accident. It was the worst-ever industrial accident, which killed a hundred school kids. The small town was said to have lost one generation. Anyway, the weather was bad, and the driving seemed to be hard and we stayed at Cardiff and enjoyed wandering the streets and department stores. I wasn't interested in shopping and visited Cardiff Castle alone. In the outer wall of the castle, the preparation of events or something was under way. It robbed the castle of the medieval atmosphere and it was regrettable. The outer wall was a hollow structure and I could walk inside the wall without being caught in the rain. Was this space used to repel enemies? 

　　The streets of Cardiff were generally clean. There were few litters. One thing, most signboards were written in English and Welsh. I tried to pronounce some Welsh words, but their spelling was very unusual and I couldn't even imagine the sound of the words. I'll show you an example later. 

 

(Vocabulary)   

medieval 中世の   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

　旅行中、初めての雨。カーディフは言うまでもなくウェールズの首都。いくつかの中世の城が残っており、また産業革命以後、イギリスの発展を支えた炭鉱が博物館になっていると聞き行くつもりだった。Big Pit National Coal Museumだ。場所は南ウェールズ、悲惨な炭鉱事故というより、イギリス史上最悪の産業事故で、ウェールズ南部の小さな、ほぼ一世代を失ったという村、aberfanの近く。しかし、天気が悪く、運転が大変そうだったのでやめて、カーディフ市内のぶらぶら歩きに変更した。カーディフ城では何かイベントの準備で中世の風情は無くなっていて残念だったが、内部は雨も掛からず快適だった。   

　街は総じてきれい。余りゴミはない。が、いろいろな表示が２カ国語表示、ウェルシュ語と英語。発音を真似ようとしてもできない綴り。消えゆく言葉なのかもしれないと感じた。

Thames Pass And A Once-in-a-lifetime Encounter

　　The Thames Path is the lane along the Thames and Prince Naruhito often refers to the path in his memoir. Following my idea that I hit on last night, I went jogging on the path today. On the other hand, my wife enjoyed sightseeing with my daughter. Anyway, I don't know exactly enough about the tutorial system in Oxford University, but it seems to be very unique. Prince Naruhito seemed to receive the tutorial from his designated professor while walking along the path. He loves riding bicycle and has ridden to his favorite pubs with his guard. I imagined that the distance was 20 to 25 km.
　　I started from Hythe Bridge and several boats caught my eye. When I was gazing at one of them, its owner emerged from the inside. I introduced myself as a tourist from Japan. While chatting, I was invited onto the boat and I was treated to coffee.
　　He had a thick accent and I had to ask him to repeat his words. I'm afraid that it was a little impolite, but chatting with him was fun. His wife and he live on the boat and they can move anywhere in the U.K., but this boat wasn't designed to get out to the outer sea. This Oxford Canal apparently used to work as the main transport measure of the coal from Coventry to London. I recalled the title of the research of H.I.H. Prince Naruhito as these: The Thames as highway : a study of navigation and traffic on the upper Thames in the eighteenth century".
　　Suddenly, he asked me if I knew about the principle of Archimedes, though he seemed to be the last person to utter such scientific terms. I didn't catch what he was explaining. Why did he ask me such a question? He continued to tell me about a junction of two channels. However, sadly, I wasn't able to catch some words even after repeated trials. Soon after, his wife brought a tablet to show me what he wanted to explain and I was amazed to see the screen. It was a big machine called the "Falkirk Wheel". If you are connected to the net, search for its pictures or moving pictures on YouTube or something. Finally I understood how the principle of Archimedes worked. The machine has two chambers in which ships are put. Even if a different weight of ships was put in the two chambers, the weight of the chambers are kept balanced as the principle of Archimedes shows. The machine can work with a minimum of electricity. I realized how water transportation system is no less important in the U.K..
　　I asked him how far it was from here as I was eager to directly look at it. He replied that it would take three months for you to reach the place in such an outfit, looking at me from feet to head. At that time, I wore a cap, a souvenir of the participation in the Ehime marathon and a T-shirt, which was also a hospitality gift from some other marathon event, and shorts for jogging. I examined the machine later and found that it was located in Scotland. Its name was derived from a Scottish town in which it is sited. It was a revolving boat lift. As he said, it seemed to take 3 months by my not-so-strong legs.
　　Travels are really wonderful. A popular Japanese expression, "一期一会"(a once-in-a-lifetime encounter)is completely acceptable. It instructs us to be polite to everyone you meet in your life. The opportunity never comes again. Thank you, wonderful couple! for a fun time. Cheery-bye.

(Vocabulary)
have a thick accent 訛りが強い
outer sea 外洋
H.I.H. His Imperial Highness (日本などの)殿下
Archimedes' principle, principle of Archimedes アルキメデスの原理
a once-in-a-lifetime encounter 一期一会
Cheery-bye　お元気で





　タイトルにあるテムズパスとは、陛下が留学記の中で何度も言及されていた散歩道。昨夜、思いついたとおり、今日はこの道をたどってみる。この道は陛下が指導教授と一緒に歩いたり、警護官と一緒に３軒ハシゴした時に自転車で走った小道である。留学記にたびたび登場する。距離は２０～２５ｋｍ程度か。娘と観光を楽しむという家内をホテルに残し、出発。

　昨日のオックスフォード運河からスタート。運河に係留している船が気になってじろじろ見ていたら船主から声が掛かった。日本から来て１週間滞在している旅行者と伝えて雑談をしているうちに船の上へ招かれた。これから朝飯なので一緒にどうかと。コーヒーだけごちそうになった。

　言葉がとても聞き取りづらく、何度も聞き返して少し失礼だったかもしれない。主な話の内容はこの船でどこまで行けるのか？どこでも行けるが外洋には出られない。波のない運河専用だとか。まあそうだろうな。いろいろなところへ旅をしているんだとか。この運河は昔はコベントリーからロンドンへ石炭を運ぶための重要な運河だったらしい。陛下の研究テーマが中世のテムズ川の水運だったことを思い出した。

　このおいちゃんが突然、アルキメデスの原理を知っているかと尋ねてきた。このおいちゃんの頭のどこにそんな言葉が格納されていたのだろうかと驚いた。そんな単語は絶対に出てこないような風貌だったのだ。アルキメデスの原理を応用した＠＃＄％＆を利用したというが、何度聞いてもわからない。奥さんが、運河の交差点のようなものだと教えてくれてなんとなくわかったようなわからないような。首をかしげていたら奥さんがタブレットを出してきて写真を見せてくれた。これには驚いた。YouTubeで動画を探して動いているのを見た。Falkirk Wheelと呼ばれる運河と運河を繋ぐシステム。二つあるチャンバーに入る船の大きさが違っても常に二つのチャンバーの重さは同じだからこれを回すための電力は最小限で足りる。なるほどアルキメデスの原理だ。是非ともYouTubeの動画を探して動いているところを見て欲しい。ほんとにこの国は水運が重要視される国なのだと実感した。

　是非、近くで見てみたいが遠いのかと尋ねると、おいちゃん笑いながら曰く、その格好で行くなら３ヶ月くらい掛かるだろうな～と。ちなみにこのときの僕の格好は短パンに愛媛マラソンの参加記念の帽子にどこかのマラソンでもらった記念品のシャツ。後日調べるとこの機械はスコットランドにあった。スコットランド中央の町ファルカークから名付けられたもの。回転式のボートリフトである。確かに３ヶ月くらいは掛かりそうだ。（笑）

　旅は本当に素晴らしい。一期一会というが、このおいちゃんに会うことはもう無いだろう。楽しい時間をありがとう。

Go To London By National Rail

　　We went to London by National Rail for sightseeing on the 14th. I used the same line five years ago. You might feel funny, but I was upset when I got my ticket at that time. To tell the truth, I had a trying time to communicate with a local at Stratford-upon-Avon, so I was afraid that I couldn't get a ticket. This time, however, I didn't feel any anxiety. I didn't know why, but I was able to get a ticket without being asked to repeat myself at the ticket booth.
　　We searched Paddington Station for the famous bear "Paddington", but in vain. He was moved to another site from where he was five years ago. Anyway, I tried today's second challenge, getting on the tube next. After elaborate observation of the local people, I waved my contactless card over the card reader on the ticket barrier. It was my first time to use it on the tube, but I was able to pass the barrier successfully. I felt as if I had a limitless moving power. This system was easy to use and really handy.
　　The destination was King's Cross Station and its nine and three forth platform.

(Vocabulary)
ticket barrier （英）改札口
repeat oneself 　同じことを繰り返して言う／行う

パディントン駅の熊（写真の女性は次女）
https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2018/10/paddington-station.html

英語通じず
https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2018/10/parking-violation.html

　今日はロンドン市内を観光する。こんなことを書くと笑われそうだが、５年前にオックスフォードからパディントン駅までの列車の切符を買ったとき、かなり緊張した。実はその前日に、ストラトフォードアポンエーボンで駐車違反をしてしまい、その係員の言葉がサッパリ理解できなかったので、果たしてうまく切符を購入できるか心配だったのだ。が、今回は難なく切符をゲットできた。ほっとした。
　パディントン駅では有名な熊を探したが、５年前に居た場所にはおらず、見つけられず。気を取り直し、今日の二つ目のチャレンジへ。それは地下鉄に乗ること。オックスフォードでバスに乗るときに試したコンタクトレスカードを改札で機械にかざした。地下鉄で使うのは初めてだったが、地元の人たちの様子を観察してから使ってみた。何の問題もなく使えた。本当に便利だ。これでどこでも行ける。
　そしてその行き先はキングスクロス駅！　あの９と３／４番ホーム、、、

Second Visit to Oxford

　　I decided to visit Oxford City in the U.K. for the first time in 5 years to attend the Degree Day Ceremony of my daughter. She finished her postgraduate course last year and works as a physician in the U.K., but the ceremony was postponed until the end of the pandemic.
　　Last time I had difficulties listening to the English of local people. I wonder how it would be this time. I didn't utilize the public transportation so much. I didn't know about the oyster card. To tell the truth, I didn't know how to get on the vehicles. However, my daughter advised me and my wife about the public transportation and the oyster card this time. We'll fly into Haneda (Tokyo) International Airport by the last flight tonight.

 

Short Trip to Oxford

　　As the pandemic eases, the Japanese Government finally lifted its strict restriction on the re-entry requirements. I decided to visit the U.K. with my wife in the coming July. Our purpose is to attend my daughter's graduation ceremony from Oxford University Graduate School. Her thesis for her master's degree was accepted last year. Additionally, she got a medical license also in the U.K. during her graduate school and she is now working as a trainee in a hospital in the suburbs of London, though she had already finished the trainee course of Japan.
　　I learned an interesting custom about the graduation ceremony in the U.K.. In general, graduation ceremonies are held once a year and its season is March in Japan, when cherry blossoms, one of the cultural fixture of Japan, will celebrate all graduates. To my surprise, the ceremony is apparently held three times in a year in the U.K., and the graduates can choose the season of their ceremony from three options; July, November, and March. Much to my surprise, they can choose the year too. The graduates can postpone it as long as they want, even years.
　　My wife and I have been eager to attend the ceremony and see our daughter's beaming and proud face. It goes without saying, but Oxford University is one of the highest class universities in the world. We had just been confined to Japan due to the pandemic for three years. We asked her to choose the best season for the graduation and the sightseeing, and we got to visit Oxford city in July. The scenery in November and March doesn't seem so good. The latitude of the U.K. is above that of Hokkaido. I understood the harshness of its climate.
　　There are several places in the college which only authorized personnel can step in. The famous movie, Harry Potter was shot in such places. With our daughter attending, we can see inside. This sightseeing is very attractive.
　　The last visit to the U.K. was in 2018's autumn. I remember how hard it was to listen to the words from local people in the hotel in Oxford and a parking lot in Stratford-upon-Avon. I even wondered if their words were English or another language. The English which I could easily and comfortably understand was only the narration from the speaker of the Great Western Railway, which I took from Oxford to London. However, everything will be ok with our daughter this time. (Link)
　　Four years have passed since. Our daughter was to stay in Oxford for one year as a visiting scholar at first, but she was offered another year's stay with a scholarship as a scholar. Meanwhile, she was advised to go into the Graduate School, which leads to now. Additionally, she passed the National Examination for Medical Practitioners during the stay. She hopes to work in the U.K. at least for now.
　　During our stay, we'd like to walk around her life range and her workplace. It's the first time for my wife to visit Oxford and I'm thinking of revisiting standard sightseeing spots like the Cotswolds and the birthplace of Shakespeare, and London.
　　I chose ANA last time, but I found a ticket for a better price and am using British Airways this time. I'm now wondering if I should get a new suit of British taste made as a mark of respect for British culture for attendance at the ceremony. I can't wait to get on board the international flights.

(Vocabulary)
thesis (学位取得のための) 論文
a doctoral thesis 博士論文
beam にっこりほほえむ, (喜びなどで) 顔を輝かす
beam at sb/sth ＜…＞に向かってにっこりほほえむ
Which leads to now.　今に至る
life range 生活圏

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2018/10/parking-violation.html

 

Hakone Tozan Railway

　　I'd like to write about Hakone Tozan Railway, which is the sister-railway of Rhötische Bahn in Switzerland, which is the biggest-class private railway in Switzerland and is also called Viafier retica in the Romansch language or Ferrovia retica in Italian. I'm familiar with German, so I used the German expression.
　　We were going down to Odawara City near sea level today using this railway. It was my first time to utilize Hakone Tozan Railway. It has three switchbacks in a short distance and I was looking forward to actually experiencing those.
　　Hakone is located in precipitous terrain and a barrier station or a checkpoint had been sited in the Edo period from 17th to the middle of 19th century. Hakone is on the main route connecting two big cities of Edo (present Tokyo) and Kamigata (present Osaka). Hakone is such a place that it has several historic sites along with hot spas. Additionally you have to remember the geo-scientific aspect of Hakone. It's in the middle of a volcanic area. I'll write about this aspect in another entry.
　　According to the railway company's pamphlet, the sister-railway relationship with Rhötische Bahn was struck in 1979. At the 50th anniversary of Hakone being listed on Japan's national park, i.e. 7 years after entering the partnership, a few dozen people from St. Moritz Tourism Bureau visited Hakone for the purpose of promotion. A splendid party seemed to be held at that time. St. Moritz is one of my destinations which I'd like to visit some day.
　　Back to the track, the small train in which we got on clumsily went down the steep slope, back and forth 3 times on the switch back, through the forest which is dotted with small hot spas, and finally reached Odawara City. This city is filled with historic heritage and local food, but we transferred to a Shinkansen bullet train and headed for Yokohama.
　　What do you think we were going to do in Yokohama? I'll report it to you in the next entry.

(Vocabulary)
precipitous 切り立った, 険しい〈谷･崖･傾斜など〉; 突然の, 急な〈減少･増加など〉; （かたく）性急な, 軽率な〈行動･決定など〉
関所 《pass》 a barrier (station); 《pass through》 a checkpoint (検問所).
clumsily 不細工に, 不格好に; (動作について) ぎこちなく, 不器用に

JOHN MANJIRO MUSEUM

　　A fishery boat had been caught in a storm and had drifted out to sea from a tiny fishery village near Ashizuri Misaki Cape in the middle of the 19th century. The crew were all young. A boy among them, who would come to be called John Manjiro later, was only 14 years old. They were eventually able to land on a small isolated island in Bonin Islands. While they were struggling to survive the difficulties there, a whale boat of the U.S. found them and took them to Hawaii, not Japan. Japan was under its restrictive diplomacy at that time and foreign ships weren't allowed to visit Japan even if it was for humanitarian purposes.
　　He was brought up in the U.S. and acquired various kinds of knowledges along with English skills. He was very helpful for the modern development of Japan. His museum was built at his birth place and I dropped in at it.

(Vocabulary)
Bonin Islands 小笠原諸島

Tsunoshima Island

　　Tsunoshima island is known for its beautiful bridge connecting the island and the mainland. Several TV commercials have been shot on the bridge. We crossed the bridge and pulled off at the opposite end of the bridge. There was a monument and its description surprised me, which was written about the recent archeological research on ancient physical distribution.
　　According to the description, 1843 pieces of mokkann wooden plates along with lots of earthenwares were discovered from the former sites of Heijo-kyo in fall 1963. "Mokkann" is a narrow strip of wood on which an official message is written and used in the Nara period(710-784). Heijo-kyo was located in present Nara city and it was the capital of Japan at that time. Seven Ten-nohs (the 43th to the 49th) reigned there. By the way, one of the mokkanns was an invoice attached to the cargos which were sent from this island to the imperial palace. It had the sender's name and the shipping date of Mar. 29th in 746 (converted to the western calendar). The material was wakame seaweed (Undaria). That is to say, people on this island had paid wakame seaweed as the tax 1200 years ago. The noble people in the palace would love the seaweed from this island. This historical fact would be an honor for the inhabitants.

(Vocabulary)
physical distribution 物流
earthenware 陶器、土器

English and My Car

　　I don't have so many difficulties in reading English newspaper articles, but I'm not good at speaking. Suitable words even in my vocabulary don't promptly come up into my mind in every situation. Anyway, it would be inconceivable to you that my poorness in talking is connected to the fact that I own a Tesla car now. 　　When I visited Honolulu in Hawaii in 2018, I noticed a Tesla dealer shop along Kalakaua Avenue. I'd never entered a car shop abroad and something like valor began to rise up within me at that time. It urged me to get into the shop and try to speak to a salesperson, and I did it following the voice of someone in my mind.
　　Just after entering the shop full of my courage, I suddenly felt deflated, because the salesperson who attended me was a Japanese guy. He offered an opportunity to test-drive a Model-X during my stay in Honolulu and I drove a Model-X in Honolulu. The result? Its performance was superb and I became unable to get it off my mind. The price of the Model-X was too expensive for me, but I started to save money for the down payment for the car.
　　The more than one-hour test-drive was like a sightseeing tour. Some Japanese celebrities own their home in Honolulu, and the salesperson showed me those during the test-drive. His parting words were "See you again next year and I'll take you to another area in Honolulu!"
　　I revisited the dealer in 2019 and I saw a Model 3 at that time. I didn't know about this car. The same salesperson advised me to take a test-drive and I was amazed at its functions and price, which was narrowly within my reach. In addition, the sales of it would start in Japan two months later. I promptly ordered a Model 3. The company offers three types of Model 3 and I opted for the longest range type.
　　It's been two and half years since my last visit to Hawaii. I've never been to a gas station in these two years. Arriving at my house from my work, I insert the charging plug into my car. By the next morning, the charging has finished. The charging is done in the night and I don't mind how long it takes. It's very convenient and I love this car.

(Vocabulary)
deflated がっくりした, 自信をなくした;〈風船・タイヤなどが〉 空気の抜けた, しぼんだ

English as Means

　　The Japanese media keep quiet about the origin of the Wuhan virus. It's very weird. They might be under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party. I often check international news sites, like the BBC, FOX, CNN, Frankfurter Allgemeine if I have time. In those media, the recent hottest topics are about the origin of the virus, while the Japanese media ignore them. I don't feel so much difficulty in reading news items and I really and deeply realize that I was lucky to have learned English. I can get various information from all over the world.

 

What It Means To Understand English

　　At the risk of over-generalizing, I think if you are born and live in Japan, you don't need any language other than Japanese. That might be why the ordinary Japanese are poor at English. On the other hand, the number of non-Japanese who can have a good command of Japanese is only a few. The grammar of Japanese is quite unique, which has three kinds of letters like "hiragana", "katakana" and "kanji". The first two types have about 50 letters at most respectively, but "kanji" has a few dozen thousand letters, though 1000 letters are enough in daily life. I believe that there is no other language that has as complicated and cumbersome grammar as Japanese.
　　Lots of misunderstanding between Japan and other countries have been repeated so far. Even now it's through the media that the ordinary Japanese get information on outside of Japan. If the media was biased, Japanese people would be easily brainwashed.
　　Now, however, the situation has completely changed. I don't need the Japanese media to get information from outside of Japan. I can directly read a variety of news items on the web of the foreign news media. The Japanese who understand English can have more information than the other Japanese people. I feel that I'm lucky to have learned and been learning English so far.

英語がわかると言うこと

日本人に生まれ、日本で暮らすとき、日本語さえわかれば他の言語を覚える必要は無い。 これが原因だろうか、日本人は一般に英語が苦手である。また、日本語を話す外国人は多くない。日本語の文法体系はかなり特殊であるし、文字は３種類、うち２つは５０個程度の文字数だが、もう一種は数万に及ぶ。日常で使うには１０００も有れば十分だが。これほど厄介な言語はそうはないと思う。

従って、日本と海外の情報交換はこれまでの歴史を振り返っても誤解が多かった。日本人が海外で起こった事件に接するのは日本のメディアを通してだった。メディアがいい加減な根拠のない報道をすれば、それが日本人の知識となっていた。

が、今は違う。情報はメディアを通さずとも伝わってくる。英語がわかると言うことは、そうでない人々に比べて圧倒的に知識が増える。英語を理解しない人にはわからないかもしれないが、今まで英語の勉強をしてきてそう思う。

RareJob

　　My company encourages its employees to learn English. My company is one of the representative companies in Japan and some of the employees are required to pick up English to communicate with international customers. My company tied a corporate contract with RareJob, which is an online English education company based in the Philippines, and started offering opportunities to speak English to their employees. 50% of the lesson fee is covered by the company. Additionally, the good attendance and/or the improvement of the TOEIC score being acknowledged, even employees' own expense is supposed to be refunded. All the tutors are from the Philippines and we talk concerning the offered topics for 25 minutes per lesson. The time difference is only an hour between Japan and the Philippines. I was amazed that the founder of RareJob had hit on a good idea and I'm grateful for my company's generosity.
　　I started the lesson on RareJob on March 1st. The lesson continues until the end of the August for six months. What will become of my English speaking skills?

 

Speaking Exercise

　　The progress of internet technology has produced a variety of new business in all kinds of sectors. My company started a program that encourages employees to learn English under a contact with an internet technology company the other day, which connects Philippine students, who live in their country, and Japanese who want to practice English conversation. I applied for this program and was accepted. The practice fee is supposed to be paid by my company for its 70% and my defrayal is only 30%. Additionally even such 30% of lesson fee is expected to be paid by the company if participants attain everyone's goal.
　　I've not so much difficulty in reading English books and papers. I feel a little hardships in writing English sentences, but not much. However, I'm not at all good at speaking English. As for listening, if you speak in clear pronunciation like trained announcers or stage actors, I can catch you, but in noisy circumstances like in the bar, railroad station or somewhere like that, my listening ability heavily deteriorates.
　　This endeavor by my company seemed to have started last year and the result was apparently ideal. That's why the company set the English-learning campaign. Taking advantage of this endeavor, I'm going to practice English conversation.

(Vocabulary)
defrayal 負担
endeavor
[C](フォーマル) 試み
in an endeavor to do something ＜…＞する試みとして
make every endeavor to do something ＜…＞するためにあらゆる試みをする
[U] 努力
scientific/creative/artistic/human endeavor 科学的［創造的，芸術的，人間の］努力

 

フィリピン人と会話練習

インターネットの発達はいろいろなビジネスを生んできたが、フィリピンの大学の学生を雇い、日本人と会話をさせることにより日本人の英語能力向上を目指す英語教育プログラムがある。学生はフィリピン在住で、オンラインでの会話練習だ。
勤務している会社がこの教育会社と契約して社員のうち希望者に英会話のレッスンを受けさせるという社内プログラムがある。去年は数十名が申し込んだらしい。案内が来たので早速申し込んだ。３月１日から開始して８月いっぱいまで。費用負担は本人が3割だが、Toeicのスコアが上がったらレッスン費用は全て会社持ちとのこと。
英語を読むことについてはあまり苦労は無くなったが、書くことには少し苦労があり、話すのは苦手である。聞くことについてはキャスターのような英語でゆっくり喋ってくれたら聞き取れるが、居酒屋で交わされる会話には入ってはいけない。これを奇貨として話すことにも力を入れていきたい。

Bocchi Camp

　　In a Japanese TV program, a professional entertainer stays for a night at a variety of campsites. He collects fallen trees from around about, then starts a fire in a primitive way and cooks something easy. In short, he enjoys inconvenience in the wild circumstances. That's all in the program, but this program's popularity is taking off and it triggered a solo-camp boom.
　　When I was young, I sometimes enjoyed a small bonfire myself or with my friends. Just gazing at the fire, I drove off daily annoyances from my mind and I didn't mind anything. It was a really relaxing time for me. This TV program reminded me of my fun time which I had forgotten. The title of the program is "Hiroshi's Bocchi Camp". "Hiroshi" is the entertainer's name and "Bocchi" comes from a Japanese word "Hitori Bocchi", which means "completely alone". I'm going to try it some day.
　　By the way, I liked this program's theme song "Guaranteed". The singer was Eddie Vedder, the vocalist of "Pearl Jam" based in Seattle. This song was used in the movie "Into The Wild". I wasn't able to catch all the lyrics and got them on the internet. I can imagine a rough image of the song, but it 's difficult to understand them fully and accurately. I have to ask someone from the U.S.

The 1st and 2nd lyrics are as follows:

"Guaranteed"

On bended knee is no way to be free
Lifting up an empty cup, I ask silently
All my destinations will accept the one that's me
So I can breathe

Circles they grow and they swallow people whole
Half their lives they say goodnight to wives they'll never know
A mind full of questions, and a teacher in my soul
And so it goes

(continued....)

　　The part 2 which starts from "Circles" is considerably hard to catch. What on earth is "Circle"? I looked for suitable Japanese words in the English-Japanese dictionary, but in vain. Additionally I bought the kindle version of the original of the movie "Into The Wild". I'm now reading it bit by bit.

ぼっちキャンプ

ある番組で芸人が一人でキャンプ場に泊まり、付近の倒木を集めて原始的な方法で火を起こし煮炊きして不便を楽しんでいる。ただそれだけのことなのだが、この番組がソロキャンプブームを巻き起こしている。

若い頃、自分もよくやっていた。たき火を見つめて、日常の一切を忘れて一人でのんびり過ごす時間は至福の時間だった。長い間忘れていた時間をこの番組が思い出させてくれた。まったく一人っきりという意味の日本語、『ひとりぼっち』から取り出した単語をくっつけて『ぼっちキャンプ』と呼ばれる。そのうち、やってみようと思っている。

さて、この番組の主題歌が『Guaranteed』。調べてみるとシアトルで誕生したロックバンド『パールジャム』のボーカル『エディーヴェダー』が歌っている。映画『Into the Wild』の中で流れた歌だそうだ。全てを聞き取れなかったのでネットで歌詞を調べてみた。大雑把な意味は想像できるのだが、やはり正確に意味を掴むのは難しい。知り合いのネイティブに尋ねてみよう。下に歌詞を書いておく。

Circlesから始まる２番の歌詞の意味はかなり難しい。そもそもCircleはどういう意味なのか、、、辞書を探しても適当な役が見つからない。ヘルプ！そして、映画の原作、『Into The Wild』キンドル版を購入した。毎日少しずつ読んでいくつもりだ。

Electronic Dictionary

　　I often forget Chinese characters I know very well. Names often don't come up promptly even though I know his/her faces. My memory is surely going downhill. My answer is to carry an electronic dictionary --- always in a pocket of my white coat or in my personal bag. I used to have one, but it 's now my second daughter's, so I got a new one. I'll start a new chapter of my life in August, and this electronic dictionary will be of use in my new job.
　　Japan's school and business year starts in spring, and lots of things relevant to a fresh start are newly rolled out in this season. Naturally electronic dictionaries come up from various makers, and consequently, prices of older types generally go down, so I waited for the new models going on the market, then I bought a 2019 model of an electronic dictionary. The price went down by more than $100 than a few weeks ago as I had expected.
　　Taking carrying it into account, I placed importance on its lightness and chose one shown in the following picture. As you can see, it's small and thin, but it has several dozen dictionaries of English, Japanese, Chinese, German, French, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Italian and Korean, and to top it off a set of encyclopedias, textbooks for learning the above languages, then more than 3000 works of Japanese literature. How about its usability?
　　This dictionary is really handy and above my expectations. In case of print media, you search words only by index, but in case of the electronic dictionaries, other search measures are offered: You can spot sentences in which your target word is used (Example Sentence Search). Additionally you can find a word from the whole dictionary (Full Text Search). Moreover you can use plural dictionaries at the same time. If you don't understand what a dictionary says, you can switch dictionaries promptly. I often use this function and compare the expressions or explanations between my Longmann English-Japanese dictionary and Longmann or Oxford English-English dictionaries. I can feel the subtle difference or nuance in such a way.
　　I originally bought this dictionary to rebuild or reinforce my Japanese skills against my aging, but I understood that this dictionary can be a strong and reliable aide in reading and writing English. This small gadget will always be by my side.
　　Model conversation sentences in Chinese, German, French,,,, are also recorded. Those sentences specialize in travels and pronunciations are also offered. In encyclopedia, you can hear even the sound of animals.
　　The price is acceptable.The total price of only four dictionaries at hand (Longmann English-English, English-Japanese, and Crown German-Japanese, Japanese-English) is higher than that of the electronic dictionary.
　　How about demerits? A single weak point is lack of at-a-glance visibility. If you look for a word in the dictionary on the paper basis, some words listed near your target word come in your eye. However, electronic dictionaries set off lots of merits against such a minor inconvenience.

(Vocabulary)
set sth (off) against sth　釣り合わせる、相殺する、埋め合わせる
to set off one's merits against one's faults　長所をもって短所を補う
to judge sth by comparing good or positive qualities with bad or negative ones
Set against the benefits of the new technology, there is also a strong possibility that jobs will be lost.

最近漢字をよく忘れる。人の顔は覚えていても名前が出てこないなど明らかに記憶力が落ちている。歳のせいだろう。それで電子辞書を持ち歩くことにした。白衣のポケットやボディバッグに入れて常に。以前所有していた電子辞書は次女に奪われたので新しく購入。８月から全く新しい分野の職に就く。そのためにも必要と考えた。毎年春、日本は新学期を迎える。そのため電子辞書の新型も発売される。当然旧型の価格は下がるので、新型が発売されるのを待って２０１９年型を購入した。

持ち運びを考えて、軽さを重視。写真のように小さなものだが、この中に数十冊の辞書、語学勉強用教材、百科事典、更に文学作品が３０００点以上。元々ドイツ語辞書も内蔵されているのだが、さらに専門的な２冊をオプションで追加。さて使い勝手はどうか。使ってみると、ただただ、素晴らしいの一言。紙媒体だと単語は見出し語として探すだけだが、電子辞書だとその単語が例文に含まれる場合に見つけ出す例文検索、さらに辞書全体からその単語を探し出す全文検索、さらに複数の辞書から同時に検索する複数辞書横断検索も可能。

漢字忘れに対して、日本語能力補強のために買ったのだが、英文読解や英文作成に絶大な助けになると思う。シナ語やドイツ語、フランス語、スペイン語など旅行に必要な会話本も含まれており、なんとそれらは発音も教えてくれる。発音について、従来は発音記号を学ぶ必要があったが、この辞書は発音してくれる。百科事典に載っている動物、鳥などの鳴き声も聞くことが出来る。手元にある辞書、ロングマン英和、英英、クラウン独和、和独、この４冊でこの電子辞書の価格を超える。スマホと同様、常に携行する手放せないガジェットだ。

欠点は無いのか？それは、一覧性に欠けるということくらいか。辞書を引くとその前後の単語も目に入るが、電子辞書だとそれはない。が、そんな欠点など十分に消してしまうほどの利点が電子辞書にはあると思う。

Arrival in Yokohama

　　When the ship entered into the channel to Tokyo Bay, the sea surface became really calm. The Diamond Princess proceeded to Yokohama Bay. The last night was stormy, but the weather changed for the better this morning like my usual last day. It's always like that. The last day of my trip will be sunny with a high probability. I just hope that it will be so in the midst of the trip. Anyway, I enjoyed the scenery of Yokohama from the deck. When I started the trip 8 days ago, it was dark. There were lots of suitcases lined up on the pier. They would belong to the tourists who would join the next cruise. The staff members would be busy preparing for the next cruise by cleaning up the rooms and public areas, or to bring food and necessities in or to take garbage out, and so on within the limited time. We were able to disembark about 2 o'clock. As our flight to our hometown was at about 1900, we were able to take a rest in Haneda Airport.
　　On my last cruising trip on this Diamond Princess, I had an opportunity to talk with a medical crew. I learned how they work on board and her story aroused my interest. The company that operates the Diamond Princess is Princess Cruise in the U.S., and it apparently has 16 cruise ships or more. I informed her of my skills in the medical field and languages. She said to me, "fully qualified!" I can speak in German, though a little haltingly and naturally Japanese, so, according to her, I would be welcomed to the cruise especially in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, as the number of Japanese people who enjoy cruising in those waters is soaring. I started thinking of taking up a new lifestyle as a ship's doctor.

Postscript:
Disgusting Wuhan pneumonia occurred on the Diamond Princess during the next next cruise tour after our disembarkation. I was so surprised as I had already submitted my resignation on Dec. 30th. declaring that I would quit my job on June 30th. Postponing my ship's doctor plan, I had to seek for my new job until that day, but don't worry. I already received so many offers from various facilities.
(Jan. 30th)


東京湾に入ると、鏡のような海面になった。ダイヤモンド・プリンセスは滑るように進んでいく。いつものことだが、旅の終わりには晴れる。本当に良い天気だ。昨夜の嵐は夢だったのか。ベイブリッジをくぐり、大桟橋に近づくと、大量のスーツケースが見えた。どうやら今日、乗客を入れ替えてまたどこかへ向けて出発するのだろう。客の入れ替わるわずかの時間に掃除をしたり物資の搬入、搬出とスタッフは忙しいことだろう。我々夫婦は１４時頃に下船できた。６時間以上遅れたけれど、羽田発は１９時頃の便なので余裕。前に乗ったときにも思ったのだが、この船、あるいはこの会社で船医として働きたい。船医への転身を真剣に考えてみようと思う。ま、これまでも、多分これからも、成り行き任せの人生だから、、、

（２０２０年１月３０日)
追記　次の香港へのクルーズのその次のクルーズで例の武漢ウイルス感染が起こった。心底驚いた。船医計画は延期となった。１２月末に辞表を提出してしまったし、さて次は何をしよう(^_^;)

At Sea, Day 2

　　We were on the sea all day long on December 17th, too. Today's sea was rough and our ship rocked all day long. This cruise ship was so enormous and I assumed that it never rocked. To be honest, I'm a poor sailor and easily get seasick, but a variety of events made me feel free of seasickness. Some events were held in Japanese and others in English. I joined some English events for the purpose of testing my English listening ability. I manage to understand conversations concerning the medical field containing lots of technical terms, but sometimes have a hard time in common conversation, as it contains slang and phrasal verbs. I didn't know whom and what most American people know. This also stood in the way of my understanding. Anyway, events and concerts were enjoyable.
　　The Diamond Princess has a repeaters' club called the Captain's Circle. This cruise was the second time for us and we were invited to this meeting. We enjoyed short talks from the captain and other crew members, concerts, and then received presents from the cruise company.
　　Before going to bed, I climbed up to the highest deck wondering whether I could see outside, but I didn't see anything. I expected to see some lights from the land or other ships, but there was nothing around the ship. No stars and the water in the pool was billowing. I felt a little scared and returned to my room just like taking refuge.

(Vocabulary)
billow (風で) 膨らむ, はためく;〈煙などが〉 渦巻く, 巻き上がる
refuge
[C] 避難所, 保護施設
a refuge for battered wives 配偶者から虐待を受けた妻の保護施設
[C] (悪天候・危険などからの) 避難場所, 逃げ場, (野生生物などの) 保護区
a refuge from the rain 雨宿りの場所
[U] 避難, 安全
take/seek refuge 避難する
When the bombing started, we took refuge in the cellar. 爆撃が始まったとき地下室に避難した．

　終日航海２日目。この日は揺れた。この大きな船が。実は僕は船酔いにはとことん弱い。屋内プールを見ると、使用禁止になっていた。ただ、船内は賑やか。イベントが盛り沢山で、飽きることはない。英語版イベントも日本版もあり、英語版はリスニングの勉強も兼ねて参加。専門用語の多い医学の学術会議は聞き取れても、スラングの含まれた日常会話は難しい。
　ダイヤモンド・プリンセスにはキャプテンズサークルというリピータの集まりがあり、今回我々は２回目なのでリピーターとなりこの集まりに招かれた。船のいろいろな説明を聞いたり、音楽を楽しんだり、帰りにはちょっとしたプレゼント。
　寝る前に何か景色が見えるかと思い、最上階に上がってみた。周囲には何も見えず、星も見えず、プールの水は大きく波打ち、あふれていた。少し怖くなり逃げ込むように部屋へ戻った。(^_^;)

J-CPAC, Japanese - Conservative Political Action Conference

　　An international convention, J-CPAC, which was established to encourage people to develop an understanding for conservatism and liberalism in the fields of economics, politics, securities, and other issues by means of the cooperation of leaders in various fields. Its purpose is to create peace and prosperity in the Asian Pacific region.
　　I attended the conference yesterday and today. First of all, I wanted to check my English listening skills. I was handed a radio for listening to the simultaneous interpretation, but I dared not to use the radio. My self-check of the skills would be marked 60/100. Sara A. Cater, and several Congressmen were on the stage and I think I was able to understand 60% of their speech. My skills were not there,,, I remembered the saying "Rome was not built in a day." Discussion was interesting. The topics about China and the Koreas were really enlightening.