Letter from Boston Roommates' Departure By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
ルームメートの旅立ち 雅子さんは、リン、レベッカ、エイミーの3人のルームメートと暮らしていましたが、南米に魅せられたリンとレベッカは、コロンビアでの英語教師の職を見つけ、アメリカを離れる決心をしました。2人の旅立ちを祝い、空港でささやかな送別会が開かれました。

My three roommates ― Rebecca, Lynne and Amy ― spent a couple of weeks in Peru this winter. Instead of touring the more famous cities, they opted to go on an adventure trip. I've seen videos of their trip, and it seems that they spent most of their time riding boats on the Amazon and trekking around the jungle. Not only did they enjoy the land, however, they also became very close with the tour guides and they fell in love with the native culture. Even before they returned to the States, Rebecca and Lynne started discussing the possibility of their finding jobs teaching English in Peru. Soon after they came back, they started their job search in earnest. Rebecca and Lynne started sending resumes to dozens of English language schools in South America. They were initially interested in teaching in Peru, but they realized that they'd have a better chance finding a job if they expanded their territory.

Rebecca and Lynne just left for Cali, Colombia. Amy and I, as well as Rebecca's family and boyfriend, went to the airport to see them off. They went to teach at an American school called the Bennett School. They were very lucky in getting jobs at this school. First of all, they found their jobs not through the dozens of resumes that they sent, but through an ad that they chanced upon on the Internet. Next, they were both hired together, so they will be able to support each other in their new country (in fact, they will be roommates there, too). Finally, they will be able to get experience teaching at an accredited elementary school, as opposed to simply a language school.

Both Rebecca and Lynne are native Massachusetts citizens, and I suppose their sudden move to Cali seems impetuous. It was only six months ago that they went to Peru; now, their lives have taken a sharp turn. To many people in the States, Colombia is a country that is most famous for its drug trade. Cali, especially, is known as the home of the Cali drug cartel. Such a reputation notwithstanding, I think it's wonderful that Rebecca and Lynne followed their desire to go to South America. They took Spanish lessons, they started taking an interest in Latin dancing, they talked to people from Latin America and they took pains to make sure that any potential workplace was, indeed, safe.

Our little airport bon voyage party was quite nice. Initially, Rebecca and Lynne had planned on going to the airport by themselves so they wouldn't have to deal with the pain of having to say goodbye to their loved ones right outside the gates. Those plans disintegrated, however, and they relented to our going to the airport. Since international flights require passengers to check in two hours before flight time, we had a very leisurely picnic in the terminal before it was time for them to leave. Lynne didn't allow her family to come, so she did, in fact, seem a little calmer than Rebecca as the flight time approached, but it was nice to see Rebecca with her boyfriend and family.

Now Amy and I are the only ones left in the apartment. It feels very empty since Rebecca and Lynne took away the TV/VCR, the microwave, the chairs in the living room, their large plants and their little knick-knacks. Taking away the carpets from the living room and hallways makes the place seem especially empty, since the sounds in the apartment aren't muffled anymore. The fact that they repainted the bathroom and kitchen walls to their original flat, white colors (my roommates had painted the rooms in bright primary colors last summer under the condition that they return them to their original state before the lease was up) also adds to the sparseness.

Obviously, the fact that they, physically, are missing contributes most to the emptiness. We didn't even know each other when we first met, but we've lived together for almost a year and I am amazed at how close we've become. Lynne said it very simply: "Masako, I just wanted to tell you that I don't consider you as just a roommate, I consider you a friend."

Shukan ST: Aug. 22, 1997

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