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「ストーブ」はどこだ?!
フロリダ生まれの筆者にとって、来日当初は東京の冬の寒さは耐え難かった。
そこである日、家を暖めるためにホームパーティーを企画する。
そしてパーティー当日。
友人たちが家に来て一息ついたとき、「寒いからストーブをつけてもいいか」と筆者に聞いたところ…。
Icebreaker
Waking one morning in my six-mat, I found that I could see my breath. To a native Floridian, this is never a good sign. It indicates the arrival of winter.
Winters in Tokyo are mild, people told me. Oh, sure. Once it started snowing, I launched an immediate hunt for ways to stay warm. My first purchase, a kotatsu, was brilliant at burning my kneecaps. Nonetheless, I slept under the thing, and carried it around on my back to make coffee in the morning. People also suggested I buy a stove. I already had one of those, but I couldn't see that as a good solution.
Next, I loaded up on pocket warmers. On the coldest days, I wanted to attire myself in those toasty little squares like the jade shroud of Prince Liu Sheng. One night, not eager to go back to my frozen apartment, I actually rode the Yamanote Line two circuits, until my shoes half-melted against the train's heater unit.
One of the best ways to chase off chills, I recalled, is to invite friends for a home party. I issued invitations, and then panicked. What would I serve? Could I borrow zabuton from my landlady? What about music, would my Japanese friends like Grace Jones?
Some problems have a way of solving themselves. Curry, I discovered, is a relatively easy crowd-pleaser. Emulsify in water a block of stuff that looks like fertilizer, add vegetables, stir for a while, then serve over rice. Once I'd mastered this, I felt confident things would go smoothly.
With Grace Jones howling "La Vie en Rose" and the wind otherwise just howling, my friends arrived. To my delight, everyone unpacked food, shrugged off coats, and started chatting. I vanished into my tiny kitchen to stir the curry.
"Wow, it's cold in here!" one guest called out to me from the tatami room. "Well, can we turn on the stove?" another asked. "It is on," I sang out. There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence.
"Well, where is it?" someone finally asked. "It's in here with me," I replied. Another long silence from the tatami room. Something was definitely off. It wasn't just the curry or Grace Jones. "Well, how about bringing it out here, so we can enjoy it too?" came back the slightly irritated response. " 'Cause I'm cooking on it!" I replied.
My guests jumped up and crowded into my kitchen. They could not believe that I was cooking on a stove, and they wanted to see with their own eyes what I was doing. It was then that I realized that in Japanese "stove" means "gas heater," whereas in English it means "cooking range."
That night, though, the laughter of my friends took the ice off everything.
- Icebreaker
- 座をなごますきっかけになるもの、出来事など
- six-mat
- 6畳間
- Floridian
- フロリダ州生まれの人
- launched an immediate hunt for 〜
- 取り急ぎ〜を探した
- kneecaps
- ひざ頭
- the thing
- こたつのこと
- carried it around on my back
- こたつを背負って歩き回った
- solution
- 解決策
- loaded up on 〜
- を大量に買い込んだ
- pocket warmers
- 使い捨てカイロ
- attire myself in 〜
- 自分の身を〜で固める
- toasty
- 快適な暖かさの
- jade shroud
- ヒスイの板をつないで作った埋葬服
- Prince Liu Sheng
- 中国・前漢の景帝の第8子、劉勝
- two circuits
- 2周
- heater unit
- 暖房機
- chase off 〜
- 〜を追い払う
- chills
- 冷え
- landlady
- 女家主
- Grace Jones
- ジャマイカ出身の歌手、女優、モデル
- have a way of 〜
- 〜するものだ
- solving themselves
- 自ずと解決する
- Curry
- カレー
- crowd-pleaser
- 万人受けするもの
- Emulsify
- 溶かす
- a block of stuff that looks like fertilizer
- 肥料のように見える塊
- stir
- かき混ぜる
- With 〜 howling 〜
- 〜が〜をうなるように歌って
- otherwise
- それとは別に
- shrugged off 〜
- 〜を脱いだ
- called out to 〜
- 〜に向かって叫んだ
- turn on 〜
- 〜のスイッチを入れる
- sang out
- 大声で答えた
- Something was definitely off
- 絶対に何かが変だった
- jumped up
- 素早く立ち上がった
- crowded into 〜
- 〜に押し寄せてきた
- It was then that I realized that 〜
- そのときになってやっと〜だと分かった
- took the ice off everything
- 冷たい雰囲気を打ち消した