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ニューヨークをひとかじり
東京というコンクリートジャングルを離れ、アメリカの小さな町で暮らし始めた筆者。身も心もゆったりと、くつろぎのある生活を楽しんでいたのだが、ある週末、娘が暮らすニューヨークを尋ねてみたところ・・・。
Biting the Big Apple
I just spent last weekend in New York, Tokyo's jagged twin. After spending seven years in the concrete jungle of Tokyo I recently moved to small-town America. I was enjoying my suburban sprawl; that is, sprawling on my chaise lounge in the comfort of my backyard.
But with my daughter a few hours away in the urban mecca of New York, I decided to spend a weekend back in the jungle -- and what a weekend it was! Luckily I am writing this on the train back to Boston, so you know I made the conscious decision to go home. But it was a hard decision.
Waking up in the morning with a view of Times Square, the Bloomberg stock ticker and two large neon Corona bottles was as comforting to me as the smell of cinnamon buns being baked in the oven, or more likely, the smell of cinnamon from the Cinnabon store in the mall.
I realized I am an urban person. It is great when you get a clue as to who you really are, because, at 50, I am still figuring this out. Figuring out who you really are is a luxury. Many people, including myself, spend most of their time just trying to survive, pay the bills and have a little fun in between. I admire people who are lucky enough to know who they are at a young age. For me it's been a longer process -- I'm what you might call a late bloomer. But we all evolve as the waves of time and experience erode us into softer-edged beings. I am still trying to decide between the social urbanite and the laid-back suburban dweller. But this weekend pushed me closer to the urbanite side of things.
I felt comforted by the closeness of humanity, of knowing that there were about one million people outside my door. They may have been ready to mug me but at least they were there. I realized I felt more nervous in the suburbs, where I look into the blackness of my sprawling backyard. I remember one night in Tokyo lying on my son's bed reading to him and looking out at a bunch of tall, well-lit buildings. I felt so safe. My weekend in New York also confirmed my belief that people like to be near other people. Or at least most people like to be near most other people. Tokyo and New York are global twins for a reason. They attract souls who want to feel the grit of concrete and the energy of humanity at their door. They are global twins but just like any siblings they have differences. We will look at those differences next time.
- Big Apple
- ニューヨーク市の愛称
- jagged
- 荒っぽい
- twin
- 双子
- suburban sprawl
- 郊外で手足伸ばして寝そべること(=>本来は「郊外のスプロール現象」の意)
- chaise lounge
- 長椅子
- in the comfort of 〜
- 〜でくつろいで
- a few hours away
- 数時間の距離にある
- urban
- 都市の
- mecca
- メッカ
- conscious
- 意識的な
- hard
- 難しい
- Bloomberg
- ブルームバーグ(=>世界の金融ニュースやマーケット情報などを配信する米総合情報サービス会社)
- stock ticker
- 株式相場の電光掲示板
- Corona
- コロナ(=>メキシコのビールの銘柄)
- cinnamon buns
- シナモンバンズ、シナモンロール
- being baked
- 焼かれている
- Cinnabon
- シナボン(=>シナモンロールなど菓子パンのチェーン店)
- clue as to 〜
- 〜に関する手掛かり
- (am) figuring this out
- これを見つけ出そうとしている
- luxury
- ぜいたくなこと
- pay the bills
- 請求書の支払いをする
- in between
- その合間に
- late bloomer
- 遅咲きの人、晩成型の人
- evolve
- 進化する
- erode us into 〜
- 私たちの角を削って〜にする
- softer-edged beings
- より丸い人間
- urbanite
- 都会人
- laid-back
- ゆったりした
- dweller
- 住人
- humanity
- 人間
- mug
- 〜を襲って金品を奪う
- nervous
- 不安な
- a bunch of 〜
- たくさんの〜
- well-lit
- あかあかと明かりの灯った
- confirmed
- 〜を強めた
- souls
- 人
- grit
- 粗さ
- siblings
- きょうだい