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ボストン大学の学生たちでにぎわっているのが、ハーバード通り。この界わいには家族経営の小さなレストランが並び、高級品店よりディスカウントストアが幅をきかせています。
Harvard Avenue
By MASAKO YAMADA
Now I'm living in a section of Boston called Allston that is just within the
city limits. I ride the B-line "T" every day to school, and it takes about
30 minutes to get there. The B-line runs between Boston University and
Boston College, so it is very crowded with students in the mornings and
evenings. The area where I live, however, is actually a lot closer to Boston
College than Boston University, so there aren't many people going my way on
the "T" when I ride it in the morning. I am always able to get a seat. As the
"T" nears BU, though, more and more students start piling on.
Unlike
Wellesley, where most of the students lived in dorms on campus, many BU
students rent regular city apartments together with their friends. In fact,
the entire area seems to be dominated by students. This is especially
obvious on the "T" because there are many more people with backpacks
running around than with briefcases.
Students don't have much money, of
course, so the areas where they usually live are not very luxurious. The
apartment I live in has nice features such as hardwood floors, a working
fireplace, a dishwasher and a balcony. We've decorated it nicely too ― but
it's still just an old brick building that doesn't look too promising from
the outside. Most of the other residents in our building also seem to be
students. The sense of community among students is actually what makes the
area interesting, though.
One of the "T" stops most often used by BU
students is the Harvard Avenue stop. Harvard Avenue is located in Allston
almost exactly between BU and BC. It's nowhere near Harvard University, by
the way, so it can cause confusion.
After all, there is another "T" stop called "Harvard" near that University.
Anyway, I read in a Boston guidebook that the Harvard Avenue area is inhabited by "students and starving rock artist-types." Indeed, this seems to be true. Most of the
shops on Harvard Avenue are discount stores. The only large chain store I see
is "Woolworth," and that is a notoriously "non-luxury" store that sells everything from
pots and pans to school supplies, pet goldfish, and plastic suitcases. I bought a
carpet for my room at a Harvard Avenue store that sells low-cost furniture
odds and ends.
There are two large liquor stores in the area
as well as many bars. The food served in nearby restaurants cannot be called
"fine dining," but it's usually cheap and
surprisingly good. There are large fastfood franchises such as McDonalds, Uno's Pizzeria
and Boston Market, but there are also a surprising number of Mom-and-Pop stores. The Moms and Pops who
run the stores often come from other countries. Just in the Harvard Avenue
area, for example, I've found a Russian food store, a Korean food store, a
Korean cafe, a Brazilian restaurant, a Greek food stand, a Chinese takeout place, a Mexican snack store, a Thai
restaurant, a real diner that serves heaping plates of food for $3, and several
Vietnamese restaurants. There are also a number of coffee shops that
encourage leisurely sipping ― and perhaps
even a casual performance of poetry or
music.
The area is vibrant in the daytime, but it can
feel a little seedy after dark. The little eateries and shops close down fairly early in
the evening, so the only "nightlife" comes from the bars. Most people who
live there stay safely in their own apartments at night. It's not a place for going on a fancy date, by any means. There simply aren't many things
for outsiders to do in Allston. This town caters
primarily to its own residents.
Since the rents are cheap, considering the
location (it's a convenient 15-minute "T" ride to downtown Boston), the area
is also inhabited by some dubious
characters. This is unfortunate but inevitable. It's not like a "Disneyland showcase" filled with lively students. My friend's friend bought an
apartment in Allston to start her newlywed
life, but their video deck was apparently
stolen the very week they moved in. Then the ceiling started
caving in. Finally, they had to move out because they realized their
neighbors were drug-dealers.
I don't feel that my physical well-being
is in danger here, but there's no telling what
might happen behind the scenes. It's no wonder that affluent city professionals don't tend to live in
Allston, but as a young grad student ― albeit a careful young grad student ― I think it's
an exciting, relatively inexpensive, and
convenient place to live. It has the benefits
of city life with relatively few of the disadvantages. For me at least, suburbia and luxurious high-rises with gates around them will come later in life.
Now I'm living in a section of Boston called Allston that is just within the
city limits. I ride the B-line "T" every day to school, and it takes about
30 minutes to get there. The B-line runs between Boston University and
Boston College, so it is very crowded with students in the mornings and
evenings. The area where I live, however, is actually a lot closer to Boston
College than Boston University, so there aren't many people going my way on
the "T" when I ride it in the morning. I am always able to get a seat. As the
"T" nears BU, though, more and more students start piling on.
Unlike
Wellesley, where most of the students lived in dorms on campus, many BU
students rent regular city apartments together with their friends. In fact,
the entire area seems to be dominated by students. This is especially
obvious on the "T" because there are many more people with backpacks
running around than with briefcases.
Students don't have much money, of
course, so the areas where they usually live are not very luxurious. The
apartment I live in has nice features such as hardwood floors, a working
fireplace, a dishwasher and a balcony. We've decorated it nicely too ― but
it's still just an old brick building that doesn't look too promising from
the outside. Most of the other residents in our building also seem to be
students. The sense of community among students is actually what makes the
area interesting, though.
One of the "T" stops most often used by BU
students is the Harvard Avenue stop. Harvard Avenue is located in Allston
almost exactly between BU and BC. It's nowhere near Harvard University, by
the way, so it can cause confusion.
After all, there is another "T" stop called "Harvard" near that University.
Anyway, I read in a Boston guidebook that the Harvard Avenue area is inhabited by "students and starving rock artist-types." Indeed, this seems to be true. Most of the
shops on Harvard Avenue are discount stores. The only large chain store I see
is "Woolworth," and that is a notoriously "non-luxury" store that sells everything from
pots and pans to school supplies, pet goldfish, and plastic suitcases. I bought a
carpet for my room at a Harvard Avenue store that sells low-cost furniture
odds and ends.
There are two large liquor stores in the area
as well as many bars. The food served in nearby restaurants cannot be called
"fine dining," but it's usually cheap and
surprisingly good. There are large fastfood franchises such as McDonalds, Uno's Pizzeria
and Boston Market, but there are also a surprising number of Mom-and-Pop stores. The Moms and Pops who
run the stores often come from other countries. Just in the Harvard Avenue
area, for example, I've found a Russian food store, a Korean food store, a
Korean cafe, a Brazilian restaurant, a Greek food stand, a Chinese takeout place, a Mexican snack store, a Thai
restaurant, a real diner that serves heaping plates of food for $3, and several
Vietnamese restaurants. There are also a number of coffee shops that
encourage leisurely sipping ― and perhaps
even a casual performance of poetry or
music.
The area is vibrant in the daytime, but it can
feel a little seedy after dark. The little eateries and shops close down fairly early in
the evening, so the only "nightlife" comes from the bars. Most people who
live there stay safely in their own apartments at night. It's not a place for going on a fancy date, by any means. There simply aren't many things
for outsiders to do in Allston. This town caters
primarily to its own residents.
Since the rents are cheap, considering the
location (it's a convenient 15-minute "T" ride to downtown Boston), the area
is also inhabited by some dubious
characters. This is unfortunate but inevitable. It's not like a "Disneyland showcase" filled with lively students. My friend's friend bought an
apartment in Allston to start her newlywed
life, but their video deck was apparently
stolen the very week they moved in. Then the ceiling started
caving in. Finally, they had to move out because they realized their
neighbors were drug-dealers.
I don't feel that my physical well-being
is in danger here, but there's no telling what
might happen behind the scenes. It's no wonder that affluent city professionals don't tend to live in
Allston, but as a young grad student ― albeit a careful young grad student ― I think it's
an exciting, relatively inexpensive, and
convenient place to live. It has the benefits
of city life with relatively few of the disadvantages. For me at least, suburbia and luxurious high-rises with gates around them will come later in life.
Shukan ST: Oct. 4, 1996
(C) All rights reserved
- is just within the city limits
- 町の境界線ぎりぎりのところにある
- B-line "T"
- ボストンの地下鉄 "T"のB路線
- start piling on
- 乗り込んでくる
- dorms = dormitories
- 寮
- be dominated by 〜
- 〜が圧倒的に多い
- obvious
- 明らかな
- luxurious
- 高級な
- working fireplace
- 実際に使える暖炉
- brick
- 煉瓦の
- doesn't look too promising from the outside
- 外からはあまり立派に見えない
- residents
- 住民
- cause confusion
- 混乱を引き起こす
- is inhabited by 〜
- 〜が住んでいる
- starving rock
artist-types
- 売れないロックミュージシャンのようなタイプの人たち
- Indeed
- 実際に
- Woolworth
- ウルワース。カナダ・英国・ドイツなどにも店舗を持つ米の雑貨店
- notoriously "non-luxury"
store
- 高級店でないことで知られている店
- school supplies
- 文房具
- goldfish
- 金魚
- odds and ends
- よせあつめ
- liquor stores
- 酒屋
- fine dining
- 上品な食事
- franchises
- チェーン店
- Mom-and-Pop stores
- 家族の者だけで切り回す小さな店
- takeout place
- 持ち帰り用の料理を売る店
- diner
- 食堂
- heaping plates of food
- 山盛りの食べ物
- leisurely sipping
- のんびりとコーヒーをすすること
- casual performance ...
music
- 肩の凝らない雰囲気で行なわれる詩の朗読や演奏
- vibrant
- 活気がある
- seedy
- いかがわしい
- eateries
- 軽食店
- It's not 〜 by any means
- 決して〜ではない
- caters(to) 〜
- 〜の要求を満たす
- primarily
- 主に
- considering 〜
- 〜を考慮すると
- dubious characters
- 怪しい人たち
- inevitable
- しかたがない
- "Disneyland showcase"
- 幸せいっぱいのモデル街
- lively
- 元気のよい
- newlywed life
- 新婚生活
- apparently 〜
- 〜らしい
- ceiling
- 天井
- started caving in
- 崩れ落ち始めた
- drug-dealers
- 麻薬の売人
- physical well-being
- 身の安全
- there's no telling what might happen behind the scenes
- 裏で何が起こるかわからない
- affluent
- 裕福な
- city professionals
- 都会で働く専門職を持つ人たち
- grad student
- 大学院生
- albeit 〜
- 〜ではあるが
- relatively
- 比較的
- benefits
- 利点
- suburbia
- 郊外
- high-rises
- 高層の建物
- 〜 will come later in
life
- もう少し年をとるまで〜には住まないだろう