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春休み
大学生のころは、春休みといってもほとんどの時間をキャンパスで過ごしていた雅子さんでしたが、大学院に入って初めての春休みは、お決まりの毎日から逃れたいような気分です。大旅行でなくても、何か新しいことをしたいと思った雅子さんは小さな旅に出ました…。
Spring Break
By MASAKO YAMADA
When I was an undergrad spring break wasn't a very important break for me. I usually spent it on campus, doing whatever struck my fancy at the moment. However, ever since I've become a graduate student, I've become more interested in getting away ― or pretending to get away ― from the routines of my daily life. I get tired of seeing the same 20 people and studying the same subject all the time. I don't need to go on a grand trip to Paris, but I like going out and doing new things even if it only means taking a train ride to a suburb of Boston.
At the beginning of break, I decided to take a mini vacation to Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is only 30 minutes from downtown Boston, but in order to enjoy the full effect of the vacation, I spent a couple of nights at a bed-and-breakfast. A B&B is a small inn that is usually run by a married couple, who rent out the extra rooms in their home. It's easy to figure out that breakfast is included, but what makes the experience special is the accompanying conversation with the proprietors and other guests.
The rooms are also special. The one I stayed in was furnished with pretty white curtains and bedspreads, patchwork chair covers and fine china from England. The bathroom fixtures were made of brass, and the towel rack had plenty of fluffy pink towels. Unsurprisingly, B&Bs are often used for romantic rendevous but since they tend to be less expensive and more homey than hotels, single travelers make use of them too.
Salem is a tourist trap, being the setting of the infamous witch trials, but it's also a sleepy New England town in which real people live. I have no interest in the witch trials, so I simply spent my time there walking around the town. Since I was traveling by myself, I didn't want to go to a place that was too isolated and I didn't want to go anywhere that I, a stranger, would look out of place.
After spending two nights in Salem, I took a 30-minute train ride to Ipswich. I had heard that Ipswich is the home of the fried clam. When I got there, however, I was let down. Ipswich was truly a olocal" town, and there were no restaurants geared toward tourists. I walked down an interstate highway for about three miles before I found a seafood restaurant and when I got there, I realized that it was closed. I trudged back to the train station, rode back to Boston, and walked a couple more miles before I finally got the fried clams that I had been craving. They were the best fried clams I've ever had, but by then, I realized that I prefer clams raw.
I went straight to the bus station after this to pick up my friend Teiko. I had just seen her in New York, but we couldn't spend much time together, so she decided to come up to Boston. Although Teiko goes to college in Japan, it seems that when we're together, things haven't changed much from the time we were in high school. As usual, we didn't plan on doing anything special, but we had a lot of fun talking and eating and just hanging out.
We did go on a train trip to Concord, Ma. We went there once, years ago, on a high school trip, but we didn't do much back then. We didn't do much there this time around, either.
After I saw Teiko off, I met Dai and six of his friends for a Vietnamese dinner. I couldn't help thinking, "They are so young." They're all seniors, who are about to face graduation. It seems like ages ago that I was in their position. After dinner, I went with Dai and Kichi, a tourist from Kyoto University, to see an avant-garde play, "Woyseck." Dai's acting instructor had the lead part. The visual images were striking, but even I, a former English major, found it difficult to follow. Kichi said the English was difficult for him. Dai told me his bothersome glasses made him fall asleep.
Now that I'm reflecting upon all of the things that I've done this week, I'm starting to get tired myself. School starts tomorrow!! Maybe my days of lazy break will come back to me in the future.
When I was an undergrad spring break wasn't a very important break for me. I usually spent it on campus, doing whatever struck my fancy at the moment. However, ever since I've become a graduate student, I've become more interested in getting away ― or pretending to get away ― from the routines of my daily life. I get tired of seeing the same 20 people and studying the same subject all the time. I don't need to go on a grand trip to Paris, but I like going out and doing new things even if it only means taking a train ride to a suburb of Boston.
At the beginning of break, I decided to take a mini vacation to Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is only 30 minutes from downtown Boston, but in order to enjoy the full effect of the vacation, I spent a couple of nights at a bed-and-breakfast. A B&B is a small inn that is usually run by a married couple, who rent out the extra rooms in their home. It's easy to figure out that breakfast is included, but what makes the experience special is the accompanying conversation with the proprietors and other guests.
The rooms are also special. The one I stayed in was furnished with pretty white curtains and bedspreads, patchwork chair covers and fine china from England. The bathroom fixtures were made of brass, and the towel rack had plenty of fluffy pink towels. Unsurprisingly, B&Bs are often used for romantic rendevous but since they tend to be less expensive and more homey than hotels, single travelers make use of them too.
Salem is a tourist trap, being the setting of the infamous witch trials, but it's also a sleepy New England town in which real people live. I have no interest in the witch trials, so I simply spent my time there walking around the town. Since I was traveling by myself, I didn't want to go to a place that was too isolated and I didn't want to go anywhere that I, a stranger, would look out of place.
After spending two nights in Salem, I took a 30-minute train ride to Ipswich. I had heard that Ipswich is the home of the fried clam. When I got there, however, I was let down. Ipswich was truly a olocal" town, and there were no restaurants geared toward tourists. I walked down an interstate highway for about three miles before I found a seafood restaurant and when I got there, I realized that it was closed. I trudged back to the train station, rode back to Boston, and walked a couple more miles before I finally got the fried clams that I had been craving. They were the best fried clams I've ever had, but by then, I realized that I prefer clams raw.
I went straight to the bus station after this to pick up my friend Teiko. I had just seen her in New York, but we couldn't spend much time together, so she decided to come up to Boston. Although Teiko goes to college in Japan, it seems that when we're together, things haven't changed much from the time we were in high school. As usual, we didn't plan on doing anything special, but we had a lot of fun talking and eating and just hanging out.
We did go on a train trip to Concord, Ma. We went there once, years ago, on a high school trip, but we didn't do much back then. We didn't do much there this time around, either.
After I saw Teiko off, I met Dai and six of his friends for a Vietnamese dinner. I couldn't help thinking, "They are so young." They're all seniors, who are about to face graduation. It seems like ages ago that I was in their position. After dinner, I went with Dai and Kichi, a tourist from Kyoto University, to see an avant-garde play, "Woyseck." Dai's acting instructor had the lead part. The visual images were striking, but even I, a former English major, found it difficult to follow. Kichi said the English was difficult for him. Dai told me his bothersome glasses made him fall asleep.
Now that I'm reflecting upon all of the things that I've done this week, I'm starting to get tired myself. School starts tomorrow!! Maybe my days of lazy break will come back to me in the future.
Shukan ST: March 28, 1997
(C) All rights reserved
- undergrad
- 大学生
- doing whatever struck my fancy at the moment
- その時やりたいと思いついたことをあれこれやりながら
- graduate student
- 大学院生
- getting away(from 〜 )
- 〜 から逃れること
- pretending to 〜
- 〜 したつもりになること
- routines
- 決まった繰り返し
- get tired of 〜
- 〜 に飽きる
- go on a grand trip to 〜
- 〜 へ大旅行をする
- taking a train ride to 〜
- 〜 へ列車で出かけること
- Salem
- ボストン郊外の港町
- full effect of the vacation
- 休暇の醍醐味
- bed-and-breakfast
- 朝食付きの宿泊所(= B&B)
- inn
- 宿
- (is)run by 〜
- 〜 によって経営されている
- rent out 〜
- 〜 を貸し出す
- extra rooms
- 余分な部屋
- figure out
- 察する
- accompanying conversation with 〜
- B&Bにつきものの 〜 との会話
- proprietors
- 経営者
- guests
- 宿泊客
- was furnished with 〜
- 〜 が備えてあった
- bedspreads
- ベッドカバー
- patchwork chair covers
- パッチワークの椅子のカバー
- fine china
- 繊細な陶器
- fixtures
- 備品
- brass
- しんちゅう
- towel rack
- タオル掛け
- fluffy
- ふわふわの
- Unsurprisingly
- 驚くまでもないが
- romantic rendevous
- 恋人同士のランデブー
- tend to 〜
- 〜 しがちだ
- more homey
- もっと家庭的な
- make use of 〜
- 〜 を利用する
- tourist trap
- 観光名所
- being the setting of the infamous witch trials
- (17世紀に)悪名高い魔女裁判が行なわれた場所なので
- sleepy
- 活気のない
- New England
- 米国北東部の
- too isolated
- あまり人のいない
- stranger
- よそ者
- would look out of place
- 場違いのように見える
- fried clam
- 貝のフライ
- was let down
- がっかりした
- "local"
- 田舎の
- 〜 geared toward tourists
- 旅行者向けの 〜
- interstate highway
- 州間自動車高速道
- trudged back to 〜
- とぼとぼと 〜 に戻った
- had been craving
- 食べたくて仕方がなかった
- prefer clams raw
- 生貝のほうが良い
- pick up 〜
- 〜 を出迎える
- hanging out
- うろうろすること
- Concord
- ボストン郊外の田園地帯
- Ma. =
- Massachusetts
- saw 〜 off
- 〜 を見送った
- couldn't help 〜
- 〜 せずにいられなかった
- seniors
- 大学4年生
- are about to face graduation
- 卒業をひかえている
- position
- 立場
- avant-garde play
- 前衛劇
- acting instructor
- 演技指導者
- had the lead part
- 主役だった
- visual images
- 視覚効果
- were striking
- すばらしかった
- major
- 専攻生
- follow
- ついていく
- bothersome
- 邪魔な
- (am)reflecting upon 〜
- 〜 を思い出している