Letter from Boston Lease-Signing Day 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
賃貸契約の日 住み慣れたボストン郊外のアパートの賃貸契約更新日が近づいてきました。雅子さんは3人のルームメートと暮らしていますが、彼女たちは転職などで別の土地に引っ越す予定なので、雅子さんも契約更新をどうしたらいいかと迷っています。

My current roommates and I are living in a Boston apartment under a 15-month renewable lease. Our lease expires at the end of August, but we've chosen not to renew it. Just a few months ago, none of us was sure where she'd be living in the fall, and we were seriously considering just remaining here. However, things have evolved and solidified a great deal since then, and now I know that I am the only one who will be staying in Boston.

Two of my roommates, Rebecca and Lynne, are moving to Cali, Colombia to teach at an American school there. My other roommate, Amy, is planning on moving to the Seattle area. The changes in the lives of my roommates are obvious and this has caused great excitement within our apartment. However, even though my overall plans for the next few years are pretty solid (I'll most likely remain a BU physics student for four more years), I realized that I'd have to change along with my surroundings.

I like this apartment a lot and I didn't like the prospect of moving all of my stuff out, so I briefly considered asking around to see if I could find three new roommates. However, since I live on the outskirts of Boston ― quite a distance from the hub of activity downtown ― I realized that this would be rather difficult. I then decided to look around for "roommate wanted" advertisements. I wanted to minimize my apartment searching, and this seemed to be the easiest option: it would be a lot easier than finding new roommates, finding a new realtor and deciding on a new apartment. All I'd have to do is sign a lease and move in.

Fortunately, I didn't have to look too far for an open bedroom. I didn't even have to look at any advertisements or meet potential rooms and roommates. I was talking to my classmate, Alex, one day when he mentioned that his roommate Marc was moving back to Germany at the end of the school year. I asked him whether they had a new roommate lined up. He said no, so I asked him whether I could move in. He said yes, and things were pretty much set. I've been to their apartment before and I like it. It's a little bit closer to BU than my current apartment is ― and there's a nice Jacuzzi in the bathroom to boot. Everything got settled quickly and in a matter of weeks, we were ready to sign our new lease. Alex decided to make a little ceremony of it by cooking dinner and hosting a casual dinner party at the apartment.

Alex made miniature shrimp in tomato sauce, pasta, sauteed fish and salad. He also served ice cream with cookies, canned cherries and whipped cream. Raj put his treasured beeswax candle on the kitchen table and lit it. John (who is actually not one of my future roommates, but an honorary roommate in that he spends a lot of time in the apartment) served as our photographer. Tobias (who is one of the roommates) was in Germany. After we ate our meal, drank some wine and had our share of preliminary conversation, we proceeded to sign the lease. We immediately put it in an envelope so that we could send it right away.

Perhaps I've made this sound like a pompous ceremony, but the night was filled with lots of cheer and exaggerated silliness. We've gone to museums, movies and parties together in the past, and I knew that we'd get along. At times, these guys can be intense and serious, at other times, child-like and goofy and at yet other times, witty and articulate. I get the feeling that we'll have a great year together.

These new roommates are all international males who are graduate students. Alex is a Russian who studies physics. Raj is a half-Indian, half-Jewish Briton who studies neural networks. Tobias is a German who studies American sign language. (John, by the way, is a Dutch who studies English literature). Since my current roommates are all American females who work full-time, it may seem like a big change, but I actually get along quite well with both groups. My old and new roommates met each other at my birthday party and we've all had fun times together. In fact, we will be attending a another joint party this week.

Shukan ST: June 6, 1997

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