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「家庭」作りを学ぶ
ルームメートも難なく見つかり、引っ越しも無事済ませ、新しい生活を始めた雅子さん。今回はそんな雅子さんが、アメリカの大学の住宅事情について教えてくれます。日本人には、少々受け入れ難いような暮らし方もあるようですが…。
Learning To Create a Home
By MASAKO YAMADA
One of my friends who recently graduated is a guy who lived in the Co-op at Harvard. This is not to be mistaken with the Harvard Coop: the Coop (rhymes with scoop) is the official Harvard bookstore; the Co-op (as in cooperate) is a special kind of dorm. My undergraduate college, Wellesley, also had a co-op. Co-op is the shortened form of the word cooperative. Co-ops are basically houses in which residents share the kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms and other public spaces (they also distribute chores), but have separate bedrooms, which enables them to maintain privacy. Typical dorm features such as dining halls, formal dorm parties and floor meetings do not exist. Co-ops are usually a part of the official college housing system, but they are considered alternative to living in the dorms. The people in co-ops live more like real people do.
Undergraduates who live in co-ops are quite independent-minded. Not only do they not need to have three meals served to them every day, they also do not feel compelled to follow old dorm traditions. However, they also like being around other people; after all, they are not living in apartments by themselves. It seems that they don't need to have entertainment provided by a dorm because they can entertain themselves. Co-op members have rich social lives that reach beyond the boundaries of the co-op, often beyond normal student life itself. I asked my friend whether he felt that he had missed out on anything by living in the Co-op. He replied, "Yeah," so I asked whether he would have liked going to dorm-sponsored parties. He looked startled and said, "No, I feel I missed out on a lot of things outside Harvard."
A co-op may be hard to envision from a Japanese perspective, but my current housing situation is analogous to a college co-op. My roommates and I share objects like dishes, sofas and TVs. We occasionally plan events together on weekends and we hang out with each other on weekdays. However for the most part, we lead independent lives. Indeed, it's a very rare moment in which all of us are in the apartment at the same time. It's not unusual for me not to see some of my roommates for days on end. We each have our own bedroom, and although the door is often left open so that we can talk to each other freely, when it is closed that housemate's privacy is honored by the others.
I wrote a few weeks ago that my future roommates are all male. This may seem scandalous to some conservative readers, but it's actually very natural for grad students to form their own coed residences. (Actually, almost all regular college dorms in the States are coed. Some even have coed bathrooms.) This is especially true when the gender ratio in a particular department is skewed, as is the case in most science departments. Many of the women within my department share an apartment with male students. One of my Wellesley friends who's been accepted to the computer science department at Carnegie-Mellon is living with five guys from her department. For graduate students, who tend to be more serious about their studies than undergraduates, having common interests seems to override gender as a criterion for selecting roommates. Selecting roommates is a big deal and many things can go wrong; however, I have yet to see a case in which a co-op has degenerated simply because it was coed.
This kind of self-reliant, yet warm and communal, mode of living is very popular among young singles who live away from school or home but who can't afford ― or don't want ― to live by themselves. Sharing common resources certainly cuts down on the cost of living. I think a balance of public and private space is necessary in order to make such arrangements work, especially when there is a mix of men and women in one apartment. What makes it the most fun ― and rewarding ― for me is that my roommates feel like family: If we want to throw a big party, we can all invite our particular friends and revel in the variety. If we run into each other in the bathroom early in the morning, we can say, "Good morning," with sleepy faces; if we're in a bad mood, we can complain out loud. If we're tired, we can simply shut our doors and shut out everything else.
One of my friends who recently graduated is a guy who lived in the Co-op at Harvard. This is not to be mistaken with the Harvard Coop: the Coop (rhymes with scoop) is the official Harvard bookstore; the Co-op (as in cooperate) is a special kind of dorm. My undergraduate college, Wellesley, also had a co-op. Co-op is the shortened form of the word cooperative. Co-ops are basically houses in which residents share the kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms and other public spaces (they also distribute chores), but have separate bedrooms, which enables them to maintain privacy. Typical dorm features such as dining halls, formal dorm parties and floor meetings do not exist. Co-ops are usually a part of the official college housing system, but they are considered alternative to living in the dorms. The people in co-ops live more like real people do.
Undergraduates who live in co-ops are quite independent-minded. Not only do they not need to have three meals served to them every day, they also do not feel compelled to follow old dorm traditions. However, they also like being around other people; after all, they are not living in apartments by themselves. It seems that they don't need to have entertainment provided by a dorm because they can entertain themselves. Co-op members have rich social lives that reach beyond the boundaries of the co-op, often beyond normal student life itself. I asked my friend whether he felt that he had missed out on anything by living in the Co-op. He replied, "Yeah," so I asked whether he would have liked going to dorm-sponsored parties. He looked startled and said, "No, I feel I missed out on a lot of things outside Harvard."
A co-op may be hard to envision from a Japanese perspective, but my current housing situation is analogous to a college co-op. My roommates and I share objects like dishes, sofas and TVs. We occasionally plan events together on weekends and we hang out with each other on weekdays. However for the most part, we lead independent lives. Indeed, it's a very rare moment in which all of us are in the apartment at the same time. It's not unusual for me not to see some of my roommates for days on end. We each have our own bedroom, and although the door is often left open so that we can talk to each other freely, when it is closed that housemate's privacy is honored by the others.
I wrote a few weeks ago that my future roommates are all male. This may seem scandalous to some conservative readers, but it's actually very natural for grad students to form their own coed residences. (Actually, almost all regular college dorms in the States are coed. Some even have coed bathrooms.) This is especially true when the gender ratio in a particular department is skewed, as is the case in most science departments. Many of the women within my department share an apartment with male students. One of my Wellesley friends who's been accepted to the computer science department at Carnegie-Mellon is living with five guys from her department. For graduate students, who tend to be more serious about their studies than undergraduates, having common interests seems to override gender as a criterion for selecting roommates. Selecting roommates is a big deal and many things can go wrong; however, I have yet to see a case in which a co-op has degenerated simply because it was coed.
This kind of self-reliant, yet warm and communal, mode of living is very popular among young singles who live away from school or home but who can't afford ― or don't want ― to live by themselves. Sharing common resources certainly cuts down on the cost of living. I think a balance of public and private space is necessary in order to make such arrangements work, especially when there is a mix of men and women in one apartment. What makes it the most fun ― and rewarding ― for me is that my roommates feel like family: If we want to throw a big party, we can all invite our particular friends and revel in the variety. If we run into each other in the bathroom early in the morning, we can say, "Good morning," with sleepy faces; if we're in a bad mood, we can complain out loud. If we're tired, we can simply shut our doors and shut out everything else.
Shukan ST: June 27, 1997
(C) All rights reserved
- Harvard
- ハーバード大学
- is not to be mistaken with 〜
- 〜 と取り違えてはいけない
- rhymes with scoop
- scoop(スクープ)と韻を踏む
- dorm
- 寮
- undergraduate college, Wellesley
- 学部生のときに学んだウェルズリー大学
- shortened form
- 短縮形
- cooperative
- 共同アパート
- residents
- 住人
- share
- 共有する
- distribute chores
- 家事を分担する
- maintain privacy
- プライバシーを維持する
- Typical
- 典型的な
- features
- 備わっているもの
- dining halls
- 食堂
- alternative to 〜
- 〜 に代わるもの
- independent-minded
- 自立心のある
- feel compelled to 〜
- 〜 しなければならないと感じる
- traditions
- 伝統
- boundaries
- 枠
- missed out on 〜
- 〜 を体験しそこなう
- envision
- 想像する
- perspective
- 観点
- is analogous to 〜
- 〜 に似ている
- occasionally
- ときには
- hang out with 〜
- 〜 と一緒に過ごす
- lead
- 営む
- rare
- まれな
- on end
- 引き続いて
- is honored by 〜
- 〜 に尊重される
- conservative
- 保守的な
- grad(=graduate)students
- 大学院生
- coed
- 男女一緒の
- the States
- アメリカ
- gender ratio
- 男女比
- particular
- 特定の
- department
- 学部
- is skewed
- 偏っている
- as is the case in 〜
- 〜 でそうであるように
- science
- 理系の
- Carnegie-Mellon
- カーネギーメロン大学
- override
- 乗り越える
- big deal
- 大きな問題
- go wrong
- うまくいかない
- have yet to 〜
- まだ 〜 したことがない
- has degenerated
- うまくいかなくなった
- self-reliant
- 独立した
- communal
- 連帯感のある
- mode of living
- 住み方
- singles
- 独身者
- can't afford(to 〜 )
- 〜 する(金銭的な)余裕がない
- resources
- 物資
- cuts down on the cost of living
- 生活費を減らす
- make such arrangements work
- そういうやり方を成功させる
- rewarding
- 価値のある
- throw 〜
- 〜 を催す
- revel in the variety
- 多様性を楽しむ
- run into 〜
- 〜 とかち合う
- (are)in a bad mood
- 機嫌が悪い
- complain out loud
- おおっぴらに文句を言う