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シドニーで迎えた6月30日
6月30日、雨。この日は武藤さんの誕生日。でも、ここシドニーでは、
多分そんなことを知っている人も、気にかけてくれる人もいないはず。
自分の気持ちを代弁するような空模様にちょっぴり落ち込んでいると、
突然電話が鳴りました。受話器をとるといきなり友人の声で、
「カズ、心の準備はいい?」 えっ、心の準備って!?
June 30
June 30 was a rainy day — perfect weather for how I felt. It was my birthday, and nothing was happening. No one had even mentioned it. Admittedly, hardly anyone in Sydney knew that it was my birthday, but still I couldn't help hoping.
Then, in the afternoon, around 3:30, the phone rang. It was my friend Shirley, and she said, "Hi, Kazu, are you ready?" I wasn't sure what she was talking about. "Ready for what?" I asked, and she just said, "Three, two, one, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Then some other friends came on the line and wished me happy birthday. I was surprised, and I just kept on saying, "Thanks so much, thanks so much," over and over again. I wish I could have thought of a wittier reply.
My friends invited me to Pizza Hut that evening. There were six of us altogether — Shirley, Yoyo, Wen and Helen, who are Chinese, Phillipe, who is French, and me. They were all people I had met at Language School in the weeks leading up to First Semester. It had been a difficult time for me (I had just arrived in Australia and I wasn't used to my new surroundings), and it had also been a time when I met a lot of great new people from around the world. Meeting them again always makes me feel a little sentimental.
We chatted over cake about what we had been doing, our courses and, of course, the World Cup. Everyone was so talkative, especially Phillipe, who was always ready with a witty joke to make us laugh. We laughed a lot, and at the very end they gave me a bottle of sambuca, a traditional Italian liquor. "Drink and enjoy the World Cup tonight," they said.
I got home around 10 p.m. Robert had e-mailed me, kindly wishing me happy birthday, which was a very pleasant surprise as I don't remember ever telling him when it was. Everyone at home looked at the remains of the birthday cake I had brought back with me and said, "Why didn't you tell us it was your birthday?" And so began Part II of my birthday celebrations.
Over cake and beer, we talked a little about the different ways of celebrating birthdays. Then as everyone became a little tipsy, we moved to more serious cultural problems, like Yasukuni Shrine, Taiwan and China. All of the issues were highly controversial, and it was very interesting hearing the opinions of Chinese and Taiwanese people of my age.
I was also impressed with how concerned they were about these issues, and how they voiced their thoughts so clearly and logically. If I was vague, they would always pull me up, and they never hesitated to disagree, but not in a hostile way. They enjoyed talking and learning from others. We talked to about four in the morning and completely forgot about watching the World Cup.
Later, as I lay in bed, I looked back on my 20th birthday, and to be honest, I felt a little lonely. Of course, it was an amazing experience to be able to celebrate my birthday with my new friends in Sydney, and I will never forget the conversation we had that night. But at the same time, I wished some of my close friends in Japan were here too. I fell asleep, swearing that I would always treasure my friends.
- nothing was happening
- 何事も起きていなかった
- No one had even mentioned it
- 誕生日について、誰も何か言ってさえくれなかった
- Admittedly
- 実をいえば
- hardly anyone in Sydney knew that 〜
- シドニーのほとんど誰もが〜ということを知らなかった
- couldn't help hoping
- 期待する気持ちは捨てられなかった
- phone rang
- 電話が鳴った
- are you ready?
- 準備はいい?
- wasn't sure what she was talking about
- 彼女が何を言っているのか分からなかった
- came on the line
- 電話に出た
- wished 〜
- 〜を願った
- kept on 〜
- 〜し続けた
- over and over again
- 何度も何度も
- I wish I could have thought of 〜
- 〜が思い付ければよかったのに
- wittier reply
- もっと気の利いた返事
- altogether
- 全部で
- in the weeks leading up to 〜
- 〜が始まるまでの間
- First Semester
- 1学期
- wasn't used to 〜
- 〜に慣れていなかった
- surroundings
- 環境
- sentimental
- 感傷的な
- chatted over 〜
- 〜を食べながらおしゃべりした
- of course
- もちろん
- talkative
- 話好きな
- especially
- 特に
- witty
- 気の利いた
- at the very end
- 一番最後に
- a bottle of 〜
- 〜のボトル
- sambuca
- サンブーカ
- traditional
- 伝統的な
- liquor
- リキュール
- had e-mailed 〜
- 〜にメールをくれた
- kindly
- 温かく
- pleasant
- うれしい
- don't remember 〜
- 〜したことを覚えていない
- remains of 〜
- 〜の残り
- had brought back with me
- 持ち帰ってきた
- Part II
- 第2部
- celebrations
- お祝い
- beer
- ビール
- tipsy
- ほろ酔いの
- moved to 〜
- 話題が〜になった
- cultural problems
- 文化的な問題
- issues
- 問題
- highly controversial
- とても意見の分かれる
- of my age
- 同年代の
- (was)impressed
- 感心した
- concerned
- 気にかけている
- voiced their thoughts
- 自分の意見を言った
- clearly
- はっきりと
- logically
- 論理的に
- vague
- はっきりしない
- pull 〜 up
- 〜をなじる
- never hesitated to 〜
- まったくちゅうちょせず〜した
- disagree
- 反対意見を言う
- not in a hostile way
- とげとげしい態度ではなく
- completely
- すっかり
- lay in bed
- ベッドに横になった
- to be honest
- 正直言うと
- lonely
- さびしい
- amazing experience
- 素晴らしい経験
- at the same time
- 同時に
- close
- 親しい
- fell asleep
- 眠りについた
- swearing that 〜
- 〜ということを心に誓って
- treasure 〜
- 〜を大事にする