バタバタ

　来週のアメリカ出張を前に、体調の悪い時期と仕事の忙しい時期が重なり、今とてもバタバタしています。このまま年末まで、このペースで突っ走ることになるでしょう。クリスマスプレゼントに年賀状に大掃除。どうしよう…！
　次回は12月第2週には投稿したいと思います。皆さんご自愛くださいね。

Being hectic
Right before an upcoming business trip to the States, I experienced a few weeks of being extremely busy and not feeling well at the same time. I am still running around today. I am afraid it will be like this until the end of the year. What am I gonna do with Christmas gifts, New Year’s cards and the end-of-year clean-up…?
I will post my next diary, hopefully in the second week of December. Please take care.

バタバタ = batabata: an onomatopoeia to describe a busy state
悪い = warui: bad, not well
プレゼント = purezento: present
12月 = jyunigatsu: December

洗濯

　最近、洗濯のことばかり考えています。アメリカでは大型洗濯機＆乾燥機で、週に一度の家事。天気は関係ありませんでした。今はアパートの小さなベランダに干していますが、一度に沢山並べられないので、毎日洗濯するしかありません。これからの季節は乾きにくく、ますます私を悩ませます。
＊今日の天気
晴れ　最低気温9℃　最高気温15℃

Laundry
I have been thinking of the laundry very often these days. In the States, it was just a once-a-week job with a huge washer and a drier so there was no worry about the weather. Here, there is no other option than doing it everyday, when I have no drier but a tiny balcony on which to hang clothes and sheets. It will be harder to dry them outside in the coming season, which will give me more trouble.
*Today’s weather
Sunny, Hi59F and Lo48F

最近 = saikin: these days
洗濯 = sentaku: laundry
アパート = apa-to: apartment
ますます = masumasu: more

バランス

　何ヶ月か前に右胸の下あたりに違和感を覚え、内科で診てもらったら、「肝臓かもしれない」と言われました。急いで血液検査とCTスキャンを受けましたが、何も異常は見つかりませんでした。仕事を通じて知ったオステオパシーの治療を受けたところ、2週間近く続いていた不快な痛みがなくなりました。先生がおっしゃるには、昔の盲腸の手術跡が身体の内側で内臓を引っ張っているということでした。それ以来、月に一度のペースで治療を受けています。併せて食生活も見直しながら、今は本来あるべき身体のバランスを取り戻そうと、自分自身に意識付けしているところです。
　この数週間は外食の機会が多くて、自分でも嫌な予感がしていたら、やっぱり体調を崩してしまいました。食事を楽しんだことは確かですが。

写真：バッファローの散歩道。2009年11月撮影。

Balance
When I had some discomfort in my lower right chest and went to see a primary doctor several months ago, I was told “it might be some liver problem.” I rushed to a larger clinic to have blood work and computer tomography, but nothing was found. I tried osteopathy treatment, which I learned about through work, and the dull pain of the two weeks was just gone. According to the osteopath, my old scar from an appendix removal was pulling at my inner organs. I have been taking his treatment once a month since then. Along with the reformation of my eating habits, I am now trying to be more conscious of the balance for my well-being.
Eric and I were eating out more often than usual in the past few weeks and it was giving me some bad feelings, although I did enjoy the food. I went off-balance and got sick, as predicted.

Picture: My old walking path in Buffalo. Taken in November, 2009.

11月8日‐いい歯の日

　アメリカで暮らしている間に、矯正歯科医の義姉から歯の矯正を受けました。3本の抜歯から始まり、ワイヤーを3年着用。矯正の開始から5年以上経った今でも、夜は固定装置を着けて寝ます。かなり辛い経験でしたが、やった甲斐あって歯を見せて笑う回数はずい分増えました。ケイト、ありがとう！

November 8th –Good teeth day
My sister-in-law, who is an orthodontist, provided me with free treatment while I was living in the States. Starting with the removal of three teeth, I wore braces for three years and still wear retainers while sleeping after five years. It has been quite a tough experience, but it was really worth doing and I smile with my teeth showing more than before. Thank you, Kate!

歯 = ha: tooth, teeth
寝る = neru: to sleep
かなり = kanari: quite
笑う = warau: to smile, to laugh

40代

　40歳になりました。人生の折り返し地点かなと思います。ママでもキャリアウーマンでもない私は、本当にちっぽけな存在。それでも、今までに沢山の人から受けてきた恩を、後半の人生で少しずつでも返していくことができればと思います。

Forties
I turned 40 years old. I am half done with my life, yet I have half way to go. Being neither a mom nor a career woman, I have such a small existence. I will try to give back all the help and support given to me by many people, even a little at a time, in the latter half of my life.

40歳 = yonju-sai: forty years old
なる = naru: to turn to be, to become
ママ = mama: mom(s)
少しずつ = sukoshizutsu: a little at a time