北京旅行２ 現実

　やられました。父が地下鉄で財布を盗られました。スリです。盛りだくさんの観光に疲れが出ていたところに、大都市の混雑した地下鉄。仕方ありません。すぐに警察に行き、被害届を出しました。細かい事情を説明するのに、エリックの言語力がなかったら、一体どうなっていたことでしょうか。すっかり意気消沈した父を、それでも買い物に連れて行き、お目当ての紹興酒と月餅を買いました。
「でもね、中国人を恨んじゃダメだよ。どの大都市でも起こり得ることなんだから。」
本当に悔しいけれど、高い授業料と思うしかありません。

　ところで、今回の旅行を通じて、私は中国に対する見方が少し変わりました。怒鳴るような話し方も、かなり強引な割り込みも、人の多いこの国で生きていくために必要なテクニックだと分かりました。北京に関して言えば、特にオリンピック以降、国際都市としての質の向上のために大変な努力していることを感じました。お世話になったガイドさんや警察官だけでなく、一般市民の素朴で親切な面を垣間見ることもできて、この国を少しだけ好きになりました。

写真：天安門広場
　

Trip to Beijing2-A Plan Meets Reality　

It happened. My father’s wallet was stolen on the subway. It was a pickpocket. We were all tired with the eventful schedule when we were on the subway. There was not much we could have done. We went to a police station to make a report immediately when we realized the incident. What was my father going to do if without Eric’s language ability? After that, Eric and I still took my disappointed father for shopping and we got some Chinese rice wine and moon-cakes, which were on our shopping list.
“We should not be mad at Chinese people, though. It could happen in any big city.”
Yes, it was so regretful, but we paid the price for a lesson.

By the way, I have changed my view of China through this trip. Their yelling tone of talking and their pushing way of getting through are both required techniques to survive in this country with a large population. As for Beijing, I could tell how hard they have been working to improve their quality as an international city, especially since the Olympics. We had a chance to witness those regular citizens’ innocence and kindness, in addition to our helpful guide and police officers. I like China a bit better than before.

Picture: Tiananmen Square

北京旅行１ 実現

　今年のお正月でした。70歳を過ぎた父が「万里の長城を見たいから、中国語を話せるエリックと一緒に北京に行きたい」と言いました。中国の歴史と言語に強い関心を持つエリックは、ふたつ返事で承諾。でも、父とエリックは上手く意思疎通できないことがあります。そこで、私も一緒に行くことにしました。

　北京に着くや、現地ガイドの呂さんに連れられて、まず万里の長城に向かいました。大勢の人民の血と汗と涙のにじむ労働により、長い年月をかけて築かれた城壁。述べ12,000里（＝約6,300キロ、旧説）を超え、この距離が「万里の長城」と呼ばれる由来になったそうです。私たち夫婦と同じペースで景色の良いところまで一緒に登った父の満足顔を見て、私も嬉しくなりました。その後も、北京ダックを食べたり、動物園でパンダを見たり、順調に旅程をこなしていったのですが…。（つづく）

＊通貨レート
10元＝約120円＝約1.56ドル
＊物価参考
地下鉄全区：2元
雑技団ショーA席：380元

写真：万里の長城と頤和園


Trip to Beijing 1 -A Plan Realized

It was around New Year’s Day of this year when my father said, “I want to travel to Beijing with Eric, who speaks Chinese, to see the Great Wall.” Eric agreed with him right away. He has always been very interested in Chinese history and language.The two of them, however, sometimes have difficulty in communicating and I decided to go with them.

Our guide, Ms. Lo, took us to the Great Wall immediately after we landed in Beijing. It is a series of walls built by so many citizens with their blood, sweat and tears, spending so many years. The entire length of the wall used to be described as over 12,000 li (=approx. 6,300 kilometers = approx. 3,950 miles) and it became the Chinese name of “Ban-li” which literally means “ten thousand li.” I was happy to see my father’s contented face after we climbed to a point which offered great views. He kept his pace with us. After that, we stayed with our itinerary of eating Peking duck, seeing panda bears at the zoo and so on, until… (To be continued)

*Exchange rate
10 Chinese yuan = 120 Japanese yen = 1.56 American dollar (approx.)
*Prices
Subway fare with no distance limitation: 2 yuan
First class ticket for an acrobatic show: 380 yuan

Pictures: The Great Wall and the Summer Palace

初盆

　3月11日の震災から5ヶ月が過ぎ、身内を失った多くの家庭で初盆を迎えられたことでしょう。未だに行方不明の犠牲者も大勢いるそうで、見つけられないまま戸籍上の手続きをすることもあると聞きました。残された人々が悲しみを受け止め、自分で「大丈夫」と思えるまでに必要な時間はそれぞれだから、私はそっと見守り続けたいと思います。

First Obon
Many families may have had their first Obon this summer five months after the catastrophe of March 11th. I heard that many victims are still missing and some bereaved families had started to register official death reports without bodies. I will keep some distance and watch those saddened families because everybody needs their own time to go through their grief and to feel “all right.”

お盆（おぼん）= Obon : Please refer the post of July 29th, 2010
戸籍（こせき）= Koseki: the Family Registration system; it is managed by the Japanese national government, and each and every family in Japan has a Family Register. Citizens report birth of babies, marriages and deaths, too.

LOST

　既にアメリカでは完結しているTVシリーズ『LOST』のDVDにハマっています。暑い南の島を舞台にした話なので、今の季節にぴったり。間もなく手持ちのシーズン4が終わってしまいますが、残りはアメリカから取り寄せます。日本の景気を考えると今の円高は厳しいものがあるけれど、この機会を利用して海外の商品を楽しみたいと思います。

＊為替レート
2011年8月　1ドル＝約77円
2005年8月　1ドル＝約110円

LOST
We have been enjoying the TV series “LOST” on DVD, which has already been completed in the States. It suits our current season because the story is taking place on a steamy southern island. We will be finishing season 4 and will have to order the rest of the series soon. Although the strong yen is a problem for the Japanese economy, we would like to take advantage of it by purchasing imported items from abroad.

*Exchange rate:
1 dollar = about 77 yen as of August, 2011
1 dollar = about 110 yen as of August, 2005

ガスパッチョ

　アメリカの義母から習ったガスパッチョの味。作り方は、トマトと玉ねぎとその他の夏野菜をオリーブ油とバルサミコ酢で味付けしてミキサーにかけるだけ。簡単で栄養満点で美味しくて、毎週のように作っていたら、私は少し飽きてしまいました。エリックはまだ飽きていないそうです。

Gazpacho
I learned the taste of gazpacho from my mother-in-law in the States. We only need to puree tomatoes, onions and other summer vegetables along with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It is easy to make, full of nutrition and is tasty, too. However, I got a little tired of this soup since I have been making it every week. Eric is not tired of it yet, though.

トマト（とまと）= tomato: tomato(es)
玉ねぎ（たまねぎ）= tamanegi: onion(s)
油（あぶら）= abura: oil
酢（す）= su: vinegar