Ich Liebe Dich
フランスに長期出向している間、ピアノが好きな同僚や地元の友人に伴奏してもらってクラシック歌曲の練習をしていた。職場の有志で催すミニ音楽会があり、それに出演することになった。伴奏は、カナダ人の友人が快諾してくれた。ヨーロッパで知られている曲と、日本の曲と一曲ずつ披露することにした。一曲目はBeethoven作曲のIch Liebe Dich「僕は君を愛する」（正式な曲名は、Zärtliche Liebe「優しき愛」[1]）、二曲目には、「平城山（ならやま）」[2]を選んだ。
演奏の後、職場のドイツ人の女性が握手を求めてきて、「Ich Liebe Dichを初めて聞きました。とても良かった。感激しました」と。彼女はドイツに住む父親に電話した際、この曲のことを話したところ、「それはベートーベンの有名な曲だよ。」と言われたとか。曲ができてから200年も経つのに、聞く人を魅了する詩人K.F.ヘルローゼーとベートーベンの偉業にあらためて脱帽。音楽は時代も国境も越える。
「平城山」のほうは、フランスに滞在中、何度も披露した。フランス人はもちろん、日本人にも「初めて聞きました」という人が多かった。詩の意味と背景を解説したこともあった。この曲は、仁徳天皇の浮気に苦しむ皇后が背景にある。雅な生活を髣髴とさせるきらびやかな前奏と後奏が、皇后の苦悩を表す暗い曲調と対照的な名曲だ。丁寧に詳しく解説して、エピソードを交えて笑いも取ったが、長くなったし、たどたどしかった。それを聞いていた息子が、「お父さん、つぎは原稿を用意したほうがいいよ。」また言われてしまった。
[2] 平城山
The First Sip of Water for a Man Sobering Up (6/17投稿記事「酔い覚めの水」の英訳）
Before the pandemic, I used to meet with old friends from high school several times per year. But for about two years, we showed restraint and played it safe by not meeting. However, recently since Corona calmed down quite a bit, a few of us met for drinks, which was the first time in a long time. It was quite fun just to converse with everyone, reminiscing about old times and chattering about the recent events in our lives. It used to be that I would drink too much and suffer for it the next day, but lately, I have not been subject to that kind of experience. This is actually due to someone explaining to me that when your body processes alcohol, acetaldehyde is produced, which is the cause of the bad feelings your experience during a hangover. To process the acetaldehyde, water is necessary. If you don’t drink a sufficient amount of water, the dehydration makes you feel worse. Therefore, to avoid drunken sickness, it is best to keep ingesting water. Thanks to this advice, I have since been free of both drunken sickness and hangovers. Speaking of which, there is a saying that goes, “The first sip of water for a man sobering up has a sweetness that a man of abstinence will never know,” but what we should really do is drink that water before sobering up!
Spring of Lourdes (6/10投稿記事「ルルドの泉」の英訳）
Lourdes is a small town right by the border of France and Spain that happens to be the most popular Catholic pilgrimage site in the world. There, in 1858, a girl named Bernadette Soubirous was the sole witness to the apparition of a young woman inside a cavern. When she asked the lady her name, the response, in the Lourdes dialect, was "I am the Immaculate Conception." This turned out to be a religious term for what many know as the Virgin Mary. At first, everyone was skeptical, including the local priest. However, when the young girl, who came from a low-income family and could not go to school, began using these religious words and references that she could not possibly know, people started believing. A fountain sprang up in the direction in which the Virgin Mary pointed the girl. Since then, there have been reports of over 2500 people having illnesses inexplicably healed by the water from this spring. However, since the Catholic Church is stringent in terms of what they classify as a miracle, only 68 cases have been officially confirmed by them [1].
While staying in France, I heard that a good friend, whom I will refer to as Mr. N, was struck by terminal cancer. Now, neither I nor Mr. N is catholic. Further, after receiving all the currently available treatments possible for cancer and not being healed, part of us thought it was pointless. But deep down, we thought, "what if a miracle could happen?" or, maybe more than that, we wanted a miracle to happen. However, before the trip, the condition of Mr. N suddenly took a turn for the worse, and he was never able to make it.
Although, unfortunately, it was too late to go for Mr. N's sake, Lourdes was a place I had always been interested in since a former teacher and mentor of mine had originally told me about it in high school. So, I decided to go there with my family. That ended up being an unforgettable experience. Countless families dealing with an illness were lined up to try and receive a blessing from the spring of Lourdes. I drew a little bit of the water into small bottles and sent them to my former teachers and other catholic acquaintances I had, who were overjoyed to receive it. The power of faith truly is great. This was clearer than ever to me when I witnessed how special the meaning of the water from Lourdes holds for believers.
Sensei's Explanation is Meccha... (6/5投稿記事「先生の説明、メッチャ」の英訳）
As a part-time job, I teach at a cram school (although, recently, due to being very busy, I am taking a leave of absence). I taught physics, math, and English to high school students. One day, I received a request from the principal of the cram school. I was asked if I could give some guidance to a kid who was in danger of failing English. Upon meeting him, I discovered that he was a polite, upstanding young man. As he was attending a top high school, he had all the foundations for English. From there, I simply gave a detailed explanation of his textbook. After class, the student started, “Your explanation is meccha...” and, not being so accustomed to the manner of speaking of a high school student, I anticipated that he would say mecchakuccha, which would mean my explanation was a mess, or incomprehensible, but to my relief, he said “meccha easy to understand.” or “very easy to understand,” as younger people often use meccha simply to emphasize things, whereas I, being older, am used to its long-form being used in adverse circumstances.After several days of intensive lessons, he got a passing grade.
Thinking about everything essential to remember, I must emphasize that cram school lessons simply do not offer enough time. Consequently, I always tell students to fundamentally study on their own time at home and use their time at the cram school to ask about things they do not understand and inquire about how they should study the material. If you do the preparation and simply use the class time to instruct the students on how to solve problems, many problems can be solved. That way, the teacher can feel they have taught what they need to teach, and both the student and their parents can be satisfied. However, no matter what, there is no way to ensure every student will always become able to solve the problems on their own. To solve things on your own, the most important thing is being in the habit of thinking on your own.
The principal of the cram school told me that a student attending a prestigious school wanted to study physics. However, he could only solve about ten percent of what was being presented in class. My strategy was to put the student in a position to start thinking for himself in terms of how to solve the problems while occasionally giving them hints and nudging him back on the right track when needed. When he did solve something, I then gave him warm praise. At the end of classes, I told him how hard he had worked. The cram school vice-principal told me, “That student always leaves with a smile on his face!” After half a year, the student was able to solve about half the problems by himself. Since entrance exams were coming up, we worked on solving some problems from previous exams from the university he was aiming for, which is notoriously difficult to get into. The student eventually told me that even though they were entrance exam questions, he was pleasantly surprised and optimistic about his ability to solve them. At first, I would solve the problems myself first and then watch him solve them and give him a little assistance when he needed it, but eventually, he surpassed me and was able to solve the problems first. When I told him that he was now faster than me, he said it was because of my age, and while it was unfortunately true that in the eyes of a teenager, I was quite old, I knew that he was only being humble since he really had come a long way with his studies.
You Can Tell a Person from Their Words (6/3投稿記事「文は人なり」の英訳）
You can tell a person from their words means that by looking at how someone puts their sentences together, you can find out what kind of person they are. It seems like something Georges-Louis Leclerc would say. While I was living in France, the international school which my son attended held a celebration. The head of education and the municipal head from the region invited several people and partook in giving speeches.
Although my French ability is not exactly perfect, they spoke in a straightforward and easy-to-understand way that even I could grasp. They presented their various views on matters such as school life, what the municipal government expects from schools and students, and so forth. It was not demanding, nor did it have an air of preachiness. To ensure nobody was bored, it was laden with humor and laughter, the contents of which gave an overall feeling of positivity and encouragement to students, staff, and parents. I did not see anyone reading off of a script, and subsequent speeches referred to what the previous speaker had just said. Overall, it was clear that they were not just reading something prepared for them beforehand. As to be expected from well-educated and cultured people such as them.
At the international school, there was a French teacher who was renowned for her excellence, as well as her character. As luck would have it, that teacher ended up being my son's French teacher. She spoke and wrote simple words, easy to understand and full of culture. You could see her character in the precision of the words they chose. Her pronunciation was beautiful. Her way of speaking is also gentle and kind. Indeed, you can tell a person from their words. To get to that kind of level it must surely take many long years of training.
Similarly, when I was in France working as a guide on an open house bus tour, I once received a request. They told me at first that it would be in English; however, they suddenly said that since there were many locals there, they would like it in French. It was a totally unreasonable request at the time, but I got to work studying what I would say, and somehow or another, I could get through it and even answer questions. After I got home, my son said, "Good work, dad, but wouldn't it be better to prepare a script for what you would say beforehand?" Thanks, son. Well put. The day is short, and the work is plentiful. But let's see if I can find just a little more time.
酔い覚めの水
コロナの前は、年に数回、高校の同期生で集まっていたが、ここ2年ぐらいは自粛していた。最近コロナがだいぶ収まったので、久しぶりに数人で集まって飲み方。旧友と昔話や、最近のよもやま話ができ、楽しかった。むかしは飲みすぎた翌朝は、気持ちが悪くなったりしたが、最近は、そういった経験は皆無。というのも、とあるお方から、「アルコールを分解すると、アセトアルドヒドができる。これが気持ち悪さの原因。これを分解するのに水が要る。水分を十分に取らないと脱水症状になり、さらに気分が悪くなる。だから悪酔いを防ぐためには、水を飲むとよい」と教わった。おかげで、悪酔いや二日酔いからは無縁になった。そういえば「酔い覚めの水の美味さを下戸知らず」という川柳があるが、本当は酔いが覚める前に飲むべきなのだ。
Something is Better than Nothing (6/2投稿記事「枯れ木も山の賑わい」の英訳）
According to psychiatrist Hideki Wada, "Nobody should ever truly retire. If one does, they age quickly." Even after you hit retirement age, don't many people wish to stay a part of society and, if possible, work while they are still healthy? However, except for those in particular fields such as medicine or law, finding another job after 65 can be difficult. From my own experience as well, there is a significant barrier to finding new employment after the age of retirement. Luckily, I could find my current job at a translation company. And that is all thanks to the kindness of the president. To repay his kind-heartedness, I thought of a couple of things I could do.
- Do my best to work earnestly, avoid mistakes, and meet deadlines.
- Manage and maintain my health.
- Sharpen my skills at work, and earn new qualifications.
- Maintain good relationships with my co-workers.
Some say that since you become a senior citizen, your physical strength and memory start to degrade, so it is impossible to continue working. Physical strength definitely drops; running full speed, running a marathon, or working all night is impossible for most. Therefore, as long as you avoid such reckless things, you should be fine. Working late or all night won't be necessary if you work smart with a plan. I feel like my short-term memory is weakening, but as long as I keep myself interested and remember it repeatedly, I do not feel like it is anywhere near the point of being something to worry about. If you drink at night, your sleep becomes shallow, resulting in your motivation, memory, and power of judgment decreasing the next day. Due to that, I gave up heavy drinking. I learned that switching to regularly having non-alcoholic drinks led to deeper sleep and retaining my motivation, memory, and power of judgment. Regarding the company I am at now, starting from the president, everyone is of good nature and is a pleasure to work with. There is a saying that goes, 'something is better than nothing,' and I think whatever that something can be made into something special over time. Hopefully, then I could make some contribution to both the company and society.
