As a student at Yamasa, you tend to develop surprisingly consistent classroom drinking habits. A friend of mine drank Royal Milk Tea everyday for lunch whereas another would, with great fanfare, crack open a can coffee at the exact moment first-hour class would finish–everyday. A guy from Canada always drank Top Valu apple juice boxes. Yet another would bring a thermos full of coffee and sip it from a cup with two hands while leaning against the window. As for me, I would run down to the vending machine to get a Georgia brand Cafe Latte, manufactured by the Coca Cola company. I’m beginning to think they put crack in it. It’s been two months since I left Yamasa and I still drink the damn thing…

Also in the picture is my electronic dictionary (電子辞書). Yay.

“Last February, I gave this speech at the YAMASA Speech Contest. Of course, I was nervous but I think it was a really good experience.

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“‘No matter where you live…’

“Like a pillow, I’m lying on the bed. The winter air is as cold as ice, and the heater is on. Like a mountain, the laundry is piled up, and the chair cannot be seen. Music is playing loudly on the computer, annoying the neighbor. The volume should probably be turned down. Actually, I have to write and turn in a speech before Wednesday, and I’m worried.

“For just one day I’d like to be an author, but this is impossible. Speeches are hard, and for some reason I can’t decide on a theme. Also, although I’ve studied for 10 months, I can’t really think in Japanese. Japanese is a difficult language–this I know–but unfortunately I haven’t improved as expected. It’s my fault. I probably talked too much in English, read too many newspapers written in English, and generally been not so serious. Also, I think it’s hard to make Japanese friends. For example, I would often go to Starbucks. But who wants to talk to strangers at Starbucks? No one, it seems, because it looks too much like nanpa!* Nevertheless, although I didn’t make too many Japanese friends, and although I didn’t study very hard, I learned quite a bit.

“Although different languages, comparing English and Japanese, I was surprised how similar they are. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc., are all common grammatical constructs. In other words, human languages resemble each other. Just as languages are similar, I think human lifestyles are also similar. Coming to Japan and experiencing it with the eyes of a tourist, of course reality cannot be seen. Furthermore, in the United States, Japan has a strange image. It is said that Japanese people eat sushi everyday, watch anime on TV everyday, and can’t think for themselves. But is this reality? When I first traveled to Japan, I thought the Japanese lifestyle and culture was completely different from the U.S. But through the experience of living here, I came to clearly understand that the Japanese lifestyle is normal. For example, Japanese people don’t eat sushi everyday, they buy food at the grocery store. Anime is not something special to watch everyday. Work, paying rent, and worrying about coworkers, friends, and family. Isn’t this a normal lifestyle? In other words, hidden behind the curtain of culture is the true nature of humanity.

“Like a pillow, I’m lying on the bed. The winter air is as cold as ice, the heater is on, and this month’s electricity bill will probably be expensive. Like a mountain, the laundry is piled up, and the chair cannot be seen. The computer is softly playing music. And, unintentionally, I finished writing my speech!”

*nanpa = picking up girls

Analysis: never translate your own stuff. It’s painful. I was surprised how difficult it was to make the English flow smoothly. I tried to remain faithful to the original grammar; the awkwardness definitely shows itself in the text above. Is this how I sound to Japanese people? When writing the original text, all the rules of flow, paragraph linking, and logic that I unintentionally use when writing English seemed to be completely inaccessible. For what reason? I expected that flow and logic would transcend grammar, but only after translating am I able to recognize the faults in my own text. Same brain, same meaning, but completely different perceptions of correctness. Perhaps I need to learn an entire system of rules attuned to Japanese grammar. Or perhaps I simply need to reach a point of comfort with the language where I can concentrate more on style and less on grammar.

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「どこでも住んだら…」

枕のように、私はアパートのベッドに座っています。冬の空気が氷のように冷たくて、ヒーターがついています。山のように洗濯物が積んであるので、いすが見えません。パソコンで音楽をうるさく掛けているので、隣の人に迷惑をかけています。ボリュームを下げたほうがいいと思います。実は、水曜日までに、スピーチを書いて出さなければならなくて、すごく悩んでいます。

一日だけ作家になりたいですが、無理だと思います。スピーチというのは大変で、どうしてもテーマが決められません。それに、10ヶ月勉強しましたが、日本語で考えられません。日本語は難しい言葉、それは分かりますが、残念ながら予想したほどうまくなりませんでした。それは私のせいです。多分、英語でしゃべりすぎたし、英語で書かれた新聞を読みすぎたし、まじめではありませんでした。それに、日本で友達は作りにくいと思います。例えば、よくスターバックスへ行きました。でも、誰が知らない人とスターバックスで話したいでしょうか。誰もしたくないでしょう、まるでナンパみたいですから。しかし、日本人の友達ができなかったけれども、まじめに勉強しなかったけれども、たくさんのことを学びました。

違う言葉なのに、日本語と英語を比べると、同じところが多くて、びっくりしました。つまり、人間の言葉は似ているということです。名詞、動詞、形容詞などが共通です。言葉と同じように、世界中の人間の生活も似ていると思います。けれども、日本へ来て、旅行する人のような目で日本を経験したら、もちろん現実が見えません。それと、アメリカでは、日本のイメージがおかしいです。日本人は毎日寿司を食べているし、アニメをテレビで見ているし、自分で考えられないなどと言われています。これは現実でしょうか。私は旅行で日本へ来た時、日本の生活、日本文化はアメリカと比べるとずいぶん違うと思いました。しかし、ここに住んでいる経験から、日本の生活が普通なことをはっきり理解できるようになりました。例えば、日本人は毎日寿司を食べていなくて、スーパーへ食品を買いに行っています。日本人にとっては、アニメは毎日見るものではないし、特別なものではありません。仕事をしたり、家賃を払ったりしなければならないし、同僚、友達、家族について悩んでいます。それが、普通の生活ではないでしょうか。つまり、文化のカーテンの後ろに人間の本質が隠れています。それが私が学んだ一番大切なことだと思います。

枕のように、私はアパートのベッドに座っています。冬の空気が氷のように冷たくて、ヒーターがついているし、今月の電気代は高くなりそうです。山のように洗濯物が積んであるので、いすが見えません。パソコンで音楽を静かに掛けています。そして、気がつくと、スピーチを書き終わっていました！