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カーラおばちゃんAunt Carla
2022年12月28日に投稿したブログ
『カーラおばちゃん』
Title: "Aunt Carla"
Posted on December 28, 2022
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今回はそのブログの英訳。
カーラおばちゃんにも楽しんで欲しい。
This blog is translated into English for Aunt Carla to enjoy.
アメリカで育った三男坊の颯太郎
が監修したので、
リアルで生きた英語が楽しめます。
Supervised by Sotaro, the third son raised in America,
So, you can enjoy authentic, real-life English.
★
“When you think of Seattle, you think of Starbucks.”
In the midst of the pandemic,
the first Starbucks store in Seattle's Pike Place Market in 2021
was quiet and deserted.
Alongside Starbucks,
there are other well-known coffee brands like Tully's and Seattle's Best Coffee,
all originating from this city.
Being the birthplace of such renowned coffee shops,
Seattle has a deeply ingrained unique coffee culture
within the lives of its citizens.
When you order coffee in local diners,
they would refill your cup without even asking.
Such occurrences are not uncommon.
If you weren't careful, your coffee could end up overflowing with foam,
much like the noodles at famous soba restaurants in Morioka City.
Initially,
I thought,
"This kind of sloppy coffee would never fly in Japan."
But gradually,
I started thinking, "Maybe the foam isn't so bad after all."
It's amazing how quickly one can adapt.
Coffee with foam that's somehow good
Somehow,
these kinds of coffee were readily available throughout the city
without having to step into a café.
Coffee “Shacks”
These "shacks" scattered throughout the city
served coffee beverages exclusively.
They operated on a drive-through basis
without any indoor seating.
I heard that this kind of business model was unique to Seattle
even within the United States.
It seems that Seattle's love for coffee is so abundant
that such a business can thrive.
These "shacks" seemed to uphold Seattle's unique coffee culture.
But
why are there so many coffee enthusiasts in Seattle?
The reason lies in the unique climate of Seattle.
About nine months of the year are dominated by rainy seasons.
It rains almost every day.
Moreover,
Seattle is located at a high latitude, as high as the Okhotsk Sea,
resulting in extremely short daylight hours during winter.
To compensate for the lack of sunlight in winter,
daily intake of vitamin D was essential.
Otherwise,
people would suffer from mental health issues.
Seattle had the highest suicide rate in the United States.
Such was the darkness, both figuratively and literally, of life in Seattle.
Even in such harsh conditions,
warm coffee was perfect for lifting spirits
and getting through the day.
Although I hardly drank coffee before, I, too,
became a regular customer at these "shacks."
★
On dark, gloomy Seattle mornings, rubbing my sleepy eyes on my way to work,
I would park my car in the supermarket parking lot,
where my favorite "shack" was located.
Although it was tucked away in a corner of the parking lot,
it always had a long line of about ten people.
You can tell that this "shack" was popular in one look.
One reason for the long line was the leisurely conversations with the lady at the front, selling coffee while chatting happily with customers.
The slow-paced conversation with the lady seemed to contribute to the long line.
Even with such a long wait, nobody complained.
Most regulars seemed to enjoy their conversations with her.
She exuded a cheerful aura that could dispel the dark, rainy mornings of Seattle.
On my first day in line, I found out her name was Carla.
Despite my nerves, I placed my first order.
Me） Hi Carla, could I get a tall latte？
Carla） Huh？
Due to my terrible English pronunciation, she couldn't understand my order.
Despite that, Carla always responded with a smile to my broken English.
Somehow, I managed to get Aunt Carla's latte, and it tasted exceptional.
It was perfect for Seattle's cold, dark mornings.
After that,
I found myself in the long line almost every day,
looking forward to the pleasant conversations
and enjoying a little conversation amidst the morning rush,
which seemed to be a custom in American society.
Being able to immerse myself in such daily scenes brought me joy.
It felt like experiencing real American life.
These morning conversations with Carla became a great opportunity for me
to switch my mindset from Japanese to English before work.
Occasionally,
our short conversations would touch on interesting topics.
For example, Carla would tell me about the challenges of being a single mother,
even in a country like America, where women's empowerment is progressing.
She also shared stories about people who would self-treat minor injuries like fractures without going to the hospital due to exorbitant medical costs
and fragile health insurances in American society.
It was like a practical English conversation class,
providing insights into real American life.
★
September 22, 2007
After enjoying these morning conversations for some time,
I suddenly became unable to visit the "shack"
due to contracting dysentery from eating tacos
at a street stall during my ｐrivate trip in Mexico.
Having Dysentery in this day and age?
It was quite a shock. Such great luck.
Of course,
such diseases had long been eradicated
in advanced countries like America.
But due to the rarity of the illness,
diagnosis was delayed,
and it took quite some time to start treatment
since medication wasn't readily available in the US.
At one point,
I even considered returning to Japan.
However,
dysentery was a thing of the past even in Japan's medical industry.
Returning to Japan would mean starting over with the examinations,
potentially leading to a delay in the treatment.
So, I decided to stay in America and continue treatment.
Thankfully, I survived.
It was the right decision after all.
I breathed a sigh of relief, realizing how close it had been to my death.
So...
Aunt Carla's delicious coffee had to be put on hold for a while.
★
And several years passed.
June 10, 2010
When my health had recovered,
I decided to try Aunt Carla's coffee again after a long time
and parked my car in the supermarket parking lot.
To my surprise, the "shack" that should have been there was gone.
It had disappeared without a trace.
It seemed like it had closed down.
"I guess I'll never have that coffee again..."
"I'll never see Carla again..."
It was disappointing, but there was nothing I could do.
★
But then, a few months later,
when I had almost forgotten about that disappointment,
I happened to have some errands at that supermarket and went inside.
To my surprise, a new Starbucks had opened inside the supermarket.
As I casually glanced at the counter,
I noticed a familiar lady standing there.
Yes, it was Aunt Carla, wearing the green apron from Starbucks.
Although the coffee "shack" in the parking lot had closed down,
a new Starbucks had opened inside the supermarket.
And Carla was working there.
She still exuded the same cheerful aura as before,
undiminished by her younger colleagues.
Carla hadn't changed a bit. I thought it was remarkable.
And when Carla noticed me,
despite not having seen each other for several years,
she greeted me in the same way as before.
Carla: "As usual?"
Me: "Sure."
And so,
even after several years, my "usual" order was remembered,
and the coffee (latte) she made was undoubtedly the best in America.
★
I decided to ask her,
who had become such an important figure in my life,
to become an English teacher for the young staff members in my office.
It was a spontaneous idea,
but because I had so much fun with Carla's morning conversations,
I wanted them to experience it too.
Carla would work as a barista at Starbucks during the day
and come to our office in the evening to teach English.
Thus, a new chapter in our lives began.
With this change,
Aunt Carla became someone I could meet more frequently than before.
At one point,
I thought I would never see her again,
so I felt both amazed and delighted by how things had turned out.
★
September 15, 2012
On this day,
I decided to leave the company.
I chose to switch to another company in the United States to settle there permanently.
With this change,
it was also time to bid farewell to Aunt Carla.
Since my new workplace was in the opposite direction,
I no longer had the chance to visit the coffee shop where she worked.
And without meeting her again, nearly ten years passed.
June 27, 2021
On that day,
I finally returned to Japan for good.
Although I had decided to settle in America at first,
various twists and turns led me back to Japan in the end.
After returning to Japan, all my experiences in America,
including memories with Aunt Carla, became distant memories.
★
And now,
a year and a half has passed since my return to Japan.
Even now,
I hardly feel nostalgic for my time in America.
One reason I don't feel nostalgic may be because every memory of my time in America is intertwined with memories of my eldest son, Ryo, who passed away.
In reality,
I may simply lack the courage to revisit those memories.
I don't know.
But then, I stumbled upon a lovely Facebook post by Aunt Carla.
There she was, radiating the same bright aura as before.
“Could I get a tall latte?”
Without realizing it,
I found myself practicing English pronunciation.
At the same time,
memories of rainy Seattle mornings
and the nervousness before ordering coffee flooded back.
I realized how much I missed that feeling.
★
Aunt Carla,
who recently posted on Facebook, seems to be living in Milwaukee now.
(Posting permission granted by the person herself)
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【日本語訳】
Translation in Japanese
歳を重ねた友の皆様へ…
皆さんのほとんどは、
人生の次の段階を迎えています。
しわ、白髪、ぜい肉が気になる年齢になりました。
街で美しい25歳の若者を見かけるとため息が出たります。
でも、私たちもかつて25歳でしたし、
彼らも私たちの年齢になっていきます。
彼らが今、若さと熱意を発揮する様に、
私たちは知恵、経験、そして良心を指し示すことが出来ます。
私たちが経た経験によって、
私たちは一本一本の白髪を獲得することが出来たのです。
どんな人生であれ、
30 代、40 代、50 代の経験を経て来た私たちに言える事、
それは、
私たちは人生を戦い抜いた生存者であるという事...
まるでクラシックカーや上質なワインのように。
私たちの外見はかつてのようではないかもしれませんが、
このかつての外見は、
あなたの精神、勇気、力強さへと置き換えられたのです。
それは、私たちが成し遂げてきたことすべての事へ
優雅さと誇りを持って今の段階へ到達する為の、
精神、勇気、力強さです。
老化を決して悪く捉えないでください。
老化は多くの人に否定されている事ですが、
実は特権でも有るのです。
歳に対する見方（Picture=写真）が変わったら、
あなたの気持ちへコピー・貼り付けしてください。
あなたの歳、
『今』
が変わっていくでしょう。
★★★★★★
Without haste,
Slowly,
I plan to live by "copy and paste".
You can purchase the book from the website below.
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