Three months ago, I didn’t know anything about Melbourne except for its name. However, I now feel as if I have known this city for a long time. Here I met many precious friends with whom I have made tons of unforgettable memories: a two days rental car trip to the Grampians, nightclub visits every weekend on invitation by Latino American friends, etc.
Although I enjoyed my stay in Melbourne, I also had a difficult time studying English. Before I came here, I hadn't studied English for a long time after graduating from secondary school because I didn’t think English would be needed for work in Japan. Thus I worked and lived happily in Japan without speaking any English, but this situation changed when Japan was chosen to hold the next Olympic Games. Consequently I expected more foreign patients attending to my rehabilitation hospital. At the same time, I remembered the days when I traveled around the world. During that one year and a half trip I visited various countries with my wife. Because local people kindly helped us when we needed help, I decided to similarly help foreign visitors in need to Japan like they did to us. That is the reason why I asked my wife and my boss for permission to study abroad.
I had a little confidence in my grammar because I’d learned it for six years when I was a secondary school student, but I didn’t have confidence in myspeaking and listening skills. However I really like talking with others over beer at nightclubs, where I was able to get back my confidence. Without alcohol, I haven’t got enough speaking and listening skill yet, but I’ll continue studying English even in Tokyo. My teacher taught me how to do so.
It was a good opportunity to live with foreign flatmates in a share house, even though in fact, I hated it sometimes. For example, I didn’t like my bed roommate from Mongol, where it is usually minus15 degrees in winter. He said that he felt hot every night and even opened the window without asking. I thought his skin was insensitive because winter is coming while he was snoring during midnight. I wanted to kill him at that moment. Besides, a Korean flat couple played music from their speaker so loudly. They played only Korean songs when they stayed. If the song had been English, I would have liked those songs. Other than Korean songs, there weren’t so many repertoires, so I had to listen to the same songs again and again. Between you and I, I didn’t know why but I whistled the songs without noticing. Although I was sometimes stressed we had dinner together and talked about each other, it became important time to us.
On a day off school, I held a BBQ in a public park with my classmates. We even enjoyed ourselves shopping in the Victoria market before our BBQ. I discovered a different BBQ culture. For example, for Japanese BBQ, onions, spring onions, green peppers and eggplants are important, whereas Thai people don’t need those vegetables and they use tomato sauce on meat. Latino people think it is important to dance with reggae music on during a BBQ. In the end, it became a good memory.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everybody I met. Three months weren’t enough for me to fully study English, but they were enough to give me a reason to keep studying English from now on. If I had more time, I’d continue to study here. I have to go back to Japan to be re-employed in the hospital and I want to be a brilliant husband for my wife who let me go to Australia alone.
I wait for you in Tokyo, where you can stay for many days. If you come to Tokyo, I’ll introduce any place to you. Let’s meet again someday.
日本にいれば英語話せなくても何不自由なく生活できるし、英語が話せるから給料が格別上がる訳でもない。でも、せっかく今の時代に生まれたんだから海外行きたい気持ちや迷いがあるなら行った方がいい。
で、行った先で少しでも自分でコミュニケーションが取れると視野も広がるし友達もたくさんできる。
母国語が英語かスペイン語だったらもっと海外に対する敷居が低くなったのにとか思ったけど、新しい言語を学ぶのは大切。
LCCが普及した今、海外旅行なんてその辺の老舗の温泉旅館行くより安くどこでも行ける、とか言ってながら今ものすごく箱根に行きたい。温泉入りたい。MAXパワーでウォシュレット使いたい。3ヶ月ウォシュレット使ってない。
世界中の人種や文化が共存する世界一住みやすいメルボルン、街は綺麗で交通機関も便利、休日の公園BBQも全部最高でした。
30才目前に最高の経験ができたので、いよいよ腰を据えます。”腰を据える”って英語で何て言うんだろ。ちなみに”もったいない”って表現も日本語特有らしいです。日本語って難しいもんで、興味本位で日本語教師のトライアル問題10問やって2点しか取れませんでした。
さぁ、シャバに出ます。
まずはくら寿司から。
本業、作業療法士も戻ります。
OETやWFOTの勉強も続けますが、今の時点では医療英語が難しすぎてリーディングもできません。まだ一般英語でも精一杯。
頑張りましょ。
