1月から始まった6週間のWriting Courseも最終週となった。
最初は、仕事と両立できるのだろうか、とか、英語で書けるんだろうか、とか、不安を感じていたが、いざやってみたら思いのほか楽しくて、レクチャーや課題が公表される毎週火曜日が待ち遠しいほどだった。
このWriting Courseで学んだことは、仕事にも育児にも直接役に立つことではないけど、仕事や家事や育児とは別に、自分のためだけに時間と頭を使うことって大事だ。コンサルタントでもなく、母親でもなく、妻でもなく、ただ純粋に自分自身に戻れる時間は貴重だ。
以前このブログで紹介した、Chris began to question the wisdom of this trip. から始まる書き出しでフィクションを書くという課題は、下記を提出した。タイトルをつけるとしたら、
クリスの日本大冒険
副題：彼女は東京で最愛の人を見つけることができるのか？
みたいな感じかな？下記の文章は「Introduction」という章立てとなり、その後、彼女が東京の会計事務所やプライベートで経験する様々な異文化体験が各章を構成し、最後にLove of her lifeと巡り会うのか否か、といったストーリーになるかも。こういう話を英語で書いて、それを会社のブログに載せてもらえるかというと、たとえ異文化コンサルティングの会社だとしても、かなり可能性は低い気がするが。。。
Chris began to question the wisdom of this trip.
She felt a hand moving on her bottom. At first, she thought someone accidentally touched her bottom, and tried to move away from the hand. The hand persistently followed her. She couldn’t even turn around to see who that was. In this sardine-packed subway in Tokyo, Chris barely had enough space to stand on her feet.
This must be the infamous “pervert” on the morning rush-hour subways in Tokyo... Chris thought. She regretted not getting into the women-only compartment at the rear end of the subway.
Would this be my regular morning experience from now on? She momentarily questioned the wisdom of her decision to work in Tokyo. However, seeing the subway stop near KPGY Tokyo office, her face brightened. Her life-long dream of Tokyo life was about to begin.
Chris is a CPA at KPGY, one of the major global accounting firms. After working in their San Francisco office for 5 years, she was selected to participate in the 18 months global rotation program. Today was her first day to work in KPGY Tokyo office.
20 years ago, Chris lived in Tokyo for 3 years where she went to a Japanese middle school.
Chris is half Japanese and half American, with brown eyes and brown hair. Japanese classmates called her “Haafu!” and excluded her from their circles. Chris wished she had black hair and black eyes, just like all other Japanese students.
It was that time when she met Satoshi, a quiet boy who was always reading books during the break time. He volunteered to do the summer project with her, when other classmates avoided her because she was “different.”
Satoshi was her first crush. After Chris returned to San Francisco, she lost in touch with Satoshi, but she would think of Satoshi from time to time.
Although Chris had dated men of other races and nationalities, she was always attracted to Japanese men most of all. It was like young birds imprinting themselves to the first moving thing they set their eyes on.
“I am not a racist.” Chris would say to her friends. “It is just a matter of preference, like you prefer pasta with tomato sauce over pasta with cream sauce.”
There are many Asian men in San Francisco, but Japanese single men with gentle demeanor and warm heart like Satoshi were not easy to meet.
I need to be in the right market. Chris thought.
Chris decided to move to Japan to find the love of her life.
She quit the marketing position in a small advertising firm in San Francisco, studied hard to get a CPA license, and joined KPGY, a global accounting firm known for its global rotation program.
“I am so excited to be here, finally!” Chris looked at the sky scraper where KPGY Tokyo office was located. Little did she know what awaited her in the next 18 months...
