ずっと昔の話です。It was so long ago. 18歳になり、I turned eighteen, moved to Kyoto to go on to college, live alone there.大学進学も決まって京都で一人暮らしすることになりました。あまり余裕のない我が家なので大学に行かせてもらっただけでありがたく、I was grateful to my parents for sending me college as my family was not so rich back then.下宿はできるだけ安いところを探しました。so I searched for a place to live with as lowest cost as possible.
すると、Then, 3畳半と言う極狭物件が見つかりました。I found a tiny room with three and a half tatami mats, which you can bearly have a space to lay a bed. 半畳分は板の間の物置きスペース、残りの3畳が畳です。The half mat was without tatami as a place to set a fridge and a rice cooker. でも、押し入れも付いているし思ったほど狭く感じず、Fortunately, however, it had a separate storage space without dirt or being cramped, close to my college with a famous beautiful temple called Nin na ji.何より大学から近いのと仁和寺に歩いて行ける環境の良さ、尼寺の離れと言う風流さに惹かれて決めました。Besides, the apartment was annexed to a little temple for Buddhist nuns, which was another appeal to me.
台所は共同で、The kitchen was shared by all tennants, with a special gas cooking stove to work with coins. ガス玉と言う不思議な五円玉に似たコインを入れると30分くらい使える特殊なガスコンロがありました。One coin works the stove about half an hour. So we were supposed to buy these special coins at the temple.
煮込みだとひとつでは足りず、If we tried to make a stew, one coin wasn't enough. かと言って炒め物だけだと余ります。While it would take just ten minutes or so to fry vegetables. 炒め物を作る前にお湯を沸かして保温ポットに入れ、簡単な味噌汁や早く煮える切り干し大根や高野豆腐などを作ったりして、最後に焼きそばや野菜炒めなどを作るとちょうど無駄なく使えました。So in order to use up one coin, boil water first to pour into a pot, then make a stew dish that can be prepared in a short time using dried white radish, dried tofu, or make a miso soup, and lastly fry vegetables or eggs.
ガス玉は500円で25個でした。The coins cost five hundred yen for twenty five of them. つまり一回食事を作ると20円かかる計算でした。That means it was twenty yen to prepare one meal. どうしてもきっちりは使いきれず少し残りますが、It was almost impossible to use up one coin completely, if some time was left, next comer can use the remain for free. 残ったのは次の人に譲ります。たとえ5分くらいでも譲ってもらえるとありがたく、If it was just five minutes, it made a difference when we made a curry, so when we wanted to make that or another stew, we intentionally tried to wait for other people leave some minutes in the cooking stove. カレーなど作る時は誰かの残りがある時を狙ったりしました。
私のような貧乏な女子学生がたくさん下宿していて、The place was filled with poor female students like me, 多い時は5人くらいいました。five of them once.
私の部屋以外は四畳半だったのに入学時は空き部屋がなく、Other rooms were a little bigger than mine, which were all occupied when I rented a room on entering college.
2年生になると他の人が卒業して空いたため、移らせてもらいました。One of them became vacant when someone graduated next year, when I moved in the room.
どうやって節約しようかと頭を絞ったり、Thinking ways to save money, 休みの日に友達と1000円のランチを食べるのがたまの贅沢だったり、having 1000 yen lunch with frinds on weekends occasionally was a special fun. 大変でしたが今になってみると懐かしいです。We were so poor but had such a good time back then. They were good old days of mine. 
