留学生の眼（78）
私の目で見た日本
文・ タンビラ アフロズ スルタナ
医学系研究科2年 血液内科学専攻
（バングラディシュ出身）
幼かった頃日本製の汽車のおもちゃを私はもっていました。それには人形や小さな家がついており，私にとっての日本でした。それ以来日本について多くの事を学びました。日本に着くとまたまた多くの興味が湧きました。
日本に来ての第一印象は礼儀正しく、誠実で、安心して過ごせる事でした。火山の爆発があっても、他の国に比べて希な交通事故や強盗があっても対応が早いので毎日の生活がいつもの様に流れています。
私の日本での驚きの一つは，多くのお年寄りたちがよく外に出かけ、そして元気に働いていることです。もう一つの驚きは，母親が二人，時には三人の子供の面倒を見ながら，買い物などを一人で引き受けていることです。日本の父親は，仕事に追われる会社人間のようです。困った時には日本人は良く助けてくれますが、一方では、なかなか友達として受け入れてくれません。これは言葉の問題、内気、自分の気持ちを正直に表さない事があげられます。私たちの国では外国人に対し迷惑かもしれませんが、直ぐに親しくなろうとします。
日本の若い人たちは「おもしろい」の一言です。女の子の厚底靴、色つきの髪、超ミニ、何時何処ででも化粧をしている事。高校生の男の子はボーとしている事です。私たちの国でも若者にお金があればこの様にしているかも知れません。強制ではありませんが，私たちはスカーフで顔を覆い，体の線を出さないような衣服を身につけています。私たちは，女性が体の線をあらわにし，単にセックスの対象と見られることによって，女性の尊厳が損なわれると考えるからです。しかし，好むと好まざるとに関わらず近い将来西欧社会と同じ道を歩むでしょう。
私は日本で滞在を楽しんでいます、それ以上に私が「日出ずる国」から私の国に帰るとき宝物として多くの記憶を持って帰ります!
（抄訳：渡邊敦光）
Tanvira Afroze Sultana
Japan In My Eyes
When I was very small，I had a train set Made in Japan. It had small people, small houses; a miniature world of Japan. Since then this country roused my interest. As I grew up, I learnt about many aspects of this country, the beautiful landscape, the culture, the busy life and other things. So when I arrived here to study, I came with much curiosity mixed with some apprehension.
My first impression of Japanese people was, they are very polite. They are painstakingly sincere to the detail in their duty, whatever it might be. As a result, life here is safe and tension free. Unprepared for calamities are rare here, be it robbery, or road accident or a volcano eruption. They are well armed to face any trouble. Thus crime, though present, do not surface often and do not threaten the regular flow of day to day life. In daily life, outdoors what strikes the eye is the elderly population. In contrast to many countries, they are the ones most frequent on the streets, in buses, in departmental stores, doing part time jobs. The next common sight is mothers with two small children, even three, managing most of the outdoor chores. In a way the men seem more of the indoor type, namely the office!
The Japanese are helpful and co operative in case of trouble, maybe a part of their sincere nature. But the irony is, overall they are wary about strangers, which includes all foreigners. So making friends is not easy. Maybe partly it is due to the language barrier. So a sense of feeling out of place remains hanging everywhere. To me it seems, as they do not express exactly what they are feeling inside, specially if it is negative, it is difficult to guess whether our presence or company is appreciated or not. I asked my host family about it and they said that actually they are shy in front of foreigners. In our culture, when we meet a stranger, the first reaction is to go up to the person and to try to make friends with him or her. Some may think that it hampers the newcomer's wish for privacy or distance, to some extent. In Japan maybe that is given a priority, so they wait for the outsider to go up to them instead of imposing their friend-ship on him or her.
Coming to the younger generation, I would use one word to describe my impression about them, that is "funny". What with their rock look alike "platform heels", colored frisky hair, and micro mini skirts, the girls constantly busy with their make up and the boys with a dreamy expression, they are a sight simply enjoyable. Can't say if the youths of my country had money, they would not do the same! Actually in my country, even if covering the head is not mandatory, but everybody wears loose clothes that are not exposing. Because to us, exposure is considered as degrading a woman's dignity as it invites unasked for incidents and harassment. We think that the respect for a woman is half lost when she gives men the chance to regard her more as a sex object than a human being. But values are different in every country. In a few decades our young girls might also dress up the same way, whether we like it or not!
Over and above, I am enjoying my stay in Japan and I shall have many memories to treasure when I leave this land of the Rising Sun and return to my homeland!
2nd year post graduate student
Department of Hematology and Oncology
Faculty of Medicine
Hiroshima University.
黄金山での花見にて
|
広大フォーラム32期2号 目次に戻る