Weight Gain and Overseas Life

10日間のホーチミン滞在で体重がちょっと増えた。海外へ行くと体重が増加するのは昔から変らない。特に2000年の台湾では、現場事務所で毎日のランチにフィリピン料理を腹いっぱい食べていて、それが顕著だった。そして、当地に帰ってくると、しばらくして体重が減り始めるのは、もはやここを海外と認識していない証拠かもしれない。

*

「華麗なる一族」は中巻に進んでいる。あれ、残り少しだった「The Bolivian Diary」は、どこへ？

Back Here

The plane arrived at the HCM City airport from Singapore at around the time my flight was to depart (17:40 in Vietnam Time). At Changi, it touched down almost an hour late (21:30 in Singapore Time). I, carrying three bags, was certainly feeling exhausted on MRT going home.

*

Other stories from Vietnam:

A group of three ladies was at the next table at Bobby Brewers. One of them was curious why I was using two keyboards. I explained my PC’s condition and why I needed two keyboards. She said, “Cool!” Oh no, there is nothing cool here because it means my PC is breaking down.

On Friday, I started working on a new job. But after 10 or 15 minutes after I began, my PC started acting funny again. It was a familiar condition that the very last page was displayed and the cursor has no effect in moving the pages. Typing was impossible. I rebooted the PC and it went off high-pitched beeps and everybody was looking at me. I decided to give some rest to the PC, and gave up the work. The condition has been recurring very often hampering my progress of work. Time to get a new PC?? Oh no…

*

Yesterday morning, “I” appeared in dream. Not really “appeared” because it was a short phone conversation. As soon as I heard his voice, I realized it was him. To him through the receiver, I said, “はい (Yes)?” It was a “yes” showing my uncomfortable thoughts. He, a son of a rich family, completely vanished about 15 years ago after borrowing some money from this impecunious man. In return he gave me a “garbage diamond” ring, worth 2000 yen. He had treated me so well. Before then, there was not even an occasion when I had to spend any money. I should be neutral toward him as I don’t know to this day what really happened to him. But I think “Yes?” demonstrated my negative feeling toward him.

*

At the immigration checkpoint at Changi, I showed a letter from the company and the officer asked another officer in the next booth something. Obviously, it was about how she should treat me, with my EP application was only being processed and I hadn’t got any answer from the ICA. Unsure of what to do, she closed the line temporarily and said to me, “Follow me.”

Yet again, I was taken to the counter where several immigration officers were waiting for people like me. One of the officers at the “Immigration Officers on Duty” counter asked if I could understand English and I said “Yes.” But he was quite friendly and just asked me simple questions like how long I had been out of the country and found the stamp in my passport that I got at the HCM City airport when I departed. “Hmmm… your EP application is now being processed and there’s not been any answer yet… Hmmm.” No further questions, and I was let in.

(Photos from HCM City: a sushi bar called well... "Sushi Bar," sushi set costing me VND170,000, guesthouse room lamp)

*

This morning, I was laughing. Yes I was. I was not smiling, but laughing, I’m sure. The image I can remember only vaguely was that of a man. I feel it was not a happy scene. But I was laughing. Was it a schadenfreude type of laugh?

This Time in Vietnam (3)

2008年6月24日（火）18:38 (Vietnam Time)

Because the room doesn’t have a window, it is always dark, of course unless I turn on the lights. (Strictly, there is a window. But no sunlight comes in as what I see through the window is the next building with a distance of about 30 cm between the two.) A dark room allows me to sleep for many hours and some more hours… No clear sense of time.

*

けさの夢には「福本さん」が出てきた。 元阪急外野手で盗塁王だった福本さん。福本さんは、新しくレストランを開店し、自分はそこに招待された人たちのひとりだった。店員用のユニフォームをプレゼントしてくれた。特別にデザインしたものということで、バミューダ丈の（多分、青色の）パンツだった。レストランは野球場のグラウンドから幅の狭いはしごを上りきったところにあった。ちょっと危険。入り口はレストランの床を四角に切り取った人ひとりが通るには小さめの穴で、これも危険。

20:54 (Vietnam Time)

招待客の中には「英会話学校」時代の元同僚もいた。それから、リゾート地で撮ってきた写真を見せている人も。写真に写っている海と白壁の建物は自分にとって見慣れた風景で、どこだったかなぁと考えている人に、それはシンガポールの「XX」ですよと教えてあげた。「XX」は「Tiong Bahru」だったかもしれない。子供もいて、「YY」という名札を付けていた。「YY」と言えば元阪急のコーチの名前。そのコーチの子供だと思ってたずねたが、関係ないようだった。

福本さんは、自分ともうひとりの誰かをユニフォームが陳列されているデパートの売り場にも連れていってくれた。

2008年6月25日（水）21:15 (Vietnam Time)

朝がたまで眠れなかった。夕方になると近くの寺院から鐘を鳴らす音が聞こえていたが、朝の鐘を聞いたのは初めてだった。

夢の一場面にイヌが出てきた。狭い場所でいっしょに走り回っていた。夢に出てくるイヌはいつもなついてくれる。

*

I’m having the Vietnamese soup noodle, “Pho” (pronounced fa-ah) for dinner every other day. On my previous two visits, it was bean sprouts, green onions and chilli to be had with the noodle. But this time, I tried a restaurant that I had not before. There, instead of green onions, it was sliced onions to be added with bean sprouts, chilli and mint leaves and another herb that tastes like, but doesn’t look like, coriander. A rather unusual pricing is that noodles with beef are cheaper than those with chicken.

*

Yesterday, I learned Former PM Mori was visiting Singapore and met PM Lee. In my view, he was one of the most inconsequential PMs that Japan’s ever had, except his contribution to popular jokes.

Recap of perhaps the most popular one:
For an incoming visit by Prez Bill Clinton, a foreign ministry official gave a simple instruction to Mori as to how to greet the Prez.

It was supposed to go like…
Mori: How are you?
Clinton: Fine. And you?
Mori: Me too.

But as the folklore claims, it went like…
Mori: Who are you?
Clinton: I’m Hillary’s husband. And you?
Mori: Me too.

2008年6月26日（木）13:11 (Vietnam Time)

さっき、ＮＨＫワールドで全盲少女「ユリナ」ちゃんの小学校生活と卒業に関する番組を見た。プロのナレーターかと思ったら、彼女自身のナレーションだった。いじめとも犯罪とも無縁で、生徒と先生の声が大きく響く教室。美しい。

*

岐阜市立女子短大生によるフィレンツェの大聖堂への落書きが報道されてばかりだが、朝日、毎日などの電子版によると、母校の学生も同じことをやっていた。情けない。

*

Last night, I killed three mosquitoes and there was another that was hiding. Many bites.

*

また、朝の鐘を聞いてから眠った。

This Time in Vietnam (2)

2008年6月24日（火）0:38 (Vietnam Time)

Half an hour after I started to work today, my PC showed the problem that I well know about. Usually, it is rectified by rebooting, but today it failed to do so. It was just repeating the same rebooting process again and again, never reaching the initial screen. I resorted to press the “Reset” button at the bottom and only on my second press, it got back to health. Scary condition.

Because I lost quite a long time while trying to nurse the PC, I couldn’t finish my work. Moreover, I found, after I turned it off, there is a missing page. The page may not have to be translated, and that may be the reason why the page is not included to begin with. I cannot be sure. So, I went out again after dinner to email my friend.

At Q Café, in the same block, I worked on a further few lines and sent an email to the friend. As usual there, I got a few mosquito bites. “Q” for mosquito?

*

It seems many scenes in my dreams for the past few days can be explained. My family members appeared because the book by Shigematsu touched on family matters, and there were big quakes in Sichuan, China, causing many deaths and the northern part of the Honshu Island of Japan claiming about dozen lives. Thus, a disaster area.

I take what I see in dreams though. They can be some reflection of the state of my mind. Luckily, I had a better sleep last night though I don’t know about tonight.

This Time in Vietnam

2008年6月22日（月）20:27 (Vietnam Time)

I arrived at this familiar guesthouse in Ho Chi Minh on the afternoon of Thursday. On Friday afternoon, I went to a familiar coffee shop (“Bobby Brewers”) to connect my PC to the Internet and do some work. I found three Japanese men checking the movement of the Tokyo stock market. One of them was reading the latest “Shiki-ho.” Unfamiliar sight. My work went rather smoothly.

Yesterday, I stayed at the guesthouse, believing that I would need no net connection to proceed with my work. Then, I realized that working on bed while handling two keyboards was quite a task that required versatility and I regretted not going out.

*

For the past three nights, I slept badly with nightmares. My first night was disturbed by a group of Imperial Army soldiers. I’m not sure where they were but the place seems somewhere in China. The soldiers including my father were inspecting a disaster area. A wooden panel beside a heavy-looking wooden gate said “First Report from Affected Areas (被災地第一報).”

The gate was opened and in front of the soldiers was an island connected with a narrow strip of land. The island was actually a mountain and at the top there was a round lake. “Where are we?” One soldier said, “It’s Hokkaido!”

The shape of the sea created the surrounding lands looked like a fattened Hokkaido, but of course it was not Hokkaido.

The scene changed to myself turning pages of a photo album. There were yellowed photos of soldiers and more recent ones of them. Also in the album were baseball records neatly typed by… perhaps my father. I was trying to figure out who is who.

*

Yesterday morning, it was the turn of my high school days. A school band was playing at a concert hall. The music sounded familiar to me but I don’t know which piece. Apparently, I was not playing with them and I don’t know why I was there. However, a man of the same year was accusing me of having not contacted any of them and our teacher even when one of our friends died.

I with younger members of the band was riding a Keihan (京阪) train. I have no idea why, but inside the train was a mess because of what we had done. I don’t think the mess was left because we wanted to do so. Rather we were trying to fix something. Anyway, as a result of our act, we had to cheat on train fares. Train personnel knew all about it. At every station, I was stopped and told that I was a repeat fare cheater.

There were scenes where I was riding a bicycle along the train line. It was a well-tended road and on both sides were trees with colorful, but mostly fresh green, leaves.

As we don’t know much about driving a train, we missed a few branches. The train men were warning us about our way of driving and ordering us to clean the mess we had left behind.

There was a big crowd. It seems they gathered to see some Japanese singers and actors doing a TV program. We were somehow avoiding them and trying to sneak ahead without being noticed by any of them. We succeeded in reaching a building standing behind them. One of the singers was a female “boss” singer of the Japanese entertainment world.

In another scene, the boss singer was holding a discount sale of her handicrafts at a makeshift tent. The shop was along the road I was bicycling. I greeted her as we were old friends.

When the train managed to arrive at our “home” station, we were still cleaning the train. At the station, there was a group of parents who were waiting for the band members. It seemed we had become a news piece and the concerned parents were all there.

*

This morning, I shouted at least twice in Japanese. The first time I probably shouted, “Don’t you understand? You!! (わからんのか、おまえ！),” though what sort of dream it was was not at all clear now.

*

おととい、「うちのパパが言うことには」を終えた。女性的な文章かと思えば、「だぜ」も出てくる。文体としては、慣れないうちに終わってしまった。しかし、犯罪の主役が低年齢化するにつれて、いつ「加害者の親」あるいは「被害者の親」になるかもしれないという不安は切実だし、お役所が考えそうな問題解決の理想論の空々しさへの情けなさには共感する。

*

My trip to HCM City of this time would not have been necessary if my student pass application had been processed as quickly as I wished. When I breached the topic of student pass application, it turned out that the school was not an MOE-approved institution, because it didn’t have to be. Even after it was approved eventually, it took far too long until the time came to allow me to apply to a pass. As time went, I’ve finished my work. Now, I’m waiting for the certificates to arrive.

*

And a lesson I’ve learned is that my own ideas are not as good or foresighted as I thought. Some were even short-sighted. It was beyond my rushed idea-creation effort to realize that this trip could have been avoided if I had submitted an EP application earlier. My preoccupied thinking was that I had to leave by such and such date. It never occurred to me that there would be ways to continue to stay. My experience with the immigration office was such that it made me think there would be absolutely no way to avoid another trip. I should have asked for advices much earlier.

*

Back to the TESOL result, I received an E-mail today from the course director. Attached was grading comments from the UK. They contained many remarks on points to be desired about my work. However, remarks like the following are undoubtedly encouraging and reinforce my sense of achievement:

“He did an excellent job on this module. I was particularly impressed with his choice of adjective (impecunious) on question one of task two. For task three, he should note that an imperative generally ends with an exclamation point. Otherwise, he did outstanding work.”

“He did excellent work on this module. All the questions were answered very well. His work on task two showed an exceptional level of depth and detail.”

“For task one, his flashcards were among the best I have ever seen from any student. I wouldn’t change one thing. The use of the national flag combine with a common name was great. As for later in the module, I thought his use of the stuffed dog to aid in the pictures for the kids was cute. I think they would love a lesson like this. I was also very pleased with his lesson plan.”

“His answer for task one was particularly good. I liked seeing how he applied his own personal experience to the course material. His work on task three seemed to be a bit rushed. Adding both depth and detail would have been better.”

“His work on module one was excellent. It was very detailed in addition to being well thought through. As for task one of module two, he doesn’t seem to like conducting group work very much. He should give additional thought as to the advantages of group work. His work on task two was fine. I can see a lesson plan of that type being used in an intermediate class. Overall, he did an excellent job. He has a solid understanding of the material. I am pleased with how he puts his knowledge into practice. I’m sure he will make an excellent addition to any school or university.” (The italic emphasis is original.)

Same Generation, Different Experience

It’s been another hectic day, to make myself independent.

*

昨日。「華麗なる一族」（山崎豊子）上中巻と「うちのパパが言うことには」（重松清）を買う。重松さんは1963年月生まれだが、世代は同じでも、あまり共感しない。「アトム」に「鉄人28号」はわかっても、自分は「ユーミン」にも「かぐや姫」にも「イルカ」にも「フォークギター」にも「ジャイアン」にも興味はなかった。そして、書き言葉でも話し言葉でも「すごいんだもん」とは書かないし、言わない。語尾に「ぜ」（“信じてるぜ”）も使わない。
「君はおとなになった。家を出て、新しいわが家をかまえ、『パパ』と呼ばれるようになり、仕事の部下が何人かできて、付き合いでゴルフを覚え、週に１度の休肝日をつくって、パソコンのタッチタイピングをようやくマスターして……携帯電話のディスプレイを覗き込むとき、電話を持つ手を伸ばして距離をとらないと文字が見えづらくなった」
さっぱりわからない。うちの周りには「ニュータウン」もなかったし。
「華麗なる一族」はすでに見たＴＶドラマの原作。

Having been Busy... (Even I Can be Busy Sometimes)

No blog entry for many days, having not had enough time. And this afternoon, I went out for a meeting with someone. I arrived at the appointed time at the wrong place… His organization had moved to a different location a few months ago. I even checked his website to be sure the location. Apparently the site hasn’t been updated.

*

These days, I’m having insomnia again, perhaps because of the heat. My hair and forehead become all wet with sweat. And when the brain should be going into its “oyasumi” mode, topics and sentences sometimes start rushing into it. At those times, it even occurs to me that I should get out of bed and start typing. Those ideas usually disappear by the time I wake up, or as soon as I got up.

*

I’ve been busy but proceeding with “The Bolivian Diary” of Che Guevara. I’ve already finished reading his diary part and now am reading the memoirs of one of the guerrilla members (Inti), “My Campaign with Che.”

Guevara’s first contact was of course peasants, the most exploited. That makes me think about those Japanese “radical” people in the late 1960s and 70s. Some of those were involved in the struggle against the construction/expansion of the Narita Airport. People against the airport were farmers. I wonder if radicals joined hands with farmers, at least partly because of their knowledge or admiration for Che.

(Photo: dusk, June 13)

Yeah... I'm... Overseas

When I’m 70% asleep and 30% awake (or is it 60-40?), I sometimes find myself wondering where I am. Why is nobody around? Why am I alone here? Where is this place? After a moment, I realize like… “Oh… I’m not in my home country. I’m overseas.”

Please Give Me Sound Sleep

またまたまた、ヘンな夢だった。父親の墓を別の場所に移すという話。それでは「お世話になっている寺に申し訳ない」と自分は抗議していた。移すことを主張していたのは誰だったのだろう？やっと起き上がれたのは午後３時頃だった。「Meetup」にも行けなかった。

*

いくつかあるブログのリンクをほぼ終わらせた。簡単なはずなのに、旧システムから作業が簡単な新しいシステムに変ったら余計に手順がわからない。

Sweet Dreams to Me... and Congrats to Me

またまた、ヘンな夢だった。泥池があって、そこには大きな魚の他、トラ、ライオン、ワニなんかの猛獣がいた。大きな鯉は「華麗なる一族」に登場したし、この前は動物園に行ったからかなぁ。それから、数人のおじとおばがうちに集まっていた。「反対してるんはあんただけや」と母親に言われていた。何に反対していたんだろうか。兄の姿もあったが無言だった。おじ、おばの姿ははっきりしない。ベッドから出たのは午後５時だった。

*

I also got good news today. The UK INTESOL gave me an “A2 (excellent)” mark for my work! No other in class got an “A.” Congrats to me!! Some of the assignments took me so many hours to complete and sometimes I got frustrated by the hours I needed to spend. Now, I’m feeling rewarded.

*

復刻ユニフォームを買うのはやめにした。そんなカネがあるなら、新しいラップトップＰＣを買わなければ。

Turning "Semba Kiccho" to "Family Restaurant"? Old-Hawks-Shirt Exploitation

もう古い話になってしまったけど、「船場吉兆」が廃業すると発表した。産地偽装に残り物の使いまわし……。老舗としては言い訳できないところだが、そんなことは多くの飲食店がやっていることだと思う。「料理のまずさ」を指摘した人は誰もいない。自分なら、「ファミレス吉兆」として再オープンしたい。「料理のまずさ」を理由とせず廃業する事態になったことは、「（公私混同による解任であって）野球を理由にクビになったわけではないのが救いだ」というノムラさんの発言を思い出させる。

*

６日の甲子園。ＳＢホークスが南海ホークスの復刻ユニフォームを着て試合に臨んだ。その復刻ユニフォームをＳＢホークスが販売している。弱みにつけこんだ商売が明らかで、4900円かと思ったら49000円だった。ふざけている！う～ん、でも……。申し込み締め切りは今日７日。

Two Articles on Israel

Two recent articles on Israel.

LONDON (Reuters) - Former President Jimmy Carter has said Israel holds at least 150 nuclear weapons, the first time a U.S. president has publicly acknowledged the Jewish state's atomic arsenal.
Asked at a news conference at Wales's Hay literary festival on Sunday how a future U.S. president should deal with the Iranian nuclear threat, Carter put the risk in context by listing atomic weapons held globally.
"The U.S. has more than 12,000 nuclear weapons, the Soviet Union (Russia) has about the same, Great Britain and France have several hundred, and Israel has 150 or more. We have a phalanx of enormous weaponry ... not only of enormous weaponry but of rockets to deliver those missiles on a pinpoint accuracy target," he said, according to a transcript of his remarks…. (May 26)


イスラエルで「建国根拠なし」本、ベストセラーに（朝日新聞電子版）
2008年05月31日11時12分
……イスラエルで、……「シオニズム運動」の根拠を否定する著書がベストセラーとなっている。題名は「ユダヤ人はいつ、どうやって発明されたか」。
……著者はユダヤ人でテルアビブ大学のシュロモ・サンド教授（61）＝歴史学……。
……今のユダヤ人の祖先は別の地域でユダヤ教に改宗した人々であり、古代ユダヤ人の子孫は実はパレスチナ人だ――との説が記されている。
サンド教授は「ユダヤ人は民族や人種ではなく、宗教だけが共通点」と指摘。……ナチス・ドイツが、ユダヤ人は民族や人種との誤解を広めた（とし）、……「ユダヤ人国家」には根拠がないと批判。「パレスチナ人を含むすべての市民に平等な権利を与える民主国家を目指すべきだ」というのが（著書の）最大の主張だ。
（欧州で迫害されたユダヤ人たちが19世紀末に起こし、「ユダヤ人国家の再建」を目指したシオニズム運動の根拠は、ユダヤ人が紀元後２世紀までにローマ帝国に征服され、追放されたということだが、）教授は「追放を記録した信頼できる文献はない。19世紀にユダヤ人の歴史家たちが作った神話だった」との見解だ。パレスチナ人から土地を奪うことを正当化するために、「２千年の離散の苦しみ」という理由が必要だったという。
教授によると、古代ユダヤ人は大部分が追放されずに農民として残り、キリスト教やイスラム教に改宗して今のパレスチナ人へと連なる。……ベングリオンらが建国前に著した本の中で、パレスチナ人たちをユダヤ人の子孫と指摘していた。ユダヤ人の入植で対立が深まる中で、パレスチナ人を子孫とは言わなくなったという。
教授は「新説ではなく、建国指導者らが知りながら黙ってきたことをはっきりさせたにすぎない」と語る。

Though it is an open secret that Israel is nuclear-armed, this comment by Carter should not be ignored. And this book about the root of Zionism… The article mentions that the “Jews” of the present time were descendants of those converted to Judaism in “other regions.” The “other regions” referred to here were probably (mostly eastern) Europe and North Africa. In his last years, Arafat was calling the Jews cousins of the Palestinians. If the professor’s argument is historically proved right, though it is highly unlikely (almost impossible) given the obstinate attitude of successive Israeli leaders to admit it, Arafat was a Jew!!