*「世界って面白いよ」～想いのバトンを繋ぐ
私は小中学生の時、地元の田舎町にある英語の個人塾に通っていた。先生は当時70歳くらいで大正生まれのお爺さん。田舎では珍しく都会の外大出身で海外にも仕事で頻繁に行っていた。年齢や時代を考えるとハイカラな先生だった。
その先生の授業は変わっていて、口伝の文法と英作文のみ。たまに「今、授業はどこを習ってるの？」と教科書を開くが、また直ぐにいつものやり方に戻ってしまう。授業も脱線が多く、先生が海外に行った時のことを楽しそうに話してくれた。
こんな授業なので最初は沢山生徒が集まるのだか、最後にはほんの少ししか残らない。でも、私はこのお爺ちゃん先生が大好きだった。
「世界って面白いよ。いつか君たちも行けると良いね」
先生がいつも話していた言葉が私の原点だ。
あれから時が経ち、私も海外に行った。ホームステイを経験し、バックパッカーとして北は北極圏から南はアフリカまで旅をして、海外の大学院も卒業した。仕事でも海外の色々な国へ行った。実際に体験すると、先生の言う通り、世界にはワクワクすることが溢れていた。
今、世の中はコロナからは回復しつつあるが、世界情勢は不安定、円安で海外の物価も高くなり、少しずつ海外に行きにくい時代になってきた。
しかし、だからこそ、私が見た景色、感じたことをブログに書くことで、誰かが「私も世界の色々な国に行ってみたい」と考えるキッカケになれたならと思う。そして、その誰かがまた違う誰かのキッカケになって欲しいと心から願っている。
だって、世界は本当に面白いのだから。
*"Isn't the World Fascinating?" ~ Connecting Thoughts
During my elementary and middle school years, I attended a private English school in my rural hometown. My teacher was a unique old man in his seventies, born in the Taisho era. It was rare in the countryside to have a teacher who had studied outside and frequently traveled abroad for work. Considering his age and the era he grew up in, he was quite a modern teacher.
His classes were different; he focused only on oral grammar and English composition. Occasionally, he would ask, "What are you studying now?" and open the textbook, but he would quickly revert to his usual methods. The classes often went off-topic, and he would enthusiastically share stories from his trips abroad.
Due to such unconventional teaching, many students initially gathered, but only a few remained by the end. However, I loved this old teacher.
"The world is fascinating. I hope you can go there someday too."
Those were the words he always spoke, and they became the foundation of my aspirations.
Time has passed since then, and I have also traveled abroad. I experienced homestays, journeyed as a backpacker from the Arctic Circle to Africa, and graduated from a foreign graduate school. I have also traveled to various countries for work. When I actually experienced it, I realized that the world, as the teacher had described, is brimming with excitement.
Currently, the world is gradually recovering from the effects of the pandemic. However, the global situation remains unstable, exchange rates fluctuate, and the cost of living abroad has increased, making it more challenging to travel internationally. But precisely because of that, I hope that by writing about the landscapes I've seen and the experiences I've had in my blog, I can inspire someone to think, "I also want to visit various countries in the world." And I sincerely wish that this someone can become a catalyst for someone else. After all, the world is truly fascinating.
