大型ゼンマイ

8月31日(金)快晴

日本では春になると山菜や筍を採りに行きました。アボリジニは食用になる植物を利用しますが、白人は全く山菜は食べません。シドニー周辺では立派な蕨が採れましたが、ケアンズでは見かけません。家の周辺の森にはゼンマイが沢山生えていて、香りは日本のゼンマイと同じですが、食べる勇気はありません。

山菜

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Fri. August 31 :fine
big osmund

I used to go picking the wild plants and bamboo shoots in spring in Japan. Aboriginal people eat wild plants but white people never do. You can find a lot of brackens in Sydney and its suburbs but not in Cairns. There are a lot of osmunds in woods near my house but I’m not brave enough to try them. They smell the same as Japanese ones though.

wild plants

大型バーガー

8月30日(木)曇

こちらのマックでは「ＯＺバーガー」という高層ハンバーガーを売っています。パンの間にハンバーグ、ベーコン、卵焼き、ハッシュド・ポテト、レタス、トマト、ビーツ(赤カブ)が入っていて、高さ20ｃｍ以上。食べ切れなくはないけど、食べにくい。ＯＺはこれを両手で押し潰してからかぶりつきます。それなら最初からコッペパンにはさんだら？ご要望にお応えするのがＯＺビーフバーガー。日本人感覚ではビフテキ3人分、レタス、トマト、ビーツが入っていて、肉切り包丁が突き立てられています。こちらは食べにくくはないけど、食べ切れません。

モスバーガー

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Thu. August 30 : fine
big hamburger

In Australian McDonalds’ they have high-storied hamburger called “OZ burger”. It has a hamburg steak, some bacon, fried egg, hushed potato, lettuce, tomato, and beet between the bans. It is 20 cm high. You can eat the whole burger but it is hard to eat it beautifully. OZs squeeze it by their hands before starting eating it. Why not making it with coppe-bread, then? The good answer is “OZ beef barger”. It has beef stake for 3 people in Japanese size, some lettuce, tomato, and beet, and comes with a steak knife being stabbed in its center. It is not hard to eat it beautifully but it is hard to finish it.

Moss Barger

大型アイスクリーム

8月29日(水)曇

先週マイケル・ムーア監督の「シッコ(病気)」を見た後、ユミが映画館付属のレストランでアイスクリームを注文。大皿にワッフル、アイスクリーム、生クリーム、フルーツの大盛りで1100円。2人で頑張りましたが途中でギブアップ。高カロリーなので無理して食べると病気になりそうです。

マイケル・ムーア

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Wed. August 29 : cloudy occasionally rain
Big icecream

After seeing “sicko”, directed by Michel Moor last week, Yumi ordered an ice cream at the restaurant in the cinema building. It came with some waffle, ice cream, fresh cream, and fruits on a huge plate. It was 1,100 in yen. We devoted ourselves to finishing it but gave up at last. We could become sick by having it all since it is too high in calorie.

Michel Moor

ライフスタイル

8月28日(火)曇後晴

①滋養に富んだ美味しいものを食べる、②公害の少ない地域の高水準の家に住む、③恒常的なボランティア活動：人は寿司のみにて生くるにあらず、④花、星、鳥、虫、雲、魚など周辺の観察、⑤定期的な旅行：常に視野を広げる、日常性に溺れない、⑥物を買い込まず、シンプルな生活を旨とする、⑦規則的なエクササイズ：プロスポーツ観戦はしない。ゴルフもカートでの移動はパチンコと同じで、ただ玉を打っているだけだですよね。

⑧よく眠る

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Life style
Tue. August 28 : cloudy

①I have well-nourished delicious food. ②I live high standard house in the pollution free area. ③I constantly participate in volunteer work; Human lives are not only for sushi. ④I always see vivid thing such as flowers, stars, birds, insects, cloud, fish. ⑤I constantly go on a travel; I always keep my eyes opened widely. I never indulge in daily life. ⑥I don’t buy many things to keep simple life. ⑦I exercise regularly. I don’t watch professional sports games. Using the golf cart for moving is same as just hitting Pachinko balls, I believe.

⑧I sleep well

青田買い

8月27日(月)快晴

ＯＺは18歳で社会人になると同時にマイホームを購入するのが普通。結婚すると一家で2軒の持ち家は当然で、5軒以上所有する若者もいます。5年後のシティー移住のために市中央部のホテルの1室を購入しました。と言っても完成は2010年、来年着工の予定です。豪州国籍を持たない僕たちは新築物件しか購入できませんが、豪州の若者並みにシドニーにホテルのスイート・ルーム2室も所有しています。

シドニーのホテル

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Buying a green rice field
Mon. August 27 : fine

It’s common for OZ to buy one’s home when one becomes an adult, 18 years old. A couple naturally has 2 houses, and some special ones have 5. We have bought a room in the hotel located in the center of City for the time we move in 5 years. Nevertheless the room will be completed in 2010 and the construction will start next year. We can only buy new building as we don’t have the citizen ships, but we have 2 suit rooms in a hotel in Sydney just like the OZ young.

our suit rooms in Sydney

ペット霊園

8月26日(日)快晴

最高気温が30℃を越え、先週から屋外プールで泳いでいます。2ヶ月間通った温水プールに行く途中にペット霊園があります。豪州では野生動物を捕食する猫の人気は今一つで、ほとんどの墓標は愛犬のもの。ハムスター、小鳥、亀、蛇、トカゲ、馬、羊、豚、アルパカのお墓もあります。先週ペットのラクダに圧死させられた老人のニュースが報道されていました。僕も日本で馬を飼っていましたが、大型動物の世話は大変です。

ラクダは楽じゃない

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Pet cemetery
Sun. August 26 : fine

As the highest temperature today has exceeded 30 degrees I’ve been swimming in the outdoor swimming pool since last week. There’s a pet cemetery on the way to the heated pool where I went for 2 months. In Australia cats are not so popular as they catch wild animals, so most graves are for pet dogs. There are also ones for hamsters, birds, tortoises, snakes, lizards, horses, sheep, pigs, and alpacas. I heard the news about an old woman who was crushed to death by her pet, camel. I had a horse in Japan, so I know how hard it is to keep big animals.

It's not comfertable to ride a camel

開拓者霊園

8月25日(土)快晴

シティーの北はずれの開拓者墓地には500人ほどの先人たちが葬られています。西洋人の名前に混じって中国名も多いことから、先人たちの多くはゴールド・ラッシュの時代にケアンズにやって来た人々と思われます。その中にただ1人だけ日本人と思しき名前を発見。ウメキ・カタロウ(生年不詳・1900年没)。多分中国人たちと一緒に金鉱で働いていた人でしょう。

豪州のゴールド・ラッシュ

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Pioneer cemetery
Sat. August 25 : fine

Around 500 people have been berried in the pioneer cemetery located north end of City. Most of them must have come to Cairns in gold rush era as there are many Chinese names you can find in the majority group of western names. I’ve found one name that could be Japanese. Umeki Kataro(?-1900). He must have been working in gold mine with other Chinese people.

gold rush in Australia

ジンジャー

8月24日(金)快晴

参議院選挙で負けたら閣僚全員が靖国神社参拝を見送ったとか。ジンジャーは生姜の仲間で、沢山の種類があり、草丈は2ｍ、いずれも美しい花を咲かせます。写真はトーチ(松明)・ジンジャー。花の直径は20ｃｍ。ケアンズでは冬でも色々の花が見られます。春の花、ジャカランダも3週間前から咲いています。

ジャカランダ

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Ginger
Fri. August 24 : fine

Being defeated by the election of the House of Councilors no one of the Cabinet visited Yasukuni gingya(shrine), I heard. There are a lot of species in ginger, its height is 2m and all of them have beautiful flowers. The photo is torch ginger. The diameter of the flower is 20cm. you can see a lot of different flowers in Cairns even in winter. Jacaranda, one kind of spring flowers has being in bloom for the last 3 weeks.

Jacaranda

スイトン

8月23日(木)快晴

終戦記念日には例年通りスイトンを作りました。茸が入るともっと美味しいのですが、ケアンズではあまり手に入りません。戦後の食糧難を幼年期に体験したトラウマから、僕の食に対するこだわりは相当なもの。滋養に富んだ美味しいものを食べるのがライフスタイル。ジャンクフードは食べず、低カロリー、低脂肪食が好みなので、和食が中心になります。週に2ー3回寿司屋に行きますが、こちらの回転寿司は１皿250ー700円とかなり高めです。

アンザック・デーのスイトン

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Suiton
Thu. August 23 :fine

I customarily cooked suiton on the anniversary of the end of the Pacific War. If you add mushrooms in it, it is much better but you can rarely get them in
Cairns. I’m extremely particular about food because of the trauma that I spent my childhood in hunger and poverty era after the war. It’s my life style to eat well-nourished and delicious food. I never eat junk food but low calorie and low fat food, so I mainly have Japanese food. I go to sushi train 2 or 3 times a week. It’s pretty expensive in Australian sushi train as 1 plate is $2.5-7.0.

suiton on ANZAC Day

サトウキビの刈り入れ

8月22日(水)快晴

天候不順のためにまだサトウキビの刈り入れがあちこちで行われています。動く巨大電動カンナのような重機がサトウキビを飲み込んで、裁断された茎は併走するダンプカーに吐き出し、葉は吹き飛ばします。刈り入れの済んだ畑はトラクターで葉を土壌に漉き込むと同時に種を蒔きます。既に隣の畑ではサトウキビの苗が50ｃｍくらいに伸びています。２期作の米作地帯で田植えと稲刈りが同時に見られるのと同じ光景です。

5ヶ月前の同じ畑

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cane howling
Wed. August 22 : fine

Late cane harvest is still going on here and there on account of the unseasonable. The working vehicle like a huge electric moving plane swallows canes and cut off the stalks. The stalks are spews out to the truck running aside, while leaves are blown up. After the harvest the tractor plows the field with mixing the leaves into the soil. At the same time it seeds the field. Young cane plants are already 50cm tall in the field next to it. That’s the same scene as the double cropping rice field areas where you can see both rice-planting and rice-harvest.

the same cane field 5 months ago

哀しき団塊の世代

8月21日(火)晴時々曇

同世代の競争が激しい会社人間と専業主婦。感情的で自己主張が激しく自分勝手。議論好き 、理屈好きだが根拠に欠ける 。自立心と責任感が欠如し、他人の意見には耳を貸さず、自分の意見が通らないとふて腐れる。保守的。 家庭に服従を強要し、子の人権を無視する。いい年なのだから少しは礼儀正しくならないとね。

品格ある教育

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Poor baby boomers
Tue. August 21 : fine occasionally cloudy

They are company occupied men who compete seriously with the same generation and full-time house wives. They are emotional, competitive, defensive, and selfish. They are argumentative but groundless, neither independent nor responsive, never respect different opinions, get sulky easily when his opinion is denied, conservative. They demand family member into obeying and neglect children’s right. They should become more polite as they are old enough.

degnified education

幸せな豪州の老人たち

8月20日(月)快晴

日本人は40年間汗水たらして働いて、マイホームと年金をゲットします。マイホームは老朽化するほど価値を失い、年金は毎月確実に減少します。豪州の年金は投資型で、年間12-18％の利回りがあるので数年間で元金は倍増しますが無税。住宅も年間10-20％の値上がりが期待できますが、キャピタル・ゲインは無税です。豪州の老人たちは働かなくてもどんどん豊かになります。

キャピタル・ゲイン

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Happy elderly in Australia
Mon. August 2o : fine

Japanese work hard for 40 years to get own houses and pensions. Their own houses become less valuable as it is becoming older. Also heir pension decreases definitely every month. As Australian pension is investment type and its interest is 12-18% the principal becomes double in several years without tax. Their own houses are expected to increase its price with 10-20% per year but the capital gain tax free. As a result the Australian elderly become richer and richer even if they don’t work hard at this moment. “ At this moment” means this coming 10 years. No one knows what the future will be like after 10 years.

capital gain

日本の若者たち

8月19日(日)曇

30歳を過ぎても結婚もせず、定職も持たず、国民年金も払っていない若者たち。夢はＭＰ３や携帯の新機種購入やせいぜいマイカー保有止まり。持ち家などは夢のまた夢。彼らの半数はホームレス予備軍。何故日本の若者がこんなに貧乏なのか？それは年寄りが定年後も職場の定員枠を若者に明け渡そうとしないから。その元凶は税金の無駄遣いと年金や老人介護の無策だけではなく、教育レベルの低さにあります。日本人は自分のことだけで精一杯？

ホームレス

低レベルな日本の教育

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The Japanese young
Sun August 19 : cloudy

They never get married even after getting 30 years old, never have steady jobs, and never pay premium of national pension. Their dream is to buy new MP3 or mobile phones, or limited their own car at most. Having their own houses is no more than a dream. Half of them are reserve troops of homeless. Why are the Japanese young so poor? That is because old Japanese people never give up their seats at their workplaces even after their retirement ages. Its cause is not only the waste of tax and lack of policy of pension and elderly care but also low level of education. Anyways, can’t Japanese think of others but only of themselves?

homeless

low leveled Japanese education

豪州の若者たち

8月18日(土)晴

生活水準、教育水準、携帯電話とパソコンの普及率、平均寿命は世界トップレベル。53％が深刻な肥満に悩む。海外旅行や車よりも持ち家志向の堅実派。貯金よりも投資を好む。喫煙率は25％。結婚の平均年齢は男性が32歳で女性が29歳。しかし独身男性の31％、独身女性の26％が一生結婚しない。子供のいる家庭は30％。離婚率は30％。

豪州エネルギー事情

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The Australian young
Sat. August 18 : fine

Their living standard, educational level, and diffusion rate of personal computers and mobile phones, and the average life span are at top in the world. 53% of them are suffered from serious obesity. They are quite sound as they prefer having their own houses to going on oversea trips or having cars. They prefer investment to saving money. Smoking rate is 25%. The average marital age is 32 for men and 29 for women. 31% of single men and 26% of single women never get married in their lifetime. 30% of the households have children. The average divorce rate is 30%.

energy problem in Australia

永世中立

8月17日(金)雨後晴

僕が時々顔を出しているシティーの英語学校には、夏休み中のスイス人学生が大勢短期留学中。永世中立のスイスは自然が豊かで、国民所得も世界最高水準の誇り高き国民性。しかし欧州文化全体が老齢期を迎え若者には刺激が少なく、兵役もあるし、住みにくい状況になってきているようです。狭い欧州を飛び出して、ストレスのない豪州に移住したいと言う若者も大勢います。「思い切り良く実行したら・・・」と僕はアドバイスします。

永世中立のコスタリカ

永世中立の北欧諸国

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Permanent neutrality
Fri. August 17 : rainy after fine

A lot of Swiss students who are in summer holiday have come and stayed in the English conversation schools where I often drop in to study temporally. Keeping permanent neutrality Switzerland has great nature, its national income is the top level in the world, and the people have high pride national character. Nevertheless the whole European culture has grown old the society has been dull and stuffy for the young. Some of them want to run out from narrow Europe and migrate to Australia, the no stress country. “Put your idea in practice boldly” is my advice to them.

Permanent neutral Costa Rica

Permanent neutral northern European countries