金曜日は日本語で - Japanese Friday 野生動物版

我が家の息子は窓の外を眺めるのが大好き。　トラックが家の前を通り過ぎていくと顔をガラスにピッタリとくっつけて見えなくなるまで動きません。　またリスや鳥が来ると目を輝かせて教えてくれます。　そんな我が子をを見ているとアメリカに来てすぐの頃の私を思い出します。 My son loves looking at things out of the window. If a truck passes by in front of our house, he'll plaster his face to the glass and won't move until it is well out of sight. And when there's a squirrel or a bird outside, he'll inform me with his eyes twinkling. When I see him like that, he makes me think of myself just after I had arrived in the U.S.

日本でごく普通に見る野生の動物といったらカラスにすずめ、それから鳩とツバメぐらいでしょうか。　ブルージェイのような青い鳥やカーディナルのような赤い鳥はおとぎ話の中でしか知りませんでした。　ですから、アメリカでよく見られる野生動物の豊富さには目を見張りました。　我が家の庭に動物が現れる度に母に嬉々として報告に行ったものです。　ガーデニングが好きな方達の話を聞くと庭を荒らされたりしてちょっと害虫的な存在みたいですが、我が家ではリスは大歓迎！　よく窓のすぐそばに種をまいてリスが来るのを待っていました。 In most areas, all the wildlife you'll ever get to see in Japan are crows and sparrows, along with pigeons and swallows. I had only heard of blue and red birds, such as blue jays and cardinals, in fairy tales. So, I simply couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the variety of wildlife commonly found in America. Every time an animal appeared in our yard, I would report what I saw to my mother with absolute delight. Although some gardeners seem to view them as pests, squirrels were definitely welcome at our house! We used to leave some seeds right by the window and wait for them to come stuff their cheeks.

他にも蛇はもちろん、オポッサムなんかを見つけたこともありました。　ちょっと木が多いところに行くと鹿までいて、高速を走りながら家族皆で「あ！鹿だ！今の鹿だ！」とよく大騒ぎをしていました。　さすがに今住んでいるスタッテンアイランドで鹿を見たことはありませんがリスは本当にどこでもいます。　グランドキャニオンからニューヨークのど真ん中にあるセントラルパークにまでもいて、反対になぜ日本にはもっとリスがいないのか不思議になるぐらいです。In additon, we found snakes at our house as well as an opossum once. You can even see a couple of deer if you go somewhere with a little more trees. I remember my entire family often screaming "Oh, a deer! That was a deer!" as we drove down the highway. I can't say I've seen a deer in Staten Island, where I live now, but squirrels literally seem to be EVERYWHERE. I've seen them at Grand Canyon as well as in Central Park, right in the middle of New York City. It actually makes me wonder why we don't see squirrels more often in Japan!