公開日 2023年06月19日
6月13日(火),串高にケイトリン・郁美・デラクルーズさんが来校されました。
今年3月に本校を卒業した山下日世さんの親戚であるケイトリンさんは,
アメリカのハイスクールで英語(母国語)を教えている先生です。
今回は「日本の高校生と交流がしたい!」というケイトリンさんの熱い思いを,
山下さんの縁で,この串高が叶えることとなりました。
今回はケイトリンさんに加え,アメリカからケイトリンさんのご家族7名が
「その様子を是非見学させてほしい」ということで来校されました。
皆さん,いちき串木野市と姉妹都市であるサリナス市のご出身で,ケイトリンさんの
祖父である宇都郁夫さんは,その姉妹都市盟約を結ぶ際に尽力された方の一人です。
交流は各学年ごとに,1限3年生,2限2年生,3限1年生という形で行われました。
まずはケイトリンさんがこの日のために準備してくださったメッセージを,
英語と日本語で伝えてくださいました。 そのメッセージが以下の文章です。
Hi my name is Kaitlyn Ikumi DelaCruz. First I want to apologize for my Japanese.
I am still practicing. I wanted to start off by thanking you all for allowing me and
my family to visit your school today. I was told I would be giving a speech today
and in the beginning I did not know what I could possibly say. I am an English
teacher from America. How could I say anything meaningful or important to
high school students from Japan? After thinking about it, I realized it is because
of our differences that maybe I could share something with you all today,
as you are all about to share your school with me and my family. As I said
in the beginning I am from America, but my jichan is from Kagoshima and
my bachan is from Kumamoto. On my jichan’s side I am the 3rd generation
to be in America, and on my bachan’s side the 5th generation. This is the same
for my cousins who are here today as well. My jichan immigrated to America
to work and help pay for his mother’s hospital bills when he was very young.
My grandmother was born into an internment camp in America during
World War II. So, it is important we came to visit Japan beyond a vacation but
because this is where our family is. Japan is where a big part of our identity
comes from. Earlier I mentioned how we are different from each other. This feeling
of being different was something that bothered me a lot when I was younger.
The city I grew up in does not have many Japanese people, or even Asian.
My hair did not curl like other girls’ hair did, my eyes were not as big, and so on.
So, being different felt like a bad thing. I am sure that all of us in this room have felt
different before. I wanted to tell you that it’s ok to be different, and something I have
learned is to embrace being different and who you are as a person. At the end of
the day we are all human. I may be from America and you may be from Japan,
but today I hope we share those differences and learn from each other or at the
very least appreciate how our differences is our strength. To be different, to be
in japan, to be at this school with you all today is a gift for me and my family.
I hope you think of what makes you different as a gift as well. The last message
I wanted to give is that I know school is hard. Trust me, I’m a teacher, school
has become my life. But, please be happy. I know it sounds simple, but it is most
important that you are happy. Find what makes you happy and just like you
embrace what makes you different, embrace what makes you happy. Life is short
and you have a future ahead of you once you leave this building, please make
sure that the life waiting for you is one you want to live. Thank you again
for sharing your school with me and my family, and if you have time today
any of us would be happy to talk with you about America or anything you are
interested in. Today is about sharing what makes us different, and happiness.
Thank you.
日系であるという自分のルーツについて,そのことで周囲の人との外見の違いに悩んだ日々,
しかしその違いは強みになると気づいて受け入れたこと,そして,現在のハッピーな自分が
いるということ……。ケイトリンさんは「ぜひ,ハッピーでいてください」と今の思いを
語ってくれました。この日のために一生懸命練習したという日本語は,その熱い気持ちを
充分に生徒達に届けてくれた,と思います。生徒達も真剣なまなざしで聞いていました。
そのあと交流の時間が設けられ,いろいろな質問が飛び交いました。
Q「日本で一番驚いたことは?」
A「子どもの頃に和式のトイレに入ったこと。下に暗い穴があってとても怖かったです」
Q「日本のゲームは知っていますか?」
A「原神インパクトを友達とやっています」
最初は,恥ずかしがっていた生徒達でしたが,時間が経つにつれ,笑顔もたくさん出て,
楽しく交流することができました。
この日のために,スピーチ原稿を書いて,それを日本語で話すためにたくさん練習して,
届けてくれたメッセージ。ケイトリンさん自身も,串高生に伝わったということが実感
できてとても嬉しかったそうです。
7月4日にはサリナス市からの留学生が本校に来ます。それをいい形で迎える意味でも,
素敵な交流の時間となりました。