新しい難民－同じ人としてできることは－vol.2 [英語でBlog!]
(写真はUNHCRより転載)
私は日ごろは自分の周りのことでいっぱいいっぱいで、なかなか世界で起こっていることに思いを馳せることが叶いません。今参加させていただいている英語コミュニティには様々なバックグラウンドをお持ちの方が集まっておられ、とても刺激になります。英字新聞を定期的に読むようになり、BBC Newsを毎日聞くようになり、いいことたくさんのコミュニティ。ためになるDiscussion Topicを提案し、よりよい会になるように貢献できたらと考えています。さて、私たちのグループではこの新しい難民問題について、どのような意見が出たのでしょうか。
新しい難民－同じ人としてできることは－vol.1 [英語でBlog!]
(写真はUNHCR Japanより転載)
2週間に1度、都内で英語サークルに参加しています。日常生活で英語を話す機会がない私にとってはとてもうれしい場所。Free conversationとDiscussionのコーナーがあり、最近は後者のトピックを準備させていただいています。朝The Japan TImesを購入して電車に乗ることが習慣となった最近の私。これは面白い、人の意見を聞いてみたい、そんな題材を選んで資料を作成しています。昨日の題材として選んだのが環境難民問題。世界の3分の1の人口が集中するアフリカで深刻な問題なのですが、もともと暴動や紛争から逃れる人々を難民と定義しているため、支援すら受けられないのが現状です。同じ地球に生きる人として、せめて実情を知りたい、そしてどんな小さなことであっても、協力できることがあればやってみたい、そんな思いからDiscussion Topicを選ばせていただきました。
なお、英語サークルについてはこちらをご参照ください。
I attend an English conversation club every two weeks. As I never use the English language in the daily life, the class offers a good opportunity to me. The session consists of two sections; free conversation and discussion based on concerns found in the newspaper article. These days I am responsible for selecting topics for the discussion. Grabbing a paper at a station, I enjoy reading it through and find something interesting.
The topic tonight was about environmental refugee issue. Although people in Africa are forced to threaten their lives with climate change, they fail to find humanitarian aid due to the original definition of refugee. Under the 1951 Geneva Convention, refugees are defined as people fleeing their country because of violence or persecution (The Japan Times). As a human being on Earth, I would like to know what is going and what could be a possible solution to make a difference. This is the reason I selected this article for the discussion in this evening.
新しい薬ができました！ [英語でBlog!]
今度うちの会社から新しい薬がでます。適用は潰瘍性大腸炎。下痢などの症状を伴う病気で、近年この病を罹患する人が増えています。これまでの薬は腸に届くまでに有効成分が出てしまっていましたが、この薬はpH7以上で崩壊するように設計されており、病巣により多くの有効成分を届けることができます。難しい話はさておき、今日はそのお祝い。先輩方の苦労を思い浮かべながら、美酒をお相伴に預かります。
A new drug developed in my firm will be launched into the market in the near future. It may treat ulcerative colitis, a disease which goes with diarrhoea. The number of people who suffer from this disease has been steadily increasing and an effective medication is waited. This drug is designed, unlike the former first-choice drug, to carry the effective substance directly to the inflammatory site. Anyway, I will put the story aside and move to something interesting; a drinking party!
A new drug developed in my firm will be launched into the market in the near future. It may treat ulcerative colitis, a disease which goes with diarrhoea. The number of people who suffer from this disease has been steadily increasing and an effective medication is waited. This drug is designed, unlike the former first-choice drug, to carry the effective substance directly to the inflammatory site. Anyway, I will put the story aside and move to something interesting; a drinking party!
ただいま通勤電車の中です。 [英語でBlog!]
( 画像はhttp://japanese.cri.cn/chinaabc/chapter8/chapter80204.htmより転載 )
私の前に座る学校の先生と思しき女性は生徒の算数の宿題を添削しています。模範解答と見比べ、手にした携帯で電卓をはじきー。解答と一字でも違えば赤ペンで修正し、解答を写しています。先日公表された学力テストの結果を見て結果に一喜一憂した人も多いのではないでしょうか。私が読んだある新聞によると、前回の試験結果と比べて応用問題が苦手な傾向は変わっていないのだとか。知られざる現代の教育現場を客観的に眺めて、あきらめに近いものを感じました。
I am posting this article in a commuting train. A lady right in front of me is marking an answer sheet of her student. With a mobile phone on her left hand, she stares at both the student's paper and the model answer, compares the wording one by one and strictly corrects the paper. Guess what, it was arithmetic. I guess many of you were to some extent interested in the results of the general academic tests held in elementary schools. According to a newspaper article, the results for the advanced questions did not see any improvements compared with the results of the previous examination. No wonder, even teachers do such a silly behaviour. If it were the ordinary education, few would foresee a bright future for the school children.
豚さんからの贈りもの [英語でBlog!]
( 画像はhttp://www.rakuten.co.jp/anafoods/741062/より転載 )
自分で言うのもなんですが、私は流行からいつも２年も３年も遅れています。携帯音楽プレーヤーから流行言葉まで、そもそも流行を追いかける気がないのかもしれません。そんな私が珍しく先取りした流行があります。物欲に目がくらんだのでしょうか、タダであげるというものにいとも簡単に手を出してしまった私。人にとられないように、大切に大切にしまって自宅に持ち帰ったのでした。
It sounds weird to say by myself, but I keep pace with what's new with two to three-year time lag. I might not be keen to keep up with anything new; e.g. portable music player and even verbal expressions. As was not the case with me, however, the situation was different this time. I might be attracted by some free stuff. As a matter of fact, I instantly obtained a gift from pigs. I carefully brought the souvenir back to my home with tender loving care.
MRくんたちのはなむけに [英語でBlog!]
4月に入社して早5ヶ月目に入りました。研究開発部門は全体研修が短く、部門に配属になったあとにGCP (Good Clinical Practice, 薬を作るときに守らなくてはならない決まり) やSOP (Standard Operational Procedure; マニュアル) などの研修を受けたのですが、MR (Medical Representative; 営業さん) たちは今日まで認定試験に向けた研修を受けていたそうです。お盆があけたら全国に散らばるMRさんたちのはなむけに、本社開発部門企画の飲み会が開かれたのでした。
Five months have passed since I started my career. The research and development section had relatively short general preocupational session, followed by sufficient 240-hour session specialised in development of new drugs; e.g. GCP; good clinical practice, and SOP, standard operational procedure, separately. On the other hand, medical representaives, or MRs, mainly responsible for selling drugs and providing medical doctors and other hospital-related people with information on drugs, took a long introductory session until now. They will soon be allocated all over Japan, and we colleagues in the R&D section held a drinking party for them.
Five months have passed since I started my career. The research and development section had relatively short general preocupational session, followed by sufficient 240-hour session specialised in development of new drugs; e.g. GCP; good clinical practice, and SOP, standard operational procedure, separately. On the other hand, medical representaives, or MRs, mainly responsible for selling drugs and providing medical doctors and other hospital-related people with information on drugs, took a long introductory session until now. They will soon be allocated all over Japan, and we colleagues in the R&D section held a drinking party for them.
帰国しました！ [英語でBlog!]
オーストラリアでの大学院生活を終え、昨日帰国しました。暑さには強いほうだと思っていたのですが、このサウナのような暑さには降参しそうです。1ヶ月にわたりオフラインで日記の更新が滞ってしまいましたが、これから少しずつアップしていきたいと思います。
My student life has finally been over, and I safely reached Japan. It is something like a steam bath here in Yamaguchi, my hometown. Due to travelling around Brisbane I have been off-line for long, yet I would update my awesome experiences there. I do need air-conditioning to survive this hell.
Parmaculture - 持続可能な農業 2 [英語でBlog!]
Newcastleはオーストラリア東海岸に位置する港町です。このため土壌の塩分濃度が通常より高く、農業面で多くの課題がありました。ここで先住民の人々のお知恵拝借、自然の恵みを最大限生かし、自然の力を利用して農作物を創る―、教科書に炭素循環の話が載せられて久しいですが、実際にこの目で環境にやさしい農業を見ることができてとても充実した一日でした。ですが、一方でこの農法が日本にそのまま輸入できるかというと一朝一夕には行かないように思えます。
Newcastle is located in the Eastern Coast of Australia. The place is known with its high salt concentration, which may have negative effects on local agricultural industry. Indigenous people have developed sustainable methods of agriculture for long where they follow the Natural Law, minimise the interference with agriculture and maximise its benefit. You may learn about carbon cycle in science; after all, however, it often ends up with the theory. Hence, I am happy to see the actual parmaculture by myself. However, there are lots of problems to be solved although the method appears to be the best way for sustainable development. In particular, Japan faces lots of agricultural issues, such as shortage of land and workforce, aging and high payment level
Student of Sustainability conference in Newcastle 2 [英語でBlog!]
な、なんと、この会議は世界20カ国を超える国と地域からの参加者で構成されていました。自分の環境についての熱い思いをぶつけるとともに、友人や講師に学ぼうとする意欲、知的好奇心は外国の学生に学ぶところが非常に大きいです。
The conference consists of people from no less than 20 countries and regions. People are keen to give their personal opinion, not just to passively listen to other students and lecturers; this must be the major attribute I should learn from the overseas students.
Fraser Island - A World Heritage 3 [英語でBlog!]
フレーザー島でのバカンスも最終日となりました。今日はLake Wabbyを訪ねてBrisbaneへと戻ります。Lake WabbyはLake MacKenzieのように真水の湖なのですが、車でアクセスした後2キロほど歩かなければならないということで人はまばらです。まるで砂漠のような景色が見えたら湖はすぐそこ。とびこんじゃだめよ、といわれても飛び込みたくなりますね。
Time fries; the escape in Fraser ends up within today. We pay a visit to Lake Wabby and go back to Brisbane. Lake Wabby, like Lake MacKenzie, is also known as the lake with pure water, yet due to its 2 km access it is less crowded than the counterpart. A scenery like a dessert will bring you to the lake shortly. We are recommended not to jump in the Lake; however, the emerald-like colour strongly persists the instruction.
