Yoshie Doi　

The seasons are opposite in the northern and southern hemispheres　

　My niece, who married an Australian, returned to Japan after a long time and stopped by Kyoto. It seems that those who married into abroad due to the corona crisis and those who live in abroad have not been able to return to their hometowns for the past three years.

　My niece’s son entered a public elementary school in Australia, and his class is 20 people, but there are 10 nationalities. It is unimaginable in Japan. It seems that the nationality of the whole public elementary school will be 50 countries. If you imagine a public elementary school in Japan, it is just unexpected. At a bilingual elementary school in English and Japanese, there are supplementary classes on Saturdays, and it seems that mathematics and history are being learned in Japanese.

　Since there are such multinational children enrolled, there is an International Diversity Week, and it seems that there is a week when they go to school wearing clothes that show the culture of each country. If he is half-Japanese and half-Australian, it seems that he goes to school wearing Japanese summer clothing Jinbei. It’s a chance to be aware of your identity from childhood. It was as if a 7-year-old child felt the goodness of Japan in a foreign country.

  Also, my niece’s friend went back to Japan for 6 months, and during that time, she seems to be using the Japanese elementary school system. My niece’s son is also going to study at a Japanese elementary school for a week. Even though he returned to Japan after a five-week vacation, he still does his homework every day.

  What surprised me was the way white Austrians wash the dishes. In Australia, a desert country that values water, even when washing dishes, put water in a bucket, put dirty dishes in it and put detergent in it, wash it with a sponge in the bucket, and then use the dishes. It seems that they only wash the dishes, and they can easily rinse them with the water stored in the bucket, so there are times when the detergent foam remains on the back side of the dishes. This is an example of how the natural environment creates culture and customs, but it is far from the Japanese sense of the rainy season.

  Also, if you drink and drive a little, it’s OK. Even when her husband stayed at the hospital where she was hospitalized for childbirth, alcohol was allowed and it was even on the menu. I recall her cousin saying that she was a surprise to from Japanese sensibilities.

  Japanese people like fish, but many Australians also like fish, and it seems that there are many Japanese foods. Chinese food is also popular among Australians. My niece’s family eats three meals rice a day, and he goes to school with a packed lunch. The whole family used chopsticks skillfully and ate delicious Japanese food. I was full of surprise to find someone who loves Japanese food more than the Japanese.

  One of the founding directors of Kyo-Suzume who married to the United States also said that in recent years, horse mackerel is finally being sold at Fisherman’s Wharf in California, and she is now able to make horse mackerel pickled in Nanban. About 20 years ago, when I taught her how to make horse mackerel pickled in Nanban, I remember being surprised to hear that horse mackerel was sold as fish food, but not at fishmongers where people could eat it. . Currently, it seems that she is cooking the favorite food of his American husband, horse mackerel pickled in Nanban. This person is also Japanese and loved Nishiki Market.

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