We studied together at the school for one semester, and then they each visited our apartment in Vancouver on separate occasions.
Even though we didn't spend that much time together, we have a lot to reminisce about. Maybe it's because the time we spend abroad was intense.
The husband, Masahiko, was a kind judo player who coordinates the Japanese and Korean students at the English school. At around 30, I was older than the other students, but he always invited me out and about, and I had a great time in Halifax. We even played baseball together. Baseball!
Kaori was a particularly young and smart one in the group, and later we became the only two Japanese students in the ESL program at SMU university, the oldest and youngest. We naturally worked on assignments together, and we hit it off, saying, "The Arab students' English is grammatically incoherent and incomprehensible!"
I thought Kaori was only about half of my height back then. Looking closer, she wasn't that small. But she still looks the same now (lol).
She then went on to St. Mary's University (Melanie's alma mater) for four years, and apparently had a long-distance relationship with Masahiko, who returned to Japan earlier, for two years. To be honest, I didn't even realize they were dating, even when we were together, even after he returned. When Melanie asked Kaori, "Is that so?", she replied yes, and I was shocked.
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We talked about all this while enjoying some delicious yakiniku at a 101-year-old restaurant run by my brothers and nephews. They wanted to meet Melanie too. Yeah I wanted to have her see you too. This is the restaurant where I first met her. She got drunk at my brother's wedding party, and I was playing guitar and we sang "Imagine" and "Brown Sugar" while laughing out loud.
Their son, who was with them, naturally had no idea about many of the stories, but he listened with a smile and said, "Oh, really?" He's a sports-loving young man from Shizuoka, so when I told him I once worked as an interpreter for Kashima Antlers and that Zico was scary, he laughed and said, "That must have been an amazing experience." We really did have some unique experiences thanks to moving to Canada and attending that school. It was incredible.
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This is a class at the Halifax English School. Behind Masahiko, I'm showing my English notebook to show how hard I was studying.
I think it was Jang Wan, a Korean big company guy on the far left (he was super keener), who I often argued with. "Tomo, your grammar's wrong," I said. "That's why I'm studying, shut up! 😉"
The young man on his knees, wearing a black shirt and glasses, was the son of a former Korean diplomat in Saudi Arabia. He was very frustrated by his austere youth in Saudi Arabia, with no music or anything, but he respected me because I could play the guitar. "I'll teach you how to play guitar, no big deal. This is C. This is Am." Looking at the photo brings back memories.
When we played baseball, judoka Masahiko's hits flew incredibly far. I never thought I'd play baseball in Canada. I forgot the name of the woman in the middle, but she was a kind girl. Natsukashii. I think the person behind me was a professor at Korea University of Technology. Korea was sending a lot of elite students abroad to study. That was the era. I think it's those 90s students who are supporting Korea's current development.
Masahiko taught business and judo as a high school teacher for many years, and apparently had his students do well in national tournaments. He's just as I imagined him to be back then.
Thank you so much for coming all the way here. It was fun! Next time I'll definitely bring Melanie and Moay too.
今日アメリカ人の友人と会っていた娘に、彼は国のことを心配してるだろうねと尋ねた。「Yeah、8月のミネソタ銃撃事件はよく知ってる場所なんだって。アメリカ人であること(being an American)って、ちょっと考えられないよね」。風物は似ていてもまったく違う隣国の国民としての実感がこもっていた。