Japan Times掲載記事

2006年5月14日（日）発売の英字新聞『ジャパンタイムズ』日曜版に、手紙形式の短いエッセーが掲載されました。

Home and away

Japanese abroad give a flavor of six continents
in these 'postcards' to Japan Times readers

AUSTRALIA
Respect brings harmony without being workaholic

Sumin is a housewife in her 30s. She moved from Osaka to Australia in January 2005
when her husband took a place at a vocational cookery college in Adelaide.
She is the mother of two boys, ages 5 and 2, and the family is hoping to qualify as permanent Australian residents in 2007.
Sumin shares her thoughts on life Down Under at: www.adelaidedream.com


G'day!

It's been almost a year now since we moved to Australia,
and of course we've found various differences between Japan and here.

Right after we moved, we had problems finding a place to live.
In Japan, real-estate agents in general provide a good service for people looking to rent a place.
Once you have informed them of your needs and your budget, they will try to find you somewhere suitable.
They will take you in their cars to view properties and, if you don't care for one, they can show you others easily.

In Australia, though, it is the customer's responsibility to see the unit on the day the agent decides.
After letting many prospective tenants view the unit, the agents decide whom to rent it to.
Since we had to find a place to live as soon as possible, we wanted to make a contract without checking the unit.
We negotiated with several agents, but all of them slammed the door in our face.

Although we finally found an understanding agent and a place to live,
this experience taught us the different attitudes toward work between Japanese and Australian people.
We Japanese tend to consider work as the center of life, and as workers we are trained to provide good service to customers.
Contrary to this, Australians consider that work is just a part of life, and workers make arrangements to suit themselves,
not their customers.
Living here, I became keenly aware that Japanese are workaholics.


We were also surprised by the difference in education curricula.
When we arrived here, we had to send our older son to a local kindergarten.
His classroom was divided into several playing sections, and each pupil was doing what he or she wanted.
Some were drawing pictures or building blocks and others were playing with personal computers.

In Japan, pupils have to do the same thing all together in class, and if a pupil cannot or will not join in,
then they might be left out of the group and eventually become a target of bullying.

Australia is a multiracial nation comprised of people with different cultural backgrounds.
They communicate with each other in a common language -- English -- but at home they might use a different language.
Everybody is different, and by respecting the difference Australians seem to live together in harmony.
I can see this attitude everywhere in the society here, not to mention in the education field.

My son entered an elementary school this month and I am very excited to see how he grows up.


Sincerely,

Sumin

2006年5月
SUMIN