みんなのフォトエッセイ

カール／メナーシャ高校（アメリカウィスコンシン州）

Carl／Menasha High School (Wisconsin, USA)

本人が書いた文／Original text／本人原文／본인이 쓴 글

私と友だちポーズをとっています。

School Musical: Every year I participate in the school musical. My freshmen year we performed the show Grease. I played the role of Doody, basically a comic relief character. My friends, who were also in the play with me, had a camera and we decided to take funny pictures. In this picture we posed as homosexuals.

私はすいえいのチームにはいっています。

Swim Team: I am on my high school’s swim team. I have been swimming competitively since fifth grade, and this year I was elected captain of the team. This picture was taken at a swim meet. My team tied for fourth place at the state meet this year.

私の誕生日にラクロスヘッドをもらいました。

New Lacrosse Head: For my birthday I received a new lacrosse head from my mother. I play lacrosse for my high school team. I play mid-field and have started since my freshmen year. I like playing lacrosse, but in Wisconsin it is not a very popular sport. In America there are three different seasons for school activities, Spring, Summer, and Fall, and each season you can participate in a different sport.

私のいぬはちいさくてかわいいです。

My Dogs: This is a picture of my dogs lying on me as I lie on the coach. My grandmother’s dog is sitting at my feet. My dog’s names are Ender and Spoon; my grandmother’s dog’s name is Par. My dogs are small and cute but they are not very obedient.

あしがいたいから、はしるのはすきじゃないです。

Cross Country: I participated in cross country the last two years, but this year, I felt that if I continued, my legs would surly fall off at the knee. While I really liked the people on the cross-country team, I hated the pain involved with running with a passion.

これはいとこのしゃしんです。

My Cousin Kate: My cousin Kate is in this picture with me. She lives in the state of Oregon and this picture was taken while I was visiting her. She is older than me and very fun to hang out with.

  ぼくの名前はカール。Mタウンという愛称で呼ばれているウィスコンシン州のメナーシャという小さなまちに住んでいます。近くに大きなまちはないし、バーはあるけれどぼくはまだ行ける年齢ではないし、特に行くところもないまちですが、いろいろな活動に参加して忙しくしています。
  小さなころから舞台に立ち、父が子どものためのお芝居を書く仕事をしていたので、6歳のころには小さな役をもらえました。その後、父がこの仕事を辞めてからもぼくは演じることを続け、高校のミュージカルでは非常に重要な役をもらえました。演劇を通してたくさんの友だちができました。「演劇をやっている子どもは怖い」なんてことも言われますが、ぼくがいっしょに演じている子どもたちはいい子たちです。来年は最上級生になるので、我が校のミュージカルでぼくが主役になると思います。みんな見に来たら感動すると思います。
  ぼくがいちばん時間と労力を費やしているのは水泳です。5年生からはじめ、いまでも来季に備えて毎週数時間泳いでいます。いつもベストをつくし、年2回の数週間のオフ以外は、一年を通してトレーニングをしています。今年はチームのキャプテンに選ばれました。とても光栄なことですが、責任もあるので、自分を引き締めるにはよい機会だと思います。昨年、チームは州で4位になったので、次はもっとよい成績を期待され、自分たちも水平線の向こうで待っている優勝をめざしています。
  家には2匹犬がいます。名前はエンダーとスプーンで、見たこともないくらいかわいいんです。彼らがいなければ、数年前に家族みんながおかしくなってしまっていただろうと思います。ちょっと落ち込んだとき、小さな毛のかたまりが寄ってきて、あごを舐めてくれることほど癒されることはありませんし、体は小さくても彼らの心はとても大きいのです。
  家族のことについて話すのを忘れていました、家族なしではぼくはこうして存在していないのに…。家族は父、母、3兄弟と妹の6人です。母ジーンは小学校の校長先生です。音楽と掃除が好きなようです。父はコネチカット州に住んでいますが、何をしているのかよくわかりません。いつもコンピューターの前にいますが、たくさんの曲を作っているようです。一番上の兄アントンはニューヨークシティのブルックリンで、有名な人が多く訪れるマンハッタンのホテルで働いています。そしてバンドをしてCDも出しています（詳しくはwww.m-labmusic.com)。もう一人の兄ウィルは小児科医を目指してマーケット大学で勉強しています。副専攻でスペイン語も勉強しています。妹のサラはちょっと難しいです。まだ13歳で、国連なんかよりもっと重要なことをいろいろ抱えているようです。信じがたいけどそれがこの年頃の普通の女の子なのでしょう。これがぼくの家族です。なかなかいい家族だと思います。
  水泳のほかに夢中になっているスポーツはラクロスで、地元のチームで、ちょうど今日が今季の最初の試合でした。いいチームなので今年はいい線いくと思います。8年生のころから楽しんでやっています。今まではミッドフィールダーでしたが、今年はポジションが変わって、アタッカーになりました。このチームは、ぼくの兄と数人の仲間がそれまで地元になかったラクロスのチームを立ち上げたものです。ぼくは自分でアルバイトをしたお金でスティックを買いました。
  ついでにぼくのアルバイトの話もしましょう。地元の映画館で働いていますが、もう1年半も働いているのにまだ時給が＄5.60なのが信じられません。おそろしく退屈で繰り返しの仕事です。もし何か変わったことがあったら、脳内出血で倒れてしまうかもしれません。この仕事を辞められないただひとつの理由は、映画がただで見られるという特権です。ただでまったく同じものを見られるということを知ってしまった今、自分でお金を出して映画を見るなんてことは考えられません。それにしても仕事はあまりに退屈なので、あまり深刻でない程度の怪我をして、うまく仕事を辞める方法はないかなどと考えにふけっています。
  みんな同じだとは思いますが、音楽が大好きです。音楽は聴くよりもつくるほうが好きです。ボーカルをしていて、今は止めてしまったけど、結構いいサックスプレーヤーでもありました。学校のバンドのほかにもいくつかバンドに入っていました。また兄が大学へ入るまでは一緒にジャズアンサンブルを組んでいました。たまにぼくたちの演奏に対してお金をもらえることもありました。その後2ヵ月だけロックバンドを組み、すごくいいステージと、すべての音楽の神様が激怒してぼくたちを見下ろすようなひどいステージを経験しました。この夏もバンドを組みたいですが、まだわかりません。
  というわけで、これがぼくについてです。じゃ、また。

My name is Carl. I am from the little town of Menasha Wisconsin, affectionately called M-town. There really is not a whole lot you can do living here. There are no real big cities near by and I am not old enough to go into bars, which in some neighborhoods outnumber houses, but even with the geographic hindrance I have managed to keep busy with assorted activities.
      Ever since I was a little kid I have been involved in acting. My dad wrote children’s plays as a living for a while and I would usually get small roles in them when I was about six. I have continued to act, even though my dad has since discontinued children’s plays, and have had solid parts in the musicals at my high school. I have made many friends while acting, even though theater kids can sometimes get a little scary, but generally the kids I am in shows with are good kids. Next year, my senior year, I should have a big lead in the musical at Neenah High and everyone should come see it, it will rock.
      The activity that takes the largest amount of my time and effort, besides just wasting time, is swimming. I have been swimming since fifth grade, and even though I am really not that great, I still spend hours each week getting ready for the upcoming season. I train almost all year, with a few weeks off actual swimming twice a year, we try to do the best we can and work out hardest. This year my team chose me to be the team captain. I really was honored with their decision and I think I can do a decent job, but it is a lot of responsibility so there is a good chance of me completely screwing up. Last season our team got fourth place in the state, and next year we are expected to do even better, so our hopes are high and a state title may be waiting just over the horizon.
      I have two dogs and they are the cutest animals you have ever seen. Their names are Ender and Spoon and without them I think everyone in my family would have gone crazy a few years ago. There are few things better than a little wriggling fur ball licking your chin when you are feeling a little down, and even though they are small they have huge hearts.
      Wait a minute I haven’t talked about my family at all yet, and where would I be without them? I am from family of six, a mom, dad, three boys, and a girl. My mom, Jean, is a principal at an elementary school. She loves music and cleaning things, I think. My dad lives in Connecticut and I am not really sure what he does. He spends most of his time on his computer doing things, but I do know he writes a lot of music. My oldest brother Anton lives in Brooklyn, New York City. He works at a hotel in Manhattan where he gets to meet all sorts of famous people, and he has a band that just put out a CD (check them out at www.m-labmusic.com). My other brother Will, who is also older, is going to college at the University of Marquette where he is studying to become a pediatrician with a Spanish minor. I am the third child and this whole paper is about me so I think that will do. My little sister, Sarah, is a piece of work. At the tender age of 13 the girl has more major issues than the United Nations. I find it hard to believe at times, but I guess that is normal for girls her age. That pretty much takes care of my family; we’re a decent group.
      The other sport I get involved in is Lacrosse. I play for an area club team; our first game of the season is actually today. We are a good team and should have a fairly successful year. I have been playing since eighth grade and have really enjoyed it the whole time. I play attack this year, which is a change for my, the last two years I have been playing mid-field. My brother and a few of his friends actually started our team, which was the first in the area, themselves. I bought myself my stick with money I made working.
      Speaking of working let’s talk about my job. I work at a local movie theatre, and I hate it. I have been working there for almost a year and a half, but I still only make $5.60 an hour. I do not understand how that is possible. I also cannot handle the extreme redundancy of the job itself, if anything different from the standard routine happened I might have a brain aneurism. The only reason I don’t quit is that I get to watch movies at the theatre for free, and I have become addicted to this privilege. I really don’t think I could let myself pay to watch movies after working at the theatre; it is really not worth it after knowing that they are just as good for free. My job is so boring that I will usually end up standing around thinking about how I could hurt myself to get out of work making the optimal amount of but with the minimum amount of permanent damage.
      I really enjoy music. Well I think everyone does, but I am just letting you know that I enjoy music. I really like making music; I like it more than listening to it. I am a decent vocalist and I used to be a good saxophone player until I stopped practicing. I have been in a few bands other than school bands. My brother and I started out own jazz ensemble a while ago that was together until he went to college, we were good enough to actually get paid a few times. Then we had a rock band for about two months, and we had one good show and one show that made all the gods of music look down on us with fury it was so bad. Hopefully I will have a band this summer, but I can never be sure.
      Well, that does it for me; see you around.