"The best birthday I could experience because I opened my heart."

私が英語を学ぶ目的の１つは、英語でインタビューできるようになりたいから。その目的を達成するために、今、語学学校の先生たちひとり一人にインタビューしています。今回は、毎朝英会話レッスンを受けている語学学校の先生の一人にインタビュー。彼の趣味の１つである旅行について話を聞きました。彼が旅行先でどんな人たちと出会い、どんなことを感じたのかを聞きました。ご協力いただきありがとうございます。

"Banaue rice terraces" located in the Cordillera region of the Philippines. "In the memory of my birthday," a Filipino English teacher who visited alone had an unexpected encounter here. He told me that he had started to look at himself again. He also introduces Smagin Cave, which he visited on this trip, as well as Bataness and Ilocos, which he would like to visit in the future.

Banaue rice terraces＝バナウエの棚田（世界遺産）、located in the Cordillera region＝コルディレラ地方、In the memory of my birthday＝誕生日の思い出、unexpecte＝意外な・思わぬ、encounter＝（偶然）出くわす、Smagin Cave＝スマギン洞窟、Bataness＝バタネス、Ilocos＝イロコス

"My first flight is full of things I don't know!"

He, a Filipino English instructor, left Cebu Island, where he currently lives, to visit the Cordillera region on October 3.

"I like to travel. I'm always on vacation when I'm off work. Since October 6th was my birthday, I decided to give a birthday present to myself. My friend told me, "Why did you go on a trip alone? I wanted to go with you." But traveling is expensive.

currently＝現在、expensive＝高い

"I got on an airplane from Cebu Island to Manila. The first airplane! I don't know how to see the seat of the ticket, so I went to the back more and more on the plane. I'm sorry. I came back in front of the aisle, and was laughed at by the cabin attendant, and when I went to the bathroom and pressed the button to push the water, I heard a terrible noise when I sucked in, right? I was so surprised at that! " Then, are you okay with the cabin attendant behind the door? I was asked. "

aisle＝側廊、cabin attendant＝客室乗務員、terrible noise=うるさい音、 right?＝～だよね？、behind＝後ろに

See the terraces of the "Stairs to Heaven" Banaway.

By the way, why did he bother to get on the plane to see the Banaway Rice Terraces?

"I only saw this in my books when I was in elementary.Now, I just can't believe it's right in front of me."

By the way＝ところで、bother＝悩む、Banaway Rice Terraces＝バナウエ棚田、 elementary＝初等の（小学生の頃）、it's right in front of me＝まさに目の前にある、just ＝たった今

Banaway's rice terraces are rice cultivated on mountain slopes, with a total length of 20,000 km. The magnificent terraced rice fields are said to be "stairs to heaven". In addition, there is a name called "the eighth wonder of the world" that comes after the seven wonders of the world. It is also famous as one of the world heritage sites in the Philippines.

Morning when he visited. It was said that the temperature in the mountains was so low that it became white when I exhaled. "Natural tears spilled in front of the magnificent nature spreading in front of us," he said.

cultivate＝耕作する、slope＝斜面、length＝（端から端までの）長さ、addition=追加する、the eighth wonder of the world＝（世界七不思議にかけて）世界で8番目の不思議、world heritage site＝世界遺産、 temperature＝気温、exhale＝吐き出す（息を吐いたら白くなった）、Natural tears spille＝自然と涙がこぼれる、magnificent nature＝壮大な自然、spreading＝広げる

"The language is different and I didn't talk to anyone."

He took a lot of commemorative photos here. Who took these pictures?

"I'm a tour guide. I signed up for a package tour. The trip was on my own, but when I went to see the rice terraces, there were a few others. A few people took a van and went out together. But I didn't talk to anyone in the van because I didn't know anyone, I was from the Visayas, I thought other people were around Manila. I'm Cebuano but they speak Tagalog.I've been wearing headphones and listening to music all the time. "

commemorative＝記念して、signed up for～に参加する、a few other＝ほかの何人かの、van＝車、headphones=ヘッドホン、all the time＝ずっと

Two different languages ​​in the Philippines depending on where they come from.

By the way, can he speak Tagalog? I heard that the Filipino languages ​​Tagalog and Visayas are completely different.

"I can speak. I learn at elementary school. But when I'm in the Visayas, such as Cebu where my language school is, I only speak basic Visayas."

He is always surrounded by many friends at his language school, but he is also shy. I think I didn't talk on this trip because I was alone and everyone around was from a different country. Maybe he hasn't talked to other tourers aggressively because of language barriers.

depend on ～：～次第である、By the way＝ところで、basic Visayas＝ビサヤ語、surrounded＝囲っている（彼はいつも友達に囲まれている）、aggressively＝積極的に

As a result of introducing ourselves and getting to know each other, we were able to accept each other.

In the meantime, at the time of the break, the guides asked each to introduce a brief self. After that, something unexpected happened to him!

"Maybe there were 13 people. I introduced each other about one big table and got to know each other. I was told why I came alone on this trip, so I decided to give myself a birthday on October 6th I answered. "

The day he visited Banaway was just his birthday. After hearing this story, the people who took the tour together told him to congratulate him.

"I was supposed to be away from my family and have only one birthday, but they were so happy to congratulate them! They were completely unknown and celebrated for me Yeah. "

That wasn't the only happy thing.

"Let's celebrate with a birthday cake!"

They went on a cave exploration after visiting the Banaue Rice Terraces. At Smagin Cave, he has seen the Kings Curtain, which is said to be between kings, and the pool of the underground lake. When you are inside, you need a guide, and if you pay a guide fee of 500 pesos, you can enter up to 4 people (as of January 2018)

"It's dangerous if you don't hold onto the ropes of the lifeline because of your bad feet. You can enjoy the natural beauty of the cave without touching the cave. It was a lot of fun because I went with the friends who got along on the tour."

And he continued,….

"I want to celebrate your birthday together"

"Do you know birthday stones?" He asked me.

"Birthstone? What's that? I haven't heard of it," I replied.

"When the people we toured together went to a certain place," I'll give you a cake. So close your eyes and say, "Okay, open your eyes." ‟Where is the cake? When you ask, "point at the big, flat stone-this is it! I can't have a real cake, but I want to celebrate your birthday." I was very happy. ''

Somehow weep.

Inside the cave, it is dark and your feet are slippery. It is good to visit alone. But it seems fun to visit with friends. "Be careful," "Oh, my feet slipped." "Is it okay?"

"Kings Curtain"

Underground lake pool. You can swim if you bring a swimsuit.

Traveling alone is fine, but traveling with friends is several times more fun!

Hanging coffin, red national costume, Smagin Cave. Tourist spots in the Cordillera administrative region.

There are several tourist attractions in the Cordillera administrative region he visited. In the Sagada region, there is a unique burial custom called “hanging coffin”, which hangs a coffin from a cliff. It is based on nature worship and seems to have been around since ancient times for a mountain village with a population of about 10,000.

Another thing that impressed him on this trip was wearing red national costumes.

"I thought that it was beautiful when I saw this in a red costume with a unique depth. I took a unique subject in the Philippines called MAPEH, a university where music, art and health and physical education were united. I'm very interested in art and culture.

If I open my mind, the world will spread more and more.

"What did you learn on this trip?" I asked him.

"There are many things. It was a great experience for me to experience the unique culture rooted in the area. I was inspired. I was impressed with the colors and patterns of the folk costumes. I learned the importance of being open, open minded, and involved with people. ''

"When I took this tour, I didn't talk to anyone and I was locked in my world. I was traveling alone, but I talked to the people I went with and got along Then they celebrated my birthday and gave me a wonderful gift, which made me a very precious memory. "

"When I went out, I was traveling alone, but I met a lot of people on the spot, and when I went home, it was a trip with all my good friends. It was a very memorable trip."

He wants to go to Ilocos Vigan, a city in the northernmost province of the Philippines, Batanes and the entire city is a World Heritage Site.

Where will he go in the future?

"Yeah. Batanes or Ilocos," he replied.

Batanes is the largest province in the Philippines. It consists of the Batang Islands that float in the Luzon Strait. Stone houses and churches called the Stone House, and the light house (lighthouse), a symbol of Batang Island, are famous. Located in the northernmost part of the Philippines and close to Taiwan, it has a unique culture that inherits Taiwanese culture.

Ilocos is a place where the streets of the Spanish era remain and somewhere in Europe. St. Augustine Church, a World Heritage Site registered as one of the "Baroque churches of the Philippines", and the capital city of Ilocos Sur Province, Vigan, the entire city is a World Heritage Site, are famous. Cars are prohibited here because the roads are actually made of cobblestones. What is used instead is a carriage called "Caressa"!
It would be nice if you could walk around the city with a carriage!

"Ilocos is expensive, but I want to go," he said.

He travels really well. Maybe I go out somewhere about once a month. Listening to him, I come across many places I want to visit in the Philippines.

"I'll show you the next time I come to the Philippines. Let's invite all the good teachers at the language school and go with them," he said.

Speaking of the Philippines, my world, which I knew only about Cebu Island and Manila, was expanded by him and other language school teachers. I am looking forward to visiting the Philippines again.

* Photo provided by Vigan: Ubukata

私は英語の音読が苦手です。この文章は長文を読む練習として使っています。単語もできるだけ簡単なものを選んでいます。よく間違える単語や気をつけるべき文法などについて、簡単に解説を入れています。日本語版と合わせて読んでみてください。おかしなところがあればコメントいただければ幸いです。