Episode41 : That Makes Sense

It was at the public space of the university where I met Carla for the first time. She was reading on a bench. I don’t remember any more how I started talking to her. She came from Barcelona. She spoke well enough to study in an advanced class.  We would go out together with my classmates. We used to rendezvous at the centre of town. Carla was always waiting for us, even though I arrived early. I heard that Latin countries had “an original time” as well as their unpunctual trains. In fact, it is  good manners in France for people to visit their friend a quoter of an hour later than the arranged time, when they are invited to their home party. I said to her that I was surprised at her punctuality. She laughed and said that it was up to the person even in Spain. That makes sense.

Another day, we visited le Château d’Angers which was famous for the tapestries of the Apocalypse. I am an atheist other than times when I make a wish. I asked her what these tapestries meant. She answered that she didn’t know either. As I asked if she was Christian, she said laughing, “yes, I am. But I don’t know well. This is why people go to church. The priests teach it to us”. That makes sense.

On a lovely afternoon, we talked sitting on the bench at university. This time, she asked me why Japanese and American people always cringed together in groups. I looked around to check. As she said, they were talking or playing in groups, meanwhile European students stayed alone on the bench and at a café. Come to think of it, I often spent with Japanese classmates. She told me that it didn’t make sense, because they came there to study French. That makes sense. So, I answered that almost all of native persons went out of Angers to spend their vacations in this season, so we couldn’t find them anywhere other than at shops, cafés and our host family.She laughed and said, ‘that makes sense’.

After I went back to Japan, I. Corresponded with Carla in Spanish for a couple of months. She wanted to become a teacher. I wonder how she is doing now.

※毎月1日、15日に掲載予定です。
※この記事は、The Traveler’s Time vol.3に収録。

第41話　なるほどね！

カルラと初めて会ったのは、大学のピロティだった。彼女はベンチで本を読んでいた。どうやって話しかけたのか、今となっては覚えていない。カルラはバルセロナの出身で、上級クラスで学べるくらいの語学力だった。