"Long" Means "Spring"?
秀光2年　西村さん（石巻市立向陽小出身）

"This is a tomato. This is a potato. What's this in English?" I asked Rebecca.
"Oh, don't you know?" she said.
"Well, it's a long onion, isn't it?" "No, Yui. It's a SPRING onion."
"SPRING onion? Why? Why SPRING? It's not spring now. We eat it all through the year!"

　One day, Rebecca and I went shopping at the nearest supermarket. This conversation took place. Do you understand what we were talking about? I'll show you later.

　Rebecca was an exchange student from New Zealand. She came to our house in September two years ago when I was in the 6th grade. She stayed with my family for three months. I remember I could speak only a few English words when I first met her.

　Every time I saw her, it was a good chance for me to learn English. One evening, we were having dinner. Rebecca tried some tofu. I asked her, "Do you like it?" "Yes." "Is it delicious?" "Oh, yummy!" "What's yummy?" I wondered. "It means delicious," Rebecca said. Then we enjoyed the dinner, saying "Yummy, yummy" many times.

　I have learned not only English but also her culture and her country, New Zealand. I knew nothing about New Zealand before Rebecca came to my house. But now, I am familiar with New Zealand. I feel so close to her country, even though I have never been there. But remember, the point is that I never tried myself to learn about New Zealand. Strangely enough, just talking with Rebecca, just being with her, helped me a lot to learn about her country and culture.

　My mother also learned about Rebecca's culture. Before Rebecca came to my house, she cooked only Japanese food, but she started cooking pasta, pizzas, and steaks. I was surprised to see even spinach was cooked in a western way. Of course, Rebecca and I enjoyed my mother's Japanese cooking, too. I am sure living with people from a different culture is the best way to learn their language and culture.

　Rebecca sometimes asked me questions about Japan and Japanese culture. But I found most of her questions difficult to answer. I understood her questions. I understood what she meant. But why couldn't I answer them? She always gave me questions that I never thought of. She always asked me something any of my friends never asked. She found strange what I thought quite natural. In other words, what I think natural are not always natural in her culture. Just talking with Rebecca opened my eyes wider, and I was getting able to take a different look at things around me day by day. People often say "Globalization," "Global mind," or "Something global." What does "Globalization" mean anyway? Thanks to Rebecca, now I've got some feeling in myself about what "GLOBAL" means.

　It's not only translating Japanese into English. It's not only learning about a different language and culture. Learning a different language and culture is only a step toward globalization. Looking back at your own language and culture from a different point of view is the next step. Then, day by day, you can look at things from all around them, which makes everything around you really "Global."

　Do you know what "NAGANEGI" in English is? Do you think it's a "LONG" onion? NO! It's a "SPRING" onion.