Monday, November 22, 2010

Work camp in Biancavilla ビアンカヴィラでのワークキャンプ

The first day of the project. I got up at slightly earlier than usual at 4:30, outside was still dark and was slightly raining, I heard the drip of rain hit the roof. I started to write my travel note on my bed, and dogs or cats started to be active outside, until then rain seemed to stop. I went outside when it got bright. Jan and Ton whom I share the room with were still in sleep. The weather did not seem to be very nice, thick clouds covered the Mt. Etna and also other directions. Dogs and cats came to me and asked me to play with them. I took some walk around the house, and vineyards. Slowly sun light and blue sky appeared through thick clouds and it got brighter and brighter. I saw vineyard in Tuscan and also many times in Vienna, but this one looked somehow different. Jan came out after about an hour, then Ton. We studied the house around. I was still not sure if the house was in the typical building style in Sicily. I have never seen such kind before. Maybe only in pictures.

今日はプロジェクトの初日。いつもより若干早く4時半に目が覚める。外はまだ暗くて少し雨が降っているようだった。屋根に雨音が聞こえた。ベッドの上で旅行記を書き始めると、しばらくして外で犬や猫達が動き出し、そのころには雨も止んでいた様子。外が明るくなり始めたころ外に出てみる。同じ部屋で寝ているヤンとトンはまだ寝ている。あまりいい天気ではないようだ。エトナ山の方角も、そのほかの方角も厚い雲に覆われている。犬や猫がやってきて遊べとねだる。家やブドウ畑の周りをしばらく歩いて見て回る。少しづつ日の光と青い空が厚い雲の間から顔を出し始め、より一層明るくなってくる。トスカーナやウィーンでもブドウ畑を何度も見たことがあるが、ここの景色は何かしら違う。1時間ほどしてヤンが外に出てきた。そしてトン。みんなで家を観察する。シチリアの典型的な造りなのかどうかまだ自信が持てないが、多分写真か何かで見たことはあるかもしれないが、これまでに見たことがない気がする。




We gathered at breakfast table at 8:30. Having simple breakfast with Italian bread or biscuit over tea / coffee, we, participants talked to each other what we might be asked to do during our stay here. Actually, from my side, all I knew was to help collecting olives. But it seemed to me that there were lots of work to do for the house, the house was partly still under construction.

8時半に朝食。イタリアの、パン、ビスケットに紅茶かコーヒーのシンプルな朝食を食べながら、みんなでいったいどういう仕事をするのか話をする。実際に聞かされているのはオリーブを集めることだけ。家も部分的に未完成で、オリーブ以外にもたくさん仕事がありそうだ。

We started our work to collect olives. We spread nets under olive trees and pick olives from branches by hand or with a rake, including small ones. There might be about 30 trees around the house which I found during my walking around in the morning. Of course this was my first experience to collect olives. It got warmer by the time we actually started to work on it.

早速オリーブを集めにかかる。オリーブの木の下にネットを広げて、鋤もしくは手で小さなものも含めてオリーブの実を落とす。朝の散歩の際には、家の周りに30本ほどのオリーブの木を見つけた。もちろんオリーブの実を収穫するのはこれが初めて。実際の仕事に掛かるころにはより暖かくなっていた。



On the field which reminds me of Japanese stepping rice field on the hill side, there were olive trees with lots of fruits. Some trees were so tall that we hardly could reach some olive, but most of them were within our reach. Sun shined and casted strong light on the Sicilian vineyards. With the view of Mt. Etna which slowly appeared her foot out of the thick clouds, I felt like as if I were somewhere I could hardly imagine to be. The view of the most important mountain in the region brought me a special feeling that I cannot easily describe.

日本の段々畑を思い起こさせる土地に、たくさんの実を付けたオリーブの木がある。何本かの木は背が高くてオリーブの実には手が届かないが、ほとんどは手に届く範囲にある。強い日射しがシチリアのブドウ畑に降り注ぐ。厚い雲の間から少しづつその足元を見せつつあるエトナ山を見ながら、どこに居るとは想像しがたい場所に居るような気がした。この地方で一番大切な山の光景で口では簡単に言い表せない、特別な気分にさせられた。

We collected olives from one tree to the other, collecting in plastic case and then into hemp bags. Kim brought us a basket full of fruits for a break, apples and oranges. I listened to the others talking about their previous volunteer works. This is a very interesting experience, working and helping others to do something in a foreign country, getting to know local people and stay with them for a short time. It is much deeper than just to visit a city or place and walk around with a guide book open in one hand. I did not especially asked others to speak in English to each other. I sometimes asked the meaning of words they mentioned if it has the same meaning in German. I never heard Dutch before, but I knew already that I can read and understand some of it. They are quite similar and it is not very difficult to associate the meaning with German knowledge. However Dutch sounds quite differently. There were lots of sounds spoken within throat, and some words seemed to be developed in the direction of English. The more I listened to them carefully, the more information I was able to get from their conversation.

一本の木から別の木へと、拾い集めたオリーブをプラスチックのケースに集めて、またそれを更に麻の袋に移し替える。キムが休憩にと、リンゴにオレンジがたくさん入ったバスケットを持ってきた。他のメンバーがする以前ワークキャンプで経験した話に耳を傾ける。外国で人の仕事を手伝いながら、その人たちとしばらく生活をともにし、そして地元の人たちとも知り合いになるのはとても面白いことだ。ただ普通に片手にガイドブックを見ながらその町や土地を見て回るよりずっと深い。他のメンバーには特に彼ら同士の会話で英語を話して欲しいとは言わなかったが、たまに耳にした単語を、それがドイツ語と同じ意味かと聞いた。オランダ語を聞くのはこれが初めてだったが、少しは読んで理解できることはすでに承知のことだった。ドイツ語とオランダ語はとてもよく似ていて、ドイツ語が分かれば意味を推測するのは特別難しいことではない。でも発音は全く違っている。喉で発する音がとても多いのと、英語の方向に変化している単語がある。彼らの会話をより注意深く聞けば、より多くの内容が分かった。

We heard that we would have lunch from 12:00 but it seemed to delay. We worked further for a while and then had lunch all together at the same table including people working on house. Dutch, Italian and English were spoken on the table for communication. I sometimes translated Italian into English for Dutch people, while I was still too busy to understand Italian for myself. Fried vegetable or mushroom balls with chili sauce, tomato salad and soup. Carmela is definitely a great cook. I heard and knew that Sicilian people have strong accents, but I did not have a feeling that they spoke a different language.

12時にお昼ご飯を食べると聞いていたが、どうやら遅れている様子。しばらく仕事を続け、家の中で仕事をしていた人たちもみんな一緒に食卓に付く。オランダ語、イタリア語に英語。イタリア語を理解するのに一生懸命になりながら、たまにオランダのメンバーのためにイタリア語を英語にして説明する。野菜かキノコをボール上に丸めて揚げたものとチリソース、サラダとスープ。カルメーラは間違いなく料理がうまい。シチリアの人は強い方言で話すと聞いて知っていたが、彼らが他の言葉を話しているようには聞こえなかった。


We continued to collect olives until about 16:00, and by the time Mt. Etna fully showed her whole figure. I proposed other members to take some pictures together with the mountain in our background. We talked about volunteer work or travel plan in the future what we would do next. Evelien told me that she would be going to Africa to visit her friend. I told her that I am a fan of African art since I found and bought a tapestry designed and printed in Zimbabwe and that I really want to go there. It might be a nice ideal if I can combine my trip with some volunteer work. After having seen some European cities, I have little and little interest in spending my vacation in the way I had done before. Just visit a city, see around and maybe get to know local people, although I still think it much more interesting than to spend days on the beach just lying and killing time.

16時くらいまでオリーブ集めを続け、そのころにはエトナ山は全体が見渡せるようになっていた。他のメンバーに山を背景に写真を撮ろうと勧める。今後の旅行やワークキャンプの予定について話をする。エヴェリンが彼女の友達を訪ねてアフリカに行く予定だと話してくれた。彼女には、ジンバブエ産のタペストリーを手に入れてから、アフリカンアートに興味が湧いて、どうしても行って見たいと伝える。ワークキャンプと旅行をかねて行ければ願ったりかなったりだ。ヨーロッパの都市をいくらか見て回って、以前のような休暇の過ごし方には興味が失せてきた。それでも、ただ町を見て回って、地元の人たちと知り合いになるのは、ビーチに寝転がって時間をつぶして過ごすよりはよほど面白いと思う。

Volunteers from the Netherlands
We had some more tasks to do on the day, Sergio drove us to Catania where we should transport building materials. In the middle of city where we could see lots of air conditioner attached to the outside wall of apartments exactly as same as in Japan. We carried doors or door frames to the transporter which Sergio fetched to Caritus. Jan is very big and strong as I would usually imagine for tall Dutch people.

その日は他にもすることがあった。セルジオが運転する車でみんなでカタニア市へ行き、そこで建設資材を運んだ。街の中心で、日本と同じように、アパートの外壁に取り付けられたたくさんのエアコンの室外機を目にする。セルジオがカリタスで借りてきたトランスポーターに、ドアやドアフレームを運び込む。ヤンは背が高くてとても力持ちで、オランダ人のイメージにぴったり。

Beside this I was very impressed to see how Evelien worked during the day: she did not seem to care to get dirt nor to carry something heavy even without gloves which most of women would try to avoid. Actually there were steel plate edges and it should have been better not to grab them with bare hands. Other members took their own gloves with them. They were well informed by IBO Holland what they should prepare. I could have missed the information but I heard nothing about that. Any way, she must have known very well what she was expected to do during work camp from her previous projects.

それとは別に、1日エヴェリンが働いているのを見て驚いた。彼女は汚れることを全然気にしてない様子だし、重いものを軍手をしないで運んだり。普通の女の子なら避けたがるような仕事なのに。実際運んだドアやフレームにはスチールのエッジがあって、素手では持たないのが望ましいものだった。他のメンバーは自分で軍手を用意してきていた。IBOオランダは、どういうものを用意してキャンプに臨めとしっかりフォローしていたようだ。聞きそびれたのかもしれないが、こちらは全くそんな準備はしていなかった。いずれにせよ、彼女はこれまでのワークキャンプの経験から、どういう作業をするのかよく分かっているようだった。

Some parts were huge and we were all skeptical that we could stuff the transporter with all of materials at once, but we consequently succeeded it in the end by just a inch. We carried the material to the storage of Caritus and we enjoyed a great ocean view with full moon along the coast, where many people were running. Full moon casts its light on dark ocean, there were no flashing neon lights. It was just fantastic and seemed to me almost unreal.

資材のいくつかはとても大きくて、全部を一度に車に積めるとは正直誰もが信じていなかったが、結果的には僅か数センチの余裕でなんとか積み込みを完了する。カリタスの倉庫に資材を運び込み、たくさんの人がジョギングをしていた海岸沿いで、満月と素晴らしい海の眺めを堪能する。満月が暗い海を照らし、眩いネオンもない。とても幻想的でこの世のものとは思えなかった。


We were back home late, little before 21:00 and had dinner together. We had vegetable soup with bread, meat loaf, huge cauliflower and apple pie which small Maria cooked. During the breakfast she insisted to put apples into it insisting that she liked apples very much. She will be a good cook like her mother. Sergio told me that she liked to collect herbs or eatable plants outside. On the dinner table we had a Sicilian red wine bottle and the one Sergio did by himself. He explained to us that the Sicilian grapes are much more intense due to the climate compared to the one in northern region in Italy, the amount of alcohol would be slightly higher. His wine had a color similar to rose. We all loved his wine.

家には遅く、21時少し前に帰ってきて、一緒に夕食を食べる。野菜スープにパン、ミートローフ、大きなカリフラワーと小さなマリアが作ったアップルパイ。今日の朝食のときに、リンゴが好きだからそれを入れるんだと力説していた。彼女の母親のように料理が上手になるだろう。セルジオは、マリアが外で野草を摘むのが好きなんだと言う。夕食のテーブルにはシチリア産の赤ワインと、セルジオ本人が作ったブドウのワイン。彼が言うには、シチリアのブドウは気候のおかげでイタリアの北の地方のブドウよりも糖分が高いから、ワインもアルコール分も高くなるそうな。彼のワインはロゼに近い色をしていた。みんな彼のワインがとても気に入った。

Ton fetched his pad computer and showed us his pictures. His car, Alfa spider or a shot of spitfire taken in the air in Bosnia. He is a hobby helicopter pilot. Then we started to talk about our favorite music or musicians when Ton's pad started to play some mp3 music. Raffalele, Rocco's younger brother brought some records that he bought in Berlin. Bob Dyran, Jimmy Hendricks or Bob Marley. They are vintage now. He showed us his sketch for the restaurant which they were planning next to their house. He is doing something quite interesting.

トンが部屋からパッドコンピューターを持ってきて、みんなに写真を見せる。彼の車、アルファロメオのスパイダーに、ボスニアで空から撮ったスピットファイヤー。彼は趣味でヘリコプターを飛ばす。トンがコンピューターのmp3を聞かせるようになると、みんなで好きな音楽やらミュージシャンの話を始めた。ロッコの弟のラファエレはベルリンで買ってきた、ボブ・デュラン、ジミ・ヘンドリクスそれにボブ・マーリーのレコードを持ってきて見せてくれた。今ではビンテージものだ。それから家の横に計画中のレストランのスケッチを見せてくれる。面白そうなことをしている。

Near to the end of the day, Kim brought Gouda cheese to the table and gave it to Sergio. I could have taken something from Vienna but I had no idea about the project at all. I did not prepare well. Well, at least I knew I can do something else as a Japanese, maybe they will see that tomorrow. Before going to bed, Kim asked me about my job in detail, I explained to him mentioning as an example how car companies would develop their products. I have never thought that I would go into the fatigue analysis or component design based on fatigue life assessment.

一日が終わるころ、キムがゴーダチーズを持ってきて、セルジオに手渡す。ウィーンから何か持ってこれたかもしれないが、プロジェクトについてはほとんど何も知らず、何の準備もしてこなかった。でも少なくとも、日本人として出来ることがある。明日には披露できるだろうか。ベッドに横になる前にキムが、いったいどういう仕事をしているのか詳しく知りたいと言う。彼には自動車メーカーがどうやって製品を開発しているのかを簡単に説明する。まさか披露解析やら疲労強度を基にした部品設計について話をしようとは思っても見なかった。

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