今日は、娘にねだられてパパが一緒に学校まで歩きました。左後ろのコンクリートの上に、アメリカ大陸がペイントされているのが見えますか？バージニアは緑、カリフォルニアは黄色。いつも大陸の上にたって、この緑のところからこの黄色いところまで車で走ってきたんだよという話をすると、子どもたちは目をまんまるくして喜びます。Daddy was begged to walk to school with her this morning. Behind them on the concrete, do you see the shape of America painted? Virginia is painted green and California yellow. I stand on Virginia first and move through the middle of the continent to California, saying, "We drove all the way from here to here." Kids respond with a great excitement, "Really? You did, really?"
我が家から出て道を一本渡れば、すぐ小学校なのだけれど、こちら側に広~い芝生のフィールドがあるので、校舎まで歩くと５分ほど。朝８時20分に門が開き、８時50分までみんな校庭で遊んでいます。８時５０分きっかりにベルが鳴るので、そのベルを聞いたら、生徒全員、おしゃべりも遊びも止めて、５秒ほどその場にフリーズします。その後、それぞれの教室の前に並んで中に入るのだけど、このフリーズ、地震やその他の災害のときに備えて、全員そろって指示に従うことができるようにとの訓練だとか。You leave our house, walk to get this street and go across, then you find yourself at the corner of the school yard. The thing is they have this huge green field facing our side, so it takes a bit more than 5 minutes to walk to the classroom. They open the gate at 8:20 and let the kids play on the school yard until 8:50. At 8:50 sharp, the bell rings. As soon as the bell goes off, all the kids are supposed to freeze for 5 seconds or so on the spot wherever they are, stopping whatever they are doing that moment. After 5 seconds, they line up in front of the classroom and they go in. This freeze, I heard, is a drill to pay attention and obey the instruction when necessary on earthquakes and other disastrous events.
