2003/01（本試）
“When are you going back to Brazil?”
I looked down at the ground, trying to stop the tears. I didn’t want to cry in front of those two girls. Why did they have to say things like that?
“If only I could go back to Brazil,” I thought. Memories of my early years filled my head. Playing, swimming, dancing, music, laughter…. When my parents decided to move to Japan, though, I had to leave all that behind. 1 was only seven years old at the time, but 1 still remember that day.
“Elena, we’re going to Japan.”
“For a holiday?” I knew I had some distant relatives in Japan, although I’d never met them. It would be fun to fly in an airplane and visit them.
“No, to live. We’re going to work there, and you’ll be able to go to a new school and learn Japanese. Then you’ll be able to go to a university there, and if you can speak two languages fluently when you grow up, you’ll be able to get a good job in the future.”
“I don’t want to go to a new school. I like my school here. And what about my friends? ”
“Don’t worry, Elena. You’ll make new friends,”
I didn’t want new friends. I wanted my old friends, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, and cousins in Brazil. But there was no arguing; it was decided and that was that. Two months later, we arrived in Japan.
The first few months were hard because I didn’t speak Japanese. However, my teachers and classmates were kind. I soon picked up the language and made friends and spent five happy years at elementary school.
The problems began when I moved to junior high school. My junior high school accepts students from three different elementary schools, and I found myself in a class with many people I had never met before. Although I spoke Japanese fluently and my behavior was in no way different from anyone else’s, two of my new classmates started to tease me after they heard me speaking Portuguese with my parents at the entrance ceremony. What hurt me most deeply was the question of when I was going back to Brazil. If I went back to school in Brazil, it would be so difficult to catch up with my former classmates there. Besides, all my friends were in Japan now. I’d spent half my life in Japan, and Japan was my home.
The two girls started again. “When are you going back to Brazil?”
I wished they would stop. Then suddenly, I heard a voice behind me, “Elena, what’s the matter?” Natsumi, Maiko, and Kaori were walking over to me. They had been my friends since my arrival in Japan. At first, we taught each other words in Japanese and Portuguese. After that, we always encouraged and helped each other.
“Oh, nothing. I’m just being asked again when I’m going back to Brazil.”
Natsumi turned angrily toward the two girls who were teasing me. “Don’t you understand? You have only one culture, hut Elena has two. OK, that makes her different, but aren’t we all different?”
Maiko joined in, saying to the two girls, “You’re both different from me, but that’s not a bad thing. I’m certainly not nasty to you because of it.”
The two girls looked ashamed. After a few moments of tense silence, they walked off toward the classroom. As I saw them walking away, the anger inside me overflowed, “I hate it! I hate it!”
Natsumi put her hand on my shoulder, as if to calm me.
“Elena, they just don’t understand yet. They’ll realize eventually.”
“Natsumi is right,” added Kaori, “I know that sometimes being Brazilian and Japanese makes things difficult for you, but it also makes you special.”
“Yes, that’s something to be proud of,” said Maiko.
My friends were right. Deep inside, I knew that they were right. I looked at them with gratitude and finally let the tears fall.
- According to Elena’s parents, why would it be good for Elena to move to Japan?
① She could live with her distant relatives.
② She could leave her high school in Brazil.
③ She could have new educational opportunities.
④ She could travel in an airplane. - What problems did Elena have after she entered junior high school?
① She did not have any friends at school.
② She could not speak Japanese very well.
③ Her teachers complained about her behavior.
④ A couple of students said unkind things to her. - Why did Elena feel hurt when she was asked about going back to Brazil?
① She wanted people to realize that Japan was her home.
② She did not want people to know she was Brazilian.
③ Her parents refused to go back to Brazil.
④ She was not allowed to enter school in Brazil. - What did Natsumi mean when she said Elena is “different”?
① She went to three elementary schools,
② She has a rich cultural background.
③ She has had a difficult life.
④ She is proud of her family. - What is the main theme of this story? –
① Brazilian lifestyle
② intercultural understanding
③ Japanese education
④ childhood memories
