English

#770 A steep slope on the way to school

My home town is at the country side.

I went to my parents’ home. It was the first time in 2 years since the corona pandemic started.

The other day, my mom and I took a walk in the neighborhood. My home town is at the country side and there are plenty of rice fields, cultivated land and woods. It was fun to walk and look around with my mom.
Then I wanted to visit my elementary school. When I was a student, I had to walk a steep slope on the way to school. I wondered if it was still the same dangerous slope.

The steep slope on the way to school

When we got there, I found a signboard. It said, “Don’t rush, don’t push, don’t run, don’t play!” The steep slope, surrounded by bamboos and trees, was still there.
The ground was no longer a rough road with sand and rocks. It is now a paved road.
The slope was dangerous because one side was a cliff. On a rainy slippery day, you may fall down the cliff. I was relieved to see that there were now fence and concrete wall on both sides of the road.

There were always bears hiding in the bushes!?


As I went to down the slope I remembered that I was an elementary school girl carrying a backpack called “randoseru” in Japan. When I walked the slope the first time, I was a 4th grade little girl. I was transferred from Yokohama. I grew up in the big city and moved to this rural area in Chiba. I was naive and surprised to see the wild steep slope.
Although it was quite unlikely, I felt like there were always bears hiding in the bushes.
My father worried about bears and so he gave me a small bear bell. I put the bell on my backpack.
Thinking about it now, perhaps it was actually my father’s prank.

Anyway, it was really fun to relive the old memory of my elementary student years in Chiba. Moreover, I am happy that my school road remains almost the same as it was back then.

Small joy!!(2021.3)

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nako

日々の小さな喜び(Small Joys)を英語と日本語で紹介しています。 1000個のSmall Joysまでブログを続けていきます。
2021-05-27 | Posted in English2 Comments » 

コメント2件

 yoko | 2021.05.27 16:51

あんな小さな子が、こんな急で長い階段を上り下りしてたなんて!
足に筋肉がそうとう付きそうです。
クマはでないかもしれないけど、イノシシは出るかもね。
最近は、野生動物が町に出てくることが多くなったから。

アバター画像 nako | 2021.05.28 11:44

昔はコンクリートの階段ではなく土むき出しの坂道で、雨の日は上からホースで水を流されたような悲惨な道になり、転ぶ子が続出していました。
昭和の子供は雑に扱われたけど、逞しいよね!
父が熊が出るからランドセルに鈴をつけた方がいいとか言って、私はそうして登校していました笑。
yokoさんは都会っ子だから、全く違う世界の小学生だったんでしょうねぇ。

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