Living in the State of Unrealistica

    "He is so unrealistic. His fantasy would not last long. The reality of life is much severe." This comment came from one lady who used to join SoC English Cafe as a member, and "he" in this comment was me.

    When she first joined our trial session, I gave her an orientation. She seemed to have enjoyed the session very much, and she immediately made up her mind to sign up for the membership. She was in her late 30's, and she had a charming smile. In her 20s, she stayed abroad to learn singing opera. She looked happy when she talked about her younger life overseas, and half of her mind seemed to be still in the world of fantasy, while the other half had already grown up to know bitterness of the reality.

  Soon we learned that her boss was an asshole. Well, at least that's what she told us. And yes, it didn't sound too far-fetched. It is quite common for workers to badmouth their boss, anyway. For those who work under somebody they hate, it's part of their daily routines to speak out their frustrations. Being an outlet of somebody's frustration by hearing out some complaints isn't a bad thing to do. We all know that, and it is a gentle gesture to show some empathy for the speaker. So did we as expected! 

    We weren't expecting her quittance, so we got surprised when she told us that she had decided to quit the job in several weeks. I was one of those who had listened to her story weekly, so very naturally, I asked her if she'd be interested in joining us as one of our staff. Her English wasn't good enough to become a facilitator, but I thought her passion would cover for the lack of skills if she will do her best to find her part on our team. She showed a clear sign of interest. So I called one young male college student, who was then in charge of the area, and asked him to come and join us since she would probably become his new teammate soon.

   Unfortunately, something went wrong after that. Well, let me just cut to the chase. She started approaching this young college boy who had never even had a girlfriend in his life. And sure enough, he wasn't interested in her as a girlfriend.

    Before replying to my offer, she started making desperate efforts to make him look at her. However, soon she noticed that it wasn't working well, so she changed the strategy and started to blame me just as she did about her ex-boss!

    "Don't trust him. He is just using you. And he is not going to succeed in his plans. Friendship community? What he's saying is just a fantasy. I know the reality. Trust me, because I'm the only person who can protect you from him. You'll regret it if you don't listen to me."

    She sent those horrible messages to him, not knowing her actions were scaring the shit out of him. The young college boy came to me and asked me how he should deal with her. I was very sad and disappointed to know her other side. It was not fair at all to get it from her for what I did for her, and I told him I didn't want to talk to her anymore so that I would leave it up to him.

    Now that I think of what she told him again, she was, indeed, throwing those comments at herself. She wished to live up to her fantasy world where she could sing opera on the stage, but the spotlight wasn't for her. Then, she wanted to run away from the reality she had to face at her work, and falling in love with this young boy seemed to be an exit from the painful daily issues that stressed her out. However, unfortunately, it also ended up failing.

    She was unhappy, and then, what she saw in me probably was the dreamer's spirit she used to have. The adventurous spirit, the other side of her that's slowly dying, was still alive in me. And she was jealous because she couldn't believe in the genuineness of the spirit in her anymore.

    So far, what she called "his fantasy" seems to be still alive in me. I also feel down quite often in the face of the harsh reality that often bites us hard. However, I know that the same reality will embraces those dreams and fantasies that endure. So I don't call it a fantasy anymore, because it has endured, and it will. Now I think it's better to call it "the State of Unrealistica."

Questions

1. Who is being called "unrealistic" by the lady in this story?

2. What made them believe that her boss was an asshole?

3. Why did the writer invited her to joining the team?

4. Who was the guy that came to say hi to the lady?

5. Why did she blame the writer behind his back?

6. Does the writer define what "the fantasy" is in this article? What do you think it is? And why did she call it a fantasy?

Translation

Make sure to;

1. Try to read the writer's mind.

2. Find out the thesis of the essay.

3. Imagine the setting and translate it into adequate expressions.

4. Try not to focus only on words but implied nuance so you would keep the spirit in the original alive.

5. Reflect cultural differences, if necessary, to make it easy for readers to comprehend the message correctly.

抑えるべきポイント；

1．書き手の頭の中を読み取りましょう。

2．エッセイの核（一番伝えたい中心メッセージ）を見つけましょう。

3． 場面を想定し、ふさわしい表現を使って訳するようにしましょう。

4．言葉だけではなく、言葉にならないニュアンスの部分に注意を払い、原文が持つ響きを活かしましょう。

5．読み手がメッセージを正しく理解できるように、必要に応じて、文化的な背景の違いもまた反映しましょう。

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