It has been a very busy and, in many ways, fulfilling month. Last week, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics came to an end and so did my reporting stint that I had taken up for its duration. It was an incredibly unusual Olympics, for obvious reasons, and the controversy that surrounded it domestically make the circumstances even more fraught. As I was commuting between my home and the Main Press Centre near the Olympic venues, I was required to provide daily updates on my condition and undertake tests every few days. It was a frantic few weeks of reporting: researching, interviewing and writing up articles. Whilst a lot of people I knew were watching the opening ceremony on their TVs, I was camped outside the stadium in the rain trying to talk to the people gathered there hoping to get a glimpse of the spectator-less Olympics. I didn’t have time to process it all during the experience but now I have had a bit of time to reflect, I realise how much of a priceless opportunity it was to report on such a historic event, especially as someone who is interested in journalism.
Now that my summer holidays are in full swing, I will be looking ahead to my second year of my master’s in terms of my research preparation, looking to sharpen my language skills and also try to take some time to relax after a busy first year. On my first day off, I was able to catch an exhibition at Mori Art Museum that I had been eyeing up for sometime. As everything was bilingual in English and Japanese, it was an interesting way to look at how certain words and phrases had been translated into either language. As the exhibition focuses on female artists and is highly concerned with issues of gender and inequality, I was able to see how these conversations were rendered in Japanese for the attendees. I am hoping to catch some more exhibitions now I have a bit more free time on my hands.
とても忙しくて、いろいろな意味で充実した一か月でした。先週に東京オリンピックが終わり、私の報道の仕事も終わりました。言うまでもなく、オリンピックはとても異常で、さらに国内でのスキャンダルも状況を悪くしました。自宅とオリンピック会場の近くのメインプレスセンターを行き来していましたが、毎日健康状態を報告して、数日ごとにテストを受けていました。リサーチ、インタビュー、記事の書きあげなど、かなり大変な数週間でした。たくさんの知り合いが開会式をテレビで見る中で、私はスタジアムの外で、雨の中人に話しかけて、無観客のオリンピックの雰囲気をつかもうとしていました。やっているときは考える時間がありませんでしたが、振り返ってみるとこのような歴史的なイベントを報道できるのはとても貴重な経験だと感じました。
夏休みが始まり、大学院の二年目のリサーチの準備を始めたり、日本語を勉強したり、忙しい一年目のあとにリラックスしたりすることを楽しみにしています。初日には、ずっと行きたかった森美術館に行くことができました。全て日本語と英語で書かれていたので、単語やフレーズがどう翻訳されているか見るのが面白かったです。展示が女性アーティストやジェンダーやインイクオリティーにフォーカスしていたので、こういった会話が日本語でどう伝えられているのか見ることができました。今自由時間が増えたので、もっとたくさんの展示会に行きたいと思っています。