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★大まじめに英文を読んだのにクラスは大爆笑

中学2年生の時の写真。
クラスで「オズの魔法使い」の英語劇を上演した時には、英語が苦手だったのでセリフの少ない役だった。
(前列中央)(KANNA ISHIGURO PHOTOS)

People tell me things like, ""You must have been really good at English as a kid!'' or ""You probably loved English from when you were little.'' The real situation was very different.

When my eighth-grade English teacher caught me giggling yet again with the girls near me, she pointed at the blackboard: ""Miss Ishiguro, would you read out this sentence, please?''

　 ""Um, "I ate a piece of - kaki?' ''

　 There was moment's pause and the class burst out laughing. The teacher rolled her eyes. ""Kaki?'' she said. ""This is cake - a piece of cake! Stop joking around in the classroom!'' But I had tried to read the sentence the right way. That's how awful I was at English. My friends used to worry and ask, ""Are you really prepared to go abroad, Kana? ''

★マイケルと仲よくなったりして…

Nevertheless, I felt I was destined to go. I had a vague idea of what my life abroad would be like. I was a very optimistic, happy-go-lucky kind of girl - and a big fan of Michael Jackson: ""What if I meet Michael and we become good friends and he teaches me how to dance ...''

　 Studying English and going abroad, for me, were two different things. I wanted to meet people from different backgrounds, learn about them and write about them. I didn't want to study English very much. Still, you can't have your ""persimmon'' and eat it too. You have to be able to communicate to some extent if you are going to school in the States.

★英語がしゃべれず、ただただスマイル

So when did I get serious about English? In the summer of 1988, I had this great opportunity to spend a few days with an actual English-speaking family at my father's friend's house in Britain. It was just me and them, and it was tough.

The nights were cold. I tried to close the window, but it was different from the windows I knew back home, and I didn't have enough English to ask how to close them. So I left them open, and the following day, I was sick with a cold. I also left my wet towel on their beautiful dresser after taking a shower, which left a disastrous stain. Again, I had no choice but to remain silent because I didn't know how to apologize.

It was then that I thought: ""I need to learn how to speak this language a bit. Otherwise, I'll have to keep this stupid, blank smile on my face forever.''

I also had to find a school to study at. So after I came back to Japan, my mother found a counselor to help me. She was very kind. Together, we figured out which school would suit me best. I showed her all my grades from school, I told her about my hobbies and my mother also expressed her own preferences and concerns as a parent. I also had to take an IQ/EQ test.

So, why the States? Did I dislike my life in Japan? Not at all. I loved my life in Yamanashi, I loved my family and friends. But still I couldn't imagine continuing that life. I could not stand its predictability. I wanted to find out what I could do, and, more importantly, who I could be.