佐々木：「どうしましたか？浮かない表情ですねー」
不村：「外国人の参加者が、制服を着ることに反対で困っているんですよ」
Ukanai hyoojoo, ukanu kawo
Sasaki: Doo shimashita ka? Ukanai hyoojoo desu ne..
Kimura: Gaikokujin no sankasha ga, seifuku wo kiru koto ni hantai de komatteiru'n desu yo.
Sasaki: What's wrong? You look pretty gloomy.
Kimura: We're having trouble because the foreign participants are against wearing the uniforms.
* * *
Ukanai hyoojoo refers to a glum, gloomy and long-faced expression.
From Jan. 16 I will participate as a lecturer on the government-sponsored Sekai Seinen no Fune (The Ship for World Youth). We will depart Tokyo and make stops in Singapore, Bombay, Greece, Egypt, and Oman during the course of our three-month voyage, returning to Tokyo at the end of March. The participants are made up of 200 young people from 12 different countries, about 100 Japanese young people, and nine lecturers. Each lecturer will teach his or her specialty and so I am responsible for giving lectures every other day on Ninon bunkaron.
So many different nationalitie and religions will be represented among the students. Half, however, will be Islamic and thus have to observe various strict religious precepts, Kokku san wa ukanai kao wo shiteimasu (The ship's cooks don't look so happy).
What will the three months on board the ship be like? Fortunately, the lecturers will all have private cabins. The students, however - Islamic, West European, and Japanese - will all be mixed together. The Islamic students will turn toward Mecca and say their prayers five times a day, the first time being at dawn.
The Greek students look depressed because they will probably lose sleep because of this (fuminsho ni naru node wa nai ka to, ukanai kao wo shiteiru).
The Management and Coordination Agency (Somucho) has prepared uniforms for the 300 young people. For students used to wearing uniforms, the (free), beige suits were good news. Students from West Germany, Greece, and Italy, however, were not pleased, "Who wants to wear a uniform ! " they said at the party. Minna ukanai kao wo shite damat- teshimaimashita (With dejected looks on their faces, they wouldn't say anything more about it). To telj the truth, I myself don't like uniforms. I especially don't like the typical, black Japanese schoolboy uniform.
They always remind me of the military. Many high schools go on school trips to South Korea or Taiwan these days. What do foreigners think when they see these masses of young people dressed in black moving about? ! It's certain they will all look troubled ( minria ukanai hyojo wo suru ni chigai arimasen) thinking militarism has made a comeback in Japan.
The problem of uniforms aboard The Ship for World Youth has yet to be resolved. Since the students will meet various presidents and monarehs, the people at the Management and Coordination Agency wanted them all to wear the same outfit. I wonder what will happen. I feel like consoling the government officials with, "Dpka sonna ni ukanai kao wo shinaide kudasai" ("Please don't look so down in the dumps.")
What kind of interesting things will happen during our three-month voyage? I'm really looking forward to the trip. Ukanai kao nado shiteiraremasen (I jcauldn't possibly walk around wearing a long and gloomy face).