木村：ロンドンで公衆電話をかけようと思うと、故障中が多くて…。
加藤：パリでも、こわれているのはザラですよ。
Zara ni Aru
Kimura: Rondon de kooshu denwa wo kakeyoo to omou to, koshoochu ga ookute...
Kato: Pari demo, kowarete iru no wa zara desu yo.
Kimura: Whenever you try to use a public telephone in London it always seems to be out of order.
Kato: In Paris, out-of-order telephones are everywhere, too.
* * *
Zara is an abbreviation for zaragami (pulp paper; low grade printing paper). Just as such paper is found everywhere, zara ni aru means something is very common or is met with everywhere.
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Japan while overseas is just how safe Japan is. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, indeed, should publicize this fact more. In big cities like Tokyo and Osaka a woman is even safe walking alone at night.
In the conversation, Mr. Kato says, "Kpwarete iru denwa ga, zara ni aru (Out-of-order public telephones are very common)." In Japan, however, "Kooshu denwa ga kowarete iru nado, zara ni wa nai (Coming across an out-of-order public telephone is a rare occurrence)." Indeed, public telephones are like much of Japanese life-accurate and efficient.
With Japanese society so often the target for criticism, I sometimes feel like defending the country. To a British friend who says about his native land, "Densha ga okureru koto nado zara ni arimasu yo (It's notunusual for the trains and such to be late)," I want to say with pride, "Nihon de wa, sonna koto zara ni wa nai desu yo (In Japan that kind of thing is extremely rare) , " Though 1 thought the many pictures I'd taken in Hawaii were of unusual flowers, a biology teacher I showed them to quickly said, "Sensei, kono hana nara Nihon nimo zara ni arimasu (Professor, these flowers are very common here in Japan, too)." I'd thought they were only found in tropical parts of the world. Zara ni aru to wa shiranakatta (I hadn't realized they were so commonplace).
When I told my husband that I thought our daughter's boyfriend was quite nice, he swiftly disagreed. "Sono gurai zara ni iru yo (Boys like that are a dime a dozen)." When it comes to our daughter's boyfriends it seems he can be quite severe in his assessments.
"Anata no yd na suteki na hito, zara ni wa inai wa (One doesn't meet a wonderful person like you very often)." Now who can I send these words to...?