1.The Great History of Tasmania

On the 24th of November in 1642, the Dutch navigator Abel Janszoon Tasman landed on the beautiful coast of an island. And he named the island Van Diemen's Land after a Dutch governor. Returning home from the ordered voyage to the island. Abel Tasman reported to the East India Company, which had sent him to the voyage, that the land he found was sterile and the people living there was very primitive. It is said that managers of the Company were very disappointed to listen to his story about the land. They found it a waste of time to have sent him there. But, if he hadn't been a navigator searching for a new place or country to trade with, he might have reported more differently on it. He might have been more surprised to reach Tasmania. What I'd like to say is that Tasmania could have been much more beautiful than it is. In 1850s the island became Tasmania, named after the first visitor Abel Tasman. I don't know the exact reason why they changed the name of the island. I think it natural that the island began to be called Tasmania, because Abel Tasman was the first man to spread its existence widely. Besides, the name Tasmania is easier to remember.

Tasmania is a small island and lies under the mainland of Australia. The capital city is Hobart, which is the second oldest city in Australia. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to visit Hobart. But many people told me that it is an enjoyable city with diversity and fascinating history.
Tasmania has two different nicknames. One is 'The Holiday Isle', and the other 'Apple Island'. I wonder if people have nicknamed it the Holiday Isle just because you could, no doubt and litterally, enjoy spending your holidays if you stayed there. On the other hand, it is much easier to find the foundation of 'Apple Island'. The fact is that Tasmania is shaped like an apple and famous for its native and small apples. It is natural that people call it so. Some people call a Tasmanian 'Apple Islander', which sounds a little funny but much friendly to me.
Tasmania is a place full of great natural beauty and wilderness, as you know. I believe that it is one of the most beautiful islands in the world. Recently its natural beauty and wilderness have really attracted the attention of the Japanese. Many Japanese must come to know not a little about Tasmania. As far as I'm concerned, Tasmania has already become a place which I'll never forget all my life, with great help of my experience in the summer of 1994.

In the summer of 1994, I was dispatched to Launceston to take care of a group of the 15 students from Kochi prefecture. Launceston, situated in the mid-northern part of Tasmania, is the third oldest city in Australia. It is, as it were, a northern gate to Tasmania. While modern buildings or houses have been built in the city and its suburbs, the city has still a lot of beautiful buildings with the old European style. If you walk along the streets, I'm sure that you can get anything you want and that you can enjoy seeing many beautiful buildings present and old.
Launceston has very few Japanese people. When some of my students walked along the streets, they seemed to feel as though they had been isolated from people around them. That means, I think, that they felt as though they were foreigners living in Kochi. They noticed the fact that many foreigners in Japan had been isolated from the Japanese people. This experience must have taught the students something more impotant than the fact, which I believe, enables them to face foreigners without any hesitation. In a sense, it can be said that you should know the importance of non-verbal communication before that of verbal one. Not only my students but also I have undergone a lot. Here I'd like to tell you one of my experiences.
One of the things which interested me most is that many of the people hav3e recently used fireplaces to keep their houses warm enough in winter. Electric charge suudenly went higher a few years ago. That is why people have begun to use fireplaces less expensive than electricity. While the wide use of a fireplace has been a great help to people, they have polluted air.
When I stayed with the Balls, I was first taught something about smoke from chimneys. One morning I woke up early. Having scanned a newspaper in the living room, I suddenly noticed that something white covered all the city beyond the windows. A few minutes later my host father John Ball appeared and told me that it was smoke from chimneys and that apparently the wide use of a fireplace caused air pollution. It seemed to me that it was one of their social problems to solve. Unfortunately, as far as I know, government of Launceston has not taken the situation seriously yet. So I'm afraid if the situation will get worse in the near future. I think the government should take urgent and considered action on it.

I had two families to stay with in Launceston. One was the Balls, with whom I stayed my first 7 days right after I had arrived. Caroline Ball is a teaching staff working for Launceston college. And the other was the Lanes, whose husband is president of Launceston college. Both of them made me quite comfortable. So I felt completely at home and was able to behave as if I had been a real member of their families. Now I really appreciate the kindness they showed me. Here I'd like to tell you something which always reminds me of them.

While staying with the Balls, I was deeply impressed by just the way they were. The way they lived, talked and thought made me reflect what a family should be, though they never told me the answer. But I've, no doubt, learned much about a family from them. They talked a lot, no matter how tired they looked after working hard. It seemed to me that they were trying to understand each other or to enjoy talking with each other. I've once read that Europeans are really fond of talking. They really enjoy expressing themselves by means of the language. Expressing oneself through the language is very important to them. What I'd like to say here is that it is through talking or oral communication that people let others know their existences; what they are, what they think and so on. Any kinds of groups consists of individuals. All the members of a group support the group, but, on the other hand, each is independent of the group as an individual and is respected as one. It goes without saying that an individual is always the basic element of a group, a society or a nation. It should be well respected and understood. That is what I have learned and what I have wanted. That is also what my family has been searching for. So finally I'd like to express my special and sincere thanks to John, Caroline, Julian and Phil for having let me stay with them, having taught me what a family should be, and everything they did for me. I really wish I could see them again.