JICA海外協力隊としてガーナで活動する指導生。訓練開始から欠かさず日記を送付してくる。着任してからしばらくは、異なる環境や文化に面食らいながらも、それを楽しもうと努める日々の想いが主に綴られていた。任期300日を切ったいま、ようやく職場環境にも慣れ、「自分のしたいこと」と「職場が彼にして欲しいこと」が合致し、同僚との一体感を感じつつ「仕事」をできるようになってきたようだ。ここ数日の日記からその興奮が伝わってくる。26年前のちょうど今頃、ザンビアのカピニ村で同じような日々を過ごしていたことを思い出す。その後の半年間に得た様々な経験が、自分の人生に大きな影響を与えたように思う。彼にもそのような充実した日々が待っているような予感がする。

Inversely Proportional to Remaining Time

A student from my laboratory who is working as a JICA overseas volunteer in Ghana during a leave of absence. He has been sending diary entries without fail since training began. For a while after his assignment, his daily thoughts were mainly about being bewildered by the different environment and culture, yet striving to enjoy it. Now, with less than 300 days remaining in his term, he has finally become accustomed to his workplace environment, and it seems he has reached a point where “what he wants to do” aligns with “what his workplace wants him to do,” allowing him to truly “work” while feeling a sense of unity with his colleagues. His excitement comes through clearly in his diary entries from recent days. I recall experiencing similar days around this same time 26 years ago in Kapini Village, Zambia. I feel that the various experiences I gained during the subsequent six months had a significant impact on my life. I have a premonition that similarly fulfilling days await him as well.