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総領事のヒューストン通信 |
日本語スピーチコンテスト・レセプションでの挨拶 2008年2月23日
在ヒューストン日本国総領事 大澤勉
Good Evening. Thank you for attending our gathering this evening. We are here tonight to celebrate the hard work and effort of everyone involved in this year’s 19th annual Texas State Japanese Speech Contest.
First I’d like to thank all the organizations responsible for today’s event: the JBA, JTAT, JAGH, and JASH: thanks to everyone, today’s event was wonderful. The consulate-general often works with these groups at many events and each and every time it is a joy to work together. As always, thank you for your dedication and effort.
Let us also thank the volunteers who helped today’s contest run smoothly. These individuals came today out of the goodness of their heart. Without them this event would never have been possible.
Next I’d like to thank the students: congratulations for all your hard work. Your recitations and speeches were wonderful. Thank you for sharing not only your time and skills, but your passion for Japanese culture. I’m happy to see all of you have gathered here today.It proves to me that there is a strong interest in Japan, the language and the culture.
Whether you discovered an interest in Japanese culture through anime, manga, Japanese pop music, or more traditional aspects of Japanese culture like kabuki, martial arts, or calligraphy, I commend you for your effort and I hope that you will use your interests to stay focused on your studies.I hope that this experience will prove to be a positive step in your goal of achieving both fluency and cultural understanding. I hope that you will one day soon visit Japan and practice your Japanese among the native population.Today we have a lot of Japanese here, so please use this opportunity to practice your Japanese and I do hope you will play a role of bridges between the United States and Japan in the future.
Last but not least, I would like to thank the Japanese teachers: without you this event would not exist! Thank you for being teachers! Thank you for coming here tonight to celebrate alongside of your students.
To everyone, I would like to offer you my warmest welcome, please enjoy our refreshments, talk with the others and enjoy yourselves. The hard work is over, now let us relax and have fun !