オヤジギャグばかり言っています！
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私は現在までに、40回以上引越しをしています。海外にも4カ国に住んでいます。その他、関東では茨城以外の全ての県に住んでいます。それ以外では、愛知で生活をしていた事があります。愛知の名古屋ではとても貧乏生活をして群馬ではプレハブ小屋で生活をしていました。それらもいずれ紹介したいと思います。今回は愛知でも岡崎で住んでいた話を紹介します。
I have moved more than 40 times in my life so far. I have also lived in four different countries. In the Kanto region, I have lived in every prefecture except for Ibaraki. Apart from that, I have also lived in Aichi prefecture. In Nagoya, Aichi, I experienced a very impoverished lifestyle, and in Gunma, I lived in a prefabricated hut. I would like to share those experiences at some point, but for now, let me tell you about my time living in Okazaki, Aichi.
私は小学生の頃は中日ファンという事もあり、なんとなく愛知県を身近に感じます。愛知県にはTOYOTAや他の工場がたくさんあり、色々な仕事があります。就職情報誌やアルバイト情報誌などは東京の１．５倍近くの厚さがあります（１０年以上前です）。
As a child, I was a fan of the Chunichi Dragons baseball team, so I somehow felt a sense of familiarity with Aichi prefecture. Aichi is home to numerous factories, including Toyota and others, offering a variety of job opportunities. Recruitment magazines and part-time job listings in Aichi used to be almost one and a half times thicker than those in Tokyo (this was more than 10 years ago).
愛知県の人は仲間だと思われるまではなかなか心を開いてくれないようで、取っ付きにくいとか接しにくいとかいう人もいますが、逆に仲良くなれば凄く受け入れてくれるようです。私は以前に愛知県で新聞販売の仕事をしていた事があります。愛知の新聞は９割以上が中日新聞です。そういう面でも地元密着という事が伺えると思います。私がやっていた勧誘は他紙だったのですが（正直、今は大嫌いな新聞社の一つです。）
People in Aichi are often perceived as being a bit reserved and difficult to approach until they consider you a part of their group. However, once you establish a good relationship, they are incredibly welcoming. I used to work in newspaper sales in Aichi. More than 90% of newspapers in Aichi are from the Chunichi Shimbun company, which further reflects their strong local presence. Although I worked for a different newspaper company (which, to be honest, I dislike a lot now), I found it quite challenging to persuade people to switch from Chunichi to our paper.
勧誘の時にまず新聞を取っているか聞きます。新聞を取っていると返答がある＝中日新聞という認識です。そんな訳で他紙が中日を辞めてもらい取ってもらうのはかなり大変です。自分はその新聞社の寮に住んでいたのですが、自分が入った部屋の前の人はあまりにも契約が取れなくてその部屋で自殺未遂をしたそうです。
During the sales pitch, I would first ask if the person subscribed to a newspaper. When they responded positively, it usually meant they were referring to the Chunichi Shimbun. Therefore, convincing them to switch to another paper was quite difficult. I lived in the company’s dormitory, and I heard that the previous resident of my room, who struggled to secure contracts, had attempted suicide in that very room.
それを聞いてちょっと気持ちが良くなかったので部屋の四隅に塩を置いていました。その仕事で面接を受けてから入寮までの間に１週間くらいあったのですが、面接を受けた時には６～７万円くらい持っていて、その時に社長に「いくら持っている？」かと聞かれて正直に答えたら金持ってるなって感心されました。その上、うちにくればいくらでも稼げるから使っちゃっても平気だよ！と言われて、本当に入寮する時には４千円しか持っていませんでした。それを話したら社長に爆笑されました。完全歩合の仕事の面接を受けると事実に反して凄く美味しい仕事だよと言われる事がよくあります。
Hearing that story made me feel uneasy, so I placed salt in the four corners of the room. There was about a week between the interview and moving into the dormitory. During the interview, when the president asked me how much money I had, I honestly answered that I had around 60,000 to 70,000 yen. He seemed impressed, thinking that I must be well-off. Furthermore, he said, “If you run out of money, don’t worry! You can earn as much as you want here!” When it was time to move into the dormitory, however, I had only 4,000 yen left. When I told the president about it, he burst into laughter. It’s not that I want to sound pompous, but in interviews for jobs based on full commission, I often hear that it’s an excellent opportunity, contrary to the reality.
普通は新聞の販売でそんなに稼げる訳ないです。ただ、一部の稼げている人は本当に稼げていますが。新聞の販売は契約を取れば、その日にその販売店から契約料金の一部と交通費を営業がもらえます。私は４千円しかなかった為に食費も稼がないとならない為に本当に必死でした。
Normally, selling newspapers doesn’t lead to earning a substantial income. However, some people who excel in sales can indeed earn a lot. When you secure a contract for selling newspapers, the salesperson receives a portion of the contract fee and transportation expenses from the sales outlet on the same day. Due to my lack of funds, I had to earn enough for living expenses as well, so I was truly desperate.
愛知でも山に囲まれているような地方などに行くと本当に地元密着で中日新聞が９割５分以上、占めるような地域もあります。そういう販売店では、月に一回くらい契約件数の上位の勧誘員が数人借り出されて、支払い料金も普段より多く出してもらい強化的に営業をする日があります。私はその強化の三日間で、三日間ともにコンスタントに契約を取る事が出来て、それまでの記録を塗り替える事が出来たようで、その時は結構お金をもらえた良い記憶があります。（偉そうに言うような事ではないと思いますが）
In Aichi, there are areas, often rural and surrounded by mountains, where the Chunichi newspaper dominates more than 95% of the market. In these areas, once a month or so, a few top salespeople are assigned from different locations, and they are given higher contract fees and engage in intensified sales efforts. During those three days of intensified sales, I consistently managed to secure contracts, surpassing the previous records. It was a good memory, as I received a decent amount of money during that time.
また、愛知県ではブラジル人も多く住んでおり、ブラジル人は洗濯物を紐で干すのでそれで見分ける事が出来ます。また、働いている人もやっぱり一筋なわではいかないような人も多くアウトローの世界に過去に足を踏み入れていた様な人も結構いました。
In Aichi, there is also a significant population of Brazilians. You can easily recognize Brazilians by their method of hanging laundry using clotheslines. Moreover, among the employees, there were many individuals who didn’t strictly adhere to conventional norms and seemed to have dabbled in the realm of outlaws in the past.
自慢でもなんでもなく営業成績はよかったので、辞めたあとも社長から戻ってこいと何度か電話をもらったりもしました。その中で、女もあてがってやるからみたいなことを言われたのが印象的です。なんてヤバイ業界なんでしょう。なんて！
I don’t mean to boast, but my sales performance was good, so even after I quit, the president called me several times asking me to come back. Among those conversations, one particular statement stood out: the president mentioned that they could arrange for a woman to be assigned to me if I returned. It made me realize how shady that industry can be. It’s quite alarming, isn’t it?
ただ、今となっては良い思い出です。（ほとんど覚えてないけど。）愛知には味噌カツ・味噌煮込み・手羽先・ういろうやナナちゃん人形など色々な名物もあります。また、機会があれば愛知に遊びに行きたいと思います。たぶんね。
However, looking back now, it’s just a distant memory (although I hardly remember it). Aichi is known for various specialties such as misokatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet with miso sauce), misonikomi (thick udon noodles in miso soup), tebasaki (Nagoya-style chicken wings), uirou (a type of traditional Japanese confectionery), and Nanachan dolls, among others. If I have the opportunity, I would like to visit Aichi. Well, probably.
