Free announcer Aika Kanda: “Damn!　This is marriage!

You are unforgettable.

On the third day of our trip, we decided to do my husband’s #1 thing to do, “walk the length of Manhattan. Starting from Central Park, we walked through the bustling Times Square, through Soho with its fashionable stores, to …… (hmm?　Is that ……?) Then, at the end of the street, we saw a white winged bird. Suddenly, a building resembling a work of art with white wings spread out came into view. (That’s …… World Trade Center Station!) ). I was horrified as the dots connected in my head. Across the street from the station was Century 21. （My heart began to pound.) My heart began to pound. I had already given up on him. I couldn’t believe he was just down the street. No, no, no. I decided not to see him this time. Why did I have to go through all this?　（Damn it!　This is marriage!) (Damn! This is what marriage is all about!).

My husband, on the other hand, is giving his opinion on the station’s modeling. I responded in a modest way so that he wouldn’t know that I wasn’t listening (Oh, …… is finally here…). You’ve been reborn. It’s okay now, I’m happy because you’re here!) ), he spoke passionately in his mind. A large signboard painted in red, the color of his image. The words “Century 21” written in a dancing pattern. The sight of the brave figure was seared into my eyes.

And then, as I approached the store, the entrance opened with a flash. A person carrying a Century 21 paper bag came out of the store. I wondered if the contents of that paper bag was the one I was supposed to meet!　I turned my eyeballs as far down as they would go and tried to peek, but I couldn’t see him. (But this person must still be clad in the air in the store!) ) I tried to look down with my eyeballs at an angle, but I couldn’t see. (But this person must still be covered with the air in the store! I breathe it in (not to miss it!!!). ) and inhale it deep into your lungs. Then, I closed my eyes and decided that my trip with my mother at the end of …… would be in New York again! I decided to go back to New York.

Aika Kanda was born in 1980 in Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from Gakushuin University with a degree in mathematics, she joined NHK as an announcer in 2003, and left in 2012 to become a freelance announcer. Since then, she has been active mainly in variety shows, and currently makes regular appearances as the main MC of the daytime TV program “Poka Poka” (Fuji Television Network).

From the October 13-20, 2023 issue of FRIDAY