Hiroshima

Today it was rainy all day so I just layed around and did absolutely nothing. It was glorious. I'm going to sort of bring you up to speed bit by bit. First, my Japan trip. I think I have to dedicate this post to only Hiroshima, because there is just so much to tell about it.
Nicole (my friend from grad school who is now teaching here in Seoul with me) and I flew to Japan for a week over the Korean holiday Chuseok. It's like their Thanksgiving.
I was really surprised when we arrived in Hiroshima. I guess I didn't know what to expect, but you'd never be able to tell that 61 years ago the city was flattened by an A-bomb. It's beautiful and green with 7 rivers running through the city. There is also a street car system (like trolleys). The city has such a good, strong energy to it. We stayed at the World Friendship Center (WFC). It was founded by American Quaker peace activists in the 60's, and it serves as a guest house (sort of like a B&B) for visitors to Hiroshima. It was run by a couple in their 60's...it was great, like staying at someone's house! It was Japanese style so we slept on pads on the floor in our own bedroom. Older couples from America sign up (through their church) to work at the WFC for a year's time...what an amazing experience, to come to Japan and work at an organization like that! The WFC is also very active in the community (teaching English, cultural exchanges, and international peace initiatives). One of the staff (Don) was really informative about the city and he set up a free private tour with a Japanese woman for us to see the Peace Park. It was amazing. So much history. Nicole and I went to the Peace Memorial Museum, learned a bit of the history of the attack on Hiroshima, and saw a lot of really moving pictures and read some personal stories of some of the victims. The next morning, a little Japanese woman named Michiko gave us a tour of the Peace Park. There are so many monuments like the "Flame of Peace" (which will not be extinguished until the last nuclear weapon in the world is destroyed!) and the A-Bomb dome...the remains of a building that was all but destroyed by the bomb (pictured). The park is in the hypocenter where the bomb hit. There is a river running through the park and our guide told us stories about how the river was just filled with bodies after the explosion. I learned so much about the effects of a nuke, it was so sad and disturbing. I couldn't help but cry as she was telling us the stories of the families and people who were affected.

One story in particular was very striking. It's about a girl named Sadako. She was exposed to the A-bomb when she was 2 years old. Ten years later, she developed radiation-related lukemia (as many people did). The Japanese have a legend which says that anyone who folds 1000 paper cranes (origami) would be granted a wish. Cranes are a sign of longevity in Japanese culture. Sadako diligently began folding paper cranes in hope that this would cure her sickness. She folded over 1000 before her death 8 months later. Her classmates continued folding paper cranes in her memory and there was a monument erected in the Peace Park dedicated to Sadako and all the children (the most innocent of all victims) who died as a result of the A-bomb. When we were there, a class of children came carrying armfuls of paper cranes which they hung on the monument. It was amazing.

In addition to learning about the bombing, Nicole and I also went to an island close to Hiroshima called Miyajima. (it was far enough away that it wasn't affected by the bomb). It was beautiful! After arriving on the island (by ferry) we were approached by several deer who were completely tame! It was wild! They were like dogs or something! We were petting them and feeding them deer food. They were just strolling around the island, intermixing with the people. We were able to see a beautiful shrine with an orange grand gate called "O-Torii" (pictured below). It was very beautiful. Here are some pictures of our wonderful stay in Hiroshima...