January has been something of a looong month. It began with New Year's and wound down with almost the end of the semester. As I write this, I only have about two weeks left before spring break begins.
I've been pretty busy with homework and final papers and presentations, and also a final trip to Hiroshima with Study of Japan! We visited Miyajima, which was beautiful, and the Peace Park and Museum. The Park was very pleasant, but the museum was devastating. I cried my way through reading about how people had died and suffered when the Atomic bomb was dropped. I chose to stay the night, and two French girls and I stayed at a cheap hostel before meeting with everybody else in the morning. It was my first time at a hostel, kinda meh and a bit dirty, but it was alright. On the second day we visited Yamato museum, a WWII naval museum dedicated to the largest and best ship Japan built (which was sunk before it could do anything), and then what I liked to call Bunny Island. The island used to house a poison gas factory, and when the factory was dismantled they released a bunch of bunnies onto the island to check and make sure it was safe for humans again. The bunnies didn't die, they bred. There are thousands of rabbits on the island that will come up to you for food. There is also a poison gas museum on the island, detailing the suffering of the workers. It was interesting and a bit bothersome to note that the museum completely glossed over how and where the poison gas was used during the war and what those victims suffered, but it's sort of a theme I've noticed in Japan, the ignoring of past atrocities they have committed. I had a teacher tell me that it was because Japan still hasn't gotten over the war. Anyway, the poison gas museum and the A-bomb museum were both pretty horrifyingly graphic; at least I didn't have nightmares afterwards. After the trip it was more papers and more presentations. I'll be glad of the break for sure! I'm hoping I can travel a bit too! And spend some time learning interesting things.
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AuthorHatty is a CSUMB student. Archives
October 2015
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