Hiroshima thoughts

Happy Monday from Japan.  We will be leaving in a few hours.  Yesterday we visited Hiroshima.  I have visited there several times, but I always enjoy like all our activities, to see things through my students' eyes and see their learning and enjoyment. We first went to the Peace Park, the site of the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945.

Atomic Bomb Dome

Cenotaph

Children's Memorial, statue of Sadako

Korean Memorial

 The purpose of the Peace Park and Peace Museum (which was very crowded, and unfortunately much of it was closed for renovation) is not only to teach us history, but to help us learn from that history. Regardless of one's politics, religion, race, ethnicity heritage, etc., war is always a horrible thing.  Hiroshima reminds us that the use of weapons of mass destruction are particularly heinous and that we should al work towards eliminating them from our world.

My ultimate goal for the UACOP study abroad trips and our international programs in general is not only to help our students and residents gain a global view of their chosen profession, but to change the world.  I have never told the students this, but my belief is that each of them is not only an ambassador for UACOP, but ambassadors for our country. So much of the strife in our world today is due to lack of understanding, poor communication and ignorance. As I watch my UA students interact with the Japanese students, getting to know each other, sharing their life experiences and laughing, I hope they are gaining the realization that despite differences in language, culture, appearance, foods, etc., we are all pretty much the same. It is a lot harder to hate someone who is like you.  We are all like each other.

After the Peace Memorial and linch, we took the ferry to Miyajima island and Itsukushima Shrine (built 1200 years ago).  Despite being hit by a thunderstorm, we had a needed uplifting experience after the more somber time in the morning.

Iconic torii gate in Hiroshima Bay

Itsukushima Shrine

Tired trip back to Kobe