Day 5
The last day was only travelling and buying some souvenirs. The shinkansen ride was different to the ride we had on the first day; everyone was too exhausted to do anything and mostly everyone slept.
In the morning, we had a buffet at the hotel. Kazune and I went a bit too early... (7:30ish) and we didn't really eat much. Then we went back to our rooms, did some final packing and went to the lobby. From there, we went to the station and spent some time buying some souvenirs such as the momiji manjuu. Mostly everyone had bags of souvenirs in their hands and their luggage seemed a bit bigger compared to the first day. Then we got on the shinkansen and reached Yamate at around... 3pm?
Overall Reflection
For this field studies, I chose Hiroshima because I heard it wasn't as hard and tiring as the other two places (Izu and Iya.) After field studies I asked people that went to Izu and Iya how their trip w as and most of them said it was tiring but fun. Hiroshima wasn't that tiring because we didn't have to scuba or hike the whole day. However, it did make us feel and learn many things. Since Hiroshima was a historical and cultural trip, I learnt many things about the A-bomb and the short and long-term effects of it. It was shocking to hear Ms. Matsubara's experience about the A-bomb and I realized the lack of knowledge I had about the bomb. Just one uranium bomb can take away many people's life and totally change people's lives. It was depressing to hear how Ms. Matsubara was treated after the bomb. Since she had some scars, the society did not accept her; in the train, people refused to sit near her and even though she was able to graduate school, she could not get any job and coudn't find someone she can marry. From then, she worked hard for peace, she sent letters to President Obama and attended many events.
It was surprising when someone asked her if she h ated or felt enmity towards Americans and she answered no. Ofcourse, in the beginning, she was not able to forgive them because they had ruined her life but as she met different Americans, she realized that not all Americans are bad. She thought that there are always good and bad people in the world.
I don't think I can express in words how I felt when I went to the museum where it exhibited clothing, objects and pictures of people who were affected by the bomb. It showed pictures of people with serious burns and hair loss. I couldn't bear looking at them. As I read the captions and explanations written below the pictures and objects, I noticed that many people died a day after the bomb. I don't know which is worse, dying right at the moment the bomb exploded, or suffering a whole day and dying. I also saw drawings that showed what it was like after the war; mothers carrying their dead babies, dead bodies floating in the river and people with serious burns roaming around like zombies not knowing where to go. It expressed someth ing different to pictures ( I don't really know how to explain it) and it was painful looking at them.
Although going to the peace museum and knowing more about the A-bomb was not fun, the trip itself was enjoyable. I was also able to learn more about my classmates and teachers. I hope I can somehow make use of this experience and commit to peace. It made me realize, again that there is nothing good about war. It is destruction and death; no one benefits from war.
I wish I can go to Hiroshima again with the same member one day.
