Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Two Minutes of Rememberence
This morning Masaharu asked me, “Do you know what happened today?”
If I weren’t in Nagasaki Prefecture at 11:02 on August 9th I would easily forget what happened in the world on this day. I just got back from the high school’s peace assembly. There were high-pitched sirens (the same sirens used during bomb raids in the war) whirring over the loudspeakers for two minutes to remind us all to stop and think about the victims of the atomic bomb. I thought I heard jets fly over head too, but I it was just my imagination. There we all were, in the gym, hot and sticky and completely silent. Every student, teacher and staff member remembering the tragedies of World War II.
This summer I visited Hiroshima for the first time. We were only there for an hour or so, while hitchhiking towards Tokyo, but we got to walk around the Peace Park and see the sculptures, fountains, and only remaining building. We didn’t have time to go into the museum, but I’ve wanted to see the peace park ever since coming to Japan and seeing Nagasaki’s park. Hiroshima’s park seems much more a part of the city than Nagasaki’s. It seemed many people walk through it—like New York’s Central Park—because it’s within the city blocks and life happens all around it. That’s my only criticism of Nagasaki’s park. You go to the park for the purpose of seeing the park—it’s not in a part of the city that you may happen to walk through while going about your day. Because of that, the park often has spare tourists snapping their cameras at the famous statue but rarely has business people and students hanging out or walking through it. I think that’s really unfortunate, but I was really impressed with Hiroshima’s park.
I haven’t had internet at my school this week, but either I’ll get that figured out today or I’ll just have to write at school and post when I get home. I was planning to post last night but because of the water-on-keyboard incident I had to sit down and get intimate with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire instead. Shucks! It’s a tough life!
Love, Sierra
If I weren’t in Nagasaki Prefecture at 11:02 on August 9th I would easily forget what happened in the world on this day. I just got back from the high school’s peace assembly. There were high-pitched sirens (the same sirens used during bomb raids in the war) whirring over the loudspeakers for two minutes to remind us all to stop and think about the victims of the atomic bomb. I thought I heard jets fly over head too, but I it was just my imagination. There we all were, in the gym, hot and sticky and completely silent. Every student, teacher and staff member remembering the tragedies of World War II.
This summer I visited Hiroshima for the first time. We were only there for an hour or so, while hitchhiking towards Tokyo, but we got to walk around the Peace Park and see the sculptures, fountains, and only remaining building. We didn’t have time to go into the museum, but I’ve wanted to see the peace park ever since coming to Japan and seeing Nagasaki’s park. Hiroshima’s park seems much more a part of the city than Nagasaki’s. It seemed many people walk through it—like New York’s Central Park—because it’s within the city blocks and life happens all around it. That’s my only criticism of Nagasaki’s park. You go to the park for the purpose of seeing the park—it’s not in a part of the city that you may happen to walk through while going about your day. Because of that, the park often has spare tourists snapping their cameras at the famous statue but rarely has business people and students hanging out or walking through it. I think that’s really unfortunate, but I was really impressed with Hiroshima’s park.
I haven’t had internet at my school this week, but either I’ll get that figured out today or I’ll just have to write at school and post when I get home. I was planning to post last night but because of the water-on-keyboard incident I had to sit down and get intimate with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire instead. Shucks! It’s a tough life!
Love, Sierra
