My new work schedule has kept me fairly busy the past few weeks. I am working in Toyonaka, which is about 1 and a half hours from my house. The commute is killer, but fortunately, it only is until the end of December. Then I'll be taking a new job at an elementary school which is only about 45 minutes from my house (a relief in the mornings!!!).
Some recent happenings.....
I went to Hiroshima 2 weeks ago with Craig and two friends. We drove there, and spent one day in Hiroshima and one day in Miyajima. The A-Bomb memorial museum was still striking, even though it was the second time I have seen it. I still appreciate how well it is put together - more focused on providing information than siding with anyone on the issue. Of course, it's main goal is peace, and it does promote the message of ridding the world of nuclear missles. Some of the statistics are so scary too - the bomb that hit Hiroshima was relatively small compared to the ones available now. It killed over 200,000 people and left many more with grotesque injuries. Now there are bombs with thousands upon thousands times the power of that little bomb. It's sad that any country or individual would feel they need to wipe out human life in such a drastic measure.
While we were on Miyajima, I think I encountered the most blatant discrimination we have experienced since arriving in Japan. We went for some lunch at a local restaurant. There were 4 of us - 3 caucasian and 1 Japanese. While we were looking at the menu, the server placed 3 glasses of water and one glass of tea on our table. We didn't notice it right away, but once we did, we had to ask them if it was right. I was so shocked that they would just assume that foreigners can't drink tea and that the Japanese person prefers tea to water. I am happy that my Japanese friend, Ken, was bold enough to confront the server on her cultural blunder. It was pretty shocking to have someone do that, as insignificant as it may seem. Imagine if that happend in America!
Well, I'd like to write more, but I've gotta get to school. The days always interesting when working with kids - now I get to go see what awaits me!!