Japan

Last Thursday and Friday I went to Hiroshima and it was an unbelievable trip. I visited Peace Park, the Atomic bomb museum, and Miyajima Island (one of the three most beautiful places to visit in Japan). Unfortunately I haven't had the time to resize all of the pictures and post them on the web so I'll try to get those up within a few days. I also need to say a special THANK YOU to Ryuko and Hiroshi Takamoto!! They were my hosts for the two days I was in Hiroshima, and really took care of me. Thank you very much for making my trip so enjoyable.

As far as other updates go, I'm going to get 2 new roommates tomorrow!!! I'm kind of looking forward to it, but at the same time, I think a lot of us know how roommate problems can occur right? Anyway, I took a few pictures of the countryside for you Mr Tsang (yes of course I remember you =) ). If anyone has requests for pictures, I'll be more than happy to take them. Bye for now!-Pete

Ok, so it's been more than a few days for an update but here I go!!!

Work has been so so lately. I've struggled with kid's classes again, and actually lost my patience with one child the other day. And if people know me, I rarely lose my patience unless someone truly troubles me. The last child to make me upset was the same one who pulled his pants down at me and called me names in Japanese. I will not mention his name, but if I were his mother, I would spank myself for letting such a little brat out of hell loose upon this world. Anyway, he threw a pencil box down on the floor and refused to pick up the 100's of pencils which laid everywhere. I said his name really loudly, pointed and he refused to pick them up. Then I gave him a really nasty look and pointed to the pencils again. All of the other students had left the class by this time except for him. I started to see tears building in his eyes and I felt a sense of satisfaction that I was probably the first person in his life to put my foot down and let him know that he was doing something wrong. Although, some of you reading this update may think I'm some kind of mentally sick person, you don't know horror until you step into a room with a disrespectful child. The other children in Nova are great, really cute, and full of energy (maybe too much), but at least they're not directing at me in a negative way like this last kid did.

Anyway, as far as more details go on what's been happening to me lately, I would say not a whole lot! I've been hanging back, drinking a few beers, and hopefully saving up a little money to travel later on. There is a package deal for 13,000 yen with a one night stay in a fancy hotel in Korea. I may give it a go sometime this month to see how things are over there.

My roommate situation is actually really great. I like the new guys a lot. One is named Steve from Canada and the other is named Joe from Michigan in the States. It's a lot more lively with people around the apartment!

To give more information about the Hiroshima trip, I'm going to have to say that it was an emotional experience. There were so many things in peace park, and the atomic bomb museum to make time stop. You get really fixated with all of the remnants from the blast, whether it be the remains from a building, or articles of clothing, personal posessions, or radiation exposure of victims. The experience which a lot of Japanese citizens endured during the A-bomb drop must have been unimaginable. One of the most well known images from the Hiroshima bombing was the imprint of a person left on the steps in front of a bank while he/she waited for it to open; the person was incinerated by the blast. Hopefully weapons of mass destruction such as the A-bomb will never surface again in any era. The results are too catostrophic.

But on a more positive note Miyajima was incredible. It's an Island in Hiroshima which is said to be one of the 3 most beautiful places to visit in Japan. I dont' know where the other two places are, but this one was great! The first thing you notice when you visit the island is the amount of deer roaming around. It's as if Santa Claus fired his squad of reindeer and they decided to populate Miyajima with a million offspring. They're waiting for you at the station as you get off of the ferry, they're waiting for you as you hike up the mountain, they're waiting for you as you get to the top of the mountain, and they're still there when you return to the ferry port as you leave the island. And if you don't see any deer in front of you, then they're probably following you from behind trying to beg for food. Besides the deer, the scenery around the island is amazing. You can check the pictures in my images section, but the way my camera takes pictures does not do the beauty of the island justice. I could have stayed at the top of the Island and looked at the scenery awhile if I had enough time to.

I did post pictures up in the images section so check 'em out, however I didn't get to narrarate all of them and don't know if I have the energy to add words later, but try to appreciate the beauty!