The past few days have been so amazing. We've done so many awesome things!
On Monday, Pastor Tanaka and his family took us to a day spring/spa/public bath. First we went to the spa portion of the hot springs. It was basically a room full of jacuzzis and saunas. It was so relaxing. They even had outdoor jacuzzis, and it was great because you got a beautiful view of the mountains while you relaxed in a hot tub. It was great to let our bodies relax! After the spa we went to the pool portion. Personally, I had been looking forward to swimming all month, so this was perfect for me :) Then we went for lunch at the spa restaurant. I'm sure we all looked like zombies as we trudged to the restaurant- our bodies were so relaxed!! After lunch we all got a really nice nap in an area of the spa specially designated for naps!
After lunch came the awkward part- the public bath. We were separated by gender, took off all of our clothes and went into a big room with lots of showers. To be honest, it was a little relaxing, but we got stared at by everyone because we were white! However, it was great bonding time! hahaha... That was simply a great day.
Then on Tuesday we went to Hiroshima. That was a roller coaster of emotions. We got the opportunity to go through the museum there and that was incredible. It had two huge dioramas that compared Hiroshima before and after the attack. They also had lots of artifacts that had belonged to people that were killed in the explosion. That really struck and emotional chord within me, especially the sandal where you could still see a girl's footprint.
We also went to a nearby island by a ferry boat! We got the opportunity to do a bit of shopping while being attacked by deer. Good times :) The only bad thing about the day was that it was ridiculously hot- around 37!! We were HOT. But it was still a great day.
Now we're on our last assignment in Izumi church. We're looking forward to a great week :)