Colin is in Japan

Colin left for Japan this past Thursday, July 15. He had to be at the Tucson airport at 5:15am to meet the rest of the boys. All the boys were wearing their red Chorus collared shirts and black dress pants to travel as an ensemble. They all look so professional and respectable. Colin was so excited to go. Pete drove him to the airport, and before he left he kept saying to me, "I can't believe it's really here! I'm really going to Japan!" It was about a year ago that they were first told of the upcoming year's international travel plans. It has been a full year of planning, saving, and experiencing the great generosity of our friends and family as God has provided for us in every aspect of this trip.

The first we heard from him was the next day with a quick email saying he was fine and very busy. And that's about it. He later told us they had had an uneventful plane trip to Tokyo, but that several of them had somehow ended up on the wrong train from Tokyo to Hiroshima. Fortunately, two of the four adult leaders were with this group and helped them to navigate their way to Hiroshima, although a few hours late.

Saturday, July 17 - For lunch Colin ate okonomiyaki, a specialty of Hiroshima. It's a Japanese pancake with noodles and an egg on top. He has also tried Japanese pizza (not a favorite) and rice cakes wrapped in seaweed. That afternoon, the boys visited Peace Memorial Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Peace_Memorial_Park). It is a park dedicated to Hiroshima as being the first city to experience a Nuclear Bomb. It was built to honor the victims and to promote the idea of world peace. There is a children's peace monument with a statue of a girl holding a paper crane above her head. It is based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki who died from radiation from the bomb. She believed that if she folded 1000 paper cranes, she would survive. Today children still send paper cranes to the memorial. I haven't heard Colin's perspective on the visit yet, but I imagine it was very moving.

After such an experience, the Tucson Boys Chorus met the Hiroshima Boys Choir and joined them for a concert in the evening. The boys then went to their homestays for the evening.

Sunday, July 18 -- The boys visited the Itsukushima shrine and later that day made Hiroshima traditional sweets, which Colin had trouble describing to us--not really a pastry, but not a candy either. He seemed to enjoy the experience though.

Monday, July 19 -- The boys left Hiroshima for Tokyo by train (about an 8-hour trip). They were to arrive at St. Mary's International School to meet their next host families around dinnertime. St. Mary's is an all-boys school in Tokyo with about 1000 students from 60 countries.