The main seminars and events of the day took place in a comfortable lecture theater at Nagasaki University. After we were settled lectures started. The theme of the day was Human Security and Global Health, and speakers from Japan, Korea and Thailand delivered lectures. The breath of knowledge from the international presenters was fascinating and all of the students were taking notes furiously.
During the lunch break, we headed to a nice cafeteria on the ground floor of the university, and (again) we had really good food. We tried "soba", a Japanese noodle made from buckwheat, and marveled how Japanese rice is so different to the rice back home.
After lunch and a quick photo session in front of Nagasaki University, we all headed back to the seminar hall where things became much more focused. During the afternoon session we talked about our main theme, the issue that particular interested us in the field of Peace and Human Security. After that, we had a round table discussion. For many of us this kind of learning was a new experience; it was highly participative but still the lecturers were there guiding it. This was very different form the more passive style that is normal as a class participant. Once we were offered this kind of freedom, many of the students became very engaged in the round-table discussion.
When the academic side of things finished, Nagasaki students and lectures treated us to a welcome dinner. There was lots of delicious food and none of us could hold back once we saw SUSHI!
Finally, almost 12 hours since leaving the hotel early that morning, we returned exhausted guided by Yoko, the PAHSA coordinator. Walking back, many of us finally had time to reflect. It had been an amazing day, we learned so much as the foundation was put down for the rest of the program. Tomorrow will be the first Field Trip and we’re all looking forward to that. It is no exaggeration to say we can’t wait for the next day to come.