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June 20, 2003

This is the main hall of Todaiji, one of the most famous Buddhist temples in Nara. Many of the NP:J groups visited this temple on their day trip to Nara. Can you get a feeling for how large this temple is? This is the giant statue of the Buddha inside the main hall above. The eyes on this statue are each over 3 feet across! A student from Belleville crawls through the "Buddha's nostril," a hole in a pillar thought to be the same size as the nostril of the Big Buddha. Crawling through this pillar is thought to bring everything from instant enlightenment to a succesful love life. Why don't you ask this student what she gained? A Belleville student has a calligrapher at Todaiji record his visit to the temple in a souvenir book. This tradition evolved from religious pilgrims who wanted to keep a record of their progress. A traditional lunch at a Japanese garden in Nara: a bowl of grated mountain yam mixed with egg, pickles, rice, and tea.

Sayonara Japan! Today was the last full day in Kyoto, and Japan, for the NP:J Tour One participants. The students and teachers arrived in Kyoto right at the beginning of Japan's month-long rainy season, but the mostly gray skies and certainty of rain (If it's not raining now, it will be later!) have not dampened their exploring spirit. For the past three days, each school group has excitedly ventured out to see the sights of Kyoto, Osaka, Himeji, and Nara, armed with raincoats, ponchos, or umbrellas. As it turns out, the students have been lucky! Wednesday was the only day the rain gear was actually necessary. On their final day in the Kansai region, many groups visited Nara, the capital of Japan before the capital was moved to Kyoto over 1300 years ago! Nara is perhaps most famous for Todaiji, a temple that houses a giant statue of the Buddha in the largest wooden structure in the world. Still others visited the Kyoto National Museum, the Fureaikan Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts, or the Nishijin Textile Center where students watched the silk fabric used in making kimono being woven from fine thread. Throughout the course of the NP:J study tour, groups can choose to participate in a variety of specially organized activities. Here in Kyoto, those activities are mostly related to traditional crafts. The Lane Middle School group tried their hand at making the Kyoto specialty Yatsuhashi, a hard cookie-like treat made from mochi baked on top of a griddle. Mochi is cooked rice that has been pounded into a dough-like consistency. (If you're lucky, maybe your son or daughter will let you taste their cooking!) The East Hardin group experienced the process of making traditional Japanese paper, or washi, first-hand. In addition to their scheduled sightseeing, groups took advantage of today to finish up their shopping and take care of last minute odds and ends. The final stop for many groups today was the Kyoto Handicraft Center, a multi-floor extravaganza of traditional crafts, used kimonos, and other souvenirs. Any remaining yen was probably spent here in a last minute effort to buy gifts for friends and family back home as well as oneself. Items forgotten on trains, during the homestay, or elsewhere along the way, have all been delivered to the hotel by takkyubin, Japan's inexpensive point-to-point delivery service. (Too bad there is no takkyubin back to the U.S.A. for any items that might have been forgotten in Japan!) And in the midst of all this excitement, everyone had to find time to pack their luggage! Students and teachers had to have their bags packed and ready to go by 11 PM Thursday night. Of course, almost everyone is leaving with more than they arrived with and sometimes not everything can be stuffed into the original backpacks and suitcases. Many people have even had to purchase cardboard boxes to check on the plane as additional luggage. Thursday night, the NP:J staff met with the teachers of all the school groups and reviewed the logistics for Friday, the NP:J departure date. While many are tired and happy to be returning home to their friends and family, it is also clear that the study tour has been a worthwhile and meaningful experience. The trip has definitely inspired many students to look into Japanese language courses when they arrive home. In closing, the staff of The Laurasian Institution wants to convey a warm and hearty "Thank You!" to the families and friends of our students; to the teacher/chaperones who gave so much of themselves; to our funders, The United States-Japan Foundation, The Freeman Foundation, The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership; and---last but not least---to our NP:J students. Watching you experience Japan (most of you for the first time) helps us rediscover this beautiful culture anew with each tour. We hope all of our NP:J students continue to show an interest in Japan and in becoming more internationally aware. We wish you the best of luck with your future! That's it for the first NP:J Study Tour of 2003. Thanks for dropping in and catching our newsletters. Until next time, sayonara! Nap time! Commuting on the train provides an excellent opportunity for a rest. Here Lathrop students sleep after a long day in Nara.