Nicole eating tasty chain with a baby deer. Yummmm. 

Nara and Graduation

Last weekend I went to Nara - one of the former captials of Japan, which is known for it's many old temples and shrines. Nara is in the prefecture (province) of Nara which mountainous and full of beautiful trees. The scenery was heightened by a light dusting of snow, and although I wasn't thrilled about the temperature, it did make everything look wonderful.

These are photos from Todaiji Temple, which houses one of the biggest Buddhas in Japan. There is a hole located in one of the pillars near the back of the temple that is the size of the Buddha's nose. It is said that if you crawl through it you will become enlightened. Naturally Nicole and I found ourselves wriggling through the hole. When I squeezed through and onto the floor I was greeted with applause from a crowd of Japanese tourists that thought it was cute that the white girl was participating in this cultural tradition.

The other funny thing about Todaiji is that it's surrounded by Nara Park which is filled with deer that roam around free. The funny thing was if you approached them and bowed, they would bow back at you!!!! It was pretty silly. I have some great video footage of it...

The other photos here are of graduation. The Japanese school year begins in April and ends in March, so these are some goodbye photos... I'm going to miss these kids a lot!!!

Enjoy!

Big Buddah at Todaiji Temple. 

Me at Todiji Temple! 

Tyler and Nicole striking a pose. 

Everywhere we went, the deers were sure to go... 

Isn't she cute!?! 

My girls!!!! The girl on the far right is Hisana and the girl on my left is Eri. They speak wonderful English and we still keep in touch since they graduated. 

Me and my posse of advanced English students. The one of the far right is Daiki. He speaks amazing English and is the coolest 14 yr old I know. He listens to the Rolling Stones! 

Me and Sera. She was one of my best students. 

The two boys in the front are my bad boys...  

CHEESE-ZU! 

Me and some of my advanced English boys. 

The little girl on the right was chosen to speak on behalf of the graduating class and made a moving speech that brought everyone to tears!