Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tea Anyone?

The Marine Officer's Spouses Club (MOSC) usually has an event every month to raise money for charity. This month they hosted a Japanese Tea Ceremony for all of us to take part in. This one was a little different because there are so many members of our club. It was not as intimate as they usually are, but it was still a cool experience.
This is my friend Rebecca. We always wind up dressed alike. Of course today was no different: black dresses and turquoise necklaces.
Here is our president and one of the General's wives giving a run down of what will go on during the ceremony.
So many people had kimonos on, I wish I had one!
First we were served a gelatin sweet cube, thing. If any of you come out here to visit, you will soon see that they like many foods, especially desserts in this gelatin form! It wasn't exactly the greatest thing I have ever states. Basically, it tasted like hard Jell-o, with a sugar-like flavor and sweetened rice on the inside. It is customary to eat sweets first in order to sweeten the palate in preparation for the bitter tea.
The tea was, uh, interesting as well. They grind tea leaves into a powder and mix it with hot water. I have never tasted anything like this before! It was pretty thick and had a bit of a spinach taste! You could see grimaces on everyone's faces! We were try not to be rude and suck it all down!
This is where one of the men mixed the tea. There is an entire sequence of things he must do to prepare the tea. that was probably one of the neatest things seeing all of the intricate movements he did in order to clean the bowls and mix the tea.
Here is a picture of my friend Haiden and I. She goes to our church and was on the last adventure we went on at Forest Adventire Park (zip lining)
It was a fun experience. Only in Japan would I be able to experience something like this!
In 2 days I will be on an airplane back to America! I will finally get to see my family, it has almost been a year, as well as my in-laws, it has been since last July since we have seen each other! I will also get to see my fabulous husband, whom I have not since in 2 months! I am so excited! I will see you all soon!

2 comments:

Dishin And Dishes said...

Wow ...I've read about this..it's so cool that you got to experience it! We'll see you in one week! Safe trip wishes!

CJ Lampwork said...

Hey Andrea, neat experience! Take them all in.
have a same trip back to the states. It's gonna be a whirlwind for you...see ya in a week.
LU , Aunt Cheryl