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candylandToday was the best Religions of Asia class EVER!! It really was!
We had a tea ceremony =D
We met in a different building on campus, called Woods House (which is, in fact, a house), where the Japanese instructor was going to do it. She has a certification for the basic level of performing the ceremony--her kimono was absolutely beautiful. It was a little improvised, because we didn't exactly have all the right equipment.
I was one of the three who volunteered to do the actual ceremony. So it was me and two other girls from my class sitting on our knees while Sensei went through the ritual and explained everything--the reason the Tea Server carries a fan is to set it in the path of the sliding door so when they bow, nobody can slam the door shut on their neck and kill them. It's an old throwback to the days of the Warring States and the samurai. How pathetic is it that when she explained that, all I could think of was Rurouni Kenshin? *headdesks*
I've always wanted to see an actual tea ceremony, so I was uber-excited! And it was really relaxing to watch as she wiped everything off, washed the bowls, wiped them, measured out the tea, poured the water in and mixed it with the bamboo whisk. There's a whole method to receiving the bowl and turning it and drinking from it--we were encouraged to slurp. I actually attempted it, and while everyone else giggled, Sensei said I made a "good noise."
When we talked about it afterwards, she asked us if our minds wandered at all. I commented that mine only wandered as far as my feet, which were falling asleep =P Then we had food--they had some different Indian and Japanese treats (our prof is half Indian)...and then they had chips and salsa, which made perfect sense *laugh* It was a great experience.
...and I got an eighty-one on my Religious Visit paper. I am not complaining ♥
We had a tea ceremony =D
We met in a different building on campus, called Woods House (which is, in fact, a house), where the Japanese instructor was going to do it. She has a certification for the basic level of performing the ceremony--her kimono was absolutely beautiful. It was a little improvised, because we didn't exactly have all the right equipment.
I was one of the three who volunteered to do the actual ceremony. So it was me and two other girls from my class sitting on our knees while Sensei went through the ritual and explained everything--the reason the Tea Server carries a fan is to set it in the path of the sliding door so when they bow, nobody can slam the door shut on their neck and kill them. It's an old throwback to the days of the Warring States and the samurai. How pathetic is it that when she explained that, all I could think of was Rurouni Kenshin? *headdesks*
I've always wanted to see an actual tea ceremony, so I was uber-excited! And it was really relaxing to watch as she wiped everything off, washed the bowls, wiped them, measured out the tea, poured the water in and mixed it with the bamboo whisk. There's a whole method to receiving the bowl and turning it and drinking from it--we were encouraged to slurp. I actually attempted it, and while everyone else giggled, Sensei said I made a "good noise."
When we talked about it afterwards, she asked us if our minds wandered at all. I commented that mine only wandered as far as my feet, which were falling asleep =P Then we had food--they had some different Indian and Japanese treats (our prof is half Indian)...and then they had chips and salsa, which made perfect sense *laugh* It was a great experience.
...and I got an eighty-one on my Religious Visit paper. I am not complaining ♥