Tuesday, 28 April 2009

Traditional Tea Garden Ceremony

















The International Women’s group was putting on an event that I was really looking forward to attending – a traditional garden tea ceremony followed by a luncheon in a traditional Korean house setting. The location was at Keimyung University in Daegu.

When the time came, Sadie came down with a fever, but Steve, being the wonderful husband that he is, volunteered to stay home that day with her so I could still attend the event.

It was just such a lovely event. I mingled between the Korean nationals and other women as we witnessed the methodical and beautiful demonstration. This is not to say I learned very much, being that it was specifically a demonstration, however it was pleasing to watch, the scenery was gorgeous and the whole timing with the arrival of spring and assimilating into nature was very relaxing. There was a whole health/zen connection going on.

After the demonstration we were treated to a fabulous lunch tray with an assortment of mostly Korean and Japanese cuisine. I sat with my friends who are Korean American and Japanese American and two other women who happened to be from Korea and Japan. We had interesting discussions about the government and North Korea and food and of course – tea.

We then proceeded into little traditional style Korean buildings for samplings of tea and treats. It turned out to be a perfect day, except for poor Steve tending to sick little Sadie. I think she was happier in the end to have her daddy playing with her and putting her little bear and dollies to sleep under blankets. Daddy always turns out to be the better playmate and waaaay more fun.

Next month will be the last International Women's event of the year. It has been fun to have been involved and gain new experiences through the association. I feel really lucky and privileged to have been a part and included with such a nice group of women from around the world.


Sunday, 19 April 2009

Creative Outlets

We're back! That is Benjamin, Sadie and I from our month long tour around the US. And quite a tour it was from Chicago to Maryland to Virginia. I will post more about that later, but quite frankly I'm still recovering from such a trip and it will exhaust me even to write about it.

So instead I'm going to share about my delightful day attending a Japanese floral arrangement class. It was the perfect escape from the hectic (yet mostly fun) past thirty days that I endured. This is something I can definitely see keeping up once back in the States. It has a very calming and peaceful affect working between the branches, flowers and water. The arrangements are so elegant and fragile. This will definitely go down as another top highlight of this tour. I can't wait to attend the class again next month.




My floral arrangement. Although I can't take complete credit for this on my own since Miss Ha had to guide me through the proper method and placement.


The array of flowers and branches we had to choose from filled the room with a beautiful aroma.


Our instructor Miss Ha is very skilled in this art and studied for many years.





The room once everyone got started on their arrangements.