Japanese Culture and Reminders of Home

How's this for cultural fusion:

Yesterday, the members of the Japanese Tea Ceremony Club at school invited me over to the Japanese culture room for a tea ceremony and..."Halloween" party (more on that below)!  The tea ceremony in Japan is an incredible demonstration of skill, grace, history, tradition, and delicious tea and snacks.  There really is a grand art to it, especially the sitting on your knees the whole time which, needless to say, is next to impossible for my lanky Western legs!

Besides wrapping me up in the beautiful yukuta (light-weight summer kimono) from above, the girls also showed me how to prepare tea, which involves rapidly whisking the water and tea powder into a hurried, frothy mixture while only moving your wrist and not your entire arm (to keep the graceful appearance which your kimono lends itself to).  Seriously, folks...preparing tea this way is not easy...it takes a lot of practice and involves a lot of ritual (which is why, therefore, we have an entire club dedicated to it)!

After the traditional ceremony, we drank tea, ate cookies, and had our "Halloween" party with some treats I brought myself (thanks to some kind folks back home...see below)!  The students told me how they're excited Halloween is becoming popular in Japan, just like Christmas had done a few years ago.

Ahhh, the joys of global marketing.

In other news, I wanted to give a shout out to some amazing people back home in the States who have sent me care packages!!  First of all, besides all the boxes of winter clothes and toiletries sent over, my mom also sent me a Halloween goodies box!  Thanks so much, Mom!!!

Also, from our lovely friends in KC, Krissy and Rob, came a box of stickers, treats, and easy English readers for my students!  どもありがとう (Thank you!!!)

And finally, the hugest package ever in terms of the amount of stuff crammed in came from my former fabulous co-workers in the English Language Center and the International Center at the University of Central Missouri.  You guys are AMAZING and your goodies will make excellent briber--I mean motivational items for the students!!

My mailbox is hungry and it's got an appetite for some snail mail!  That's all the hint I feel I need to give.

Tomorrow, Jacob and I are headed to....Japan!  That is, we're flying down to the island of Honshu (Japan's main island) to visit the historic cities of Kyoto and Nara.  I will be back next week, hopefully with some gorgeous photos and some good stories!