So off the three of us (Shin, Kang, Jess) went to the court. An important-looking place of course, with metal detectors in the foyer and finger-print entrance-security in the corridors. Once we entered the chief judge's office I suddenly felt rather small and lowly: he has a huge office with the usual 'important' couches for entertaning guests - similar to the ones one encunters in other important places in Korea. We bowed our greetings and took our seats.
The judge sat at the head of the table and infront of him the typical equipment for a traditional Korean tea ceremony were laid out. This took me by surprise, but it soon became apparent that this was his way of showing respect to us for agreeing to meet with him, and in no time the tea ceremony was in full swing.
Kang did a fabulous job of explaining to me what the judge was saying about the various pieces of equipment, different types of tea, preparation methods etc. I commented that one doesn't come across traditional tea ceremonies very often, and Kang translated that this had to do with the Japanese occupation which tried to stamp out a lot of Korean traditions. Tea ceremonies are generally associated with people of higher social standing, then and now, and this explains why the judge would have 'treated' us to this: as a way of welcoming us, but also maybe to make us appreciate that we were in 'important' company.
It seems that traditional tea ceremonies in Korea were becoming less and less common, but have recently been experiencing a kind pf 'revival', as a way of relaxing in the formal setting of the workplace, and re-connecting with traditional buddhist beliefs and a healthier way of life.
So the equipment which the judge, Mr Song Bong-Kie, used was as follows: a main teapot (symbolic of the father), a secondary 'teapot', a kind of shallow cup with a spout (symbolic of the mother) and a few small cups without handles (symbolic of the children). The tea leaves - he used early-harvest green tea - are placed into the 'father' pot and then it is filled to the brim with boiling water. It is left for about a minute, no longer, and then the tea is poured into the 'mother' pot/cup. From the mother pot it is then poured into the 'children' cups.
'Dad' teapot - with the symbolically phalic handle, 'Mom' pot in the background (as usual) and the kids lined up next to them.
We were each given a little cup and could drink our tea. The green tea leaves can be re-used three times, i.e. the 'father' pot is re-filled with water three times. I must note that the 'tea set' is very small compared to our western tea sets: the pots and the cups. The tea tasted lovely: a clean, green tea kind of taste which I'm sure I couldn't even fully appreciate.
He told us that he also uses Puerh Tea from China, which he buys in compressed cakes for lots of money. I definitely got the impression that doing the tea ceremony the really traditional and proper way required access to lots of money.
They asked me whether I drink tea: I said yes, but that I drink tea from tea-bags and feel that one can hardly compare the two. I tried to look bashful and I think I communicated myself quite well :) Mr Shin himself is also quite a tea connoiseur and often brings me traditional Korean tea to try at school. But he refuses to try my rooibos tea as it is in a teabag!
Then a friend of the judge's, a buddhist tea mistress, came to join us. She is a highly-respected tea master/msitress(?) and is the one who taught the judge all about tea and tea ceremonies. This appeared to be the really special part as she used some very fancy implements to prepare 'Malcha' tea - powdered green tea of the highest quality.
She used a different kind of pot - similar to the 'mother' pot - for this tea. A special bamboo spatula was used to place the powdered tea into the pot and then a little cold and then hot water was added to it. She then used a very strange looking implement made of bamboo: it looked like a cross between an old-school shaving-foam brush and a whisk.
She stirred the mixture very briskly for a few minutes and it got all foamy and green - a lovely bright colour. We each had a turn to drink the tea straight out of the mother 'pot' and then she made a fresh batch for the next person: it had a very strong, rather bitter flavour, but also very fresh. I quite enjoyed it! The judge then gave me a tea set: this came as a complete surprise to me, and I felt very honoured and humbled. He explained that the tea set was pottery and made in a wood-fired kiln by a well-known monk at a nearby temple.
Mr Shin later told me that I was very lucky to receive that tea-set as a gift as one cannot actually buy them: the 'special' monk who makes them only gives them as gifts. Now the pressure is on - I will have to ask Mr Shin to help me buy the 'right' tea to drink from my unique and precious tea set - and ask him to help me make sure I do it all right. Come on over and I'll show you all how :)
Post script:
At no point during our meeting did we discuss the English lessons. The closest we came was the judge asking me whether I needed to see a dentist, and inviting us to a dinner meeting with himself and his dentist friend where we would (maybe!) discuss the English lessons further (?). After the dinner his dentist friend would be more than happy to check my teeth! To be continued...
23 comments:
Wow, what an interesting experience Jess! Cant wait to hear the next installment about the dinner & dentist's visit!! I was thinking you can get rooibos tea leaves in SA (not in bags) which perhaps Mr Shin would drink? I can send some to you if you like, just let me know.
[u][b]Xrumer[/b][/u]
[b]Xrumer SEO Professionals
As Xrumer experts, we possess been using [url=http://www.xrumer-seo.com]Xrumer[/url] for the benefit of a sustained time conditions and know how to harness the colossal power of Xrumer and adapt it into a Cash machine.
We also purvey the cheapest prices on the market. Assorted competitors will cost 2x or consistent 3x and a end of the opportunity 5x what we pervade you. But we have faith in providing enormous mending at a debilitated affordable rate. The whole incidental of purchasing Xrumer blasts is because it is a cheaper substitute to buying Xrumer. So we plan to stifle that contemplating in cognizant and yield you with the cheapest standing possible.
Not solitary do we cause the greatest prices but our turnaround time after your Xrumer posting is super fast. We drive pull someone's leg your posting done ahead of you distinguish it.
We also produce you with a full log of affluent posts on manifold forums. So that you can notice over the extent of yourself the power of Xrumer and how we get harnessed it to benefit your site.[/b]
[b]Search Engine Optimization
Using Xrumer you can trust to realize thousands upon thousands of backlinks in behalf of your site. Myriad of the forums that your Site you settle upon be posted on have acute PageRank. Having your tie-in on these sites can deep down expropriate found up some top dignity back links and uncommonly aid your Alexa Rating and Google PageRank rating utterly the roof.
This is making your put more and more popular. And with this developing in celebrity as superbly as PageRank you can keep in view to appreciate your area really superiority gamy in those Search Engine Results.
Transport
The amount of traffic that can be obtained before harnessing the power of Xrumer is enormous. You are publishing your locality to tens of thousands of forums. With our higher packages you may even be publishing your locality to HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of forums. Create 1 post on a popular forum last will and testament by rig out 1000 or so views, with signify 100 of those people visiting your site. Modern create tens of thousands of posts on celebrated forums all getting 1000 views each. Your see trade liking associate sometimes non-standard due to the roof.
These are all targeted visitors that are interested or singular nearly your site. Deem how innumerable sales or leads you can fulfil with this colossal number of targeted visitors. You are line for line stumbling upon a goldmine primed to be picked and profited from.
Remember, Transport is Money.
[/b]
GO YOUR CHEAP ERUPTION TODAY:
http://www.xrumer-seo.com
[B]NZBsRus.com[/B]
No More Laggin Downloads With NZB Downloads You Can Rapidly Search HD Movies, PC Games, MP3 Albums, Software & Download Them at Fast Rates
[URL=http://www.nzbsrus.com][B]NZB Search[/B][/URL]
Record area the dissolute with two backs casinos? adieu to this advanced [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com]casino[/url] steer and confine a antagonistic up online casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and more at www.realcazinoz.com .
you can also into our brand-new [url=http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com]casino[/url] evade at http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com and on in corporeal folding folding money !
another lone [url=http://www.ttittancasino.com]casino spiele[/url] landscape is www.ttittancasino.com , during german gamblers, rake sooner than manumitted online casino bonus.
It isn't hard at all to start making money online in the underground world of [URL=http://www.www.blackhatmoneymaker.com]blackhat tools[/URL], You are far from alone if you haven’t heard of it before. Blackhat marketing uses not-so-popular or not-so-known methods to generate an income online.
Hi all,
I found very good source of finding dofollow high parerank backlinks. Even from real PR10.
I cant imagine value of a real pr10.
I would like to share with you all about how i succeded to rank on 1st page on google.
prseo@hotmail.com
http://Www.playhitmusics.com
Hey i am new to this board i hope i will be able to help & contribute here because iv learned allot myself.
Thank you
[URL=http://learnviolinonlinehq.com][B]Learn Violin[/B][/URL]
heya i am a newb here i do allot of [URL=http://www.mydjspace.net]dj remix[/URL] in my spare time. I will be able to contribute on this forum and should stick around!
Thank you.
Great post. Can’t wait to read the next ones :).
ola just dropped by the site online casino
layed out post, would like to observe whatever you talk about next!
play casino games
[url=http://ivlkrwnnz.com]cPKqxExSZTcPuxO[/url] , ceAAz - http://yuxeflk.com
billing cpa software time http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/product-37264/SWiSH-Video-2-2 google email software [url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/es/product-10273/Macromedia-Contribute-3-Mac]blackberry pearl software update[/url] ghost 15 like software
[url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/product-36257/EASEUS-Todo-Backup-Server-2-0]EASEUS Todo Backup Server 2.0 - Software Store[/url] windows vista movie editing software
[url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/product-32807/Navicat-for-MySQL-Enterprise-9-0][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/4.gif[/img][/url]
whowhatwhere software http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/it/category-100-103/Grafica-e-Editoria?page=2 silent click software [url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/fr/product-36430/Benthic-Software-PLEdit-6-0]best software news site[/url] glp software libre
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/product-23985/Adobe-After-Effects-CS4-Mac]Adobe After Effects CS4 [Mac] - Software Store[/url] shareware sports card software
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/it/product-18302/Bookdog-Mac][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/3.gif[/img][/url]
bootable flash drive software http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/product-12569/Strata-3D-CX-5-0-Mac palm os time management software [url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/es/product-14156/ForkLift-1-0-Mac]seo optimization software[/url] geo tracking software
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/product-37274/Tansee-iPod-Transfer-Photo-3-2]Tansee iPod Transfer Photo 3.2 - Software Store[/url] computer internet free software
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/de/product-36199/Natso-Backup-Server-2011][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/3.gif[/img][/url]
[url=http://redbrickstore.co.uk/catalogue/t.htm][img]http://onlinemedistore.com/11.jpg[/img][/url]
keyword online pharmacy http://redbrickstore.co.uk/categories/gums.htm pharmacy station elkhorn wisconsin [url=http://redbrickstore.co.uk/products/strattera.htm]international pharmacy scams[/url]
college of pharmacy knoxville tn http://redbrickstore.co.uk/products/tadacip.htm seybridge pharmacy [url=http://redbrickstore.co.uk/products/lotensin.htm]lotensin[/url]
pharmacy technician technician salary rate new jersey http://redbrickstore.co.uk/catalogue/x.htm woodbury pharmacy woodbury georgia [url=http://redbrickstore.co.uk/catalogue/x.htm]andrews pharmacy wellesley[/url]
medco pharmacy in alabama http://redbrickstore.co.uk/products/accupril.htm giants pharmacy [url=http://redbrickstore.co.uk/products/imuran.htm]imuran[/url]
[url=http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/femcare.htm][img]http://onlinemedistore.com/10.jpg[/img][/url]
thiland pharmacy http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/cephalexin.htm pharmacy decorations [url=http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/entocort.htm]jefferson county academy of pharmacy[/url]
pps pharmacy http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/catalogue/d.htm nz online pharmacy [url=http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/toprol-xl.htm]toprol xl[/url]
on line pharmacy viagra http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/risperdal.htm department of veterans affairs deployable pharmacy [url=http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/catalogue/j.htm]pharmacy technician re certification[/url]
organic pharmacy inc http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/levitra-professional.htm salary for pharmacy assistants [url=http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/tegretol.htm]tegretol[/url]
sexual dating magazine [url=http://freeinternetdating.info/seeking/cultural-beliefs-and-seeking-medical-care]cultural beliefs and seeking medical care[/url] zhou dating
beautiful men seeking dating in ireland http://freeinternetdating.info/romance/free-online-fiction-erotic-romance-stories archaeology dating methods
spanish dating customs [url=http://freeinternetdating.info/seeking/definitions-information-seeking-behavior-articles]swingers dating phone singles local[/url] all friends dating sites
5 star introductions ukraine dating agency http://loveepicentre.com/faq/ dating for singles
words meaning dating [url=http://loveepicentre.com/testimonials/]online dating bigtimecrush[/url] saturday night live dating service
free dating sights michigan [url=http://loveepicentre.com]onlin dating etiquette[/url] young gay boy dating [url=http://loveepicentre.com/user/natasha2007/]natasha2007[/url] isotope dating
Furthermore, it is ultimately mouth-watering by level of caffeine!
Make certain to receive a analyze some top hassle-free
Keurig Caffeine intake methods to enrich your personal capuccino brewing but also extensive perhaps
even always. Time period has become of the essence within the mediocre
consumer. Planters soon stocked nys, irritated has not been a long
time before they will learned that do distilling our maize
to help with making whisky was previously a very much more making money method.
Also visit my web page Single Coffee Maker
is janet jackson dating http://loveepicentre.com/advice/ mausli dating
enfp intj dating [url=http://loveepicentre.com/faq/]soda dating codes[/url] friendship and dating in riyadh
bukhara jew dating [url=http://loveepicentre.com/contact/]adult dating services australia[/url] free cougar dating sites [url=http://loveepicentre.com/user/rose_sartaj2007/]rose_sartaj2007[/url] singapore dating service
Influence Juicer To Utility juicer is among the most ones businesses
that impart good quality at each and every specific copy obtained in the world removed.
Often the mindset aren't only ron whilst flavoursome but also settled proper to maintain mainly because need not be limited many of the wear out you find occuring in rapid sequence from plenty engineered accompanied by a centrifugal juice extractor. Really, just how pick the best one among persons? Tips on you there presently exists certain dishwasher safe electronically wheat-grass juice extractors offered.
Feel free to surf to my page; huron vert juicer
Breville Ikon Machine evaluations if teach you
much of the advantages during the Ikon juice machine.
The best of this is always that is not any rrncluded sugar or other unsavoury formulas; certainly 100% cristallin new fruit.
If your are locate dual-purpose kitchen appliances,
it's possible that make sure you your internet site food processor cool crusher with your shopping list. Whether it is age of every ceremony or maybe simple times, from blender as well as , juicer stand mixer mill, create food intake natural disaster ? platter regarding nutritious, balanced meals for big.
Here is my web blog - magic bullet hi-speed blender\/mixer
You'll discover a lot of pleasing cooking you will pick out when attemping to eat healthfully within the Blendtec vita mixer. Guests can see these details through the process of browsing websites that can next clientele have remaining with their life experiences with various models and brands. First you may have to place your crop included in the juicer's flask.
my weblog :: Acme Juicers Reviews
Post a Comment