Vietnamese Tea Ceremony 9/1/08

I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day Holiday! I enjoyed a Vietnamese Tea Ceremony lesson. I almost missed the class due to over 24 hours of continuous rain. I need to remember to leave extra-early if I hope to catch a taxi. Every taxi was filled...then I spotted a nice gal who offered to share her taxi with me! I was so relieved. She is a banker from New Zealand. I tried to pay for the taxi...but she 'wouldn't think of it' . I will chalk that up to another nice person in the world! (I did send her an email thanking her and that I made it to the tea class on time...she emailed back and we are going to meet next week!)

The photo was the instructor Kim-Hoa Teague. She lives on the US base and her husband is with the Embassy...and originally from North Carolina! ( So I am sure he is nice!) She was six years old when they escaped from Vietnam. Her Father was a diplomat and they actually lived in N. Vietnam then to S. Vietnam then to Charleston, SC. Her story was so interesting and colorful. I loved it. She not only is a good story-teller but a real tea expert. She served us as you would serve guests in Vietnam. Some interesting points- the most honored guest sits directly across from the server and is served first (always with the flowers or decorative part of the tea cup facing the guest). The next person served would be her Mother (sitting to her right) then to the person directly to her left. The tea tray had a slide in the bottom to catch in stray water or tea. Her husband bought it for her on one of his trips...the home was full of beautiful pieces that really told a story of their lives. I especially enjoyed viewing their wedding photographs. Although they married in Washington, DC...she wore a traditional wedding gown (made by her Mother and sisters) and they had a big engagement party (in the Vietnamese tradition) ...the only person missing was the groom-to-be..he was stationed in California at the time.

I attended the lesson with about 8 other ladies from all walks of life (through SIWA). Marina (Russia) is the coordinator for these outings and does a super job. I cracked up when one of the gals said she was from Royal Oak (MI). I told her I would be happy to introduce her to another new comer from Berkley (MI). Well, a lady across the room yells "You mean Bezerkley!!!"...I think she thought I meant Berkley, CA...hahaha. I told her their could be some beserks in the Michigan Berkley also...I wasn't sure...:-) She was from Virginia...so I'm not sure where all this came from. haha. She was busy chatting with a gal who wanted to get married in Borneo..."Or somewhere super exotic"...I actually came to learn about tea....so I tried to block them out of my mind. :-)

After sampling at least 7 different teas plus her personal mix...we went to the dining area for all homemade treats....lavender tea cookies, Earl Grey cookies, rice cakes covered in tea and the best part....crunchy snacks made from Lotus flowers...addictive! She brought out some beautiful gowns from Vietnam and spoke more about the different tea cups/tea sets. These pictures are from a nice German gal that also attended...plus she gave me a ride in her new Mercedes. As we left, each of us received a little coin purse (I picked red...she said that was her favorite color) filled with cute little candle and a flower bulb that opens into a beautiful flower when placed in water. I think the flower also contains green tea and a string to hold it together (remove after in water). She said these are very expensive...but in Vietnam a few cents. She places them in beautiful pieces of crystal or glass stemware and uses them for decoration. She will do another class later in the Fall...I hope to go!