Tea Ceremony

Today I went to a tea ceremony with one of my host relations and two of her daughters. It's a very strict, formal ceremony in Japan, known for it's elegance and beauty. It was interesting. Seiza hurt like the dickens (whatever that means). I hate seiza vehemently. During my kendo test, I sat in seiza on the wooden floor for at least an hour while I waited. That was the hardest part of my kendo test. It's not so bad on our nice, padded floors at the dojo I practice at back home. But on the wooden and tatami floors, I come out with bruises on my ankles and knees, and every time I'm in it for a considerable amount of time, my feet numb to the pain, which I guess is a blessing. Wow, this started telling you about the tea ceremony. Sorry.

The tea ceremony was awesome and beautiful and interesting and will press my host ____ (maybe my aunt? cousin? sister?) to tell me the significance behind all the little details that go into every aspect of the ceremony. I'm sure I unknowingly butchered at least half of it, but it was nice. The tea was good, though bitter, and the okashi was also good. I think it was something anko-ish, but not sure. The little girls that went with us were loud and didn't care for the customs - or seiza for that matter. A long time ago, most Japanese sat in seiza any time they sat down, and thus were accustomed to it from a young age. Now, usually only really old people can sit in it for long periods of time (more than five minutes) without feeling pain. My Japanese friends hate it as much as I do.

Other than that, not much happened. Tomorrow I'm going out for a long bikeride around town. Maybe all day. I have no school and no kendo and no plans. Only it'll be freezing out (maybe literally) so I might just stay home and read. My current book is incredibly interesting. It's called "The Arabs" by David Lamb and is an interesting insight into the Middle Eastern history, culture, politics, and religion. I'm looking for a good follow-up book, but don't where to go. I hear Bernard Lewis is a superb author, but his books are so numerous I don't know where to start. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm looking for something not to dense and not written for someone with a lot of background on the subject.

Hope you have an absolutely magnificent day.