After a run and breakfast, we said good-bye to our hosts and met with our new friends who will be with us for the next two days. Today will be an easy day. This group has been warned that we are very tired (I'm not tired anymore since my one hour of alone time yesterday).
On the way to Mungyeong, a beautiful little town nestled between green mountains, we stopped at a lovely shop. We were given a lesson in making Korean powdered green tea by a young woman with her masters in Korean Traditional Tea -- who knew there was such a graduate program? You first fill the ceramic bowl (like a deep cereal bowl) with hot water and swirl it around do heat it up. Then dump out the water and add 2 scoops (served with a little flat hook type spoon) of powdered green tea and one ladle of hot water. Whisk back and forth very quickly with a bamboo brush (looks similar to a man's shaving cream brush), without touching the bottom of the bowl until frothy. Then pass the bowl to your friend to enjoy.
To drink Korean tea, pick up the bowl with two hands, look at the colour of the tea, then smell it, then sip. Our teacher explained that Korean tea is served in little cups so that there is more time for visiting.
I was so taken by our tea making experience that I had visions of holding tea ceremonies for all of my friends. My mission now is to find the perfect tea set. Actually, I did find the perfect tea set at our little shop, but I guess I have expensive taste... it was 900,000 won (a little better than $1,000 US).
We checked in to our hotel -- much nicer than the love castle. Then went to the bath house to relax for a couple of hours. A leisurely stroll through the traditional market (I am ashamed to say that I purchased California oranges), a nice dinner and a couple of hours with our new friends at the singing room. One of our friends poured his heart into "I Did It My Way" complete with adorable Korean accent.
A great day.
On the way to Mungyeong, a beautiful little town nestled between green mountains, we stopped at a lovely shop. We were given a lesson in making Korean powdered green tea by a young woman with her masters in Korean Traditional Tea -- who knew there was such a graduate program? You first fill the ceramic bowl (like a deep cereal bowl) with hot water and swirl it around do heat it up. Then dump out the water and add 2 scoops (served with a little flat hook type spoon) of powdered green tea and one ladle of hot water. Whisk back and forth very quickly with a bamboo brush (looks similar to a man's shaving cream brush), without touching the bottom of the bowl until frothy. Then pass the bowl to your friend to enjoy.
To drink Korean tea, pick up the bowl with two hands, look at the colour of the tea, then smell it, then sip. Our teacher explained that Korean tea is served in little cups so that there is more time for visiting.
I was so taken by our tea making experience that I had visions of holding tea ceremonies for all of my friends. My mission now is to find the perfect tea set. Actually, I did find the perfect tea set at our little shop, but I guess I have expensive taste... it was 900,000 won (a little better than $1,000 US).
We checked in to our hotel -- much nicer than the love castle. Then went to the bath house to relax for a couple of hours. A leisurely stroll through the traditional market (I am ashamed to say that I purchased California oranges), a nice dinner and a couple of hours with our new friends at the singing room. One of our friends poured his heart into "I Did It My Way" complete with adorable Korean accent.
A great day.
1 comment:
You are going to LOVE japan if for no other reason than you get to make yoru own decisions.
It was funny, after the GSE team left me in India I had a few hours of totally feeling lost. I was completely unaccustomed to the freedom.
best of both worlds: uber organized (you are getting about 3 months of Korea crammed into one month) and 1 week of doing your own thing. tres cool.
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