6/3 Chuogakuin University and a Tea Ceremony

So today was great. 

We took the bus over to Chuogakuin University to meet some students and our host families. There was a whole welcome party waiting for us, complete with games, great people and great food. We were put into 4 teams, each team having two people from NAU and two from CU. At first it was a little awkward because of the language barrier, but after the games started we all really loosened up. One of the games played a chopsticks game, where you had to grab as many beans as you could with a pair of chopsticks. We also played a short game of trivia, rock paper scissors, and a game where there are an even amount of large white and black cardboard circles and two teams go against each other to see who can flip over the most of their color. It was really fun! We then had some really good food and met our host families. The two hosting me were so nice! I'm still a bit nervous, but definitely not as much as I was. 

Here are some pictures from the university --

Afterwards we had a class on a traditional tea ceremony. Hands down, my favorite part of the ceremony was this here cake -

From what I understand, these cakes are seasonal. This particular one is modeled after a flower that blooms around this time of year. 

The ceremony was fascinating. A big part of a tea ceremony is meditation and appreciation for the bowls used and the tea itself. There's a certain way you must pick up the bowl and drink from it and a certain way to put it back down. I'm really glad I got to experience this. We were also then taught of how to make our own tea. 'Twas very good. 

Later, four of us decided to go to a really nice tea shop with our teacher, a 100 yen shop, and then to a nearby park. I took so many pictures of the park. It was a beautiful and peaceful place. We ended up staying there until sunset before finally heading back to our hotel.

I loved watching the sun set at the park. I took a ton of pictures, and many more to come!