Today, we experienced a traditional tea ceremony in Kyoto. I learned that there are four principles (technically five but one is combined) that tea ceremonies represent:
Peace and Harmony
Respect
Purity
Tranquility
I am going to attempt to use each one as I describe my first full day in Japan, which has been quite a whirlwind (in a good way!)
Our site director David (a fellow North Carolinian who has spent much of his life in Kyoto) presented an overview of Japan culture, which I have found is heavily based on respect for others and their surroundings. There is a level of mindfulness that people in Japan possess that makes them extremely cautious not to interfere with someone's personal space, in everything from avoiding eye contact to refraining from cell phone use on the subway. Being forthcoming with opinions is also not commonplace as doing so may upset someone. In America, personal space is desired as well, but I don't feel that there is that much respect for others as we go through our daily lives. We talk loudly on our phones and take up space that we do not need just because we can. I feel that we have an innate sense of privilege that we don't even realize we possess until we have the opportunity to experience life elsewhere.
I experienced the subway for the first time ever here in Kyoto. Surprisingly it was much easier to navigate than I thought.... at least while I was following my tour guide Tomoyoko (who is absolutely wonderful, by the way). I thought I had it down until we were left on our own to explore the city. We visited the shopping district in downtown Kyoto, where I purchased two kimonos and a beautiful set of black and red chopsticks decorated with cranes (I later found out that one pair is longer than the other and is designated for men while the shorter pair is for women). As our group made plans to head back to our ryokan, we made a few missteps in trying to navigate the subway system. In our defense, public transportation can be confusing in general, much less in an unfamiliar place. However, even in the midst of being constantly turned around for nearly 2 hours, we managed to put our heads together and make it back. I noticed how calm I was during the "crisis" and was surprised at how safe I felt the entire time. It's strange that I felt safer in a foreign country than I would in my own. I'm not sure how to process that exactly, but it may have something to do with the fact that trust and respect are so prominent here. Everyone is so kind and willing to help, further perpetuating the peace and harmony they've worked so hard to create in their society.
Okay, so I didn't use all four principles in this blog. Perhaps I'll try again tomorrow. Here are three additional pieces of information I learned today:
1. There are regulations on what is considered to be a classroom based on how much natural light comes into the room
2. Burdock root is actually very delicious (I'm honestly pretty proud of myself for pushing my limits and attempting to at least try everything on my plate as I am usually a very picky eater)
3.Educators are highly respected in Japan. In fact, they are referred to as "sensei", which can be translated to "teacher" or "master". As a fellow educator, I thoroughly enjoy this fact.