Tea Time

This was a very fast and busy week. Orientation started today for the new students and next week orientation will continue for transfers and returning students. Students can't declare fashion as a major until later in their freshman year so we have to do a special presentation for sophomores. So that will keep our office pretty busy next week. I love the diversity at the College. It is really great to have an opportunity to work with international students as they make up 29% of our student body. I also absolutely love all of the staff and faculty I have met so far. Really brilliant people who are at the college not because of ego but because they are passionate about education.

Tonight was very fun and different. The Lincoln Center has this little park behind the main buildings and in the summer they have free events. Tonight's was wonderful. There was a group from Taiwan that performed both traditional and original Chinese music. The group also had tea masters who brewed green tea and later dragon tea during the performance and gave the audience tastes. They brewed several batches to show how the same tea can have different tastes and aromas depending on how it is prepared. It was very informative.

Teas in China are symbolic of seasons, people, and societies. The lighter the tea (your white teas and green teas) the more the tea is symbolizing spring and youth. If the green tea is a little bitter it either represents harder times in a society or it can represent a male youth who is stubborn. Tea that has had little fermentation can taste like water with the hint of some florals, this tea represents a young woman. The music played while we drank green tea had more to do with springtime, youth, and love. Red or brown teas represent an older person and the end of autumn/beginning of winter. The music during the red tea dealt more with reflection and goodbyes. However it ended with a beautiful song about the river and the mountain which is symbolic of kindred spirits.

Tea masters are also expert floral arrangements and there were beautiful arrangements during the show. They also had a calligrapher who painted on stage during the music. There was a spicy fragrance in the air. Perhaps a mix of incense and tea or perhaps someone wearing a fresh bottle of YSL. Either way it was a lovely way to start of the weekend.