Here are some of the girls who decided to get dressed up in kimonos. They had so many colors and varieties to choose from, so every looked so pretty and unique!
On Sunday, January 25th, TUJ had an activity for all students to go to (if they had signed up). Our events included a tea ceremony, learning Calligraphy, dressing in a kimono, and hearing some traditional music.
The house we went to was surrounded by a beautiful garden, decorated with lanterns.Lanterns like this decorated areas of the garden, and really complemented the scenery.Mark Sullivan, Cristian Tracci, and Yanan Shen waiting for the events to start.Our host beginning the events of the day with a prayer.Ivan Karavitchev looks on while our host explained how to play the koto.Our host was a talented musician. She played the Koto (the Japanese horizontal harp) and sang. We even joined along!Our host showed us how to do Ikebana, which is the art of flower arranging. There are many rules involved, and it took her a year to learn!The final look of the Ikebana.Dina Pakstis is loving the kimono she got to wear. “It’s so comfortable!”Jennifer Hayes, Naomi Polite, Kay James, and Louisa Lightfoot are taught how to do Calligraphy.Kay James tries her hand at Calligraphy.Megan Smith wears her kimono, and couldn’t believe how warm it was.The kimonos that the girls wore had exquisite detail, and were made of real silk.Here are some of the girls who decided to get dressed up in kimonos. They had so many colors and varieties to choose from, so every looked so pretty and unique!Waiting for tea.Marissa Spennato sips her matcha tea (green tea that is made into a fine powder and then steeped).This tea was made from pickled sakura (cherry blossoms). It was supposed to taste bittersweet, but it was actually quite salty.During the ceremony, sweets and snacks were given out to complement the tea.The turn out for the events was over 15 students from TUJ, and we even had our host’s neighbor join us for a bit.
