I’ve written before about a number of Chinese festivals – learning about and participating in Chinese festivals was a great way to learn about the culture in which I was living. Now that I’m living in Sydney, it’s time for me to learn a little about the local culture here, so in the past week or so I’ve been to two local festivals!
Many categories of Chinese tea are known by a colour designation: White, Green, Yellow, Red, Blue-Green, and Black. Differences in leaf and process, amount of fermentation (and other factors) create the different categories.
I’ve been here 4+ months now; it’s been 9 months since I left China. Life has felt different, easier, over the past month – which made more clear how difficult the first few months were. Each month is easier and more enjoyable than the one before – I can’t ask for much more than that.
One of the things I appreciate most about my new life here in Sydney is that there are lots of moments that remind me of China – meals at Chinese restaurants, snippets of Chinese conversation with classmates, hearing Mandarin spoken about me almost every time I’m out in public… It really helps me on the days homesickness lifts its head.
The phrase “I love you” is used very differently in Chinese than in English. For many people the phrase 我爱你 just feels/sounds wrong. Last year a video of Chinese young adults saying “I love you” to their parents – and the parents’ shocked reactions – went viral.
My introduction to Chinese tea came during my first visit to China in 1999. Back then I knew very little about Chinese tea, but after more than ten years in China I know a lot. I am really interested in Chinese tea, and hope to help you understand and find an interest in it as well.
I visited my grandparents for ANZAC Day. I wore my great-grandfather’s WWII medals, saw my grandfather’s WWII medals and more, and he also gave me my great-grandfather’s bible. AND it was my grandparents’ 63rd anniversary. It was a special time.
I mentioned in a recent post that I recently spent a week in Wollongong with a group from my college. The goal for most is to try new things, be stretched and challenged. Not so much for me. But it was what I needed. To be reminded that I have useful, practical skills I enjoy! It was nice to feel competent again.
A rainy day in Sydney is very much alive with colour and sound and beautiful clouds. There is the sound of rain and of wind, trees twisting in the wind, lightning arcing across the sky, the loud colours of living plants highlighted in the glistening wet. Not to mention the scent of damp earth, and eucalytpus. How can anyone not love all that?
This was the week I finally accepted something I already knew to be true, not just as an idea but as a reality. Repatriation is hard. It takes time – a lot of time. And there is no shortcut. It is challenging to invest in a place my heart is not attached to – my mind has been in the world that I have known and loved and invested in for more than a decade.
I was particularly looking forward to two things: 1) my mum’s cooking, and 2) the colder weather. I also caught up with a few friends and worked on my book. Over 400 people have now completed my survey – people from over 60 passport countries, who have lived in over 130 different countries/territories.
Last week was rough. My body was tired, my emotions frayed, my mind fuzzy; I was full of anxiety and very much on edge. But then everything changed. In a day I went from feeling the worst, to the best, I have since I arrived in Australia. It was almost instantaneous. It was weird. But lovely and most welcome. I’m happy to call it both a miracle and a result of being well loved – which are, really, almost the same thing.
Stories From Tanya 