Sarah’s Blog Post 11: November 18, 2015
Many JET teachers look forward to learning
traditional Japanese customs the most when they move to Japan. Different
schools have different clubs, so some JET teachers learn things like aikido or
kyudo. At this school, we have igo club, kadobu, judo, and sadobu. I joined
kadobu, but I was afraid to join sadobu because sitting seiza is very painful.
I know that I would be very bad at doing tea ceremonies. I can sit seiza for a
little while, so I can watch the students perform tea ceremonies. However, I
can’t stand up after sitting seiza for a long time, so I can’t perform tea
ceremonies myself.
Today, Jitsuishi-sensei invited us to learn
how to make the tea for a tea ceremony with her class. I felt less embarrassed
because most of the other students also didn’t know very much about tea
ceremony. It was difficult because I am left-handed and you have to stir the
tea with your right hand. I tried very hard, but I couldn’t move my right hand
fast enough and I couldn’t make bubbles appear in the tea. Jane-sensei is very
good at sitting seiza. It is a good experience to learn things with students
instead of teaching them. We had a lot of fun and I hope to do more activities
like this in the future.
