two weeks ...

That's right, two weeks from today I'll be sitting on a cramped plane just heading out over LAX airport toward Seoul. I'll be living with a host family somewhere in South Korea on a Fulbright, teaching English and doing a little side research on Buddhist values in Korean sustainable communities. Yeah, I'm a little scared of the culture shock (and the fact that I speak no Korean, shhhhh!), but mostly I'm itching get back on the road again. :)

My friend Jennifer and I had the idea to do some travel writing when she comes out to travel in the winter months, and we decided to center it around the experience of tea - drinking, sharing, smelling, tossing hot cups on would-be thieves, and the like. Offering a cup of tea to a stranger seems to be aquintessential act of hospitality - it's something that takes the focus away from making small talk about the weather, it's a shared sense experience that can bring people together. Plus it's damn tasty. I't similar I guess to sharing a pint, but with alcohol there's sometimes the assumption of sexual interest, where tea is definitely neutral. Neither of us are tea coinosseurs by any means, and I think that will make this project even more interesting. At least we won't be snooty! We did however make a vow to try the most exotic types of tea we can find, starting in our own houses and grocery stores. My current favorite's still Earl Gray (in honor of Capt. Picard) but I'm sure might change.

Anyway, since this blog *is* called the tea diaries, I thought I'd start off the first post with an actual diary entry, about tea. This is from the little black book I carry around with me, from about a week ago. I went to my favorite cafe, The Trident Bookstore, on Newbury Street. Here goes:

"Monday, June 13th
Boston, MA 2:51 PM
Gen Mai Cha (green tea)
I'm trying to place the smell - it's a food small. I want to say faintly of seaweed - sushi seaweed? But subtle, not overpowering. SESAME. that's it. I'm sitting at the 'bar' here at Trident, waiting for Becca and reading Utne Reader. It's a little slow so it's been comfy and I've been talking to the waitress a bit. The customers here never seem rushed, everyone just soaks the feel of the place in. Definitely a great spot to chill out (and they have free WiFi!)."

So that's the general format, though I'm sure I'll deviate quite a bit. I'm planning on throwing as many pictures and movies up here as I can as well, you know ... MULTIMEDIA! Seems like that's what all the cool kids are doing these days ;)

I also learned from the bottom of a Snapple bottle cap that the term "tsiology" means anything written about tea. So I guess this is a tsiology. It's not a very well-known word, in fact it's not in the dictionary but if you google it you'll find something. I didn't make it up, I swear.