My third month at Obubu!
Oh nooo it is my last blog post!! Time goes by too quickly! We have so much fun here that we can’t see the days go by!
This month has been as busy as the first two though we didn’t harvest. I miss it a lot by the way! Harvesting and processing are very fun, the best things ever!
However, we worked a lot in the factory! We cleaned the second floor. We unloaded all machines and stuff that were upstairs; tea bags, tea baskets, and everything that was stored. We also take out the mezzanine and bring down their posts.
Then we fixed beams and added insulation to the ceiling. This part was very fun for me, I really enjoyed that! And I’m happy because before coming to Obubu I was afraid to climb a ladder. I’ve overcome my fear!!
We took tea ceremony classes with Nakai Sensei. Actually, we did that for two months but this one is very special because is the last moment that we shared with her. She is so nice and is so cool to learn Sencha-Do and Sa-Do. We could attend the class two days per week but since the new interns were here we alternated between Sencha ceremonies and Matcha ceremony. It’s so interesting, I would like to do that throughout the year. We attended the Sencha and Matcha ceremony and learned how to do it! Thank you so much Nakai Sensei!
We trimmed and weeded a little this month, which I very much appreciated because I love to be in the field. We went to Aoimori and Monzen, which are beautiful tea fields!
Also, it’s interesting to do the Tea Tour this month because the kohais also did. It’s nice to see different versions of the presentation and to see them invested in the tea tour. Also, I noticed that I could lead a team in English, which was impossible for me at the beginning of the internship.
We did a lot of day trips with them as well. We went to Osaka to see the famous fireworks, it was very impressive to me because it was the first time I’d been to such a big city, with a lot of people. I’m not a big fan of cities, but I took comfort in the fact that I could at least go to the One Piece store. The fireworks were very beautiful and I liked the atmosphere in which everyone was having fun.
We went to Iga to eat a delicious cake and drink some tea! We enjoyed our time in a cafe chatting and reading!
We also went back to the beach, I was so happy because this time there were waves! The water was so warm and the weather was great, we had so much fun there! Swimming in the sea and looking at the mountains, watching the birds fly, and looking at the blue sky is a very good feeling! We ate at the same pizzeria, and the ladies at the pizzeria were happy to see us again!
This month, I presented my basic course on Japanese tea. I was stressed because of my English, but I worked hard. I prepared a new set of slides and researched more information. After the presentation, we tasted lots of tea to compare the different types of tea in Japan. It was so much fun!
We went to an Okonomiyaki restaurant at Wazuka and we met Akky-San there, so we had dinner with him, which was so lovely! I was so happy to see him again and spend time with him, Julien and Juliette, another interns!
We received our pottery from the Tokoname trip.. I am so happy with the result! I’ve already drank tea with it and it was a very good feeling!
Also, we helped Sara paint this mural for Obubu! It was so much fun to paint all day and we had a party on the last day, a barbecue party!
I can see my evolution from the beginning of the course to today. Obviously, I’ve learned a lot about tea, about farming, processing, combining tea and food and, so much more.
I’ve really improved my English, but also my personality, for example, I’m more confident in my work and, I’m physically stronger.
If I could, I would continue to explain the month and all the activities we did, but I have to say goodbye. To be honest, I’m very sad to leave Obubu. I’m very happy to have met all the interns and staff, they are amazing people and share the same passion, I’ll miss them a lot!
This is the end of my blogs, thank you for reading! I really enjoyed writing them!
I wish you all the best, have fun in your life, like Juliette says; you have to decide to be happy; so ENJOY!
