Tea Party

I am Haruka Ashibe, an unconventional counselor who escaped overseas. It is past the middle of February, and in Spain, the cold has returned, and then it has warmed up again. Since it is dry, a rainy evening is a nice bit of moisture. How is everyone doing? Well, on Sunday, for the first time in my life, I participated in something called an online tea party.

Since it was my first tea party and almost everyone was a stranger, I was quite nervous. What should I talk about? Who else is coming? What if I say something weird or am out of place?

Besides, it started at 14:00 Japan time (since it is a tea party). That means 6:00 AM Spain time! What if I oversleep? Will I be in a state to talk? What if my clumsiness is exposed? How embarrassing...

The result was totally fine. Just as described, it was a gentle atmosphere where I could be accepted no matter what I said. We shared and listened to each other about things we are currently worried about and things we are holding onto that we cannot tell anyone else.
Even though it was just that, it was a very comfortable place to be.
Even though it was just that, for some reason, I felt relieved and tears came to my eyes,
a warm space.

The organizer, Yuka-san, was also a wonderful person. She is a beautiful and neat woman, yet she has an atmosphere that is not at all stiff. She was smiling, and when she got enthusiastic about the conversation, her bright brown eyes would sparkle, which I found charming and I couldn't help but watch her.

With all that, two hours passed in the blink of an eye. We were so absorbed in the conversation that we didn't even have time to show off the favorite sweets we each brought.

This is what I prepared!

Ensaimada is a type of pastry that has been passed down on the island of Mallorca in Spain since ancient times. It is made by shaping croissant dough using lard into a round spiral (this one is a bit distorted though💦). It is baked in an oven and sprinkled with so much powdered sugar that you wonder if it's too much. The chewy texture and sweetness go very well with bitter coffee. This will also boost the blood sugar levels of a sleepy head! If you have a chance to travel to Spain, please try it!

Thank you for reading again this evening. This was Haruka Ashibe.