Spain series (4)-- dancing with feelings: Salsa

When it comes to dancing, I keep two principles: 1) I don't like being led so I only learn solo dancing. 2) I thought that without hard practicing or preparations, one should not dance in front of strangers. All these principles vanished in Spain when I learnt the true meaning of dancing--- dancing from the heart or dancing with feelings. 

When I was in Valencia Spain, I was lucky enough to meet people who liked salsa dancing. I was invited to join the free dancing lessons held in one of the universities. It was taught by students for students. There, they taught everyone techniques and skills about salsa dancing. I did enjoy myself so much that even with my hurt foot(I hurt my left foot when looking for a shared apartment), I kept on practicing with my dancing partner. Little did I know that this free dancing lesson gave my hurt foot so much burden that it took me at least 3 months to recover. Yes, I was very tough when it comes to dancing, I basically wanted to conquered physical limits like any other athletics do. Silly I know. I gave up going to the class after the first lesson because my foot called for that.

That was the first encounter of Salsa. I never thought that I would be given a second chance and that my perceptions towards dancing changed completely. It was at the birthday party of my friend and her brother that I learnt the true meaning of dancing. My friend's brother was an avid salsa dancer and after the first dance with his girlfriend, i was invited for the second dance. I was not prepared but somehow I was confident that I could manage. So, I put my heart into the music and heard the rhymes and my feet started moving naturally. Maybe because my leading partner was good enough to know how to lead the dance, I just picked up everything easily and got the hint as when to turn and which direction to go for. It was magical and I never thought that dancing with someone can be wonderful too. As long as the partner respects women, you wont feel uneasy having physical contact(well, they respect you enough not to have contact with your other body parts except hands and NO sliding of hands here and there on your waist). 

Then during a mini road trip I had another chance of dancing with my friend's brother and his friend. I managed well with both of them. They even asked me if I had learnt salsa before I said no. Yes, it's strange that I could dance like I had taken tons of lessons before but No I only had one free lesson and that's it. I guess it's because they could lead so well that I could follow well.

The cup here by Royal Grafton and design of pink and raised jeweled dots reminds me that dancing is a pure expression of passion one has and that dancing is not mechanism. One should only follow one's own heart or feelings instead of going through harsh practicing. It's not the perfection of dance that make things work, it's the joy you have when you are dancing that makes it enjoyable. 

It's such a liberation when one learnt that dancing with a partner does no harm as he respects his partner and as long as men are good enough to lead, let them lead. (I dont like being led but if they have the ability then let it be)

It's such a wonderful experience to forget about techniques and mechanical practicing. Be in the moment is the most important elements of dancing. 

Note: After 3 months of suffering with the foot, and after putting on chinese medicine my family sent me and two consultations in local hospitals , I finally came across one clinic that saved me, and after 3 times treatments, my foot was fully recovered and guess what, all treatments were free of charge. That's why I had a deep feeling that I had done something really good in previous life in Spain and people were returning my kindness during this one-year trip.

Have a nice week!

I am joining tea cup Tuesday with Terri & Martha .

Spain series (3)-- Spanish people

Have you ever visited a place and felt that you belong to that particular place even though you have never lived there before?

Have you ever encountered some people whom you felt they are returning your kindness in this life time because you had treated them well in the last life?

To me, the situations described above happened to me more than once when I was in Spain. 

Every time I use this cup, I remember the story.

There was this cafe that sells ice cream, cakes and fresh hand made yoghurt in the city of Granada in Spain. I was dragged into this nice cafe with modern decoration by my dancing teacher one day right after lunch because she had to have ice cream in one cold winter day. I had no idea that after the first visit I would become a frequent visitor there.

The cafe was often packed with visitors because the food and the service there was superb. In its busy hour(around 2--3PM), you often found one waiter in the centre of the counter busying serving all customers. My teacher and I were impressed with this waiter's swift service. He was able to take orders while making yoghurt, serving ice cream or cakes to customers. He never got the order mixed up. We never learnt his name. All we knew was that he never left his hometown--Granada and he was not the boss of the cafe. We often jokingly said that he belonged to a fast-paced city like Hong Kong. Sometimes we had this understanding that he could slow down a bit when it came to our order because we had all the time in the world to wait for our orders. Sensing our patience one day, after completing our order, he went to the chocolate counter and took out two pieces of chocolate as a compliment gift. At that moment, we bonded.


Sometimes I felt that I visited the cafe just to marvelled at the swift service. Sometimes I just had to have ice cream. Whatever the reasons, I went there at least once a week. 

For some odd reasons I had to leave Granada for Valencia, I left Granada for two full months and decided that I had to live in Valencia so I went back to Granada to pack my things. 

The day I stepped in the cafe for the first time after my 2-month absence. The waiter immediately asked me where I had been. I told him casually that I had been to Valencia and decided to settle in Valencia and I was back just to pack my things.

As usual, I ordered ice-cream and sat there quietly and started observing the waiter's work. He was making yoghurt with fresh fruit. All I saw was that he was mixing the yoghurt of original favour and put some freshly cut strawberries in it and then he made the crunchy chocolate to top it off. Minutes later, I found this cup of yoghurt sitting in front of me.He said to me,"This is the hand made yoghurt with fresh strawberries, it's good for your health." He said to one of the customers,'well, this girl is a frequent customer, she is leaving Granada for Valencia, I make this yoghurt to her hopefully she will come back again to Granada one day.'

Looking at this cup of yoghurt and feeling the kindness, I found myself in tears and called my friend to talk about it. It never happened to me in my own city. People just are so cold that they made no contact with one another let alone doing things for one another unconditionally. God, the happiness and grateful feeling were so difficult to contain and I burst in tears. I was happy and touched because I felt that the world was still full of humanity and kindness. 

'I think I will be back once again before I leave for Valencia.' These were the words I uttered. I had no idea that the day I visited again the waiter was nowhere to be found. Maybe he was on holiday. Well, life! life!

The white texture trim looks like the yoghurt. I also love the violets at the well of the cup and saucer. Violets remind me of this pure friendship between the waiter and I. We never talked much but somehow he was like my uncle, we had this kind of understanding. It's kinda like the friendship between the two characters in the film--'Lost in Translation'.

Though it's a married set, the cup is in pale blue and saucer in mint green, the color tones are the same and it does not distract its own beauty.

Who said that Spanish people are always lazy and inefficient? There are always exceptions.


Have a nice week.

I am joining Terri & Martha  for tea cup Tuesday. 



Note: Usually most of the shops in Spain close from 1PM--4 PM. But the cafe I visited open during Siesta hour, maybe that's why it was packed with people.

Rebirth of a cup

As Easter is approaching, I wish everyone a happy Easter.

To celebrate Easter, Spain series will be postponed.

When I think of Easter, the color blue comes up and I think it's best time to share with you this cup by Royal Albert.

When this cup first arrived at my home, the handle and the pedestal were covered by some yellowish stains which I think they were left-over cleaning detergent.

I guess the previous owner loved this cup so much that she/he did not want to ruin the color so she/he was careful not to give this set too much a bath hence the stains.

Seeing that this cup has a beautiful vibrant color, I would like it to reveal its beauty and so I cleaned the handle and pedestal careful so as to get rid of the stains.

After giving it a proper bath, the beauty of the cup was restored. I think it's the rebirth of the cup. And this is how I relate this cup to Easter.

I love the gradual fading from blue to white of the exterior of the cup.

The high handle is very special and elegant.

The flowers poppies and white daisy are just what I like.

To add the Easter holiday mood, here I show you the cup with "rabbit' that a child made for my mother, isnt it lovely? The body of the rabbit is a chocolate ball.

I also bought some Kinder Joy eggs. That's what I liked to have as a child. I have heard that because of the small parts contained in the Kinder eggs, it's not allowed to be sold in the US. Dear readers from the US, can you please tell me why and if it's true that there are no Kinder eggs sold in the US?

Anyway, I just love the small toy you can get after eating the Kinder egg, the toy designers are very creative to think of something which is interesting and can be fitted into the small egg.

Spring also comes with Easter, I hope that you have a new beginning in things that you want to start over.

I am joining tea cup Tuesday with Terri & Martha 

Spain series (2)--- Fallas and flower offering and senorita from Royal Albert

It's that time of the year. The time of saying farewell to Spring and welcoming Summer. It's time of celebration and time for me to feel the vibe of the festival even though I am not physically there in Spain. Yes, it's the time of Fallas.

If you have been to Valencia, Spain. You would have heard of the Fallas festival for it's one of the most celebrated festivals in Valancia, Spain.

It's said that Fallas was originally just a common practise by carpenters. During winter time, carpenters made the candle holder in the shape of a doll. As winter passed, they no longer needed it so they burnt it. To pay respect to the saint of carpenters, San Jose. They have this tradition of making wooden figurines and burn them. Nowadays, the artists need one year to complete the figurines as they are very large, some are as high as a 3 or 4 storey building. On 19 March at midnight, all figurines are burnt.

Starting from 12 March leading up to 19 March, a fire crackers show is displayed at the plaza in front of the city hall at 2:00PM every afternoon. The show aims at using different fire crackers to make the different tones and sounds and by placing the fire crackers at different distance, it creates a beat. So it's like the fire cracker musical show. Hearing the beats and feeling the explosion of the fire crackers, it seems that every bit of your low emotion/bad luck was taken away. I remembered making a wish while watching the show, I really felt lifted and light hearted and all the bad energy was taken away and so my life begins again.

On 17, 18 March, those who have donated money to the church are allowed to participate at the flower offering parade. The statue of Saint Mary is placed outside the plaza of virgin mary. Trained men climb up the statue and put the flowers on the statue and make the 'dress' for Saint Mary.

They took 2 days to complete the 'dress'. Every year, the pattern of the dress is different. The year I was there, the back of the dress shows the face of a girl.

Look at the black veils the girls wearing, I suspect that Royal Albert china maker got their inspiration from the Fallas parade

We call those flower offering girls and boys Falleros. People of all ages can participate in this parade as long as you have donate money and are catholics. From infants to adults, we can see people of all ages.

Look at this grandfather, he is holding flowers and waiting for his family members walk pass.

Two men in traditional custumes leading a group of children.

The dress of Virgin Mary takes 2 days to complete. On 19 March, the Saint Jose day, she is on full display.

In one of the areas near city centre, there is the street light display. The whole street is decorated in light and it's like the light building. At the two sides of the street, you can find a lot of booths selling traditional snacks and drinks.

Almost every corner of the city has a figurines. The picture shown above is the figurine on the street from where I lived. Actually there are many statues/figurines, this one is my favourite.

At midnight on 19March, all the statues are burnt. Before lighting the fire, the fire fighters must arrive and if it's necessary, they will wrap up some buildings to prevent the fire from damaging the wall of the buildings.When everything is ready, first, there is a firework show at the area where the statue will be burnt, and then the most voted 'Falleros'-- the selected girl in custume will light the fire crackers that lead to the figurines, and then seconds later, the whole figurine is on fire.

Actually all people can stand close at a safe distance, you can really feel that it's a purifying method to wake up your soul as if all the bad/evil things are taken out/burnt down by the fire. The whole city is lifted and cleansed.

The main structure of the figurine is shown.

The 'La crema' ---cremation is completed and everyone leaves with a light soul and a pure spirit.

After being purified, it's really time for a cup of tea.

The bracelet above is often worn by 'Falleros' during the parade. Walking pass a shop that offers hand-made bracelet for Fallas one day, I could not  help but buy one for myself. I admired the neatness of the pearls. Not to mention that I enjoyed a chat with the sales lady there who hand-tied the bracelet.

The lovely white hair comb was given by my friend.

Writing this blog, I feel like I am back to Valencia again witnessing the Fallas and all the events that are surrounding the festival. And that there is always a Spanish heart in me!

Happy San Jose Day!


(All photos about Fallas were taken by me in 2011)

I am joining Terri and Martha for tea.

Spain series (1)--- Flamenco and polka dot cup

I always think that if Lady Fate does not give you what you want now, be prepared to receive something even better in future.

So with the slight regret of not having learnt ballet, I went to university. There I tried to rekindle my passion for dancing. After taking the jazz dance and folk dance courses, I found that I must take dancing seriously because I could not forget the joy dancing gave me so I searched online for dancing courses offered by local schools. Initially I was looking for Chinese dancing classes but I came across Flamenco dancing classes instead. Out of curiosity I tried to take Flamenco classes. Little did I know that my little journey of self-discovery in Spain was set in motion already.

With Flamenco in mind, I choose this polka dot cup by Royal Albert. It's got the spirit of Flamenco as polka dot is one of the signatures of Flamenco dancing. It is said that Flamenco was the dance of gypsies and Romanians. In the old days, the gypsy women sewed the small pieces of mirrors all over their dresses because it's believed that those small round mirrors can ward off evil spirits. Later people use polka dot pattern to signify this tradition/supersition and now you can always see Flamenco dancers in polka dot dress.

I was so happy that I tried Flamenco dancing because it's unique in its own way. It's the combination of foot tapping, hand clapping and the graceful movement of body in fast and slow pace with great contrast of weakness and strength. What is most important is that Flamenco allows dancers to shine even when they are in their middle age because it's the dance of emotions and self-experience.

Later in my learning of Flamenco, I tried Bata de Cola, it's another genre of Flamenco dancing with dancers wearing a ruffle dress/skirt with train. The dancers need to keep the train of dress unfold while dancing. I just admire the elegance this dance allows dancers to have.

Though I no longer practise Flamenco, I still enjoy watching Flamenco shows. Why do I stop dancing? Well, it's because I am very stubborn and focus so much on perfections.(once i hurt myself while forcing myself to do the split because of harsh practising) I cannot bear to see myself making mistakes while dancing and there are only one or two teachers here teaching Flamenco. I have to work so I am not able to take dancing as a full time job/hobby. I guess it's too late to take it as a profession. Plus the teachers are more interested in making money than training with a heart. I did make friends with one good teacher but she's in Spain perfecting her skills and she's not interested in teaching Bata de Cola(Flamenco with long trained skirt). I am so happy to have met her and was her student for some time. During my dancing days, I had met nice people and we remain friends still.

The folds are like the secrets of the heart, it's up to you to reveal it or not.

Now I look back, I think that Lady Fate has tied my life to Spain in some way. In my university year, first I came to know Flamenco dancing and then I met a Spaniard a year later (when staying in a host family in Australia), who became one of the most important people in my life. Being friends with him made me understand myself better and open up myself to another world that I had not known and my journey of Spain began with him. We were mirrors to each other. Lessons were hidden in most of our interactions and so I have to thank him and Lady Fate for bringing the opportunity. Well, for some myteries and non-sense, he decided that our friendship should die with the death of his father. And so after the funeral of his father, we never see each other again. I do hope that he finds peace finally because he deserves happiness and peace as much as I do.

It's a pity. Yes, but what I had learnt in Spain made me the person I am today. And so, to salute my favourite country--Spain, I give you the Spain series.

I am joining Tea cup Tuesday with Terri and Martha

Aynsley and ballerina dream

Have you ever had dreams that you would like to fulfill but you missed the opportunity to do that?

I always think that dreams or aspirations are like those soap bubbles that children blow in the playground. When they are fresh, they go with the wind and after a certain period of time, they are meant to be broken or vanish suddenly and they become part of the wind.  Yes, some dreams are like soap bubbles. The wind is everlasting time.

The tea trio I am choosing for Tea cup Tuesday is by Aynsley. The pink ground of the set reminds me of ballet shoes (yes, it's in ballerina pink) and the small checks in cream color remind me of the organza from tutu.

Only the cake plate was numbered 19, I think the set dates to around 1943.

Since I was a child, I always knew that I liked dancing but the desire to learn ballet rose only when I was in secondary school. The school I attended offers many activities but ballet classes. With the desire to dance, I chose the second choice--Chinese dancing. I was good at it though it's not my first choice. For a few years I was in the school dancing team participating in competitions. I did enjoy my time with the team members but still it seemed there was something lacking. Now I looked back and wondered why I did not take ballet lessons. Probably it's because the fee was a bit expensive and I was not willing to give extra burden to my family or I had no idea as to where to take the lessons. Now I come to think of it, probably this is just a slight regret I have to live with.

To make up the feeling of loss, every year I go to watch at least one ballet show. This year, I am happy to be able to watch 'Romeo and Juliet' performed by American Ballet Theatre. Yes, they came all the way to Hong Kong. It's always a delight to watch a ballet show. Ballerinas are light as feather and they made ballet look so easy.

Though I have never learnt ballet, I did take up another dancing and it leads me to somewhere more wonderful, somewhere that I feel like it's my destiny. I will save it for the next post.

Right now, enjoy a cup of tea, everyone!