On the Last Day

　　On the all-day cruising day, I saw an array of events on the bulletin, Princess Patter. A variety of events were scheduled at every corner of the ship. Some passengers spent a relaxing time in galleries or the library, others enjoyed jogging or doing exercises in the gym. As for me, I joined the wine tasting, the British-style afternoon tea party, and the kitchen tour. Then I attended the briefing for disembarkation, which was required by the crew.
　　The wine tasting was not fun at all. A specialist's one-sided commentary was difficult to understand, containing words new to me. Additionally, the tastes of the wines weren't special to me, but it might be due to my poor tongue.
　　With regard to the British afternoon tea party, I had assumed that I had to learn something ritual like Japan's tea ceremony, but I was wrong. It was really easygoing. I heard that the Brits would find it unusual and odd that Japanese people would learn how to drink teas even paying tuition fees. Comparing the Japanese tea ceremony with the British one, their thoughts are really acceptable to me. Anyway, I enjoyed a British tea and some sweets. One thing that I was sorry for was that we were gathered into a Japanese group. I wanted to chat with passengers from other countries.

マラッカ海峡クルージング記：　
　
終日航海の日にはいろいろな催しが目白押し。ギャラリーや図書館でのんびり過ごしたり、デッキでジョギングしたり、フィットネスジムでエクササイズ、プールで泳いだり、人それぞれ。僕の午後はまず、ワインのティスティング、そしてイギリス式アフタヌーンティー、そして厨房見学ツアー、下船方法説明会、ディナーの予定。
　
まず、ワインのティスティング：　面白くなかった。一方的な説明だけで聞き取れない単語も多かったし。ワインの味にしても、特別な感じはしなかった。これは当方の舌の問題かもしれないが。
　
続いて、アフタヌーンティー。日本の茶道のような特別なやり方があるのかと思ったが何も無し。気楽なものだった。イギリス人が、日本人が茶道をお金を出して学ぶことについて不思議に感じると言うのが納得できた。他の国の人たちと同じテーブルを囲むことを期待したのだが、日本人だけで集められた。ちょっと残念。

Comments

[Peter]

A British afternoon tea party is not so much a ceremony as an assortment of specialized food such as scones with Devonshire cream and jam.