Saturday, October 10, 2009

Ordinary tea and a book


No brain at all for tea tasting. I continue my dearly beloved Imperial Yunnan. This after a pancake breakfast at the fire hall. This is a very supportive town - everybody comes out to whatever dinner or breakfast or auction or fundraiser is being held. They even talk of going to new restaurants to support them. We are really into local. It doesn't stop us from hitting the Super-Duper, Gigantic, ever-so special Wegman's, however. Local is good, but then there's Brie and, of course, tea.


I have tried valiantly to read a scholarly book about the lives of women tea workers in India. I actually got this book by mistake and was too lazy to send it back when I discovered what it is. It is A Time For Tea by Piya Chatterjee, subtitled Women, labor and post Colonial politics on an Indian plantation. If I had known the subtitle I probably wouldn't have purchased it. It is much too scholarly for me, really for those who are doing gender studies at the doctoral level. Some of it I appreciated, as it juxtaposes an Indian play with the information about tea workers. I skimmed through what I didn't read and did learn quite a bit about the life of these women. Generally a lot of hard work in poor conditions for not much money. Sadly, the fate of many women worldwide. I do try to appreciate my tea.

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