Just a couple of extra things...

Firstly, the tea set! I know your all dying to see it!! hehehe If you aren't bored of tea yet, read on...otherwise, I'll let you know when it's over!! :)

TAA-DAA!

This set is made from the famous Yixing clay. This clay is prized for teapots as its great for developing the flavour of the tea. There are two pots, the first is the one on the stand. The leaves are placed in here and then the tea is poured, almost straight away into the pot with no handle. This one has a strainer inside and is the one that you use to pour the tea into the cups. The tea is poured into the tall cup first and then the small cup is placed on upside down on top of the big one. Then the drinker flips them around and gently removes the tall cup. This is a great party trick! The tall cup is for the aroma. Most, actually I think all, tea in China has distinct fragrances that are important. My favourite is 茉莉花茶 jasmine tea. You've never smelt jasmine tea until you come here! It's amazing.

The other things that are behind the tea pots are the utensils. They are used for measuring the tea and picking up the hot cups etc.

This is the other little present that Pauly got me! You know how you want a cup of tea, and you have a plunger or a tea pot and you have the first cup of tea and the rest is either too cold or too strong and bitter? Well this little gadget is for you! You make the tea in the top and then when it's ready, press a button on the lid and it pours into the bottom! Then you can make more tea when you're ready! The top part, with the tea leaves, also comes out completely (and doesn't leak) so you can have it waiting for you while you're drinking your perfectly brewed tea!

**Start reading here if you were skipping the tea part!!**

The second thing I wanted to say was that I miss my little kitten! OK, so you've all heard that before too! We were really happy when we realised that there are cats running all around our apartment block. They are a little mangy and feral, but they're still cats! We talk to them when they're hiding in the bushes and a couple of them meow back. There's a lady we have seen feeding them and although she's a little crazy, we try and chat to her. She only speaks Chinese, and mostly in the Shandong dialect. Last time a saw her, she was surrounded by about 15 cats and I said to her that they were cute and that Paul and I have a kitten back in Australia. To this she said "ni chi le ma?" As she was holding cat food in her hand, I thought she meant 'do you feed it'. As I walked away however, it dawned on me that 'chi' is 'to eat'. I looked it up later and it definitely does not, in any context, mean 'to feed'. This was quite an awful discovery. I told Paul it was best to leave Gizmo in Australia!!! I actually felt a little stupid as I'm always cooing over these cats...she must think I'm a crazy western girl! We just have to convince ourselves that they are chickens, not kittens, wandering round our yard...

As Paul said...this gives a whole new meaning to 'Hello Kitty'! (etc. Hello Kitty...have you seen a cleaver before???)