Last Saturday, neither Laura nor me were on the mood to cook. So we both decided to go to the oriental buffet, and stuff ourselves with everything we could get our mouths on! Manolo called just as we were leaving, and said Ju and him would join us there.
It was almost 3 pm when we finally got there. Having taken a table for 4, Ju and Manolo were already waiting for us. We ordered a big jar of sangria and started eating like we had never seen food before!
20 minutes later, and stuffed like turkeys for Thanksgiving, it was time for coffee... But been at a Chinese restaurant and all, we opted for jasmine tea instead.
When the waitress started pouring the tea, the expression on both Ju and Laura's faces changed all of a sudden... Manolo and I looked at each other a bit confused. What was the matter? While Laura 'The Silent One' looked down at her cup with a bit of apprehension, Ju took her hand to her mouth and gaged a little. Still, Manolo and I were clueless!
When Ju managed to verbalize her disgust, she explained how in Brazil it is customary to overflow the deceased, their caskets, houses, and churches alike with an insane amount of jasmine flowers, and that the scent of the tea reminded them of the dead! They just couldn't bear the thought. Therefore, left the cups untouched, which in Nepal it's done awaiting the loved ones return... Were they trying to summon the dead?
Anyway, I sure was glad I had more than my share of tea! After all I ate I could barely move! If it had not been for the dreaded Jasmine tea, I would have never made it out of the mall! I even had to lay down for a while in one of its benches!
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