Shot glasses of tea.

When you walk into most small eateries and restaurants in India, and ask for tea they give you these little cups of strong sweetened tea. It's really like drinking a tiny shot of highly flavoured tea.

Very refreshing and it gives one a small 'kick' much like alcohol can and does. For those of us who are sugar averse it can taste like caramelized syrup. For the most part though it awakens the senses and jolts the brain into functioning, which is great especially in the lazy hours after lunch. This tea is served to most shops, with delivery boys running around serving piping hot tea in little plastic cups which burn the lips and sear the tongue when tasting. Its even hard to hold with the fingers! It's all part of the experience.

When I was in Italy I remember going into a coffee shop and asking for coffee or café as they called it. It was not quite what I expected- I was expecting a normal black coffee in which one could add sugar and milk as desired. What I got was a tiny espresso shot, very black and very strong. A shot of coffee. I saw a few people order the same; they would wait at the counter and as soon as they received their coffee they would quickly sip it (there were only about 3 or 4 sips per cup) and then be on their way. it was such a routine activity and yet very much an integral part of their day.

Culture is unique. Every country has it's own culture, and then there are subcultures within those cultures. No wonder a study of culture is so fascinating; it's amazing to see how humans live in different parts of the world and yet despite completely diverse cultures somehow there is a similarity of thinking between people. We're really not all that different from each other: we all live, love, and die. Just that we have different expressions of living; whether we order a shot of tea in India or a shot of coffee in Italy.