Seeing as I’m studying abroad in Britain, you’d think that I’d often be asked, in a beautiful Southern-English accent: “Would you care for a cup of tea?” Surprisingly, however, I haven’t been inundated with invitations like this…yet. Don’t get me wrong, people do drink tea here, but at least at Uni., I haven’t heard anything about taking afternoon tea or crumpets–although there are some very classy tea rooms in town. Tiny Tim’s is a particularly good one, and they serve an afternoon English tea, complete with scones and multiple utensils. There is actually a correct way and an incorrect way to butter a scone, be warned. I do not know which is which because I actually can’t eat wheat, so I haven’t gone. I do hope to try high tea sometime soon though, as I still feel that drinking tea is the way England breathes–it’s a cultural and national pastime (and present-time) that I don’t want to miss out on. 

The tea I have had, however, has usually been sipped at friends’ houses in the evenings: perhaps to wash down a piece of apple pie or just as something to occupy us while chatting. I’ve found it’s a great way to connect with people. My current favorite is Earl Grey, with honey. (Anything baked goes well with this–the more sugar, the better.)

But I don’t just love tea for its taste: I’ve found it’s inspired conversations and meeting between friends as well. It’s easy to invite people over when you tempt them with freshly baked cookies and have a stash of tea in your pantry–who can resist free hot beverages (especially when it’s colder)?. And when friends start bringing friends to the table, you never know who you will meet.

                For example, about a week ago, I headed over to another house on campus for– yes!– some tea. It was about 9pm at night, and a few of my friends were getting ready to go out and wanted to see if some people wanted to come with them. After knocking on the door, our friend warmly invited us in–dressed in baggy pajama pants and a sweatshirt, which made me instantly wish I had thought of staying home and wearing pjs–and made tea. We sat around her kitchen table and her roommates came downstairs, wearing equally comfortable things, and in the end, about six of us–all from different backgrounds–sat around the table. One girl from Hong Kong, studying art here, told us about trying to get internships in London, and how she’s technically a British citizen because she was born before Hong Kong became part of China again–so she’s a citizen but doesn’t have residency rights in Britain. Two French girls tried to teach us some French slang (and some British slang: apparently, “bang” means “hot;” as in, “she’s bang.”) One girl there, whom I actually met here, is from PSU, and we got to talk about the differences in our school system and England’s, how the campus here seems so small to us, and how we don’t understand their lack of computer labs. Although meeting people from Europe is endlessly exciting, it’s equally exciting to know someone here who shares my history, at least partly, and who knows about State College, my home. I’ve found that sparks of the familiar can do so much to warm the sometimes-overwhelming feeling of being out of my depth in this new place.

                And so, tonight I’m baking cupcakes for a cozy night-in, and I’m excited to talk to the people who stop by. I stocked up on tea!

Location: Canterbury, England