Tea means connection; it means calm; it means a shared experience or a solo afternoon soother. My roommate and I frequently go about our days boiling water in the kettle, asking one other if she'd like tea. Here's the kicker, we're both American! Somehow, this little island has entirely incorporated her heart and soul into our daily lives. For the past nine months I doubt I've gone two days without tea (well the parts I was actually in the UK for).
So, why a post about tea? Flashback to this past September and I would not have understood the important difference between tea and other tea. Tea--the staple drink--refers to the classic English breakfast tea. A little boost of caffeine, a dash of milk and sugar, and you have a very mild and delicious pick-me-up. All other teas--Early Grey, Peppermint, Lemon and Ginger, Fruit flavors, etc.--belong to a special camp of variety. Additionally, if you're sitting down to a cup of tea you can't forget about your biscuits, be they plain, chocolate-covered, or a more elaborate fashion. There is something so quintessential about tea time and the practice of tea drinking that resembles England for me. SO, as I turn to the final corner of my final term, I am over thinking everything--even my basic cup of English breakfast tea.
Right now I'm supposed to be typing away on my Shakespeare essay (on Much Ado About Nothing and A Mid Summer Night's Dream). Instead, I'm meandering in my mind about the importance of tea and how revolutionary my life has become since I picked up the habit of daily drinking it. Mind-blowing, right? Well, actually, yes! This habit brings me a heart pang. It relates how much even basic cultural trends are hugely instrumental. This year my life has been a whirlwind of studying and traveling, and though there were moments when I just wanted a day at home with my family, these experiences have added to my repertoire of life. This tea became an analogy for a new home and new people and a new culture, and ultimately I have continued to boil the water because a classic cup of tea never lets you down. It's hard to look at these final days without a bittersweet viewpoint. But what I know, is that regardless of the tears to be shed on leaving, and then the smiles to be received on returning home, I have changed. And I will bring my tea-drinking habit--I will bring my new cultural awareness--home with me.
