A short tangent that I promise is relevant: my family is a tea family. We often have “tea time” at home after dinner (I know, it’s precious and delightful) and I have been ordering hot tea at restaurants since early youth, much to the surprise of my parents’ adult friends. Therefore, (I told you it was relevant) it was only natural for my mom to have remembered sipping afternoon tea with my aunts as the highlight of her experience in Edinburgh when she visited the beautiful city many years ago.
As I sat in my friend Abigail’s kitchen a few weeks ago, having arrived for the weekend after deciding to book a last minute flight, I chatted with my mom on the phone. She reminisced and highly recommended the experience of afternoon tea, so I got on the Internet to make a reservation. (Quick shoutout to the beautiful woman colloquially known as “Kelly Ann” or “mom” for arranging this deliciously sophisticated cultural adventure. Little did she know how integral it would be to our experience. Or maybe she did, she’s a pretty sharp lady.)
We arrived for tea through a small door on the side of a large building with only an inconspicuous placard to indicate that we were in the right place. We were greeted by an older woman who (rather awkwardly and bizarrely) led us to a butler (yes, a butler) who then led us to our seats. The bizarre part of the whole exchange was that our seats were about four steps from where we were standing, so the awkward transition of leadership felt highly unnecessary. But hey, maybe this is what high society is all about, who am I to question it?
As we sat and selected our teas, we chatted about this and that, admiring the beautiful décor and reflecting on our day. After a couple of hours, we found ourselves still sitting there just talking about life. We discussed feminism and politics and boys and Jesus and everything in between. We shared both the hardships and highlights we’ve faced since being abroad and both the challenges and excitements we’re anticipating upon our return to Vanderbilt in January. It was intellectual and vulnerable and cozy and downright splendid. And all of this conversation was sprinkled with delightful interruptions from our butler (henceforth referred to as “James” because I have unfortunately forgotten his name).
James was initially a law student at the University of Edinburgh, but decided to drop out and pursue butlery. He seems to have become quite successful in his field, describing the £3000 courses he had to take on the history of red wine and sharing secrets about the royal family, one of his current employers. I think our dear James took a liking to us, for after a while, each time he popped in, he brought us truffles or snacks or, as the night went on, free wine. As he was an expert (see note about £3000 course), he was excited to share both the wine and many tidbits of its importance with us. Overall, we had a lovely night and ended up leaving the (rather empty) hotel four and a half hours after we had arrived.
What made the night so lovely was the simplicity and intimacy of the event. Something I love about Abigail and Meredith is that they engage in real conversations and aren't afraid to speak their minds. They are both overwhelmingly interesting and intelligent and I love to hear them talk about the things they are passionate about. These are friends that make me think in different ways, encourage me to explore new perspectives, and continually pursue loving others in the way they live their lives.
A simple afternoon of tea turned into one of my favorite memories from my semester simply because of these two humans. Being separated from the familiarity of my typical community has been quite challenging this semester and I am so grateful that my time has been interspersed with visits and travels alongside some of my best friends. While being abroad, I have so enjoyed talking to new people from totally different backgrounds and learning about their lives, but time spent with some of the people who know me best was exceedingly refreshing.
Edinburgh was cool because I got to experience a new city, but I also got to “do life” alongside my friends in their normal day-to-day. It was the perfect mixture of “free soup Fridays” at the local ministry hangout where Abigail spends much of her time and explorations of local farmers’ markets and the castle on the hill recently made culturally relevant by Ed Sheeran.
I visited Tom Riddle’s grave and hiked Arthur’s seat, but also snuggled in bed and watched Les Misérables. I snuck into the sauna at the campus gym with Abigail (because I am eternally cold on this continent) and also had an afternoon chat with some Mormon missionaries who have been rather aggressively pursuing Meredith. (Whether this pursuit is romantic or strictly religious is still up in the air. Please feel free to share any thoughts/opinions about the future of Meredith’s soul and/or relationship status in the comments.)
High tea encapsulated this beautiful dichotomy because we got to experience such a fun and delicious part of the culture but also enjoy each other as friends and fellow humans. We got to have conversations of the quality and depth that only occur when surrounded by the people you know best, but we also got to talk to a total stranger who opened our eyes to so many aspects of Scottish culture (and red wine). Needless to say, I was quite sad to wake up stupid early on Sunday morning to leave this little oasis of friendship and return to Dublin to spend the day in the cold dark library of UCD catching up on homework.
However, much to my delight, that night marked the first of many “Sunday night reflections” with my roommates during which we discussed the question “does respect expire?” over dinner. (Again, thoughts/reflections to this question are welcome in the comments.)
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