When students walk into the Diversity Center on Friday afternoons, they’re met with the sound of water boiling in a kettle, an array of colorful teabags and a warm welcome from Marissa Wilkinson, the program manager for International Student Services (ISS).
ISS presents international and domestic students alike with the opportunity to connect through casual tea parties. Weekly Tea Time is held every Friday in the Diversity Center from 3:30-4:30 p.m.
First-year Abdullah Alrefaei frequents Tea Time in search of casual conversations. He says the event became a part of his schedule and that it provides him with the opportunity to make friends with other international students.
“It's a [good] chance to just meet the other international students and see what they're about,” Alrefaei said.
An international student and faculty at the Nov. 7 Teatime event in the Diversity Center.
Wilkinson says Tea Time has been a tradition since before she joined the ISS program last year. The goal of the gatherings is to foster an environment where international students can ease into student life away from their home countries.
“The goal is just to socialize, connect [and] have a nice chat at the end of the week,” Wilkinson said. “It is a challenging process to be an international student anywhere. The idea behind [Tea Time] is primarily to help students with that social support.”
Tea has social and cultural significance in many parts of the world. In the Middle East, sharing tea is an extension of Arab hospitality, generosity and togetherness. In some East Asian countries, namely China, tea is considered an integral part of ceremonies and rituals.
There's even science behind this project of connection. A psychology study from Yale University found that when people share warm drinks, they are perceived as more “generous and caring … and less so if they had held an iced [drink].”
Reem Alshaban is a news reporter at The Beacon. She can be reached at alshaban28@up.edu.
