International Tea

Among delicate glass tea cups, swirling colors and crispy nutty balaclavas, Exeter’s International Student Alliance gathered students from Main Street to Moulton in the glittery night of foreign clothes and radiant laughter known as International Tea. Attendees, many of whom donned international attire, filtered in and out of Grainger auditorium from 8-10 p.m.

Meeting every Tuesday from six to seven in the Mezzanine, the International Student Alliance organizes the majority of international events on campus. “It is an affinity club,” senior Stephanie Pan said, “but we will not turn away any students who don’t identify as International.  We are trying to build our voice as a community.”

“Seeing people come out and represent their origins was really interesting and gave some people an opportunity to really think about their roots.”

Although Exeter boasts a cultural diversity unmatched by many schools, many have voiced concerns on the low percentage of International Exonians—a mere 12 percent. “I think that while we have a number of international students here there isn’t as much representation as we would like. International day and international assembly were stopped last year, which I think really diminished the little representation there was,” senior Julia Bornemann said. “We should bring these events back and foster an environment in which we can talk about international issues freely.”

Pan, who grew up in New York but comes to Exeter from Beijing, agreed. “I’m really proud that Exeter has brought its international student stats up to 12 percent, but I think we could always do more to appreciate those 12 percent of kids and share their cultures and their experiences with the rest of campus.”

Despite this, however, lower Chiara Perotti Correa affirmed that International Tea really helped represent the multicultural atmosphere of Exeter. “The different kinds of food and teas gives them a little sneak peek of what it is like around the world and even though there is always room for improvement in any type of event, I was happy to see people enjoy themselves,” she said.

Greeting students at the entrance was a table lined with nine different teas from around the world with their descriptions and steeping instructions. Beside that, there was another table with hot water dispensers for people to brew their tea. Set in front of the auditorium itself were dozens of international desserts: churros, balaclavas, mochi, turkish delights and shortbread cookies.

The live music performed by members of the student body with candle-lit tables set a comfortable, social ambience. “It was actually very different from what I was expecting. I thought it’d be more like other dances here,” prep Ella Parsons said.

What truly made the night special for many, however, was the dancing. “I really enjoyed the fact that someone was there to teach the dancing. That was one of my best parts of the night. Besides that, the strawberries were also phenomenal,” lower Billy O’Handley said.

A number of Exonians, however, voiced protests that the night didn’t truly represent the entire international community at Exeter. “We could have added where each food came from and activities that were from different cultures in different countries,” prep Dylan Yin noted.

Members of the community who may not necessarily be international but have had the opportunity to experience other cultures or are in some way connected to them, left thinking. Upper Michelle Ramiz said, “I think that seeing people come out and represent their origins was really interesting and gave some people an opportunity to really think about their roots.” She continued, “I’ve actually been thinking a lot about my background lately, especially the middle easterners, and the tea definitely reinforced those considerations.”