Hospitality can make a world of a difference. In my past experiences abroad, it can mean everything from saving the head of the fish for guests of the household to slaughtering the only goat the family owned to prepare a feast to finding and offering the best chair for the guest to sit on. Gestures of hospitality have come to mean so much to me in England, and I've learned that one of the greatest and most common acts is offering a cup of tea or coffee.
A couple weeks ago as I prepared to leave for a conference in London I witnessed a quintessential act of hospitality. A loud crash that sounded like a door slamming from a strong wind echoed through my flat early in the morning. My host mother, Liz, ran out of her room to inquire if I was alright, thinking that I had managed to injure myself (which wouldn't have been out of the ordinary) but the noise actually wasn't caused by me this time. After inspecting every area of the flat and finding nothing we opened the front door and were greeted by the sight of a camper that had smashed into the side of our flat! Looking up the street the owner of the vehicle was running towards us apologizing profusely. Apparently she had neglected to put the parking break on, and although we scarcely live on an incline it was enough to make the camper just roll into our flat. Luckily, no one was hurt. There was damage done to the house, yet instead of being upset and treating the woman poorly, Liz quickly ran up to her and said, "Would you please come in for a cup of tea or coffee?" And so she came in to chat and sort things out for the repairing of the flat in a peaceful manner. Having tea, afterall, is a wonderful way to figure out how to solve all problems.
Peace. :)
