Friday, October 13, 2017
Today I had my first tea time with a stranger. This is all because of a mental health program I signed up to volunteer for.
The concept of the program is very simple. Basically, you will be the host of an hour-long tea time. Your profile will be put online so other students can book a tea time with you. The two of you will both get a free drink to sip and chat about anything and everything.
After my class ended at 2 pm, I went to the info desk inside SUB building wearing my volunteer t-shirt and two empty mugs to meet up with the 'client'.
Sandy arrived right on time. She is a short, rather bookish looking girl who is a little on the heavier side. She was a little nervous talking to me at first. But after we grabbed our drinks (she chose coffee and I got a tea) and sat down, she began to open up a bit.
I had been trained during the volunteer training sessions to let the 'client' drive the conversation. So I asked, "Are there anything, in particular, you want to talk about today?"
Sandy nodded and replied, "Yeah. You see, I'm an international exchange student and I've been feeling a bit lonely lately."
I told her I totally understand what she means, and that I had experienced similar feelings when I did an internship abroad last summer. From here, our conversation really started to flow. We talked about anything and everything, from our experiences living in racist small towns to our plans for the future to choosing a relationship versus your freedom.
The most memorable story Sandy told me was how a person at her school with two master degrees and a Ph.D. degree finally got what he thought was his dream high-paying job in consulting. But after eight months of work, he realized he was so bored all day every day so he quit to start a burger restaurant.
"What?!" I exclaimed when I heard it.
"Yes, he opened a burger restaurant," Sandy confirmed again as I couldn't believe my ears. "He called it Dr. T Burger Labs."
I couldn't stop laughing because I thought the whole thing was just so hilarious. According to Sandy, people also stop by his burger place to hear this Dr. T's life story.
We also talked about our relationships and Sandy told me she broke up with a guy she really liked two years ago because she wanted to travel and see the world but he didn't want her to.
I thought that must be so hard to do, choosing freedom over the heart. I told Sandy I have never really been in a serious relationship before because I have always loved the appeal of freedom over attachment. Though that may slowly change now as I am getting older.
We were so engaged in our conversations that we ended up going 15 minutes overtime. Luckily, she and I both had nothing else scheduled after so we could afford to stay longer.
As I said goodbye to Sandy, I told her that it'll be great to see her again and get some updates on her life. I also hope she had a great time as well and want to book with me again.