The experience of going to high tea at the Dalloway Terrace in London on New Years Eve was one of the most unique things our class has done. Although it wasn’t a picturesque London day with sunlight and blue skies, and me and my friends were being rained on as we walked over to Dalloway Terrace, it was still such a riveting and memorable activity to engage in. While sitting down and eating the quintessential British tea tables along with sipping on hot tea, it felt like taking a step back in time. This aspect of British culture is something I have seen in several movies and television shows where the characters all sit around chatting and eating finger sandwiches and scones while drinking cup after cup of tea. This aspect of British culture is obviously also seen in Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway which features the main protagonist of the same name who’s lover from the past reflects on gatherings such as high tea, “It was at Bourton that summer, early in the ‘nineties,...There were a great many people there, laughing and talking, sitting round a table after tea, and the room was bathed in yellow light and full of cigarette smoke”(pg. 87). I am glad that at my own experience of tea there was no cigarette smoke, but happy to say that the room was full of light, people’s sweet laughter and good conversation. From this quote, it reveals the sense of community and belonging that is possible during this seemingly simple social function. From both the quote and the experience, I now have an understanding that beyond the scones and the clotted cream and the finger sandwiches, there is also a possibility to relate with one another and form new friendships. Because at the core of humanity, is the need for belonging and community.