Chai Tea Lattes

I didn't start drinking Starbucks until my third year of university. I tried to avoid it, firstly because I had no idea what to order since the names of the drinks are 15 words long, but mostly because I wanted to continue to support the wonderful invention that is Tim Hortons. Then I studied in France and we went to Starbucks a couple times. With no Timmies in sight, I didn't feel like such a traitor. My friend suggested I get a chai tea latte, which is what she always got. I loved it! I have never ordered a different drink since (partially because I still don't know the names and meanings of all the various options).

When I came back from France, having a chai tea latte became a moment of nostalgia, bringing the memories of bustling Parisian streets, smoky smells and francophone culture flooding to mind. Since that first chai tea latte on Canadian soil, I've had countless cups and I've sat for hours at their tables talking with friends and mentors, both in person and on the phone. I've used up many gigabytes worth of their wifi and I've worked on sermons, papers, projects and random Internet surfing. I've written blog posts, I am right now, sitting on a bar stool by the window, looking out at parking lots of the BMW dealership and the Dollarama store. I've cried here; I've laughed here; Starbucks has been the place of chaos and comfort around the world.

I'm about to embark on a three week placement in Honduras. I'll be completing part of my final teaching practicum in a grade 5-6 class at a Christian school in Honduras, immersing myself yet once again in another culture and another language. It's been over a year since I was on a plane and I am eager to feel the power of the jets beneath me, pushing me back into my seat as the plane takes off down the runway towards the open sky. I don't think there will be Starbucks in Honduras, but who knows, I may be surprised. If there isn't, the next time I sit in this prestigious coffee shop, I will be tanned from the sun, knowledgeable of the education system in another part of the world and seasoned yet once again in the wondrous pursuit that is traveling. To see another part of the world, knowing that it can become just as much home there as it is here in this snowy corner of the world. To have the opportunity to eat different food, sing different songs, enjoy different culture, struggle through different language and challenge myself with different lifestyles if truly a blessing, an eye-opening experience that makes me feel small and insignificant in the best way possible.

Until then, I'll sit here sipping on my chai tea latte, dreaming of the music that will play in the lives of another country and another people.