Ireland is her cup of tea
THE humble cup of tea has earned Livne Ore a dream trip to Ireland.
The year 13 Auckland Girls’ Grammar School student won the Rodney Walshe Ireland Essay Competition with her paper on the change in tea drinking traditions in Ireland.
The Oranga teenager says it was her distaste for hackneyed topics that lead her to tea.
‘‘I didn’t want to do my essay on history because anyone can recount the facts,’’ she says.
She found out that the Irish drink more tea per capita than any other nationality.
The 17-year-old was surprised to find Irish ahead of the proud tea-drinking English and decided to run with it.
Her mother was a big supporter of the homely topic.
‘‘She places a lot of importance on everyday practices and the significance they may hold because she is doing her PhD in social anthropology about women who have emigrated from Israel to New Zealand and the way that their food practices have changed over time.’’
Livne says there is a lot of nostalgia associated with the simple everyday activities that we often don’t think about until they are disrupted.
Her own tea drinking habits have changed since her win and she’s trying to drink a stronger brew in preparation for her trip to Ireland.
‘‘I don’t so much drink tea as I drink milk with sugar and a splash of tea,’’ she says. ‘‘I’ve always wanted to travel extensively and this is a country I haven’t been to. I am looking forward to it and to see in person what the current tea drinking traditions are like.’’
Livne will head to Ireland on a month-long all expenses paid trip in July. She will stay with an Irish family and attend a number of summer school courses throughout the country.
Rodney Walshe is the Honorary Consul General of Ireland. The competition has been running since 1990.