Ten pairs of eyes scrutinised each other warily on the first day. But not for long. Before long, we formed a tight-knit team that braved all the obstacle courses and sports games and yelled I LOVE YOUUUUU loudly and drunkenly at each other.
During the AID, I learned that there are many people in Wageningen who are ready to help you. Not just my AID “daddies” who “protected” me from all the scary, forward boys, but my AID brothers and sisters also felt safe and secure. Half of my group were international students. They lavished us with stories about their home country, and one of them even brought Chinese bookmarks for each of us. We taught them about Dutch culture during a game of Twister (the words ‘hand’, ‘foot’, ‘yellow’ and ‘green’) and the lyrics to the song Dakterras so that we could all drunkenly sing along when Swifty performed during a party. Afterwards, a Mexican AID brother wondered how we Dutch managed to cycle while drunk. He lasted no more than five metres…
Jam-packed days have been a constant in my life as a student
Never had I imagined there was so much to do in a single day. One activity after the other: a crazy 88, rowing at Argo, a tour of Ceres, eating at KSV, drinking ahead of the start of the party and getting ice cream at Cicuto’s. Jam-packed days have since been a constant in my life as a student. I do all sorts of things, thanks to the AID market where all student associations, sports clubs, political parties, the library, Resource, businesses, etc, are represented. I chaired a study association committee in my first year, took up basketball, made many friends and started writing for Resource. A full programme and still managed to get all my credits, but after two years, it’s taken its toll. Now, I am about to go on an exchange, a fresh start during which I will take things a little slower.
My advice to you, as a new student, is to pay no attention to the opinions of others. Enjoy the people around you, and do what makes you happy. But don’t overdo it. Everything is just so much fun!
Resource student editor Lieke (20) is a bachelor’s student in landscape architecture and keeps busy with her sports, side jobs, study association, and spending time with her friends. She enjoys relaxing in nature and feels very much at home in Wageningen.
