Details

Winter AID is coming, new international students are arriving in Wageningen, wondering which associations they should join. I have also been in that situation, overwhelmed by all the different sports and student associations that this university has. Thus, I want to share with other internationals my experience as a member of AQUA, the sailing student association.

Details

After the Christmas break, AQUA organized a fancy dinner for all the members in a restaurant in the center. It was soooo nice to see everybody again, especially now that the sailing season is over and we have less chances to gather (and a good opportunity to dress fancy, which I love!). We had a three-course meal, with some included drinks and a nice opportunity to update each other and for getting to know each other better. As always, the environment was mainly dutch (we are few internationals in AQUA, but I’m pretty sure that’s going to change soon!). In fact, we were just two non-dutch speakers; however, my Dutch sailors make sure that I could enjoy it, and that I could participate in the conversation, talking mostly in English when I was around. That still amazes me, how can they be soo nice! I come from Spain, so I really appreciate the effort they always make, since I’m 100% sure that the Spanish will not do it (not only because we suck at English, but also because it’s just more convenient for us to speak Spanish among us). After the dinner (which by the way was delicious), we went together to the Doctor to have some beers together. To sum up, it was gezellig!

Details

Om tien uur ’s ochtends (3 juni) kwam ik aan bij watersportvereniging De Viking in ’s Hertogenbosch. Meteen viel me op dat er nog weinig te merken was van de op handen zijnde zeilwedstrijd; blijkbaar arriveerde ik als eerste. Na mijn aankomst druppelden de deelnemers langzaam binnen en ik was blij toen ik na een tijdje bekende gezichten zag. Er waren verscheidene aqualeden aanwezig, niet in de laatste plaats omdat onze vereniging de wedstrijd organiseerde. Toen iedereen was geregistreerd, vond een korte briefing plaats. Daarna liepen de deelnemers richting de wedstrijdbootjes. We zouden in teams van twee rondes om boeien varen, waarbij de teamgenoten elkaar afwisselden. Ik vormde samen met Rik het team Earth, Wind and Fire.