Member Experiences: Dana!
Hi everyone! My name is Dana and I became a member of AEGEE Groningen in August 2023. I must say I’ve had my best year as a student after joining AEGEE. Throughout the whole year lots of great activities, trips, and excursions had been organised. Unfortunately, I couldn’t join all of them… But I was still able to make the best out of my first year by joining lots of activities and showing up to most of the social drinks. It all started with the introduction period in September/October 2023 where I met lots of great people who I can call my friends now. My favourite activities during the Intro Period were the Intro Dinners and the Intro Camp. For the dinners I was in intro group 6 where I met so many great people who became some of my best friends. We have experienced so many fun things together; many social drinks, galas, excursions, active member days, etc. During the Intro Camp, I was able to connect with other new AEGEEans but also with older members which made it easier to find my place in the association. Everyone was very welcoming, open, and happy to meet new people which makes it very easy to make friends. This year I have joined two excursions to Brussels and Tirana. Of which my favourite one was Tirana. Together with my friends I had signed up to go to Tirana where we had a great time exploring the city, eating great food, having cheap drinks, and hiking. I was very lucky to join AEGEE when it was celebrating their 7th lustrum which made it possible for me to have two galas instead of one; the lustrum gala and the galant gala. I enjoyed both galas a lot. At the lustrum gala we had a 3 course dinner before and afterwards access to an open bar which everyone made use of of course!!! The galant gala was also lots of fun. Together with fellow AEGEE members and other associations we enjoyed good music and most importantly lots and lots of FREE drinks from the open bar! Furthermore, I decided to become active within the association by joining the AlmanakCie. Together with 3 other members we spend lots of time creating this years Almanak. Next to working we also had lots of fun together. We enjoyed many delicious meals together, went to the social drinks together, participated in a pub quiz, worked at bevrijdingsfestval together, and and and… I wanted to write something about my favourite activity or memory of this year as well but while writing this I came to the realisation that I just simply cannot choose one thing as my favourite… All of the activities I had participated in, the social drinks I went to, and the people I had spend time with had made this year so incredible. But to list at least some activities I really enjoyed; here are my top 6:
Berlin Bound! – Hitchhike #2
It’s been a while, but our second hitchhike has already been completed to the beautiful city full of history, Berlin. Join us for an exciting recap of the journey! The first day was a long day of hitchhiking to Berlin. Of course, our duos were able to perform beautiful Minute Games again. For those who do not know: Minute Games are some fun games and challenges which hitchhikers can do to earn some minutes from their final hitchhiking time! Our hitchhikers immediately joing in on the games, whether it was a task about a potato, or simply filming the craziest toilet reviews at gas stations (even though there was no toilet paper available sometimes). And of course, some participants made sure Joris received a well-preserved Schültenbrau beer all the way in Berlin. At the end of the long day, after everyone arrived in Berlin, we had a delicious meal together in a super old food market hall and ended it with some snacks and a drink in the hostel. The second day was a day filled with a super fun, but full program. First, we took a look at the terror museum. The museum was so big that, unfortunately, we didn’t even have time to see everything. And of course, after a good lunch, we had a very fun and informative city tour through the city together with AEGEE-Berlin (thank you, Mara and Zsofia!). I think we can conclude that everyone was able to get enough information about this beautiful city full of history. After the city tour, there was some time to relax, and we had a delicious meal at a Vietnamese restaurant near our hostel – from soup to tofu to some delicious noodles. Moreover, it was already time to announce the winner of the second hitchhike competition! And I have to be honest, this time it was very close… The winners are determined by subtracting the points earned in the minutes game from the travel time to Berlin (from the first ride to arrival in Berlin). Arriving first thus does not necessarily make you the winner! The duo of Mariel & Tije and Esther & Huib had only less than half an hour’s time difference. In the end – Mariel and Tije were the winners. Well done for all of you! And to end the evening well, we collaborated with AEGEE-Berlin on a beautiful spätitour through the city. And now I hear you thinking, what on earth is a spätitour? Spät means late, which refers to the shops that are open until late (night shops). Here you can get cheap beer (really, for less than 1 euro sometimes). During the tour we went from store to store and got a new drink at each store. Of course, we made it a bit competitive, so it was a battle with nice challenges between two groups. And believe me, the craziest and nicest photos came out of this! After the spätitour, we all went back home and enjoyed an oh-so-delicious döner on the tram on the way to the hostel – which is always a good vibe after a good long day. All in all, it was a super fun weekend with everyone who was there, with AEGEE-Berlin, friends from our local, and even Elisa, who joined too from AEGEE-Brussel/Bruxelles. As the hitchhike committee, we hope to organize another amazing 2-day hitchhike this year to a beautiful city!
NL