A cloudy Kralingse Bos was the setting for the Escape The Skyline Festival, a daytime party dedicated to the first-years. There, some of the members of group 228 could be found sitting in the grass mingling with other groups as DJs blared house music through the loudspeakers. Besides the DJs, the festival also had a giant inflatable game of Twister and a mechanical credit card…the equivalent of a mechanical bull, except it’s sponsored by Rabobank. Valentin Marchon, who is apparently one of the tallest people on campus according to reporting Ferayed Hok, took a rocky ride on the mechanical credit card.
“I can’t feel my arms anymore,” Marchon admitted.
From awkward to easy
Watching the group of IBA first-years as they bob their heads to the music and chat comfortably amongst themselves, it’s hard not to notice how much they’ve evolved socially over the past four days. Awkwardness was, at times, very palpable on the first day. By Day 4, there wasn’t a hint of it.
“At the beginning it was a bit difficult because it’s an entirely new situation with new people, but after just a couple hours all the talking came naturally,” said Sabine Grond. “I think the guides helped with that. They didn’t feel like guides. They felt more like friends and they have treated us like that.”
Fellow first-year Malin Holm shared similar sentiments towards the guides.
“I think without Mo and Máté, the whole thing wouldn’t have been nearly as good,” Holm reflected. “They didn’t necessarily follow the program all the way through and I liked that. As a group, we just did what we felt like doing.”
Late night reflections
After giving the Night of Songs a pass, the group head over to a house party for one final hoorah together. With a drink in hand and a wonderful view of Blaak, guides Morad Farag and Mátê Pocs take a look back on the week that was.
“Eurekaweek was incredible,”said Farag. “If you look at it, it really all started last year when I met Máte at Eurekaweek. We had good guides, and that made us want to become guides. Then the week started and suddenly we’re around all these cool kids. I just hope we showed them as good a time as we had last year.”
“Our guides last year let our group choose what to do each day and we did the same for our group this year,” added Pocs. “I think it just works for everyone, it keeps the atmosphere relaxed. And I’m sure that, just like us last year, two or three of the people in our group will become guides next year.”
