{"id":83916,"date":"2018-02-15T14:08:47","date_gmt":"2018-02-15T13:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=83916"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:56","slug":"ontbijten-in-huize-hortensia-animalis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/02\/15\/ontbijten-in-huize-hortensia-animalis\/","title":{"rendered":"Having breakfast at the Hortensia Animalis Mansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

EM joined the residents of the society\u2019s oldest and hardest-playing student house, Hortensia Animalis, for breakfast. Cas, Sybren, Joris and Stijn had just got started on their post-hangover burgers, with lots of ketchup on them. And some lettuce, too, because a little health food does not go amiss after a night\u2019s drinking. <\/p>\n

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Several dusty and faded SSR member ties hang from the ceiling lamp in the kitchen, as does a pale blue underwire bra. \u201cI\u2019ve no idea who it belongs to,\u201d says Cas Oosterwijk, 22. \u201cIt\u2019s been here for quite a while and it\u2019s part of the furniture now.\u201d So are last night\u2019s empty beer bottles and the ashtray full of cigarette butts. \u201cWe clean up once a week,\u201d Cas explains. \u201cOn Wednesdays. So things are in good order for our pub night. Because obviously we\u2019re not going to do it on Thursdays. We\u2019re all hungover then.\u201d <\/p>\n

Salt, fat and flavour<\/h2>
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According to the boys, \u2018Hortensia Animalis\u2019 means zoo. \u201cAppropriate, isn\u2019t it?\u201d says the youngest resident, Sybren Morks, 20, while taking an enormous bite of the burger his flatmate Joris Roovers, 22, has just fried. It is clear that the guys need salt, fat and flavour. <\/p>\n

\u201cOnce upon a time, real lions and elephants roamed these grounds.\u201d Now there is a sculpture of a zebra on a pedestal behind the apartment building at Diergaardesingel, near Central Station. The residents of SSR\u2019s oldest house in Rotterdam have a great view of it from their balcony at the back of the building. But obviously, the view from the front is infinitely better. The Koinoonia Society (SSR\u2019s clubhouse, where the boys spend a lot of time) is right across the street, on the other side of the tramway tracks. <\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018We don\u2019t invite prospective flatmates to pick the best one. Hortensia Mansion residency is by invitation only\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Scantily clad ladies <\/h2>

Actually, the residents of the Hortensia Mansion \u2013 established in 1986 \u2013 could be said to be a little bestial themselves. The walls of the inspiring lavatory are full of nice but scantily clad ladies, and lying on the floor are the boys\u2019 club trousers, which still reek of beer and sweat from the night before. Once upon a time they were orange. However, since it is against the club\u2019s rules to wash them, they are now quite grubby and shiny with grease. <\/p>\n

Moreover, the entire house is filled with cigarette smoke. \u201cPretty much everyone in the house smokes,\u201d says Stijn Blokker, 22. \u201cOr at least they don\u2019t mind others smoking. Other than that, we\u2019re not too demanding of our new flatmates. As long as they\u2019re chill dudes, they\u2019re fine. They must not be too serious. We don\u2019t invite prospective flatmates to pick the best one. Hortensia Mansion residency is by invitation only.\u201d<\/p>\n

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No privacy<\/h2>

Take the youngest resident of the house, Sybren, a.k.a. HJ. He doesn\u2019t have a room of his own, which means he has no privacy. His bed is in the living room, where all his flatmates laze about drinking and yelling. This does not pose a problem to Sybren. \u201cI actually kind of like it. When I\u2019m tired, I\u2019ll simply get under my duvet, but I\u2019ll still hear everything that\u2019s going on, so I\u2019ll never miss out on anything. And if my flatmates want to join me under my duvet on a day on which we\u2019re all completely wasted, I\u2019m fine with that. I\u2019m not too bothered.\u201d <\/p>\n

The wall above Sybren\u2019s bed and the seating area that is right next to it are full of creative murals, many of which depict pornographic scenes and weapons. They range from President Trump amidst neon font and the house crest \u2013 a red-and-blue shield with a lion on either side \u2013 to a wooden scene featuring an orange lady being taken from the front and the back by two green gentlemen, cut with a fretsaw. Fun stuff. <\/p>\n\n\t

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Een lijst van afbeeldingen<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t
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