The University of Groningen has done a wonderful job of welcoming and accommodating international students - something I am incredibly thankful for! The university held a mandatory international student welcome day on August 31st, followed by a voluntary introduction week hosted by a student group, called ESN. The approximately 1,000 students who signed up for introduction week were organized into groups of about 12 students and 2 student hosts, usually Dutch students. Introduction week consisted of a walking tour of Groningen, a dinner at our host's house followed by a pubcrawl, cultural workshops and sports, a dinner at a restaurant in town, comedy night, band night/karaoke at a bar, a Dutch party (everyone wore orange), movie night, and the final night: summer of '69 party (hippie/beach theme). The picture below is from the final party, although it hardly catches how many people were there. Through ESN intro week, I met dozens of great people from around the world and had a really, really fun time. I was a little sad when it was over, but also glad to finally have some free time again.
Best of all, ESN continues international events throughout the year. Every Monday is international student night at a bar in town (I'm heading there after this post), they organize occasional trips, monthly dinners, lectures, parties, etc. It's a great way to provide a way for the international students to meet each other and have a great time in Groningen!
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