Study hard, but party harder at the Winter Gala
“Nobody came to Tilburg just to study”, says Gabriel Ribeiro Gomez, while we are waiting in line in front of the Heuvel Galery for the I*ESN Winter Gala. The exchange student from Brazil continues: “Everybody came here to travel or to meet people. And party.”
Gomez is one of the many exchange students in Tilburg. Hundreds of international students visit the city every semester for a study abroad. When I ask Gomez why he, as an inhabitant of the vibrant, sun-loving Rio de Janeiro, chose for the small, cold city of Tilburg, he replies: “I’ve never been to Europe before so I knew I definitely wanted to go there. Tilburg University was one of the exchange partners I could choose from and I heard good stories about it, so that’s why I chose it.”
Black tie chic
The Winter Gala could just be the topic of one of those good stories. The crowded dance floor harbors an eclectic, good-looking mix of people from all kinds of nationalities, dressed up from casual chic to black tie chic. People are dancing, talking, drinking: lots of enjoyment. It is obvious that this end of the semester gala is a reason is to party hard for the last time: lots of picture taking, body contact and kissing couples.
The party is organized by I*ESN, short for International Exchange Erasmus Student Network, the international student association in Tilburg. They organize various activities for international students or internationally-minded students, such as weekly parties or group dinners. I*ESN Tilburg was founded just over three years ago, but already is a well-established organization with 580 members. It even has its own bar.
Female friendly music
Even though it’s just after midnight and the party has just begun, the alcohol reigns supreme. That becomes even clearer when a couple falls of the stage into the crowd. “There was a big pre-drinking party at Verbs.”(Professor Verbernelaan, the accommodation for most international students) “I’m a little drunk too, I’m quite sensitive to vodka”, Gomez tells me.
As for the atmosphere, it is a good party. The music consists of a mix of contemporary dance, latin and 90’s music. One of the DJ’s is TilburgU’s own professor Ton Wilthagen. “If I’m correct, he and DJ Ronald will alternate,” says Michaël Kuijs, one of the resident-dj’s at Carpe Diem. He likes the variety. “Ton Wilthagen loves to play female friendly music: moonbahthon and latin, while Ronald loves to play a rather diverse, somewhat strange mix.” That appears to be true when he starts his mix with Lose yourself by Eminem. The crowd however, seems to like the 90’s throwback.
Places to go
The audience is mostly international, but at the bar I hear some Dutch. When I asked this person about the bitter sweetness of this party, he says: “I’m no member, no mentor, no amigo. I just like to make friends from all over the world,” he says. “But don’t you feel sad that most of your friends will be leaving soon?” I asked. “No, that’s just the way it goes. But it doesn’t mean that the friendship will be gone too. Now I’ll have even more places to go and friends to visit.”
Advertentie.
