TOP week: “They told me the weather was good”

The trees were a welcome refuge from the heavy rains that bombarded the Leijpark yesterday. On the second day of TOP week, the park was filled with inflatable attractions and other game stands. One of the international groups wandered around the park, still a bit unaccustomed, but mostly just marveling about the weather.

Summer in The Netherlands hasn’t been everything it promised to be. “My grandparents have lived in The Netherlands for five years,” a Spanish student says. “They said that the weather in August is good. I did not expect all this rain.” Despite this minor setback, the students are rapidly getting to know each other and Tilburg. What they have learned so far? “What it is like to have to go and learn Dutch with a hangover,” one of the student says, grinning.

Most of the games involve water and this does not combine with the cold ór the big coats that the students are wearing against it. But as the day progresses, some of the students bravely climb on a bar to fight above a little pool or swing over it like Tarzan. Some of the more reluctant members of the group only decide to join when they get to pull a rope to throw someone of a fake bull.

The group is very mixed, nationalities vary from Finnish to Chinese and from Spanish to Australian. Most students come here for an economic exchange program. A German student says: “It was simply the program with the best reputation.” So far, they are also quite positive about what Tilburg has to offer for students. “From people who study in Amsterdam, I had heard that there is nothing to do in Tilburg. As it turns out, there are many streets with student bars! I was surprised by that,” one of the students remarks. After the game day, the students rush off to Zeeman or Action to buy a cheap white shirt for the night. “We don’t really know what the organisation means by ‘Blacklight party’, but it is best to come prepared.”

Read more about the international students’ introduction in the next Univers