Agora pre-event – The AEGEEan – AEGEE's online magazine – AEGEE-Europe ../../.. AEGEE's Online Magazine Sat, 22 Jul 2017 11:24:23 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.7 ../../../wp-content/uploads/cropped-The-AEGEEan_logo-FBprofile-32x32.png Agora pre-event – The AEGEEan – AEGEE's online magazine – AEGEE-Europe ../../.. 32 32 Agora Catania will take place in a land of passion and creativity. ../../../2017/07/19/agora-catania-will-take-place-in-a-land-of-passion-and-creativity/ Wed, 19 Jul 2017 06:00:02 +0000 ../../../?p=40787 Agora Catania Organisers are working hard to make this Agora a true experience of the South-European atmosphere. Will you miss the chance to take part to an Agora where you can eat brioche with gelato while feeling on your skin the marine breeze in a Plenary Room?  The AEGEEan: Can you describe us the city of Catania in this moment of… Read more →

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Agora Catania Organisers are working hard to make this Agora a true experience of the South-European atmosphere. Will you miss the chance to take part to an Agora where you can eat brioche with gelato while feeling on your skin the marine breeze in a Plenary Room? 

Taormina-Teatro_Greco01The AEGEEan: Can you describe us the city of Catania in this moment of the year? And when the Agora takes place?

Gabriele Nicotra: The city of Catania, right now, is totally in the summer mood: it’s very hot, tourists in every corner of the city and the beaches are full of people. When the Agora will take place, at the end of September, Catania will be just the same, it feels like our summer never ends!

What makes Agora Catania special?
From the inside it is hard to say and to share: all the Agorae in order to take place, need a lot of work through more than one year and I call heroes all those people that were part of an Agora. I guess that what makes our Agora special is that we finally brought this event in a land of passion and creativity like Sicily, but also were dreams are not easy to come true, and if this Agora can bring Catania closer to Europe… Well, this is special for us, this means a lot to us.

Which are the main things that still need to be finalised in the next two months?19055529_1890794197812027_8544575426154985572_o
-SPOILER ALERT- Just kidding, not so many actually, we have the agreements for the facility, transports, showers, meals and so on. Right now we are dealing with the “details”, you’ll see in September!

How is the atmosphere among the Organising team members? Have you already gathered a group of helpers?
AEGEE-Catania always felt to us like a big family and that’s why it works, we are not “colleagues” or members of the same association. We are a Sicilian family (jokes intended)!

We are still gathering the group of helpers, as a matter of fact a lot of people want to come on board and that makes us really happy!

19701977_1900993436792103_4181986019078358418_nCan you suggest us a sentence in Sicilian that the participants will need to know to survive in Catania?
Sicilian, like every dialect, is full of bad words. What participants really need to know to survive here is ‘mbare, definitely not easy to translate. The closest translation would be: mate, friend, buddy, etc… But actually ‘mbare is more than that!

You are well known in the Network for your incredible party spirit, can you tell us something more about the Social Programme?
All at due time, on Autumn Agora Catania, we will share a bit of the Social Programme, I can’t say too much now. The Network knows us for our incredible party spirit and to this Network I want to say one thing: have faith in us!

19983466_992633367506516_2721546273381734835_oWhich pre-events or post-events do you know of?
We know that there will be, for sure, three pre-events (and no post-events, but stay tuned!) organised by AEGEE-AgrigentoAEGEE-Bergamo and AEGEE-Napoli. And for very different reasons they all have something special. Agrigento will show you what Project Management really is with a great group of trainers, Bergamo will take you around Italy, through a lot of beautiful cities and the final stop will be in the most beautiful one. Then Napoli will amaze the participants with something unique, because two Vulcanoes is mej che one (two vulcanoes are better than one).
What are you waiting for, then? Apply!

Is there something to eat that participants cannot miss in Catania?
When it all started we had a huge task list, that I can’t share with you, but one of the many points is: make the participants very fat… Sorry, happy.
You need to taste: arancini, cannoli, panino alla catanese, setteveli, gelato, granita con la brioche, siciliana, caponata, a lot of fresh fish, frappè alla nutella, cartocciata, cornetto alla nutella and last but not least, the king of the Sicilian gourmet… Horse meat!

Which will be the hot moments during the Agora?
I’m sure of that, the weather will help indeed. We hope that what sadly happened in the previous Agorae won’t happen in ours. We are people full of passion, love and good vibes and we want our participants to feel our way. This Agora can be more than great just because of you.

Would you like to add something more?
I think I said enough, but maybe I didn’t say: APPLY! As helper or as participant, as delegate or as visitor, it doesn’t matter. This event will be a blast, for five days we will be the beating and burning heart of Europe… Do you want to miss it? Tu vo peddiri?

You can apply to Agora Catania as participant here, and as helper here.

 

Written by Lisa Gregis, AEGEE-Bergamo

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Do not Forget to Warm Up With Pre-events Before Agora Chișinău ../../../2016/09/09/do-not-forget-to-warm-up-with-pre-events-before-agora-chisinau/ Fri, 09 Sep 2016 09:00:44 +0000 ../../../?p=36446 Autumn Agora Chisinau starts on the 12th of October this year, and its arrival is solemnly heralded by its many Facebook invites and by those of the Pre-Agora events. If you go to the Agora, you can go directly or you can go via one of the four Pre-Agora events (or just go to one of the four Pre-Agora events,… Read more →

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Autumn Agora Chisinau starts on the 12th of October this year, and its arrival is solemnly heralded by its many Facebook invites and by those of the Pre-Agora events. If you go to the Agora, you can go directly or you can go via one of the four Pre-Agora events (or just go to one of the four Pre-Agora events, no obligations). We have decided to make a list of all the four pre-events.
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kiev
AEGEE-Kyïv have chosen the well-known brand “Don’t mess with Kyïv” as the name of its pre-event. There is no doubt that an Agora pre-event with this name will be successful, since their slogan and t-shirts are already quite popular now.  The main strength of the Ukrainian Antenna is represented by its people and Ukranian hospitality. The participants are going to visit the hot spots of the Euromaidan revolution in Kyïv, and to see the old parts of the city, the mysterious Andriyivsky Descent, and loads of churches in a typical eastern Slavic architectural style. They planned to show Mezhygirya, the huge residence of their ex-president which is now public and really nice place to visit, but instead offer a trip to Chernobyl, the well-known radioactive city, for people who like dangerous places.  Just twenty-five participants will be accepted. The fee is forty-five euros which covers accommodation, two meals per day and lots of parties.
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There is another Ukranian Antenna, which organises a pre-event, but this one does it in collaboration with AEGEE-Aachen.  They chose the name even before Autumn Agora Kyïv, and, afterwards, just upgraded it with [Bears edition], because, during this pre-event, AEGEE-Aachen’s polar bears will be a big part of organising team.

AEGEE-Lviv and AEGEE-Aachen’s first aim of the programme is to help the participants to get to know the Ukranian culture and compare it with German one. In order to achieve this goal, there will be workshops and activities that will introduce the culture of both countries by, for example, cooking and language workshops. Of course, no event by AEGEE-Lviv happens without super awesome pubcrawl and awesome parties.

 

Cover photo Pre-event, AEGEE-IasiChallenge your limits: Truth or dare?

AEGEE-Iași chose the name “Truth or Dare” for its pre-event by thinking about what AEGEE really means for every single member. The general conclusion was that AEGEE means challenging yourself, stepping outside the comfort zone, daring to try something for the first time, and discovering new people and new cultures. “Truth” refers to the Romanian history, culture, and traditions -but from a different, funny point-of-view, because the members are trying to break stereotypes about their country and to promote a nondiscriminatory approach. The “dare” part is linked to all the surprises that are hidden. They cannot wait to see if the participants will dare to think outside the box, to gain amazing new experiences because their motto is: “Work hard, party harder!”

This Romanian pre-event promotes learning, but with a twist. Therefore, the participants will enjoy Romanian culture and traditions, one of which being dancing. One of the workshops will namely be about learning famous Romanian traditional dances, such as the horă and braşoveanca. The programme also includes a city tour, a treasure hunt, workshops about multiculturalism and other controversial European topics, quizzes, competitions, daring parties, a lot of fun, and surprises.

 

bucharestNo REST in BuchaREST!

There is another Romanian Antenna that organises something before Agora Chisinau. The pre-event of AEGEE-Bucharest will take place in the Romanian capital from the 7th to the 10th of October. The participants, that will be selected for this pre-event, have to be prepared for mind-blowing activities; they will have a taste of Bucharest’s unique spirit(s), discovering the frantic city and learn the Romanian way of partying. The Romanian Antenna will provide: accommodation in a hostel, two meals per day, sightseeing, a city tour, Bucharest’s nightlife experience, and some surprises. The fee is fifty-five euros, and the optional fee is sixteen euros for travelling to Chișinău.

 

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari.

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“An Agora Seldom Comes Alone”: Discover the Pre-events of Autumn Agora Kyïv 2015 ../../../2015/10/09/an-agora-seldom-comes-alone-discover-the-pre-events-of-autumn-agora-kyiv-2015/ Fri, 09 Oct 2015 11:48:40 +0000 ../../../?p=31860 From the 14th to the 18th of October, one of AEGEE’s most important events, the Autumn Agora, will be held in Kyïv and as any seasoned AEGEE member knows: an Agora seldom comes alone. The main event is always accompanied by several pre-events that are organised  especially by dedicated antennae. This years participants had the opportunity to choose from five creative… Read more →

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From the 14th to the 18th of October, one of AEGEE’s most important events, the Autumn Agora, will be held in Kyïv and as any seasoned AEGEE member knows: an Agora seldom comes alone. The main event is always accompanied by several pre-events that are organised  especially by dedicated antennae. This years participants had the opportunity to choose from five creative events in four different countries and a thematic conference that addresses the recent political and economic events in Ukraine.
Follow the AEGEEan on a quick tour through Eastern Europe’s most interesting locations and best autumn events.

image2Our first stop is “AEGEE-Warszawa: Tear Down this Wall”, where a group of lucky participants will be able to pledge freedom and transparency by tearing down past and present walls. As they find themselves travelling through time, the participants will discover the historic roots of Warszawa, full of charming places, Polish dreams and unique cultures. Back in present time, where modern youth spirit meets old traditions, the organisers are planning to take everybody on a stroll through old Warszawa in search of the most potent shot bars.
image5With no walls left to stop our journey, the next halt is with AEGEE-Lublin in a city that participants are definitely going to fall in love with. The organising team of “LUBLINove LOVE – Fall in Love in Lublin” is hoping to make everybody feel the magical atmosphere of the city where different people, cultures and religions mix into a unique style of living. A highlight of the event will be the Slavic night with traditional music, dances and a fiery bonfire that will warm up the coldest hearts.

 

image3Tea sceptics within AEGEE will definitely acquire a taste for the diverse drink after participating in AEGEE-Moskva’s pre-event “Moscow Tea Time: A Hidden Part of the Russian Soul”. In a traditional Russian tea ceremony with legends to spice things up, participants might awaken their hidden Russian soul within their bodies. AEGEE-Moscow will then introduce the attendants to traditional Russian culture, crazy spirits and other strong drinks in a city that never sleeps. The organisers are particularly proud to offer a workshop on lifehacks for surviving in a Russian train. A course that no AEGEE member should miss.
image1The event by AEGEE-Chișinău “Taste the Moldavian Hospitality” is going to be a definite treat for neglected taste buds. According to the organisers the participants will experience the tastiest pre-event of Autumn Agora Kyïv that will lead them on a discovery trail through Moldavian culinary culture by tasting delicious wine and traditional food such as Placinte. On a visit to the Orheiul Vechi monastery AEGEE members might trace back ancient civilisations.
image4Before arriving in the heart of Ukraine, Kyïv, let us make a last stop in the soul of Ukraine with “Oops! We Lviv it again!” organised by AEGEE-Lviv. As the cultural capital of Ukraine, Lviv has a lot to offer its visitors. From the local musicians to its unique streets and cozy coffee houses, with this event the participants have a chance to experience the true spirit of the city and to get to know the Ukrainian culture through its language, cuisine and traditions.
For members who just cannot get enough, AEGEE-Kyïv has planned a special thematic conference on October the 13th, just a day before the start of Agora Kyïv 2015. “The #YoungUA Conference: Defending, Acting, Investing” marks the successful conclusion of the project “reBuilding Democracy” that was launched by AEGEE-Kyïv six months ago and encourages participants to dicuss the political, economic and social future of Ukraine within Europe. The event is divided into three panels with high-profile speakers discussing European values, economic investments and youth participation within transformation movements in Ukraine.
image6The conference aims to boost cooperation on youth policy matters between the Ukrainian and youth organisations by creating a memorandum at the end of the conference that will be sent to important stakeholders in Ukraine as well as abroad. According to main organisers Alla Resheten and Armenak Minasyants, the conference is a perfect opportunity for AEGEE members to get engaged in an explicit thematic context that has been missing during Agoras.

Which pre-event will you be visiting?
Written by Alev Özdemir, AEGEE-Frankfurt

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Discovering the architectural side of Naples with preAgora event WE WE ../../../2014/09/16/discovering-the-architectural-side-of-naples-with-preagora-event-we-we/ Tue, 16 Sep 2014 10:44:59 +0000 ../../../?p=25668 After a first sneak peek at Roma Autumn Agora Cagliari Pre-Event and the one organised by AEGEE-Milano, the next one will take place in the lovely southern city of Naples. AEGEE-Napoli, along with their twin local AEGEE-Lviv, will organize the WE WE – West east PreAgora event focusing mostly on architecture. We spoke with the main organizer Nicola Guida to discover… Read more →

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After a first sneak peek at Roma Autumn Agora Cagliari Pre-Event and the one organised by AEGEE-Milano, the next one will take place in the lovely southern city of Naples. AEGEE-Napoli, along with their twin local AEGEE-Lviv, will organize the WE WE – West east PreAgora event focusing mostly on architecture. We spoke with the main organizer Nicola Guida to discover more about the event and their relationship with AEGEE-Lviv.

Erika: WE WE. What is the secret behind the title?
Nicola:
 WE WE is a “connection of connections”, an idea to briefly represent our multicultural project. Firstly in English “WE” means us. All together, no barriers, no division, exactly the concept of a border-less Europe. Secondly, being an acronym it connects West with East with a special reference to the Napoli-Lviv twin project. Thirdly in Neapolitan language the exclamation “WE” (or UE) is used for many purposes: to greet, to show surprise, to catch the attention of another person and in general to set a positive connection between people. So there are plenty of hidden meanings as you can see!

When was the idea of a pre event born?
Well as soon as it was announced that Cagliari was going to host the autumn Agora 2014 we got carried away by the enthusiasm and decided we couldn’t miss this chance! We want to give AEGEE members a chance to get a taste of Italy even before arriving to Cagliari!

Your pre event will focus on architecture. What should participants expect?
Through the narrow streets of Napoli they will travel back in time, discovering concrete traces of many different civilizations. We will offer participants knowledge about our city trying to away out from the usual way education provides information. With us they will be able not only to see and learn from an external point of view, but also to get deep inside knowledge and really feel the city.

The event is organized also by AEGEE-Lviv, that is rather far away from Napoli. What is the contribution of the Ukranian local?
They’ll be our fantastic and beautiful helpers in Napoli, making participants have a virtual tour of their city and holding a workshop on their culture!

What is the thing that two cities like Napoli and Lviv share together?
Many things! They are both full of history and atmosphere with warm and welcoming inhabitants. They are also multicultural cities having hosted many different civilizations. They have been ruled by different countries, always being the capital of their region and center of attraction for culture and art. As an example of this important past, their historical centers are both UNESCO heritage sites.

The fee of the event will be 77 euros. Not a coincidence for AEGEE-Napoli, even if a lot of mistery surrouds this number. Why 77 is your lucky number?
It’s a secret from Neapolitan Smorfia, only those who will come to the event will dissolve the fog of mystery!

You set the number to 24 participants. Will you stick to this number or are you able (or willing) to host more?
Unluckily the hostel has only this number of beds and we’re already going to host in our homes the fellow organizers from Lviv.

AEGEE-Napoli and AEGEE-Lviv signed the twin antenna agreement in Agora Patra. How is the relationship going so far?
We can say that it’s quite stable, we were friends before and we are still friends now! No post marital syndrome yet!

Why did you and Lviv choosed each other?
Well, we could say it was destiny… And a lot of things in common. Members from our antennae met frequently in different events in the past and always enjoyed the mutual company. Then during the New Years’ Eve event in Napoli The curious case of AEGEE-Napoli in 2012, we decided to “legalize” our relationship.

What are your upcoming project with AEGEE-Lviv?
An event in Lviv. But shhh.. It is still a secret!

More information about the event can be found here.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

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Do it like a Dutch ../../../2013/04/19/do-it-like-a-dutch-2/ Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:03:33 +0000 ../../../?p=17222 Before Agora Rhein-Neckar started, AEGEE-Utrecht organized a pre-event. The main topic was reliability of the media, which was also the event title. Twelve lucky participants from all over the Europe took part and had a lot of fun. They partied, went sightseeing, they had a European night and many other activities that every other AEGEE event has… But what were the… Read more →

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Before Agora Rhein-Neckar started, AEGEE-Utrecht organized a pre-event. The main topic was reliability of the media, which was also the event title. Twelve lucky participants from all over the Europe took part and had a lot of fun. They partied, went sightseeing, they had a European night and many other activities that every other AEGEE event has… But what were the factors that made this event unforgettable and typically Dutch?

1. Cycling: this term does not only mean that you have to keep moving on a bike in order not to lose your balance. Cycling is a quick (especially in city centres) and green way of transport, but it is even more… For Dutch people, cycling is a way of life.

2. Typical food: the organisers cooked the well-known winter dish called “andijvie-stamppot”, and “nasi”, which actually comes from the Indonesian culture, as Indonesia was colonised by the Kingdom of the Netherlands during the 17th century. I know that you are wondering why I did not explain what this food is like, but you will just have to try it to understand.

 3. High quality conferences: from World War I to social networks, from Europe to Africa, from manipulating to advertising. In a world of technology, you cannot choose not to interact with media. You have to do it if you want to be informed. So it is pretty much a vicious circle. Information is power and the media wields this power, sometimes media shows you what they want you to see. So be smarter than them and always remain critical.

4. Weather: as the event was during spring, we all hoped for some sunny days, and the staff organized a nice game for the participants so that they could discover the city of Utrecht on their own… But then some grey and gloomy clouds thought: “Let’s give them some snow!” Conclusion: snowing and cycling = feeling like a real Dutch. As some people said, “Easter was colder than Christmas this year”.

5. Windmills: when people think of the Netherlands, they inevitably think about windmills (and fields of tulips, but tulips and cold weather do not get along very well). I always thought that windmills were used to turn cereal into corn or flour. Well, this one was used for woodcraft work.

6. Film night: the best way to finish the event was to watch a film entitled “Zwartboek”, also known as “Black book”. The film deals with the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, combining history and fun relaxation.

I would like to give special thanks to Tessa Speelman (AEGEE-Utrecht) for helping me with the Dutch words in this article.

Written by Cosmina Bisboaca, AEGEE-Torino

Photos by Annie Smailikova(AEGEE-Kyiv),Farid Amlal(AEGEE-Utrecht), Kamal Vasnani(AEGEE-Las Palmas), Marta Belda(AEGEE-Valencia).

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HELLOween from Transylvania ../../../2012/12/08/helloween-from-transylvania/ Sat, 08 Dec 2012 09:32:38 +0000 ../../../?p=14702 Between the 27th and the 31st of October 2012, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca brought together 11 AEGEEans for a spooky, fun filled AGORA pre-event, and they all got to experience Halloween in the country of vampires, ghosts and gools – Transylvania. “Halloween is coming. The streets are dark, the pubs turn into castles, and everything becomes creepy. All this happens all over the world, but… Read more →

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Between the 27th and the 31st of October 2012, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca brought together 11 AEGEEans for a spooky, fun filled AGORA pre-event, and they all got to experience Halloween in the country of vampires, ghosts and gools – Transylvania.

“Halloween is coming. The streets are dark, the pubs turn into castles, and everything becomes creepy. All this happens all over the world, but how about spending Halloween in the land of Dracula? We’ll turn the darkest holiday in the calendar into the craziest adventure and face the famous and fierce Agora of Thrones with courage and high spirits!”

This was the text that attracted the 11 participants to spend five days in Cluj-Napoca and experience life in the heart of Transylvania. Karaoke night, city tour, guided visit of the oldest cemetery in the city, pub crawling, scary European Night and Dracula Party were only a few of the things on the schedule prepared for the event.

On the first day, the participants were greeted with warm welcomes and a funny welcome package. The organisers wanted everybody to feel the Halloween spirit right from the start, so besides the map of the city, the schedule of the event, and a badge, each participant received some scary eye-shaped candy and a clove of garlic, to protect them from the vampires of Transylvania.

By far, one of the most popular activities was the “Pumpkin carving workshop”, held right before the scary European Night. The organisers provided some nice and big pumpkins and some sharp knives, while the participants got to show their creativity. The first few cuts were the hardest, but the concentrated faces of the carvers were great material for some very funny pictures. Once the top of the pumpkin was off, people got more into it, and all sort of funny, scary, and happy faces appeared. By the end of the workshop, 15 Halloween pumpkins were proudly decorating the basement where the European Night took place.

Timely to the Halloween theme, we had the most amazing pumpkin carving workshop. Most of us had never carved pumpkins before and though it was a lot more demanding than one would think (raw strength was needed!) everyone got to express their creativity and the results were, well, not that scary, but definitely fun! (Heini Myllylä, AEGEE-Helsinki)

The evening started with all the participants presenting the products they brought from their countries. Dressed in scary costumes and in the light of our new decorations, we got to taste stroopwafels, salmiakki, pufuleţi, Italian wine, Turkish rakı, and much more. 

The European Night had a special spooky Halloween theme. We decorated the cavernous basement of the hostel with pumpkins we had already carved in the afternoon, to make the setting as atmospheric as possible for the night. An old phonograph playing a record with live songs from The Beatles made everything even more perfect, as from the outside people could probably only hear the screams of the girls in the band’s audience, making it sound like people were being killed in the basement during the European Night. (Koen Berghuis, AEGEE-Utrecht)

The event ended with one last memorable party – Dracula Party. Everybody got dressed as well and as creative as they could and we all went out to celebrate Halloween one day earlier. The night continued with another fun karaoke contest in the club where we went dancing. In the early hours of the morning we went back to the hostel, only to find that we were not tired yet and that we still had so much more to talk about.

Halloween in Transylvania – the unique way to feel and enjoy it is AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca: unforgettable memories, the best parties, rich and colourful cultural programme, everything that one participant could want was collected in one place… Big thanks to the organisers who changed the boring reality to a nice and funny Tim Burton movie. (Cafer Saatchi, AEGEE-Sofia)

The event came to an end too quickly and before we knew it, the participants and AEGEE Cluj-Napoca’s Agora delegation had to catch the bus to Budapest. With sleepy eyes and no mood to leave, bags were packed, goodbyes were said and people parted ways, until some other event would offer the chance of a reunion.

Fantastic event, it was so nice to meet old friends again (mostly AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca members) and make new ones. I learned that AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca has only got fantastic and charismatic members (I wonder if you hide the others in cellars or kick them out of your antenna…) and that Finnish people wake up in the middle of the night if you say words like “Beer!” or “ Vodka!”, as they seem to be the only people who play drinking games alone… Miss you all! (Thomas Müller, AEGEE- Konstanz)

Written by Sabina Guja, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

Photos by Sabina Guja, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca, and Koen Berghuis, AEGEE-Utrecht

 

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