Potluck, Yes Chat and Boos & Booze

Potluck Picnic in the Park

The excitement and nerves of the first-year students were slowly subsiding as it was the fourth day of the academic year. Everyone started finding their way around classes and the city but had yet to meet all of their fellow students. What better way to do that than having a potluck picnic in the park?

The park was busy, yet we found a nice spot to spread our blankets. We sat in between the lake, the canal and the little red bridge. Once everyone was comfortable, it was time to bring the snacks out! Everyone brought their favourite summer dishes: there were tons of fruits, crisps, vegetables, spreads and much more.

Of course, we did not forget about hydration as the temperatures reached very high that day. Beer and wine were abundant, and for the people that actually wanted to hydrate themselves, there was plentiful soda and water.

After some good talks in between the snacking, we decided it was time for something active: dodgeball! Throwing balls with lots of water around, what could go wrong? Yep, the ball landed in the canal - multiple times. The first time was my fault, sorry guys. Luckily some brave people in our midst managed to get them out. The only things they needed were a very long stick and several people holding on to them so they wouldn’t fall into the water, no biggie.

We stayed in the park until dusk and then agreed to prolong the evening by going into town, where we had a few more drinks and danced until it was time to go home. A very successful first event of the year, if you ask me. I talked to some amazing people that day whom I can’t wait to spend the upcoming four years with.

No Cheat, Yes Chat

In the middle of the first quarter, Essence had a nice meet-up at Ned Kelly’s Australian pub in Breda – together with some of the teachers of ESSET.

The idea behind that event was that students and teachers could get to know each other better out of school.

The event started at 6.30 PM and as the time went on, more and more teachers, as well as students, arrived. As it was the second Essence event, the members that arrived received a small welcome gift, which was a reusable Essence coffee cup and a bag (thanks to our sponsor Lybrae!). Besides that, teachers as well as the members had the opportunity to get the third drink they bought for free. It was really nice to chat with everyone and to get to know each other a bit better!

All in all, it was a great event to meet the teachers outside of school. Thank you to all who joined in and big thanks to our amazing ESSET teachers!

Boos & Booze

It was the 27th of October and ESSET students had just finished their final exams of the quarter. Some thought the scariest part of their week was over, but boy were they wrong: it was time for the long-awaited Boos & Booze party.

The party was held at Coyote, a familiar place for many students. The doors opened at 9:30 PM and students slowly started streaming in. Upon entry, they immediately noticed something- the place had a spooky vibe. It was filled with witches, skeletons, spiders of enormous size and everything else not-so-nice.

Essence members got a free welcome shot, which was served right next to a severed bloody leg. A fake one, I must say. We don’t want to get a lawsuit on our hands. This reminds me, there was also a severed bloody hand on the table. Also fake.

The dancing juices started flowing after a few drinks and the talking made way for cheering around the beer-pong table. The cheers were -unfortunately- not for me since I didn’t hit a cup once, but congratulations to the winners!

Speaking about winning, what’s a Halloween party without a costume contest? Students had to pick a colour and build a costume around that colour, I went for black (as did many others) and went as Queen of Spiders. I think it is safe to say arachnophobes did not vote me for best costume. Despite that, a few others and I won the contest. The prize: two free drinks. I was very content.

Long story short: the night was full of (beer-pong) tricks and (alcoholic) treats and was an overall spook-tacular party.