In December, we invited students and staff through newsletters and social media, as well as personally through confidential advisers and student counsellors. There was plenty of interest: whereas 50 people registered to attend in 2021, the number of registrations for 2022 was more than 500! This was far more than expected and underlines the strong demand for such an event.

We noticed that 90% of registrations came from international students, many of them from China. Many people attended on their own and knew nobody else there. It was wonderful to see people mingling and having a laugh together at the communal tables.

Warm welcome and live music

After an introduction by Jopie Nooren, Chair of the AUAS Executive Board, there were further warm words of welcome for the guests from China and Ukraine by a Chinese volunteer and a Ukrainian student. Next, it was on to the buffet of dishes from various international cuisines. Lecturer Binnert de Beaufort’s live piano accompaniment made the lunch even more festive.

A groovy bingo

We rounded off the afternoon with a groovy game of music bingo. The attendees formed pairs who had to complete a bingo card with a number of songs on it. There were several great prizes for the winners, such as board games and cinema tickets.

We even saw a dance battle between various tables during the song Gangnam Style by PSY and there were mobile phone lights around the room when Angel by Robbie Williams came on.

All in all, it was a triumphant afternoon! Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped make this such a resounding success.

This was the fourth time Facility Services organised a lunch on 26 December for AUAS and UvA students and staff. This year’s lunch was organised by Irmgard van Genderen, Guido Meijer, Jeroen Frieser, Pieter Mendelts, Martijn Nagtegaal and Carina van Uffelen. If you have any questions, you can send us an email at holidaylunch-fs@hva.nlExternal link.