Incase you're not familiar with who Huntu is or the purpose of Huntu, let me briefly enlighten you. Huntu is a community created by Ank Greijmans as a "home away from home" for students of the Dutch Caribbean islands that attend Hogeschool Arnhem/ Nijmegen.
Transitioning from Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, St.Maarten, St.Eustatius or Saba to The Netherlands can be challenging, but there's nothing challenging when you have the support of a community, of your OWN community! English, Dutch and Papiamento......'WE ARE HERE WITH YOU' 'WE ZIJN HIER BIJ U' 'NOS TA AKI KU ABO'.
On April 19th 2017 the Huntu community organized a game night at the HAN Campus in Arnhem. There were new faces, there were familiar faces, and there were known faces. If you were outside looking in, if you were inside looking in, you'd think that everyone were already familiar with one another.
Positive energy, beautiful faces, big smiles....all these aspects set just the right vibe, the right atmosphere! Now...we all know just how captivating the internet is, how distracting it is, how anti-social it can make one, BUT at this event, everyone were too distracted by the fun and socializing to be bothered with the internet. (Huntu +1 - Internet - 0).
The windows were cracked open, the intensity was building in the room, it was game time.....it was COMPETITION TIME! There wasn't a clock in the room, but I just knew it was time.
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| FUNNNNNNNNNNNN!! |
In this community we're all one, so we competed as one. Not country vs. country, but team vs. team! There were several teams created for the game night, each team consisting of members of the different islands......when the teams were set, it was game ON!
The night started off with a warm up quiz which was created on Kahoot. This quiz tested everyone's general knowledge on the various Dutch Caribbean islands along with knowledge of The Netherlands. I think that this quiz thought every person something new about each other's home.
After the quiz, it was straight into the team wars!!!!!
The intensified competition started with a team guiding game. Each team had to completely mummify 1 of their teammates, completely meaning their eyes as well. When this was done, the teams had to guide their blind mummified teammate through a constructed obstacle course with verbal instructions only. The race was on!! Some mummies forgot which left is left and which right is left. Hahaha, confusing right? I know!! That's exactly how it looked after seeing some of the mummies walking into tables and chairs, because between being blind and their teammates confusing them, they started to confuse themselves. It was definitely a perfect start for the night.
After game 1, we dove straight into games 2, 3, 4 and (I don't think that you want me to continue counting, I think you get the point!). We played different games such as; back-to-back balloon relay race, getting an Oreo from your forehead INTO your mouth without the use of your hands or help (Yesssssssss, take a second and just imagine doing this!), planting your face into a plate of m&ms covered with whip cream trying to grab as many m&ms as you can using only your mouth (that was some messyyyyy fun!), to an intensified game of dominos, to the world championship game of UNO (not really the championships, but you know how intense a game of UNO can get), and many other games.
I can tell you as living proof......the atmosphere was intense, social, fun....it was PERFECT!
After the quiz, it was straight into the team wars!!!!!
The intensified competition started with a team guiding game. Each team had to completely mummify 1 of their teammates, completely meaning their eyes as well. When this was done, the teams had to guide their blind mummified teammate through a constructed obstacle course with verbal instructions only. The race was on!! Some mummies forgot which left is left and which right is left. Hahaha, confusing right? I know!! That's exactly how it looked after seeing some of the mummies walking into tables and chairs, because between being blind and their teammates confusing them, they started to confuse themselves. It was definitely a perfect start for the night.
After game 1, we dove straight into games 2, 3, 4 and (I don't think that you want me to continue counting, I think you get the point!). We played different games such as; back-to-back balloon relay race, getting an Oreo from your forehead INTO your mouth without the use of your hands or help (Yesssssssss, take a second and just imagine doing this!), planting your face into a plate of m&ms covered with whip cream trying to grab as many m&ms as you can using only your mouth (that was some messyyyyy fun!), to an intensified game of dominos, to the world championship game of UNO (not really the championships, but you know how intense a game of UNO can get), and many other games.
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| Rules? Just 1. NO HANDS!!!!! |
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| I'll clean my face, but first......SMILE FOR THE CAMERA!! |
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| I think this would be easier if I put my beer down! |
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| We love games, but we love food way more! |
Friends got closer, strangers became friends, the community grew! This is what it's all about. Unity, growth, togetherness, smiles and fun!!!!
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| Yes...yes.....YESSSS!!!! |
But of course before the night was over, we were reminded that there's no party without food........without having some typical Dutch Caribbean party snacks. Pastechi with beef, chicken, meat or saltfish inside, Johnny cakes with cheese, fried cheese balls. Every bite was a gateway to a brief memory of being in the Caribbean...of being HOME! It was definitely great way to solidify a taste of home.
I'm definitely looking forward to a another HUNTU experience, I'm definitely looking forward to meeting YOU, whoever you are, wherever YOU are. Come and experience great memories with us!
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| Everyone is smiling so I'll just be serious. |
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| Big smiles! |
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| The face you make when you finally get a picture. |
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| Danilo....Why so serious?? Hahaha |
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