“Well, interview us in a bit; we're going to do something illegal first”, says Finn Anton Vellikok. Though to us it doesn’t seem very illegal to bombard other groups with glitters because you have just been shot with water guns, we will keep our lips sealed.

The intro mamas are happy with their group. Correction: the intro papas. Sanne van Wijk and Wietske Bleijjenberg did not know in advance who the mommy and who the daddy should be ("The role of mum in the intro seemed a bit duller") and they decided both to be the father. (“Which is kind of good speaking of diversity, right?"), hence the ties around their necks. They still have to get used to their new role, because when an intro kid calls them 'dad' it takes a while before they react. He states the undoubtedly most asked question this week: "Dad, what are we going to do now?"

The broomsticks come from Action: the intro kids have mops attached to them and the dads have the 'more expensive version' with brooms. Painting the broomsticks combined with a round of the newspaper game were a good way to get to know each other. They have to be careful that the broomsticks are not stolen, because they turn out to be beloved items. In a separate bag they have everything that is already 'stolen'. "Our kids are good at it," the dads chuckle.

Pretty goofy

The group Steen (stone) consists of all sorts of nationalities; some Dutch, two Bulgarians, two Romanians and a Finn. We start with Dutchman Erik Feis: "The brooms are pretty nice, but difficult to take with you and you can easily lose them." Then we have the Romanian Andrei Roncea, who arrived Friday and experienced the intro so far as "pretty goofy”, which he certainly means in a positive way. "The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed." Vasil Shteriyanov is from Bulgaria and unfortunately does not feel completely fit, so it may well be that he crawls into his hotel bed later today. Wouter Burgt (from Veghel) and Paul ter Rele ("Did you write Paul Rele? The word ‘ter’ should be inserted.”) And then there is a Romanian, Tudor Voicu and another Bulgarian: Ivan Yordanov. "Whether I speak a lot with the other Bulgarians in Bulgarian? As little as possible, I am also here to make contact with others. "

You can ask Finn Anton Vellikok 'What's your name' and 'How are you doing' in Dutch, because he recently finished the beginners level of a Dutch course. He may have to work a bit on his pronunciation, but that will probably work out well during this week. "I can manage well in the grocery shop."

First steps

Carl Uptegrove also feels comfortable with his group on Monday: "I'm definitely going to make friends here." But sitting all the time is not the intention during the intro, at least not for this group. "Ooh, they started frisbeeing by themselves”, the dads call out enthusiastically." Anton Vellikok, grinning: "Yes, your children are taking their first steps!" And of course they keep the broomsticks steady. “Will we be playing Quidditch? What a good idea!"

Meanwhile, the dads talk about the challenges they can face to earn 'currencies'. Not only do they have the crazy88 that is intro-wide; they also have their own assignments within GEWIS. If those will get them into Cursor as well is not sure yet, but they are going to try to get points with this interview. What they can do with it, according to the dads, does not matter. It is all about 'doing things outside of your comfort zone'. And this group knows that all too well.

Each day this week, Cursor publishes an interview  with one of the intro-groups. This is the first one.