CW Chu College The Chinese University of Hong Kong eNewsletter

The Dutch Cultural Night, hosted by Prof Evelyn CHAN, Chair of the Committee on College Life, Prof Tjonnie LI, Member of the Committee on College Life and three College exchange students from Dutch universities, was held on 9 April 2019, to introduce students to Dutch culture, history, geography, society and language. Prof CHAN and Prof LI had each lived in the Netherlands for many years, and therefore knew much about the country.

To engage more students to join the event, the exchange students, Ms Amelie Mia FRIEDSAM, Ms Silvia GROTHE I RIERA and Ms Isabelle Amber TABAK, did promotion during the communal dinner right before the event. Silvia and Isabelle dressed in traditional Zeeland costumes featuring delicate white lace caps and made an announcement on stage; while Amelie painted her College mates' faces in the colours of the Dutch national flag.

The Cultural Night started with a presentation by the three exchange students on different aspects about the Netherlands. Participants learnt about the country through an interesting cultural quiz. The participants were also taught some basic phrases and sentences in Dutch. After the presentation, Mr Andre Eduard GRUBER, an Italian exchange student studying in the Netherlands, shared about his university and daily episodes in the country.

One highlight of the event was a traditional Dutch game called koekhappen (bite-the-cake), in which pieces of Dutch cake were hung from a string, and the blindfolded participants attempted to bite and eat the cake without using their hands. Ten students played the game in two groups. The three students who finished their cakes the fastest won and were each presented a tote bag printed with a van Gogh painting as the prize.

The event was graced with the presence of Mr Ronald MASSINK and his helpers from Perfect Dutch Food. They had prepared five kinds of Dutch cheeses, Dutch herring and smoked mackerel, as well as Dutch red and white wine for the event. Before the food and drinks were served, Mr MASSINK introduced the participants to the origins of different kinds of Dutch cheeses and the differences among them.

The most awaited part of the event was the tasting session of Dutch food and drinks. In addition to the Dutch cheeses, fish and wine, what caught the participants' eyes most were a variety of Dutch snacks and packet drinks, such as bitterballen (meatballs), frikandel (deep-fried sausages), beschuit met muisjes (rusk with candied anise seeds), stroopwafels (syrup waffles), snert (pea soup), Fristi yoghurt drinks and Dutch milk.

The event drew around 50 participants, including local, non-local and exchange students, College teachers and staff.