Day 128: Farewell Potluck

Sunday, May 23, 2010: Tilburg, Netherlands

One of my fondest memories of my last days in Tilburg prior to our trip to the U.K. was the farewell picnic planned and organized by our dear friend, Shaun, from South Africa. He created a Facebook event inviting all the exchange students who were still in Tilburg to cook a dish (native to their home) and bring it this Sunday evening to a potluck where we would all gather one last time and wish each other good bye before heading home for good.

After suggesting the picnic be held outdoors, Shaun and some of the guys moved tables down the stairs outside the front of Verbs 90 building. We brought some blankets and spread them across the ground to provide cozy seating. The air was crisp, the sun was shining and the weather was cool. It was another beautiful spring day in Tilburg! Everyone gathered soon after the time the potluck was to begin, carrying with them yummy dishes for everyone to try.

With the prompting of a ravenous Mateja, Shaun began opening the dishes (which had been falsely labeled by Daniel as other things). We each took a plate and loaded it with various creations from across the globe. Quite an international picnic! I took my plate and sat over with the girls (Bali and Mateja of course!) on the blankets we had brought. Martha and Kelly pulled up a blanket beside us, as they had been out tanning earlier and came over to check out the picnic.

I had fixed deviled eggs (typically American, right!?!) for the picnic, while Mateja had made polenta and Bali a veggie pasta with a soy sauce. Everything was yummy! The meal ended with a scrumptious dessert. Shaun had made a chocolate coconut cake (not sure how its spelled in English, but it is ježki in Slovenian, according to Mateja, in case that helps!). Jen Davies (Canada), a girl from my hall, brought chocolate dipped strawberries....yum!

Towards the end of the picnic, some people from Verbs 48 showed up carrying a couch they had found earlier in a junk pile. They plopped it on the ground and enjoyed some food and visited with us for awhile before picking it up and taking it back to 48. Sounds crazy, but was totally hilarious at the time!

So we enjoyed an incredible meal, made perfect by the awesome company! This was such a nice way to wrap up the semester and I was so thankful that Shaun put this all together!

And I am not sure where to include this necessarily, so I am just going to tack it on the end of the potluck blogpost. One of our favorite ways to enjoy the sunshine in Tilburg was to lay out on the grass either  on campus or outside our Verbs and study. It was nice to experience the warmth of the sun after so many months of horrible coldness!

One afternoon, I ventured over to 90 where Bali fixed us her famous iced coffee and some nice pasta. We then headed down via bike to campus where we laid out for an hour or so and studied for finals. It was a great way to relax with a friend and get some studying in. Plus the weather was just amazing, so we got to enjoy the sun and shine! I will never forget these times in Tilburg. I can close my eyes and imagine laying on a blanket again outside of Verbs with a glass of iced coffee....perfection!