Pictures from 2006 Ghent IP, Part Two (or: The French Soirée)

During the first few days of the IP in Ghent, students from the various schools (and countries) were keeping mostly to themselves. The American students all ate together and sat together, and same for the French, and Polish, etc. I am not complaining about this. I think it is normal. I think that it is human nature to gravitate towards that with which you are most comfortable. And in this case, it was people who spoke the same native language as you, and had similar backgrounds. My concern is that the situation would not change for the entire two weeks, and everyone would go home having met very few new people.

The organizers of the IP didn't set up any social function, or mixer, or obvious time set aside for the students to meet each other. Something that I was used to having in similar programs was the forced (or at least, expected) interaction time set aside for people to stand around uncomfortably and eventually start talking to each other. At first I thought this was poor planning by the organizers. However, things worked pretty well on their own.

Since all the students were staying in the same hostel, we had ample time on our own to meet and talk in the lounge (aka, pub) on the ground floor. It was there that signs were posted for a party on the first Friday night, indicating we would meet in the lounge, and then go out afterwards for dancing, and that this party was brought by "The French students, and the Spanish girl".

That was all it took to get people to come. I took some photos of students in the lounge. Here are the backs of everybody's heads as students began interacting with one another:
The talking, listening, and sharing of ideas increased quickly. Here is Matthieu pausing from a lively conversation to look into the camera, while Aga looks into the distance, lost in thought:
The turnout was tremendous, and many students met each other and talked, having only exchanged awkward glances before. Here two Lithuanian students, Egle and Vida, pause to smile for a photo:
There were so many students in the lounge that seating was limited. In this photo, Kerry from the U.S. sits in a small chair in the center of the circle. He is clearly enjoying his fine Belgian beer:
Students from the U.S. displayed their ability to look and smile in unison at a camera. Some are even holding up their drinks as if to toast the successful evening:
After some time, it was suggested that the party move to a louder and darker location (aka, to go dancing). The group of students left the hostel, and made the most of the night. I have no photos of this, but if somebody has some they'd like to share, feel free to e-mail them to me.

Also, if anyone can give me tips on making links to large images for the photos, I would be most grateful. It would be nice to have some bigger images.