How to Intermate

Finally, after a long 1,5 years of studying at home, the Internaat is now bruising with people again. There are a lot of similar faces, but also a lot of new faces. Intermate is a lot of fun for everyone, and in its 38 years of existence some great traditions have been born, even though they can seem quite strange to some. To get you familiar with Intermate as quickly as possible, this article will tell a lot about what happens in the life of an Intermate member.

Committees

As you may have seen in the Internaat, there is an enormous board hanging saying “Commissiebord”. Intermate has a lot of different committees, so there is definitely something to do for everyone! Committees add a lot to the association. Events are planned, merchandise or posters are designed, several dishes are cooked or baked, or sometimes the board is supported by giving Intermate its identity!

TostCie Tuesdays

One of these committees is the TostCie. People outside Intermate often question why we have a committee dedicated to making tosti’s, but every Tuesday the Internaat is packed with hungry members urging to get their hands on a delicious tosti while enjoying the tunes of Tosti by Huub Hangop and Magic Mamaliga by OMFO, which are the only 2 songs that the TostCie blasts in that hour. Every other week, the TostCie also makes delicious special tosti’s, such as tosti cheeseburger and tosti pebrito!

Thursday drinks

On Thursday, the Intermaatjes often are very thirsty. No worries, because every Thursday, Intermate organizes a drink!. Since many Intermaten are not that big a fan of normal beers, mostly craft beers are sold. That’s why we hide our Hertog Jan under the counter, and we have big fridges full of delicious craft beers in sight. Fun fact, try and order a Hertog Jan at Intermate, you will see what happens…

After-Intro

The introduction week is one of the most fun weeks of the year, but After-Intro is probably one of the most fun weekends of the year. All first-years sleeping at one giant terrain, sitting around the campfire, doing fun games like Blikbutsen, what’s more to like? Traditionally the weekend starts on Friday with the committee round, where all committees have set up a game dedicated towards their committee. Parents and kiddos will walk around the forest playing these games and drinking wine. On Saturday traditionally a cantus takes place, whereafter each kiddo and parent will have lost their voice singing Intermate classics.

AC-parties

Three times a year, it is time for big dress-up parties which are organized by the AC-Team, the activity committee. AC-Parties can be recognized easily by titles with three-word alliterations, such as Tremendous Travel Trip or Fabulous Fairytale Fever! At the first party of the year, new freshmen can also win a nice prize, by dressing up in the best way possible together with their intro group which were formed in the Introweek. However, all Intermate members love to show their creative dressing-up skills during these parties, so winning this price can be quite a challenge sometimes!

Excursions

Intermate also has a lot of different excursions throughout the year. There are several committees dedicated to excursions. The SExCie organizes a small trip of one day towards a nice Dutch city, for example, Utrecht or Amsterdam, etc. They also organize a weekend trip towards a close-by city over the Dutch borders, like Lille for example. Then we have the AFExCie, who goes even further away with a trip of a week towards a big European city, such as Riga or Barcelona! If you still feel like traveling longer, Study Tour trips are your thing. The Study Tour organizes a big trip of three weeks, every two years. For this trip, you will have to do a case study, to get funding, but then you will also be able to explore the likes of for example Malaysia or Singapore! However, these are not all the excursion committees, we also have our very own LiftCie. They organize their excursion a bit differently, as they organize a hitchhiking competition to a close-by European city.

DIES

As with everything, Intermate also celebrates birthdays! They will celebrate their 38^th birthday already on the 16^th of November! This will be a big day, with several activities throughout the day. Think in terms of eating cake, Bob Ross painting tutorials, a Birthday drink, and a fantastic party in the evening!

BATA

Intermaatjes are also quite sportive. We have the InterT.E.A.M. committee, and each year we compete in the Dutch Batavierenrace (also called BATA), which is a relay race for students, with lots of people! We even like the BATA so much, that in corona times, Intermate organized their own BATA against Simon Stevin! At the BATA, there are often two types of teams: The fanatic runners who can run very hard and long, and the beer team, who are mostly there for the afterparty.

Internaat atmosphere

Of course, such a beautiful association could not exist without its own member space. Every day there are lots of members coming here for a coffee and chat. If you feel like puzzling, you are at the right place, because the NRC puzzle ‘In het midden’ is always being solved at some time during the day. Puzzling is not your thing? No worries, there are also always people playing at the foosball table. Intermate has special rules: half points for scoring with the midfield or when the ball changes direction. You will never lose because of a shitty goal, the last goal has to be whole points. If your opponent scores 10 goals straight in a row, you have to crawl below the table. If you lose by 10-1, you will have to buy a beer for your opponent, granted the bar is open at that time. If you feel like you are better than people playing at the table, just slap on the table, this means that you want to challenge the winner! Be careful, however, some Intermaatjes have spent years training in the Internaat. To complete the atmosphere in the Internaat, some members have created their own games. Some members are especially enthusiastic about the Icegames or Ketelgames. If you want to know what they are about, ask some of the older members, you will most likely be invited to take part in the games…