Kanyana
for 2016
“That Brotherhood May Prevail”
Editor By Shanygne Davis Wait! Hang on a sec. Don’t turn the page! You can’t just jump right into the yearbook without a little warm-up first!
yours is cuter, more playful, more important than any other. They become your No.1. A bond like that cannot be shaken. In college we call this brotherhood.
To paraphrase from my seriously underappreciated friend, Wikipedia: “ a yearbook is something published annually to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or college”
If this is your first time, you better sit yourself down for some emotional fireworks. Why? Because just like your fresher year, this book is gonna be a roller-coaster. Think RE nights. Movie nights. Squad ville trips. Not-soclassy drinking at Bara Khana – Time to finally realise it is actually pronounced “BOR-a Khana.”
Are you ready for that? This is not just a casual flickthrough where you are like “oh, right. This happened...” This Kanyana holds memories. Your memories. The oncoming barrage of photos, thank you’s, and goodbye messages that fill these pages are for you, for you and everyone else who call IH home. Being in college is like owning a pet. Before-hand, all pets cute and adorable; but only after taking that big step to getting to know a single one do you realise that
You may be returning for another year, just stepped out into the real world, or are looking back on this with pure nostalgia. But no matter where you are, IH is a part of you, and you could never have prepared yourself for the year 2016. Now, are you ready to turn the page?
3 Things No One Told Me Before Having Kids In February 2012, I became a dad for the first time. My wife and I welcomed our son, Noah into this world. Eli was born 22 months later in April 2014. I’ve noticed nothing prepares you for parenthood. So my endeavour is to share three of the things I have learnt since becoming a dad that no one told me.
1. Say Goodbye to Sleep Pre parenthood, you definitely take somethings for granted, like sleep (and even reading a book). You go to bed when you want and wake up when you feel like it. People without kids often tell me how tired they are. When they do, something yells in the inside of me……”You have no idea!” Yet we continue to smile and suffer insomnia in silence. Let me encourage you (when you read this article in 10 to 15 years’ time), it does get better. But be careful, soon enough, just when you are getting back to normal sleep pattern, the question will sneak up on you, “So… When are going to have another one?”
2. Say Goodbye to Social Outings Leaving the house becomes a major mission. Your feel like you are carrying enough supplies to cross the Sahara Dessert. Outings are rushed between sleep times and play dates. You spend a majority of nights at home and take it in turns to go out with friends or to go exercise. Your car boot instantly becomes too small and don’t get me started on packing for holidays. You are “those people” in the Café, the supermarket and don’t get me started with airplane trips. Yet, we soldier on, all the while humming The Wiggles.
3. Say Goodbye to Selfishness I can’t explain this, but I love my kids like nothing else. They make my day when I see them in the morning and in the evening after work. I also wouldn’t trade anything for the complexities that they have added to our lives. When I watch them communicate with each other and Noah telling Eli that he is his best friend, something inside me melts with sheer joy. You realise that every second of lost sleep, every dollar they cost you, every challenge you face, every sacrifice you make, is all worth it. Let us remember the sacrifices that your parents have made and the opportunities they have given you. My advice is to acknowledge your parents sacrifices by calling or even sending them a text message asking them how their day was or telling them a little about your day.
President
T
and muffins. It was more than enough to make us greedy college kids eat until our tummies burst. For those with a more savoury palate, vegemite scrolls, From the very start, our extremely passionate and excited 2016 executive committee were set abuzz sausage rolls, meat pies and other party favourites were catered to their liking. It was a very serene and peaceful in anticipation of the year ahead. The excitement was afternoon, as we cozied up in blankets, relaxing on I– overflowing. We simply could not wait for our vision and our ideas to materialise! We knew that it was going plaza and enjoying the treats prepared by our to be a fantastic year – but everything has exceeded our wonderful Sunday Supper Girls and their hardworking team. expectations.
he year has swept by in a whirlwind.
Remember how people used to taunt us for our, *ahem*, lack of sporting success? Well all these years of playing the underdog was really an elaborate ploy. Lead by our athletic Sports reps, our year began with a streak of golden success. As usual, we came first in badminton and first in table tennis. This was followed by an “unexpected” third place finish at the ICC Swimming Carnival. And yes, it meant that IH were the ICC sports champion for a little while! Our volleyball girls also brought home the champion title for the third year in a row. The number of residents trying sports they’ve never heard of, and the amount of supporters in merch cheering at events have also been spectacular! In short, Our first major event was Bandfest – the iconic IH event it has been a remarkable year in the sporting arena and known to be the biggest and best music show on not one to be forgotten anytime soon. campus. Our amazing convenors worked hard to coordinate everything. Under their leadership, our back Our strength in cultural activities have been continued carpark was transformed into a thumping performance with our Culturals leading the charge. With their creativity and superb organisational skills, they have arena for the night – fit for even the biggest names in whipped together hordes of spirited debaters, Hollywood. The atmosphere was intoxicating as energetic crowds flooded through our gates decked out entrancing choralists, transformative performers and skilful dancers. With such an impressive selection of in unique tie-dyed Bandfest shirts. Mouth-watering skill, it was no surprise when we came second in snacks from the food truck were hungrily devoured, debating – technically first since we were given such an while mobs of people danced away to the spectacular uphill argument to begin with! At each and every live music performances on offer. performance, our Housies have dazzled us with their At our Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, the most delectable treats were on offer – unlimited amounts of scrumptious cupcakes, cookies, milkshakes, jam drops Straight off the bat, O-Week was a massive success thanks to the meticulous planning by our O-Week girls. With more breakfast and dinner exchanges than ever before, our freshers were given the opportunity to make friends from every other college. Of course, this also gave our guys a chance to see that no doubt, IH is definitely the better college. Our super sporty freshers also managed to bring home the very first F.R.O.T.H Olympics trophy, putting us on both Grace and Cromwell’s radar as tough ICC competitors to look out for. With such awesome additions to our Housie family, we were ready to face the year ahead.
hidden talents and artistic finesse. It is this level of enthusiasm and daringness that we love to see and continue to nurture at IH, and it couldn’t have been better displayed than throughout this year.
few! Not only were the attendance rates phenomenal, our cross cultural nights continue to serve as the cornerstone for our IH way of life.
This has been such a memorable year, and it has been Housies also made sure to set aside enough time to get the most thrilling of rides. It is a wonderful note to end to know one another. The atmosphere on the social my IH journey on, but none of this would be the same scene was welcoming, with new faces always appearing without my executive committee. From fun moments of at exchanges and wild nights out. The biggest event on uncontrollable laughter, to more “adult-like” discussions the social scene was by far our Roaring Twenties Gala of super duper important matters, our time on the Ball. It was a glamorous evening with everyone dressed executive committee was a mixture of unforgettable to the nines for the joyous occasion. The night of classy moments. No matter what challenges were thrown at elegance was followed by a day of colourful REcovery to us, we were able to work through it together. We have make sure we left the weekend feeling REfreshed, and undoubtedly grown during the year, and you should all REady to tackle university once more. be proud of what you have achieved. We have succeeded in leaving our mark and creating a unique We also celebrated and learnt about different cultures experience for our residents in 2016. with regular cross-cultural events. Diversity was a key theme with exploration of a wide range of cultures and So thank you to everyone for such an incredible year. I activities. Our cross-cultural representative successfully wish you all the best for the rest of your IH journey. ran a Diwali festival, Day of the Dead Evening, Lu’au, By Jacqui Chiu French film night, Mid-Autumn festival – just to name a
Vice President “All right stop, collaborate and listen.”– Right from the get-go, the year of 2016 was already looking promising when 130+ freshers walked through the gates of IH on the first day of O-Week sem 1. The teamwork, leadership, and close friendships that I’ve seen form throughout the year are exactly why it’s taken me a good three years to say goodbye to this place. Summing up the year is never an easy feat but in true Housie spirit, I will try my very best.
For the first time in forever the right amount of college photos were ordered.
And you also got the most amount of free merch that’s ever been given away in IH history (I actually don’t know but probably).
Thanks again to everyone who made this year as great as it was. I’m truly going to miss every single one of you. IH homes some of the kindest, loving, and most accepting individuals I’ve ever met and these past three years of New and old residents started the year with new ideas; living here will most definitely not be forgotten. My two innovations beyond comprehension. As chairman of the years on exec have been the best two years of my life as General Committee I was able to see many of these ideas of yet and I’m so incredibly excited for next year’s Vice materialise as well as the pride and accomplishment from President and everyone else who has decided to take on the people who organised them. Our very own Michelle such an wonderful opportunity. Graulty revolutionised Bandfest with the addition of food trucks and marketing techniques like no other. Our charity queen, Georgia Pontifex, slayed the scene with an alBe kind, live unapologetically, and always remember to most $600 raised in the exec auction alone! Most notably drink lots of water. though, our O-Week girls Tricia Tatel and Danielle Ng deYour Vice Vice Baby, livered two unforgettable O-Weeks which I’m sure many Jakob Perrett of you enjoyed. Now we may not always be triumphant in the ICC cup, but the presence of a loving and dedicated community (as demonstrated above) is definitely something to be proud about. “Ice is back with my brand new invention.” – In terms of my role, we’ve seen many changes that I’ve done my best to implement throughout the year, including: New merch designs including a groovy new baseball style logo on the snapbacks and leavers tanks and the aerodynamic stripes adorning the personalised tanks (which are super slimming and legit make you go 10x faster I swear) welcomed their way into your merch loving hands. The introduction of the new online merch store made ordering soooo much easier and made finalising orders a breeze (I only broke down once!).
ICC Social After a great year as IH social in 2015, ICC Social seemed like the perfect role for me. This year IH’s role on the Inter-College Council (ICC) was as one half of the Social team along with Doug from Cromwell (who?). The biggest goal this year was to bring back ICC Ball. April 22nd was the big day as ICC had its first Ball since 2010 – The Unpredictaball. With over 550 people in attendance, it was the biggest college ball of the year and arguably one of the best. With superb entertainment, delectable food dishes and free flow drinks all night, it was one to remember (or not). ICC Socials are normally renowned for their O-week 2.0 event that kicks off Semester 2. This year’s theme was ‘An All Australian Affair’ held at the Woolly Mammoth located in the Valley. With both a DJ and Band playing all night, accompanied with an extensive drink package and all colleges present – it was guaranteed to be a good night, and it surely was. The last duty of an ICC social is to organise the infamous All College Exchanges (ACEs). These have always been a challenge in the past as coordinating potentially over 1000 drunk college kids was never easy. Despite this they were a big hit this year with venues for the ACEs this year including: The MET, Fridays, Birdees and the Normanby. The ICC as a whole has been very successful this year with 2016 marking the creation of the Official ICC Facebook page. It has been an absolute pleasure to be on the committee and work with such a great team. On a personal note, I would like to thank everyone apart of the ICC and everyone who supported me in completing the unthinkable – back-to-back social years. This is Den signing out for the last time; thank you IH for an incredible 3 years, I will miss you dearly. By Josef Den Miklavc
Board Of Management Residents, college, alumni and administration alike – 2016 has been an amazing year for International House. It is hard to pin point a moment in college which you could say that was your defining moment – because the hidden beauty behind IH is that we all create many wonderful memories that you will cherish forever. Friends in which you have met three months ago feels like someone you have known for years. Words can never describe your experience, and I don't think it will ever will. Although we may go our separate ways in the end, we are forever connected by the times we have shared together. Remember to stay connected with each other, because your time as a Housie only comes once in a lifetime. Things and circumstances will change, but your memories will be there forever. Make most of your time anywhere, live the moment and remember to live the life you want. You only live once – take every opportunity you get and grasp it with an open hand. I thank you for all the moments we all have shared as Housies – no matter how small, you have made a difference in each other's life. That brotherhood may prevail. By Johnathan Chan
Secretary This has been one of the most exciting, enjoyable and challenging years I’ve had at IH, and its sad to think that this will be the last thing I write as the secretary of IHSC. I speak for everyone on the exec committee when I say, that this year would not have been the year it has, without all the hard work and participation of everyone in the college.
field.
On the cultural side of things we saw our beautiful Olivia Chan sing her heart out at college idol. We had our resident geniuses; Tricia, Amber, Tiana, Tom and Jacob (sorry if I missed someone) represent IH in chess, the highlight being Tricia winning her game against Duchesne in under 8 minutes!! Our strong cultural presence carried on through the likes of Choralfest, One Act Play and debating (in which we slayyyed). Our crossIH is such a special place, I mean, where else can you have people from different races, religions, cultures and cultural convener, Tarzan, made sure to give us a taste of all the different cultures out there, my personal ages all living happily under one roof? There is such a supportive community, if you’re feeling down; there will favorites being the Lu’au and French tabiat selasas. be housie there to pick you up. If you need help, there will always be someone there to give you some advice. This year has been filled with some unforgettable It is a place that allows you to experiment, be it with parties. Whether you went to the Thursday night new sports or with singing, and lets everyone express themselves fully, under the knowledge that they will be exchanges, that never disappoint, or the crazy Sunday RE nights, which always ended in kebabs, you’ll have to accepted no matter what. agree that this has been one of the best social years of your life. Big shout out to Tim and Tom for organizing all There have been so many highlights throughout this these incredible events. But lets not forget about Den, year that I don’t even know where to start. Sports have our very own ICC social, who bought to us the ICC ball, gone from strength to strength under the strong all the ACE exchanges and of course the All Australian guidance of Meg and Malek. In first semester we started Affair party. of with a bang, showing our prowess in the pool and winning volleyball for the third year in a row. In This has been an incredible year, and the memories addition, we had a touch players killing it on the field made will last forever. I hope you’ve enjoyed your year and we won the men’s badminton!! Our formidable teams then went on to beat Union and Emmanuel in the as much as I have! girl’s soccer, and we all got to watch our very own professional Gareth Hunt kill it (and people) on the AFL By Gabby Austin
Do you even Sport?
Female Sports 2016: We came. We saw. And we kicked its ass. But quite literally I have been more than pleasantly surprised at IH’s sporting ability over the course of this year… So let’s cast our minds back to our triumphs and ya know the other games where our aggression outweighed skill. FOR THE GURLS!
those short corner chats, especially Ida; our fab goalie’s bash of stick to metal… it was music to my ears.
We ended the semester with a dose of Water Polo, so potent you’re still recovering by the time it comes around the following year. All I can say is we tried our best to drown people less so to score goals… and I’m We started this year with those lovely early mornings on proud of that. Fripples and thighs 5eva! the tennis court, with yet another activity Nicole Ganci performs with absolute beauty and grace, I don’t know I started semester two anxious about the sporting how you do it because even a walk to class leaves me seasons ahead, and then soccer happened. Oh. My. looking like a perspiring tomato. Big shout out to the Gawd. Are you even joking guys we absolutely killed it. ladies endured the summer sun, couldn’t have done it Much thanks to Tia for convening, you continue to be a without you! legend. Rememeber that time we beat Emmanuel? Followed up we had International House favourites Table Tennis and Badminton. The Lai Van duo dazzled the crowds this year with skillz that had us all seeing double. The younger Lai Van showed off another set of skills alongside Tia and Shoko as their tremendous efforts put IH in 4th place. Props to Shoko’s stellar performance the morning after a shock midnight visit from yours truly… Sorry again. After a not so mid-sem, mid-sem we continued our sporting careers with a weekend of good ol’ touchy touchy football. A classic pre-game training sesh informed our American mates to only pass the ball backwards… a mind-blowing concept to most. Battling our way through a hot day and a dodgy AF ref led to a momentous moment (lol) when Jo ‘One Try Wonder’ Culross scored IH’s only try of the tournament, ya did good kid.
Chyea boi we will never forget. We placed 6th on the ladder this year, special mention to Danielle for her continuous optimism and infectious smile for turning my morning frown upside down. Netball like always never seems to end but thanks always to Miss Moody and Tayla for giving this old gal a break. Much love to all of you, soz for the shaky start xx
So Josh happened and I think by the end of the basketball season we had a new sense of love for him. Again I thank all of you for braving a sweaty, red face during dinner and before the RE, and extra special thanks to Diamond who never walked away despite, you’re an absolute gem (get it? Hehe) AFL can be summed up in one word. BRUTAL. I’ve definitely found a new way to release my anger.
Athletics: I’ll let you know when it happens. Hockey, the dominant sport, came later in the semester and our team took no prisoners. Two special shoutouts All in all a huge thanks to all the girls who played sport to our defence QUEENS, Michelle ‘Steamroller AKA I Promise I’m Just a Figure Skater’ Graulty for trusting in for me this year, I adore each one of you!!! my instruction to drop gals here, there and everywhere By Saucy Sports AKA Meggles and a three big cheers to Tia ‘Let Me Pretend This Ball is xx Your Head’ Reardon as her precision and anger meant IH actually got the ball into the offensive D. I will miss
Male Sports 2016 has been a crazy, fun and successful year for our IH boys. Our boys thrived in the role of being the underdogs and proved the naysayers who say IH can’t sport wrong. This is personified through our sem 1 motto “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” – Vince Lombardi Our first major ICC event, The swimming carnival, was an astounding success for the lads as we managed to place 3rd overall which is the highest in IH’s recorded history. Our team blended the perfect mix of old blood (jeremy and zebzy), new blood(james and harry), depth (relay B team ftw!) and filthy postgrads(tom and alex) in a truly legendary night.
we were on top of the ICC table three sports in and boy did we celebrate like it. Unfortunately we found out after countless beers and goon sacks that athletes don’t perform well as alcoholics so sem 2 went downhill in terms of results. Although we may have lost a lot we never lost our sense of humor or our sense of pride and continued to get back up after every defeat. Our motto for sem 2 is “trust me you can dance” -Vodka
Our basketball team spearheaded by the chanman himself won the hearts of IH through amazing displays of teamwork and passion and also THAT venky 3 pointer that sent the crowd nuts! Our AFL troopers led by our very own AFL superstar Gareth were able to experience Aussie culture firsthand and have the bruises to show it. Not to be outdone by our sem 1 historic success though our football team won their first game in 4 years and also didn’t finish last woohoo!
Not content with our amazing result in the swimming carnival our lads pushed on and pulled off a historic double securing first place in both badminton and table tennis! Our table tennis team, led by one half of our dynamic brother/sister duo Fabien played a perfect tournament and did not drop a single set throughout. Our trio Aiden, Ian and Ted put the bad in badminton as Other highlights include Tim single-handedly repping IH they demolished Leo’s in an intense final where our and teaching crommie a thing or two about rugby and housie spirit and chants echoed across UQ. our amazing display of sporting prowess in the athletics carnival. But wait, theres more! Led by our powerful swimmers from the swimming carnival our boiz were able to Looking back on 2016 as it draws to a close, I’d like to achieve legendary fame by finishing second in waterpolo thank every member who participated in IH sports and and etched their place in IH lore as the greatest group of every supporter who came down to cheer us on to swimmers in International House’s long history. create an unforgettable year full of great mems we’ll cherish forever. International house is on the piss again, Other highlights in the semester include not finishing again! last in tennis (cheers kazu), getting american exchanges to switch out baseball to cricket and the crazy By Malek El Garawany celebrations for every hit, wicket and catch, scoring a touch down in touch rugby and the amazing participation in our cross country efforts. #GreatestSportingSemesterInHistory Our first semester was unprecedented and historic as
Cultural 2016 has been an absolutely amazing year culturally placing us 3rd for in the preliminary ranks of Cultural with an incredible turnout of participants and spectators Cup! alike. The second semester of 2016 started with talented rd The year started well with a brilliant 3 place orator Nikita Devarajan coming 5th in Oratory with her performance in College Idol by Olivia Chan and Canaan engaging speeches about “finding a silver lining” and Neo, performing “Warwick Avenue.” Debating and what it means to be Australian. IH’s incredibly talented Chess both followed suit with our fantastic chess team acting troupe of Chelsea Kater, Jakob Perrett,mil of Thomas Hooper, Tricia Tatel, Tiana Reardon, Jacob Hansen, Georgia Pontifex, Helen Slater, Savanna Allport, Botha and Amber Bitzer and fearless debating team of Shanygne Davis, Tarzan Britchford, Tiana Reardon and Sharif Nada, Philippa Evans, Owen Evans and Katherine Zhonghua Zhan gave a hilarious performance of “Bad Kokkinias working hard each week in the competitions. Auditions by Bad Actors” which was a true delight to We achieved particular success in debating with a 2nd watch. place finish overall, which was an amazing effort for the The final ICC cultural event of 2016 was Dancefest, team to make the finals! which was participated in by over 50 Housies who IH’s incredibly talented Bandfest band, “Dearly Deported,” comprising of Olivia Chan, Jared Xie Hongzhi, Daiki Suzuki, Leonard Park, James Vaissiere, Liam Jenkins and Nicholas Ling delighted crowds and brought home 4th place in the competition and our resident artists Nicole Coles, Dominic Sze, Jakob Perrett, Elouise Lethborg, Ida Anisah, Malcolm Tang, Gabby Mendoza, Savanna Allport and speed painter Meg Grealy showed their amazing masterpieces in Artshow, collectively coming 4th place in the contest. Special mentions to Jakob’s first place winning submission taking out the 3D art piece category.
danced and performed a powerful dance interpretation of Star Wars. The performance could not have been possible without such dedication from everyone involved, but especially the tireless work by amazing choreographers Rahul Rajasabhai, Katherine Li, Melody Hung and Edith Kirlew who did an incredible job choreographing and teaching the four dance troupes.
We are both so proud of all the extraordinary dedication and talent shown by everyone who participated throughout the year in all cultural events. We really felt that everyone embraced the IH philosophy of participating and having fun, as well as making cultural Semester One also saw the IH choir compete in competitions accessible to all no matter of experience or Choralfest. After two months of tireless dedication, with ability. Thank you so much everyone for such an the help of conductor Lachlan Snow, the choir moved incredible time this year, we have both truly loved being audiences with their renditions of “Colours of the your Culturals for 2016 and wish the 2017 Cultural th Wind”, “Viva La Vida” and “Run to You” and placed 5 , Conveners all the best of luck! the highest place in the contest for a choir without Your 2016 Emperor of Culture and Cultural Empress, auditions. From first time participants to seasoned Gabby Mendoza and Alison Collins artists, arguers and performancers, we were ridiculously proud of the amazing work of everyone who took part in cultural events in Semester One, our incredible efforts
D A N C E F E S T D E B A T I N G
CHESS C O L L E G E I D O L
CHORALFEST
Cross Cultural The cross cultural calendar this year was packed in the first semester and we enjoyed a more relaxed semester 2. This year, I really tried to hold some new and different Tabiat Selasas which haven't been held before and I think I managed to achieve that goal. Alongside that, I hoped to showcase some aspects of cultures which people don't often look at. For example, street-signs, methods of cooking, delicacies, arts and crafts, games, etc.
Some challenges I faced this year would definitely have to be juggling University, SR work and other commitments alongside my Exec position. However, with a little help from my friends and a couple of early morning starts, nothing was too tricky. Furthermore, to help successive years of Cross culturals, I've started a base of knowledge in the form of a Google Document so future Cross culturals can add to and share the resources we have.
Next year, alongside the favourite Tabiat Selasas that we all know and love (Japan Night, Singapore Night, Some new Tabiat Selasas this year included IH's first Australiana Night) I hope to see that the next Cross LGBT Tabiat Selasa where we could listen to some interesting perspectives from UQ Queer Collective, and cultural holds some new and even more different Tabiat try on some drag clothing. Also, we had our first Luau on Selasas. G-lawn which was an amazing day-long celebration of Pacific Islander culture. We had fire-dancing, Hula, Haka, Lastly, I've really enjoyed the people I've met, the and we even managed to dig and use a proper earth friends I've made, and the connections I've brought to oven and enjoy the delicious feast at the end. light between cultures and it's made me realise one We managed to have some other fantastic Tabiat thing; there's no greater cultural mediator than delicious Selasas this year such as Tarzan's Survival Guide, food. Australiana Tabiat Selasa, GOMA Trip, Holi, Japan Night, By George (Tarzan) Britchford USA Tailgating Tabiat Selasa, Singapore Hawker Night, DĂa de los Muertos, Yoga, Mid-Autumn Festival, French Film Festival Tabiat Selasa, and more. I'm so glad that I could organise and share some new experiences with the residents of IH. My favourite parts included teaching some Aussie slang to the residents (teaching Azusa how to properly greet an Australian "G'day mate, how's it going?". Another favourite moment would probably have to be digging the earth oven and reliving the time I spent in Samoa, and I'm so happy that I could let others here at IH experience the culture of a small Pacific Island I called home. Lastly, seeing Tayla-Jayde being brave and eating a chicken foot at Yum Cha and enjoying it thoroughly was a pretty cool experience considering how little exposure she had had to traditional Chinese cuisine.
Get Colourful!
Environment / Jen Newsletter G
reen Bara Khana 2016 was a huge success this year. It was hosted by myself and Georgia Pontifex (Charity Convenor); we wanted to make this Bara Khana a special and memorable one, and thus coming up with a theme of Enchanted Forest. We had everyone wearing either a green item, something from an Op Shop or something they had made; It was great seeing that people had actually made an effort to follow the theme. The Charity represented at the Bara Khana was the Make a Wish Foundation, the charity grants the wishes of terminally ill children. We had great entertainment from the IH band, and guest speaker Doug Allen president of the UQ GEMS. The food was absolutely amazing and even followed a green theme, some say it was the best food IH has ever given us. Overall it was a night filed with laughter, music and good food; and I hope everyone enjoyed that night as much as we did. Savanna Allport (environment convenor)
Let’s see… How to sum up the Jen newsletter: Rocky start, Patchy notes, dodgy printer settings, and leaving every conversation with new ideas for an article. Despite the fact there was only one convenor this year and each edition restricted to a PG rating, I had an absolute blast filling page upon page with gossip and puns. The Jens are a chance for the little cheeky author in you to go wild and not feel the slightest bit guilty for sticking your nose in everyone’s business. I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world. Keep at it, fellow cheeky possums!
By Shanygne Davis (Jen and Kanyana convenor)
O - Week Semester One
Semester Two
Danielle and I have been working so hard to organize the best week ever for the 2016 Semester 1 freshers.
Hi, Trish and I also organised O week 2.
We couldn’t help ourselves from making up dance moves wherever we went (including Sunday night at the RE). Although we didn’t really contribute much to the actual choreography (special thanks to Amber and Jakob), we were so happy to watch everyone get so into their performance at the Market Day! You guys had the smoothest body rolls we’ve evaa seen! I don’t think Danielle and I ever had a solid 8 hour sleep (especially after the in-houses) but it was all worth it! My favourite activity from the week was FROTH night when we won against Cromwell and Grace. Nailed it!!!!! 100% slay fam Tricia Tatel (left)
Trish and I enjoyed eating my guts out with y’all at eat street, doing cool flips at bounce (Marco and Den, not me), showing off your mad bowling skills at strike and getting a sick tan at the beach. Lets not forget IH PARTY with the coolest looking igloo ever and even different DJ set times. My favourite night from o week 2 was probably pub crawl….I know a lot of y’all would be confused, considering I dropped my brand new phone down the toilet :-)) but regardless it was a pretty good night! Danielle Ng (right)
Social 2016 has been an absolutely huge year socially. And while it wasn’t the 50th big hurrah, it certainly delivered in many regards! From the get go this cohort has brought a great spark of enthusiasm which has made it a pleasure to organise weekly events… From the weekly local bash at the RE, Thursday exchanges with the other wild UQ colleges to Ball and recovery and IH in houses it has all been such a blast!
The highlight of the year for us was without a doubt the 51st Anniversary weekend. ‘The Roaring Twenties’ Gala Ball went off without a hitch; drinks flowed all night with a three course feed, tasty tunes and entertainment... what else could you ask for? The big night was followed by a HUGE day at the RE. Drinks flowed untapped; foam engulfed those on the dance floor and competitions where held to see who was the best jelly wrestler whilst So let’s take a trip back in time to where it all began… hectic tunes where busted out. Switch Party was the first of many upcoming events we What a year it was! We would like to thank everyone organised with the lads dressing as ladies and ladies who helped out where possible, particularly our exec dressing as lads, the night was bound to be a hoot and a team. And once again thanks to you all for coming out half! and enjoying yourselves with us! Without you guys all of Semester 2 Break Up party was the next event to this wouldn’t happen. I guess we will be finding you all organise and despite the emotions of saying goodbye to at the IH local hotspot (the Vic, Dunda and RE) for years all the great friends we had made throughout the year, to come.. it was a great success.
Our final announcement,
Carnivale was undoubtedly one of the tamest events Tom & Tim of the year. Nothing too special…
Mad Hatters
Mad Hatter’s Tea Party was held at International House in June and was the most delicious event of semester one! While the event was held by the Sunday Supper convenors it would not have been a success without the valuable help of the Mad Hatter’s convenors and the extra volunteers on the day! The food was delicious, company was fabulous, face-painting was creative, shisha was flavoursome, entertainment was marvellous, badminton was competitive and drinks were incredible! Although many were still exhausted from Carnivale (which was the night before), we think Mad Hatter’s made a pretty excellent recovery for that event leaving most suffering silently in their food-comas for the rest of the evening! Sophie Farnsworth
Sunday Supper Sunday Supper is a cherished tradition that predates the first International House and began with Harry Edmonds and his family in New York. Edmonds would invite foreign students for Sunday supper, desiring to extend a welcoming hand and a comforting meal to those who needed it. Wishing to provide further support, Edmonds with the help of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and the Cleveland H Dodge family – brought International House into realisation. The tradition of Sunday Supper is honoured to this day. Sunday Supper convenors are delegated to provide delicious baked goods, sweet treats, or savoury delights on Sunday evenings to the International House Residents (aka Housies). This provides a great opportunity to socialise and meet fellow housies while enjoying some comfort food. Even though the tradition has changed slightly, it is still a housie favourite. This year, with two Sunday Supper convenors - Sophie Farnsworth and Celina Lim - two choices of treats are provided to the IH residents. These have included caramel slice, lemon cupcakes, ham and cheese scrolls, scones, cherry ripe slice, chocolate coconut balls, Oreo fudge, and more. Celina Lim
Bandfest In the words of Lenny himself, Bandfest 2016 was the best one yet. We had an absolute blast organizing Bandfest this year, and the event was a smashing success thanks to all our Housie helpers! We worked tediously to put together the first-ever Bandfest trailer, which is a tradition that we hope will continue in the future. Maya’s amazing camerawork and editing skills showcased the fun day of filming we had out on G-lawn. Inter-college banter wasn’t the only thing happening on G-lawn though – Sam and Jessamyn rallied the troops to uniquely tye-dye 75 Bandfest t-shirts! With the hottest shirts on the market, a trailer that was simply straight fire, and our very own @ihbandfest Snapchat account, we couldn’t print tickets fast enough! With That BBQ Food Joint sizzling up some saucy burgers and fairy lights strung across the post-grad balconies, we were ready to rock. Alcohol Queen Jess Moody had the bar flowing so furiously we ran out of rum by 8:45 pm! Gareth came to the Queen’s rescue to make not one, but TWO trips to the Ville to keep the bar above par. The cameras were
clicking all night as people posed with our handmade Housie props, and we sure did capture great mems. Speaking of great…how about the IH men’s water polo team? They took a brief pause during the event to get that W, and came back just in time to support IH while still in their swimmers. The IH band went on second to last and had the crowd singing and jumping for their entire set. Special shoutout to Emmanuel College for winning the event overall, but your very own International House came in FOURTH PLACE! Our Cultural Convenors and band members sure are a special bunch. Convening Bandfest showed us how supportive, creative, and spirited our Housies truly are. This event would have been impossible without you all – from the late night letter drops to last minute ticket sales to learning the Hoedown Throwdown. You gave us every bit of your energy, and for that, we will always treasure the memories of Bandfest 2016. Michelle + Jeremy xx
A tower Unlike many towers here at International House, A-Tower is unique in its location but especially because of the resident make-up of the tower. A-Tower is conveniently situated to take up many late-night gossip coming from the side kitchen, but more importantly, it is amazingly close to the food. Despite all the traffic that surrounds us, we somehow find our own serenity and quietness that is simply hard to describe. Even though of its location, it is the residents that live in the tower which makes our community very special. From trying to dance to good old country music, bowling many gutter balls at bowling, to stuffing our faces with an unlimited source of pancakes – 2016 in A-Tower has been non-less then memorable. Special mention must go to Lea, for crashing the most of A Tower Suppers (A-Tower Date Night). It has honestly been a pleasure serving as your Senior Resident. I wish every one of you all the best in your lives, and thank you for being an A-Tower Ressie. I have enjoyed every moment that I was able to connect with you all. Without you guys, it wouldn't have been the same.
By Johnathan Chan
B tower B tower has been a blast to be a part of for the entirety of this year. Since day one O-week, B tower has been blessed to have a variety of vibrant personalities calling it their home away from home. We have had a hugely diverse group of residents from all around the world – America, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and, of course, Australia.
Regardless of where they are from – each person has made their own contribution to life as a Housie. Whether it’s intercollege cultural competitions, sporting ventures, or events and festivals hosted by International House, you can always find a pumped up and keen B tower resident either lending a hand, showing support or out thrashing the competition – as well as knowing how to let loose at social events. Although we might be the smallest tower in terms of pure numbers, we most definitely have been able to punch above our dollars’ worth against the other, more populated towers. Our artistic talents positively shone through with an outright first place in the Tower Poster competition, producing a captivating masterpiece of fine art aptly captioned the “Bees Knees” – the victory of which could not have been achieved without the artistic merit of B tower Resident Ami Ichi. However B tower residents are not just one-trick painting ponies. We were able to claim the highest GPA average among the towers for semester one – the award for which was gracefully accepted by our resident scholar, Daiki Suzuki. This was a fantastic effort by each resident, showing that we don’t only play hard but evidently study hard as well. Aside from those two well-deserved awards, B tower has many other stand-out characteristics. We’re home to the hippiest and hoppiest dancer in IH who’s contributed a huge amount of his time and effort for our Dancefest crew, and we most likely have more bottle-caps in B tower than the rest of the towers combined. B tower is also constantly filled with music whether it is from the dulcet tones of a certain guitar-playing Brazilian, or the loud, emanating music coming from the basement. This is just a few other things that has made B tower and its residents such a unique and amazing place. As this amazing year draws to a close, we’ll be sad to see each other go. B tower residents have changed from semester to semester, and some of us will unfortunately be moving on from this home next year. Regardless of this, I wish all of you guys the best and thank you for such a great year in B tower!
By Patrick Liu
C tower C Tower was THE place to be in 2016. For all the returning residents of C Tower, they were welcomed home by a newly refurbished building. Fresh coats of paint, stylish curtains, king single beds, a fully-fitted kitchen and a clean common room greeted us as we began making our rooms warm and cozy for the year ahead.
Not only are we artsy, C Tower was also home to the athletes of IH. Without us, IH would have had to compete with half-full teams and few supporters cheering from the sidelines. Between all of our talented residents, we have helped snag first place in Volleyball, second place in men’s water polo as well as amazing achievements in basketball, soccer, touch, hockey, swimming, netball – pretty much every sport you can think of! We were there. Every goal, every fall and every funny moment. We saw it all, first hand. IH would not have been a success this year without our skills, or our willingness to participate and try new things.
As for the newcomers, it was obvious from the mixture of worry and excitement on their faces that they did not know what to expect from their year ahead at C Tower. Of course, their fears were unfounded as they were warmly embraced into our small community In between our busy university schedule, and throwing ourselves by fun rounds of ice-breakers and a tour around college during Ofully into IH life, we still managed to find time to catch up with one Week. And that was where our shyness ended. another during Tower Suppers. From laid-back pizza nights to fancy By the time our G-Lawn Tower Canvas decorations came around, we DIY doughnut creation sessions, C Tower sure knows how to kick up were unafraid to unleash our inner creative side. We splattered our our feet and relax in one another’s company. canvas with outrageous designs which we believed were an accurate It’s been a hectic year for everyone, juggling university and college representation of our tower, and the masterpiece that came from it life. But with the support from our floor mates, as well as from the was simply priceless. Let’s just say that we wrote a greeting inviting energy of C Tower, we have all managed to pull through and make people to our tower. The simple words were studded with pictures of 2016 an incredible year for IH. cats, cows, C-gulls and C-men. We may not have impressed Carla enough to win the competition, but we all knew that our artistic Thank you for being such an amazing tower. As your senior resident, merits were a bit too “progressive” for our college to accept just it has been an absolute pleasure looking after you all and I cannot yet... Not to worry though, for that brilliant canvas shall forever wait to see what you all get up to in future. remain the centre piece of our common room.
By Jacqui Chiu
D tower Right from the very beginning I knew D-tower was going to be tight-knit community. A tower full of interesting people and strong personalities really melded the tower and transformed it from a building indistinguishable from the others into a beating, thriving heart of the college.
Right as you walk through the homely common room, you’re transported into the “Da Jungle” is it was affectionately known. As you ascend the memory-stained stairs, you can hear the buzz and chatter of the residents and from the outside you’re greeted with smiling faces and a terrifying clown if you’re walking across G-lawn at night. We’ve been blessed this year with a really good year free from electrical, water, Wifi or other problems which is probably one of the reasons why we’ve been so happy to live here. It will be a shame to see the tower renovated as I feel some of the memories will be lost, but I hope the new renovations allow the future generations to enjoy the tower in all its splendour. As the SR of this tower I’ve had an amazing time seeing my residents arrive, get to know their surroundings, put down roots and really start to flourish at IH. There have been some memorable incidents for D-tower, like coming 2nd in the Canvas painting contest, or 1st place in tower participation. (I’m so proud of you guys for that), not to mention some really funny times; for example, my constant pranking of my residents (Nikita, you fall for it every time!), the funny picture section in the tower reports, the time we all banded together to stop the UQ Youth groups from harassing us, or the time I misinformed you all about the cleaners and I go down to Ivor Cribb to find all of you there hiding from the cleaners. I’ve loved every minute of being your SR and it has shown. Throughout the college, we are known as being the closest tower and the only tower to have its occupants want to stay in the same tower because they loved living here so much. I hope to be the SR of D-tower next year so I can go through it all again, with those who are returning. To those of you who are leaving D-tower or leaving IH, I wish you all the best of luck and remember to stay groovy and stick it to the man. ;)
By George (Tarzan) Britchford
E tower From our first tower chat in O week, I knew E tower was the place to be. In our ever-bustling common room you could always find Helen making a cup of tea, a possum or two, and something questionable in the fridge. Our fire place was a real treasure in the winter, and our oven filled the tower with the smell of baked goods and hot chips at all hours of the day and night.
We may be a quiet tower of 16, but you never had to look hard to find a familiar E tower face at every sporting, social, cultural or cross-cultural event. Everyone jumped in and involved themselves, whether it be boogying at Dancefest or helping prepare goodies for a Tabiet Salasa. We had James steal the show at Bandfest, Sharif master debating and our very own Shanygne convene this Kanyana. We’ve come a long way from our first extremely (un)successful tower supper of pancakes. But it’s only a mistake if you don’t learn from it – now we bond over pre-made, packaged goods. E tower 2016 as we know it is coming to an end, but we leave behind a legacy for years to come – the beautiful piece of artwork hanging (slightly crooked) on the wall, featuring each of our names. Thanks to all the epic, easy-going and eager souls that made E tower so extraordinary.
By Jacqui Chiu By Lisa Anish
F tower F tower and its residents have been isolated from the rest of college but that has not stopped its residents from having a blast. The residents of F tower have been nothing but a delight throughout the semester, taking part in almost every activity hosted by our amazing Exec team be it a sporting, cultural or any other event. I have watched my residents grow, gain confidence and do what makes them happy. They sure know how to give back to the IH community. Although my time as the Senior Resident of this tower has been short, I would like to thank all the residents for the kindness and the support they have shown me during the semester. From the friendly good mornings to the late night chats that I have had with some of you’ll, I just want to let you’ll know that it made a huge difference to me and made me love my position as SR even more. To the residents that are leaving, I hope your time in IH has been an eventful one and I hope that you’ll treasure the friendships and memories that have been made here. These friendships can last for a lifetime so make sure you stay in touch no matter where you are. Always carry around that housie spirit of yours and remember, THAT BROTHERHOOD MAY PREVAIL.
To the residents that are returning next year, be sure to stay involved in the IH community and do your best to help IH live up to its name. I’m sure that the college will be in good hands. Remember to appreciate all the little things that are organized for you and take full advantage of the opportunities that are presented to you! Cheers to all the F tower residents for an awesome semester! I hope next year is another eventful one.
By Aditya Ravi
G tower G-tower. Giant-tower, Games-tower, Gorgeous-tower, Grand-tower, The Greatest-Tower, you have been fab. The biggest tower is always going to have the best people, and this year was no different.
To the wonderful Michelle, we miss you more every day. We were so so so lucky to have IH’s very own world champion skater/baking extraordinaire/Dunder hero living in G, please come back soon. From the moment we got our SR positions, there’s no denying we To the ever-studious, Kaz, who we truly believe will fulfil his both prayed we’d be put in G tower, and can you blame us? G is lifelong dream of holding a rock from space, even if he does home to 52 residents (close to double the amount of other towers) and a huge majority of these are exchange students. Combine this occasionally have a beer at breakfast. with being right above Games Room and Shop, and you’ve got To our keyboard warrior Henry Ole and to Norman for keeping yourself a tower that never sleeps. Well, at least not until pretty late. us Social. Sure, the hussle and bussle of G can be a little overwhelming, but I To Lenny, who we finally got rid of after 3.5 years. think we speak for all when we say it’s worth it. This year, especially, To Joaquim and Alan for surviving semesters in G201. has been such an awesome one for G tower (not that we’re biased, or To Dominic for being our resident photographer. anything). Both semesters we’ve had the pleasure of housing To all our lovely exchange students for keeping things fresh and ambitious, fun, friendly people who really, really care about each interesting then leaving us a few months later… other. We even had an anonymous person gift the entire left side of To Jacob Botha for surviving a full year underage. the tower full-size snickers bars for making too much noise. If that’s To our superstars Olivia and Canaan for taking a breaths away not incentive to put up with the occasionally rowdy neighbour I don’t in the Cultural scene. know what is. To our sporting prowess from the likes of Tia While there have been many moments this year that have (#TeaTimeWithTia) and some world class volleyball players made G tower an awesome place to live, we have a few little (Denise, you weapon) #3peat. shoutouts: To every single person in the tower, who ALL got their census forms back in time which meant we got to pig out on free To our wonderful resident pharmacists, Jess and Will- nights magnums. Cheers to you all. have been saved and manhood restored thanks to you and And, finally, a shout out to the bush turkey who managed your trusty supplies. I’m sure the whole college thanks you (somehow) to make it all the way up to the fifth floor the other from the bottom of their hearts. day. We have a lot to learn from the work ethic of those little To the mysterious Emil, who confidently introduced us to his champions. “girlfriend” on move-in day, who turned out to be his (very high -tech) computer. We’re also gonna take this opportunity to That’s all for now, folks. Thank you all for such an amazing name and shame you as the anonymous chocolate donor. 2016. We hope you enjoyed being a part of this tower as much Secret’s out, you’re a legend. as we did and will never forget the chaos and greatness that is G-tower.
By Lucy Hammond and Josef Den Miklavc
H tower Hello, beautiful people. Another year bites the dust, I can’t believe how quickly it’s flown by! From O-Week you lot have gotten around IH life like there’s no tomorrow. Sometimes we take for granted how lucky we are to be living in a tower with people from all over the world – from Egypt, the United States, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, you name it - and to had the opportunity to build friendship and make mems this year. It’s great to see how many of you have taken on leadership and committee roles and have made a tangible difference to college throughout your time at IH. I appreciate how respectful, considerate and kind you have all been this year - you have made my job a very easy and enjoyable one. It’s a pleasure seeing you every day and getting to know you. It’s people like you, H Tower, that make IH the place it is. Thanks for your positive attitude and involvement this year, and thanks for keeping the tidiest common room fridge I have ever seen. Thanks for getting around our tower gatherings (where I pretty much force-fed you doughnuts and M&Ms) and not making fun of my Simpsons obsession. You loyal. I appreciate you. Here’s the worst poem you will ever read in your life (it’s the thought that counts): H Tower has been a home to people from far and near. We’ve hosted the (self-proclaimed) tower supper of the year. Thanks for being so bitchin’. Thanks for keeping such a tidy kitchen.
I’ll miss your sneaky possum photos. I’ll miss the post-party Domino’s. H tower has gone through its fair share of McDonalds and vodka bottles, And we’ve seen the birth of #unnecessarymodels. From this year we’ve got plenty on which to reminisce, Like Rosy’s kind smile and snazzy outfits. Like Sophie and Celina pumping us full of sugar And Yurika’s late-night activities with her rice cooker. Between the laughs and study cramming in H common, It’s been so great watching you all blossom. A tip of the hat from Venky, a g’day from Jo. You make a difference in everyone’s day with your simple ‘hello’. I’ll miss the (un)forgettable nights at the RE. I like you guys more than Lenny likes KFC. It’s not the buildings but people like you that I’ll miss, Even the constant whistler (Alex) and mysterious Chris. From newby freshers to veterans like Owen Evans If I had to rate you all out of 10, I’d give you elevens. I’ll miss IH and I’ll miss Sunday brunch, But most of all I’ll miss you bunch. All the best for your wonderful futures, residents of H Tower. Punch the sun.
By Amber Bitzer
I tower Oh I Tower, how I’ll miss thee. Being your SR has really made this year a She arrived at the same time as me so I’m surprised we’re both still alive! great one. Seeing your beautiful faces go passed my study as I forcibly Go deeper into the jungle and you’ll find yourself in a cave, say “HI *NAME*!” every single day never got boring and I hope you all felt Not the scary kind though, these residents like to rave. the same way. Through getting to know you all through the odd converAt fifth floor we have Danielle and Cristina. sation and during tower suppers I could really see your vibrant personaliThese girls have dominated as our bride and O-Week convenor. ties grow stronger as you came to call I tower home. Jolene will always have me singing Dolly Parton’s original, “The Island” While Howie Chowie and his GPA of 7 make him an impressive individual. Lastly we have Mukum, our engineer extraordinaire Arrive at the The Island and a wonderful place you’ll see. At this rate, he’s well on his way to becoming a millionaire. Starting on the second floor it’s just Linda and me. While common room shenanigans always cause such a commotion, After this long hike we’re finally at the summit Our love of the cultural scene shows a worthy devotion. Proceed with caution though or else you’ll plummet. How about we start with Marc Fischer and Bernard Ho, Moving up to the third floor and further up the beach, The Harambe meme is dead #letitgo. I Tower natives you’ll come to reach. Next is Peter #2 who arrived on The Island just recently, We’ll start with Lulu Wu who arrived during the lunch hour, We haven’t seen much of him because he’s always working so diligently! Despite my greatest efforts, she still claims she’s from H Tower. Nicole Choy has always been such a pleasure We have our musical virtuosos, Lachlan and Lucy, on the strings, Long nights of working in I common will soon pay off for her with hidden Their beautiful violin and ukulele tunes echo through IH’s tall buildings. treasure. Lastly we have Shan and Elouise who are also returning residents, Last but certainly not least we have our Female Sports Convenor, Meg It only makes sense that they’re in the same tower as their Vice President. Grealy Fourth floor brings us into The Island jungle. She’s notorious for her midnight visits but while she’s on exchange I’ll Here you’ll find Ida and Peter, two GC members who work hard but will miss her dearly. always stay humble. Cassie and Aiden, our 2016 freshers, also live here, Thanks again to all my I Tower Dudez for such an amazing year! WherevI really hope this time they’ve spent has been a great year. er you are next year, always know that you have a family back at IH and Nicole Coles is the girl in I4.5, that I’m just a quick Facebook message away. \^o^/
By Jakob Perett
Soirée “I would like to give a massive thank you to everybody who helped out for soirée especially to my Soiree committee. Thank you so much for your hard work and support!“ - Winnie Sim “What Soiree did for me? Getting to know more housies and create memories.” -Ida Anisah
Acknowledgements As you peruse and reminisce over your time at International House, take a note and acknowledge those people who put your memories to paper. Photo Credit goes out to Maya Delaney, Molly Hiu, Peter Van Roki, and Dominic Sze, who became 2016’s unofficial photographers . A special mention is needed for Dominic as he has gone above and beyond when it comes to capturing the true beauty and fun of college life and his fabulous work has sometimes gone underappreciated . Thank you Owen Evans for sending in the birds-eye view of the college located on the back page. Thanks also goes out to UQ Union who captured many of our inter-college experiences. All other photos were collected from social media wherein members of college posted their favourite memories. Congratulations if your work made it into the Kanyana. Thank you to ‘Academy School Photography and Production’ for their printing services again this year. A massive thank you to everyone who wrote a segment for this edition, especially since it was during the middle of assessment. And finally, thank you to Carla, Yohan, and the staff for working hard in their respective departments this year and making our stay as good as possible.
This edition is dedicated to Colin Blumhart (Col), the much loved groundskeeper and maintenance officer of International House who will retire in February, 2017.
Kanyana
for 2016
“That Brotherhood May Prevail”