TUNTREET
Introuke! As the numbing winter cold settled in Ås, the introduction week for newcomers has begun. This year, however, it has gone through a couple of changes: the organizers have shifted everything to an (almost) entirely digital format, embracing the way fun and social life exists nowadays, as well as extending the event to a whole month instead of a week. On a Zoom call with the Faddergeneral of NMBU, Maren Helene Sævold, she explained this by the differences of where the newcomers are located during the start of the semester, as well as the timing of their arrival. Since one of the primary reasons behind the introduction month is to make new students feel welcomed, the organizers decided to accommodate as many people as possible, no matter if they arrive in February or at the end of March.
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Elina Turbiná Journalist
Zooming your way into NMBU How does the introduction month look, then? Well, it begins with two different groups for students on Facebook: one provides practical information for the newcomers, while the other focuses on the social life of the university. This does not mean that the events are made strictly for the international students - everyone can be a part of the Language Cafés, Game and Quiz nights organized by ESN (Erasmus Student Network) and ISU (International Student Union). These online events have been our best shot at good socialization practices, and this does not go unnoticed. As AU’s Tilde Birgitte Dalberg said: “It’s more important than ever that we try to make people feel welcome here, so that they make friends and feel like this is their home, even if it’s just for a semester”. The planned online events are a great help for jumpstarting a social life, so the organizers
Margreta Brunborg Fotograf
encourage everyone to participate as much as possible. The Buddy System Something unique to this year’s spring introduction is the buddy system (yes, technically this is a fadderuke!). This great initiative has been backed up by many international students willing to help newcomers. “One of the good things about having international students as buddies is that we might notice things that to us are strange because we’re not used to them yet, whereas Norwegians are helpful in many things, but they might not know what an international student could have trouble with when coming here”, noted the acting president of ISU Rachel Elder. Friendship from the first e-mail One of the international participants in this buddy program is Beatriz, a first-
