What is Sinterklaas?
Well, actually a better question would be: “who is Sinterklaas”. This is a question every Dutch child asks himself.
He is a saint originally from Turkey now living in Spain, but every year he visits the Netherlands to celebrate his birthday. But instead of getting presents he gives them away.
He walks over the rooftops with his loyal horse Amerigo and helpers called ‘Zwarte Pieten’. The ‘Zwarte Pieten’ climb down the chimney and leave the gifts in the shoes standing before the chimneys if the clidren have been good during the year (Sinterklaas knows everything) and have sung a nice song for TheSint. When the children grow up they start to help the Sint, by giving the presents themselves to their friends. We wrap them very specially (usually the way we wrap them represents something special for the person who receives the gift, for example a house for a person that is moving). Accompanying the gift is a small verse about the person. We are not all great poets but that does not matter, it is always fun.

Preliminary programme:

Thursday 1 December - “Arrival day”
- Everybody will be welcomed from about 15h on.
- At night there will be a typical Dutch diner in a local restaurant.

Friday 2 December - “First day of the main programme”
- breakfast
- language-course
- AEGEE-speed course
- Trip to Baarle-Nassau; a town that is located in the Netherlands geographically but is partly of Belgium nationality (the border is actually in the middle of this town and surrounding it) You have to see it to believe it.
- Cycling dinner
- Pub crawl

Saturday 3 December - "Getting ready to meet Sinterklaas”
- breakfast
- ice-skating
- city tour
- workshop the history about "sinterklaas"
- European dinner (every participant has to take a local food with him/her)
- "sinterklaas"-evening; you can enjoy typical Sinterklaastreats and unwrap your presents. To do so we invented a nice dice game. Everybody has to bring a small gift of about a 3 euro value. The sillier the better, local gifts would be great. Wrap it, bring it with you and be ready to get surprised.After having met Sinterklaas, having eaten some nice Dutch things, drinking even more and having sung a nice goodbye song for Sinterklaas (the poor guy is very old and has to visit many children) there will be a international party.

Sunday 4 December
- breakfast
- Trip to the textilemuseum. Tilburg is from origin very famous for its textile. Find out why we call ourselves every year at carnaval ‘kruikenzeikers’(people who pee in urns)
- Saying goodbye, exchanging adresses, crying and leaving.

Notes:

Beer, Soda, Wine, Port and Palm for just 1,20 Euro.

Travel information: You can take various airports like Eindhoven, Rotterdam or Amsterdam (schiphol) and from there you can take the train to Tilburg.
If you’re planning your trip please contact us so we can help you.

Every participant has to take a local food with him/her, a small gift of about a 3 euro value (for sinterklaas party), a sleeping bag and a good mood.

Many people, several cultures, one project...

A Find Europe event is a high quality cultural European event aimed at transferring to participants a deep knowledge on the place where it is held, on the customs and traditions of the local people, developing in participants intercultural senility and understanding. In particular, a Find Europe event should preferably be organized in time converging with special and traditional happenings in order to give to AEGEE members the chance to participate in them as well.

Find Europe is not the usual project, this is the way to brake down stereotypes, way to show to the "strangers" who we really are, way to share our cultural heritage with the Europe. If we understand the way out neighbors live, we will realize how multicultural and complicated Europe is, and than, maybe, we will learn how to be more tolerant, open minded and how to live together under the one European roof.

Learn more about the Find Europe project
connect to our web site
http://www.aegee.org/findeurope